Rare Pairs - Dear Author
Jun. 11th, 2019 10:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pannyHello, dear author, and thank you so much for writing for me! I have tried to leave you at least a general idea of what I like about each ship and what I might be interested in reading for them. Some ships may have more written than others depending on how much I had to say and how many specific ideas I had, but rest assured that I want all of them desperately and already love you for sharing any one of these ships with me! I look forward to whatever you create!
If I've left prompts that don't speak to you, don't worry about it! There are plenty of things that I enjoy that I haven't specifically prompted for (and there's a reason that I leave a list of general likes) and I want you to write something that you enjoy and find exciting. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me through the mods. I try to be speedy about replying and never mind clarifying.
· Clark Kent (DCEU)/Vic Sage (Comics)
· Vic Sage (Comics)/Bruce Wayne (DCEU)
· Pretty Deadly (Comics): Big Alice/Deathface Ginny
· The Strange Case of Mr. Hyde (Comic): Thomas Adye/Edward Hyde | Henry Jekyll
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Fandom Note: I tend to lean towards O’Neil or Rucka characterization for Vic, but am generally open to whatever you’re most familiar/comfortable with or interested in writing.
It’s not just because they’re both reporters…okay, it’s kind of because they’re both reporters. Unfortunately, these two get precious little interaction in the comics. There is the Veitch mini series – and I’ll talk about some of the ideas I totally wouldn’t mind stealing from that encounter – but that features a fairly unusual interpretation of Vic and the Question, though I did enjoy it as an out of continuity story line (and the art was super great). Even despite the lack of canon support, I’ve always felt that this could be a fun pairing – for the extreme contrast between the two characters as much as any fun potential points of connection like both being reporters.
I’d be super into identity porn and seeing how Vic and Clark play off each other vs. Question and Superman (or Vic and Superman or Question and Clark). I’d be totally into something playing off the opening premise of Veitch’s run with Vic Sage travelling to Metropolis ostensibly to collaborate with staff from the Daily Planet on a story (optional: keep the part where he’s been nursing a crush on the colleague he’s meant to meet at the train station, only it’s not Lois, it’s Clark) while the Question starts investigating a potential threat to Superman and skirting the law in a way that Superman is not okay with. That being said, I am 100% open to any other scenario you want to use to bring these two together and have them interact under any of their identities.
Okay, so the first time I ever mentioned this pairing to anyone it started out as a joke, but now it’s…it’s not. It’s not a joke. I am super here for it. You see, under Rucka, Vic developed this apparent habit of showing up in Gotham to mentor troubled young vigilantes and while he and Renee were total bros, mentoring Helena came with a side of sexual tension. So, the joke was: haha, what if Vic tried to romantically life coach Jason the way he did Helena, haha. But, like, what if Vic tried to romantically life coach Jason the way he did Helena? They could bond over “I totally died once and then Batman yelled at me for being a bad vigilante” stories!
I just think that they could be fascinating together and would love to see what sort of dynamic they might have – the places where they actually understand each other, the places where they absolutely don’t, how well they do or do not work together. I think there’s a part of Vic that would totally go “yeah, I was that angry kid once” and even understand and sympathize with some of Jason’s more violent methodologies – Vic’s very aware that his own hands aren’t clean on that front, that choosing to no longer be the guy who picks fights just because he knows he can win them is an active choice, and the struggle with the desire to commit “justifiable homicide” (out of curiosity, out of vengeance, out of sheer horror at the things people do to each other, even out of just desire) is very personal for him. At the same time, I think there are things that Jason has done or would be willing to do that Vic would flinch away from (especially in the Rucka “where does it end?” era). I also think that there are lines that Vic has toed that Jason would be pretty outraged by – like, there was a hot second where Vic started to buy into a villain speech about why chemically lobotomizing the entire world to end human suffering was a good thing actually (he got over it and was clearly dealing with some trauma because Hub City is the literal worst, but still) and I don’t see Jason not being appalled by that idea. But even beyond philosophizing on the subject of violence, I think there's a lot to play off of for them - a lot of room to either gel or clash on the basis of mutual cleverness, stubborn tendencies, and smartassery.
Do they get along? Do they hate each other? Does Bruce show up to disapprove of them both? I don’t know, but I want to find out!
I know this is an odd match up, but I think that M and Vic have the potential to be exactly the kind of fascinating mess that I would adore. I can see Vic actually finding some of Orlando!Midnighter’s perspective sounding surprisingly reasonable, while at the same time not being able to justify the level of brutality that M gleefully employs…and maybe, even disapproving as he is, finding himself a little jealous of it on some level. O’Neil!Vic always struggled a lot with the idea of being hero and deciding where he was supposed to draw the line. Vic's keenly aware of his own violent impulses, works hard to be better than the angry, violent young man he once was, but he also spends his whole life confronting horrifying depths of human cruelty and that anger doesn't come from nowhere - "some people just need to be killed", the idea that people should know that the person who hurt them will never be capable of doing so again, these are ideas that I can see resonating with him. And the "no kill" rule has always been just as much a "question" to him as anything else - he grapples first with his curiosity over what it might be like to kill someone and then with the lack of guilt he feels once he’s actually forced to – how willing he’d be to do it again and how horrifying that is to him. It’d be really interesting to see him matched up with someone with Midnighter’s particular outlook on the necessity of “justifiable homicide”.
And as much as Vic may be confronting a moral quandary here, it’s not like there aren’t things that Vic has at least contemplated justifying within his own moral code that M would be decidedly not down with. I brought it up with Jason and I’m bringing it up here because it’s still one of the most horrifying things Vic has ever considered doing – there was a hot second where Vic was listening to a villain monologue about his plan to chemically lobotomize the entire world in order to end human suffering and he went “huh, he might have a point actually”. Fortunately, that didn’t last long and Vic changed his mind on that after other people helped him realize how little sense it made once he wasn't in the middle of flashing back to every horrible thing he's ever dealt with in Hub City, but I can’t picture M ever giving the thought even that second and he’d be pretty disgusted that anyone would.
Also, if they ever worked together - the jokes, the snark, one-liners. How would their enemies ever withstand M's pre-battle monologuing and Vic cracking wise about his lack of face at the same time?
Vic’s a “thug”. M’s a “fighter”. They both have an interesting relationship with the concept of heroism. I just also think that they could have an interesting relationship together.
I’m always a little sad that these two don’t get to collaborate more. At least part of that is for reasons that the comics directly address – while they’re very different characters, there is enough overlap in their skill sets and character archetypes that if Batman’s there and playing both brains and brawn, Vic starts to feel…redundant. That being said, I always thought that they had an interesting dynamic, even if it was mostly defined by grudging respect. Very grudging in Bruce’s case (I think the nicest thing he ever said about Vic was “one of these days, he might actually be competent” – “Mr. Warmth”, indeed). In fact, I’d say that the grudginess of that respect is part of the appeal.
I’d be 100% open to something playing off the fact that they do have something of a complicated history – Vic is the only person on Earth who calls Bruce “our friend the Monkey”, after all, and one of a select few who even knows what that could possibly be referencing. I’m also open to either interpretation of whether Bruce showing up to yell at Vic after he got beaten to death/shot in the head/drowned at the start of O’Neil’s run actually happened or if he was hallucinating because of the aforementioned trauma. All that being said, I would also be equally here for something (potentially identity porn-y) where they’re first meeting a little more recently and getting to know each other in brand new and interesting ways.
Fandom Note: I tend to lean towards O’Neil or Rucka characterization for Vic, but am generally open to whatever you’re most familiar/comfortable with or interested in writing.
Clark Kent (DCEU)/Vic Sage (Comics)
Unfortunately, their comic counterparts get precious little interaction. There is the Veitch mini series – and I’ll talk about that in one of my prompts – but that features a fairly unusual interpretation of Vic and the Question, though I did enjoy it as an out of continuity story line (and the art was super great). Even despite the lack of canon support, I’ve always felt that this could be a fun pairing. The DCEU, where Superman is a fairly new part of the popular consciousness, provides a perfect avenue for Vic's driving curiosity to lead them together, resulting in a lot of opportunity for stellar interactions.
Prompts:
· Vic Sage and Clark Kent investigate Amanda Waller and the Suicide Squad
So, I never read New 52 Suicide Squad and am only familiar with Vic’s role in the book through osmosis, but I actually do love the idea of Vic going up against Amanda Waller and trying to expose the Squad – just, perhaps, executed a little differently. Maybe after the events of Suicide Squad, reporter!Vic starts digging into what happened in Midway City. I mean, Vic is clever, persistent, and is all about targeting corrupt people in power. I can also see him having a very strong negative reaction to the very concept of what Waller is doing, never mind the actual fallout of putting it into practise in the DCEU. Batman v Superman has proven well enough that Clark is equally incapable of not chasing a story when he feels a wrong is being committed, even if he’s facing pushback for his interest. I would love to see these two meet while looking into things and find themselves as unlikely allies against The Wall.
· Vic Sage crushes on Clark Kent
Identity porn! I’m stealing some concepts from Veitch here. TV reporter Vic Sage comes to Metropolis to cover a story and the Daily Planet graciously sends someone to meet him. Oh no, it’s Lois Lane Clark Kent – the colleague that Vic has been nursing a long-time, awkward crush on. Or maybe they really are meeting for the first time and Vic falls for Clark’s Smallville charm. Meanwhile, the Question has suspicions that someone’s got it out for Superman and does some investigating of his own. Superman does not particularly like the way the Question does things and would like him to get out of his city, thank you very much.
· Vic Sage investigates Superman
Aliens destroy half of Metropolis and then one of them flies around in a cape saving cats from trees and you’re telling me Vic Sage’s not curious as hell about that? Superman suddenly finds himself followed around by a particularly insistent reporter. Meanwhile, Vic’s still very good at getting himself into trouble.
Vic Sage (Comics)/Bruce Wayne (DCEU)
Here’s another case where the comics versions don’t get to spend a whole lot of time together. At least part of that is for reasons that the comics directly address – while they’re very different characters, there is enough overlap in their skill sets and character archetypes that if Batman’s there and playing both brains and brawn, Vic starts to feel…redundant. That being said, I always thought that they had an interesting dynamic, even if it was mostly defined by grudging respect. Very grudging in Bruce’s case (I think the nicest thing he ever said about Vic was “one of these days, he might actually be competent” – “Mr. Warmth”, indeed). I’d be very interested in seeing how a version of Vic that might theoretically exist in the DCEU would interact with DCEU!Bruce.
Prompts:
· Vic Sage investigates the Gotham Bat
TV reporter Vic Sage puts himself on the tail of Gotham’s most famous cryptid, perhaps spurred on by the Bat’s recent habit of branding criminals. His investigative strategy mostly consists of being places he really shouldn’t be. Occasionally, he might either punch someone in the face or get punched in the face. Bruce is Not Impressed.
· Vic Sage investigates Wayne Enterprises
Vic is assigned to do a report on WE and then he digs because he can’t not. He develops a sudden interest in the company’s CEO, who may have more going on than it first appears.
· Vic Sage investigates Amanda Waller
So, I never read New 52 Suicide Squad and am only familiar with Vic’s role in the book through osmosis, but I actually do love the idea of Vic going up against Amanda Waller and trying to expose the Squad – just, perhaps, executed a little differently. Maybe after the events of Suicide Squad, reporter!Vic starts digging into what happened in Midway City. I mean, Vic is clever, persistent, and is all about targeting corrupt people in power. I can also see him having a very strong negative reaction to the very concept of what Waller is doing, never mind the actual fallout of putting it into practise in the DCEU. Meanwhile, Waller makes use of every resource at her disposal in an attempt to shake off suspicion – including pressing Bruce to follow through on the promise of “protection” she extracted from him at the end of Suicide Squad.
Big Alice/Deathface Ginny
First off, I want to be clear so that my DNWs don't give the wrong impression: I am 100% okay with violence being included as not just an element, but as a feature. Especially for these two. The fight scene between them in volume 1 is what made the transition from "okay, I'm decently interested" to "I love this comic" for me. Getting to see two women fight as viciously as these two was a treat. And I am not above some scrapping between two halves of a ship, especially for femslash. Love me some (fr)enemy ships. Love me some sexual tension in fighting.
Pretty Deadly is a super fascinating comic, aesthetically and conceptually. I love every part of it and I would be over the moon to see someone take the worldbuilding and characters and play with them or flesh them out a little. Everything about how reapers work has been really neat and the whole detail about reapers with complimentary aspects working in pairs from volume 2 is definitely something that you can play with for this pairing (Vengeance and Cruelty is such an interesting combo). For everything we learn about these two, I feel like I have a million more questions and a million things still left unanswered. I'd love to know more about them on a general level (their histories, their roles as reapers, the world they live in) and a personal level (motivations, inner thoughts, desires, personal relationships).
General Areas of Interest for Fic:
I'm not picky about when you choose to set your fanwork. It can be before the events of volume 1. It can be between volumes. It can be after the established canon (even with the endgame events of volume 2 being what they are, I am 100% willing to accept Alice making a return in a weird west comic that loves playing with the whole concept of death). These characters and the world they live in have a wealth of implied history to play with and I love that, but I am just as interested as to how things may proceed going forward - especially with Sissy shaking the status quo up a little bit.
I'm also fine with AUs, although for this particular fandom, I'd prefer that they be set within the canon world.
I'd definitely be interested in them taking on some kind of task as reaper partners. I'd also be equally as interested in them coming into conflict, much like they did in volume 1. I'm also not adverse to them starting out one way and then finding that their allegiances have changed as need be. What kind of events do Vengeance and Cruelty get involved in when in each others' company? How does each of them being present influence the other and potentially the mortals around them? A lot of what we've seen of Alice has been driven by the motivations of whoever's in charge of death right now - whether it be the OG death from volume 1 or Sissy in volume 2 - and we don't have as clear an idea of what she thinks or what drives her as we do with Ginny (which is...saying a lot since a lot about Ginny is still fairly mysterious). I would def be up for exploring more personal details about these characters through whatever scenario you have them involved in.
Specific Prompts:
· Time loop where they're the only two aware that time is repeating could be a really interesting scenario for both of them.
· Again, totally down for any reaper missions that require Vengeance and Cruelty to work in tandem. I have a deep love for missions gone wrong and all the baggage that comes with that, but I’d be equally as interested in seeing a scenario where things actually go right and they manage to find a way to compliment each other’s skills.
· How about when Sissy assigned them as reaper partners? How did they take that news? What was the breaking in period like? What kind of relationship/dynamic do each of them have with the new boss?
· What are they like off duty? What are some of their more “human” habits and qualities?
· Backstory! They seem to recognize each other in volume 1. What’s the history there? Feel free to get as personal or mythological as you want.
The Strange Case of Mr. Hyde (Comic)
Fandom Note: If you write in a new villain/encounter for our "heroes" to deal with like, say, Dorian Gray as canon had initially intended, I have no problem with Tom experiencing some attraction or there being something of a M/M/M love triangle. Provided Tom/Hyde is endgame.
Also, while I know the original comic has a lot of violence against women because, well, Jack the Ripper and I'm fine with there being some female murder victims in fic for it, I'd also prefer that the fic not dwell on that aspect if it can be avoided.
Thomas Adye/Edward Hyde | Henry Jekyll
Ruthless serial killers in love! Goody-goodies making increasingly dangerous moral compromises! "But Tom, we're mates"! Rooftop/air balloon battles! Mind games and pretentious quote matches and disillusionment in idealistic notions about the upper class! What's not to like!
The dynamic between these two pretty much made the comic for me. It's so good. The general back and forth and learning to work together and Tom discovering things about himself that maybe he would have preferred not to. And then that genuine moment of returned friendship (Hyde's goddamn smile when Tom finally agrees that they're mates) just before Tom shoots Hyde in the chest followed by Tom tearing up in relief over having confirmation that Hyde's still alive and then using his serial killer best buddy to threaten people. Right up my alley.
I really like all the development and internal conflict that Tom went through over the course of the comic and would be totally stoked to see further development and potential fallout related to that. Whatever reason you can cook up for Hyde making a return and the two of them having to team up again is totally fine with me. (Has someone come after Hyde? Is Hyde keeping tabs on his good mate Tom? Did Tom finally decide to track Hyde down himself? Does the newest villain have something Hyde's interested in?)
General Areas of Interest for Fic:
Tom finding himself in positions to take shadier options and dealing with balancing those impulses with his righteous ideals is always great. Hyde, as smart and powerful as he is, potentially compromising his goals because he's become genuinely fond of Tom is great. Tom getting damsel-in-distressed as per issue 4 and Hyde swooping in to rescue him is great. Hyde calculating and machinating while Tom pieces things together is great. Tom finding ways to surprise Hyde as much as he did when he shot him is great. Tom realizing how deep he's slipping and being discomfited by how easy it is for Hyde to get under his skin is great. Swapping barbs and quotes while no one else around them understands them half as well as they understand each other is great.
I would be totally head over heels for something set after the original comic dealing with some other famous literary monsters/villains, especially those drawn from Gothic horror. The sequel hook at the end of the comic teased the Invisible Man as Tom's next case and the cover for the planned sequel comic (which sadly never materialized) confirmed that Dorian Gray exists in this universe and would come into contact with Tom (I was so looking forward to Tom being "seduced by his philosophy"). Either of those options would be fabulous, but don't feel restricted by them - bring in whoever you want.
