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Yuletide 2019 - Dear Author
AO3: Panny
Hello, 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 canon and what I might be interested in reading for them. Some canons 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 rare fandoms 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.
Mini-Challenge Opt-Ins: Two For One (Strange Case only), Wrapping Paper Challenge (all fandoms), Make the Yuletide Gay (Asgardians only), Femslash Festivus (Asgardians only)
Clickable Table of Contents
➳ Asgardians of the Galaxy: Annabelle, Valkyrie, Ren
➳ The Question (Comics): Renee, Vic
➳ The Strange Case of Mr. Hyde (Comic): Tom, Hyde
General Likes: |
♥ Tropey goodness, taken as seriously or as silly as you like.
♥ Protectiveness.
♥ Loyalty.
♥ Conflict.
♥ Hurt/comfort.
♥ Messy, complicated relationships where no one person is necessarily "better" than the other.
♥ Characters who are normally in control very much not being that.
♥ Canon divergence/for want of a nail AUs.
♥ Self-destructive tendencies.
♥ Mind games and mutually dangerous people engaging in cat-and-mouse scenarios.
♥ Badass in distress.
♥ Competency and cleverness
♥ Identity porn and related scenarios.
♥ "Good guys" being driven to do shady, questionable things in the pursuit of their goals/righteous ideals.
♥ Morally bankrupt bad guys falling in love and doing things that screw over their agenda or leave them vulnerable because they care about one particular person.
♥ Emotion-driven desperation.
♥ Women pinning other women against walls.
♥ When two people rest their foreheads together and it's super intimate.
♥ Role swaps.
♥ Time loops.
♥ Superheroes.
♥ Fairy tales.
♥ Dragons and/or robots.
♥ Hair ruffling.
General DNWs: |
✘ PWP (and I'm only interested in F/F porn in general).
✘ Non-canonical (permanent) major character death; character death as part of a Groundhog Day scenario or where the other half of the ship goes on a quest to revive them or etc. is totally fine.
✘ Torture.
✘ Mutilation. Description of/reference to existing canon injuries would be fine. New injuries resulting in a new scar or something would also be fine, particularly considering the type of characters we're dealing with.
✘ Issue fic.
✘ Terminal illness.
✘ Mundane AUs (e.g. coffee shop, high school, no powers, etc.).
✘ Non-con, even off screen.
✘ Age play.
✘ Unrequested ships (if the unrequested ship is canon, I'd prefer to just gloss over it). Things like referencing that a character has parents are generally fine.
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Annabelle Riggs, Brunnhilde | Valkyrie, Ren Kimura
Fandom Specific Notes: Any permutation of Ren/Annabelle/Val in a shippy scenario is great. I'm not opposed to mentions of past girlfriends for any of these characters and wouldn't consider that in violation of my unrequested ship DNW (this includes non-canonical relationships with other Marvel women like, say, Val/Patsy or Annabelle/Misty - totally okay). If you're playing with where the characters are as of Asgardians of the Galaxy, I am also not opposed to background Angela/Sera.
Feel free to sidestep the War of the Realms crossover as much or as little as you wish. 
Annabelle: Plus I'm not sure I'm in any condition for universe-saving. I'm a little drunk, y'know?
Angela: Then you will be in good company.
What I Like About Them:
Valkyrie has long been one of my favourite Marvel characters. Annabelle and Ren were, in my opinion, two of the best things Fearless Defenders brought to the table in its 12 issue run and, after its cancellation, I despaired of ever seeing them play a major role in any title ever again. And then someone decided to let Cullen Bunn write his Asgardians in space book and, predictably, he brought his babies along for the ride. And it was great.
I love Annabelle's everything and I love the way that she and Valkyrie interact and how their contrasting personalities bounce off of each other. I love how Annabelle's gone from stumbling along in the wake of these superheroes to becoming more certain of herself and able to stand beside and even stand up to Val. I love that she's recklessly curious and kind. I love that she's brave and determined but doesn't always see that bravery in herself. I love that she always falls in love just a little too fast and too intensely. I love that she calls everybody on their shit, but for all her intelligence, she leads with her heart more often than her head herself. I love that they gave Annabelle a Loki-modified Nova Corps helmet so that she could blast stuff on her own.
I love Val's ongoing conflict with the concept of duty. I love the way that she is completely willing to run away from potentially world-endangering problems as long as possible but will stop at nothing to rectify the more personal wrongs that she readily blames herself for. I love her swagger and careless confidence and the joy she gets from a good fight. I love her open vulnerability when it comes to matters of control and identity and being enough to protect the people she cares about. I love that she has a hard time accepting help and letting people in, but she also cares so intensely. I love that she's so ready to place her faith in Annabelle and that her last words were "go kick their asses".
I think Ren's a really cool character and I'm so sad that we've seen so little of her because I've adored what we have got. I love that she wears her heart on her sleeve. I love that she's loyal and determined and protective and sweet. I love that she and Annabelle are so good for each other. I love how much these characters have all grown since we last saw them in Fearless Defenders, how comfortable their dynamics have become, how Annabelle has really grown into her own and how good at rolling with the punches Ren is now (especially as someone who had to grow into heroism really quickly).
General Areas of Interest for Fic:
I love Ren and Annabelle's relationship - they're so sweet! One thing that I really wish we'd had the chance to see more of, though, is the dynamic between Valkyrie & Ren (or /Ren, as the case may be) and navigating the whole My New Girlfriend is Actually Two Hot Women in a Trench Coat thing. Val seems to openly like Ren and support her relationship with Annabelle, but I actually think that Val and Ren could have a fun dynamic themselves if they had more opportunity to interact. And if that budding relationship led to Annabelle now getting to date both of her superhero love interests at the same time while they also dated each other, all the better.
Mission fic is always great and I would be equally happy with either just the three of them or the team being included. I would love to see more opportunities for them to work together facing down foes and solving problems. Exploring how the relationships work with the body sharing dynamic would also be interesting to me. I would also be up for a scenario where Annabelle and Valkyrie are separated and seeing how the three of them work things out when they no longer have to share a body. Hurt/comfort is also definitely an area of interest for this trio.
You can pay as much or as little attention to the War of the Realms crossover and its impact on Valkyrie's character as you want. While I think Bunn did a good job of tying it into Annabelle's character arc, I also don't think that Val dying was initially part of the Plan for the series (and we know that the abrupt ending brought about by the cancellation definitely wasn't). Want to use it as a jumping off point and carry on where canon left off? Go for it. Want to sidestep the whole issue? Go for it. Want to canon divergence the hell out of it? Go for it!
Some potential prompts:
✎ More space adventures! Any planet hopping shenanigans were kind of waylaid by the series being dragged into not one but two crossover events and then being abruptly cancelled, but I'd love to see more. Annabelle would go absolutely gaga over learning about cultures and histories from beyond the stars. Maybe at some point they detour to Earth to pick up Ren?
✎ Epic revival quests! So, both FD and AotG have established a kind of pattern where at least one of these three dies per comic run and at least one of the others has to go on a quest to save them that's wrapped up one way or another in a single issue (thank you, Clea, for always coming in in the clutch). I would love to see a similar plot line (you don't have to use one of the canon incidents; there are no shortages of opportunities for temporary character death in Marvel comics) that focuses in more on the quest element - the challenges the rescuer(s) face(s), the foes they fight, the world they traverse, etc.
✎ AU where Annabelle doesn't die in Fearless Defenders but instead continues her growth as a chosen member of the Valkyrior separately from Val. Where does she fit into the team? How does this impact her dynamic with Val after they snap her out of Doom Maiden mode? How does it impact her dynamic with Ren? What's the relationship between the three of them like as of Asgardians of the Galaxy?
✎ Val and Annabelle are somehow separated after sharing a body for a while (you can use War of the Realms as a jumping off point or do something else). How do they feel about this? How does their experience co-existing within a single body impact their dynamic now that they no longer need to rely on each other in the same way? What does Annabelle do when Ren and Val are on missions (if she doesn't have the Nova Corps helmet)?
✎ Further exploration of the identity issues caused by the body sharing, especially Val's feeling that she was losing herself re: issue 12 of Fearless Defenders. How do they cope with this? How do they find a balance that works? How do you date someone who lives inside your body? How does Ren deal with her girlfriend being part of a body-based spiritual timeshare agreement?
✎ Mission fic! Alone together or with the rest of the team to aid them (either team, really - Defenders or Asgardians of the Galaxy). Bonus points if, at some point during their adventure, Annabelle's skills actually end up being more useful than Valkyrie's in solving a problem.
✎ As of Asgardians of the Galaxy, Val also canonically worries about the danger she's putting Annabelle in by going into battle. When did this fear start to surface? Was there something in particular that went wrong at some point? Do they have any close calls before the series? Given Ren's protective tendencies, how does she deal with this?
✎ What if a villain finds a way to mess with their ability to switch between being Val and Annabelle the way that Loki does in Asgardians of the Galaxy? How do they cope? How do they fix the situation? How does Ren, with her protective tendencies, react when Annabelle inevitably won't let herself be left out of the action?
✎ Soulbond fic. How does that work when you're bonded to someone who shares a life force with another person?
✎ Ren gets to come along for the ride when Angela interrupts their date in Asgardians of the Galaxy for space adventures.
✎ I really love the absolutely baller covers Mark Brooks drew for Fearless Defenders (seriously, I wish I had all of them in poster form) and could see some of them being a really fun jumping off point for fic.
✎ Groundhog Day time loop shenanigans. I'm totally willing to break my character death DNW for this, provided the final loop comes out with everyone alive.
Renee Montoya, Vic Sage
Fandom Specific Notes: Since Vic’s cancer is a major plot point during their time together in 52, I’m waiving my Terminal Illness DNW here. I don’t expect anyone to have to overlook or handwave that part of canon. However, I’d prefer the fic not center entirely around that element.
I enjoy most Renee/women ships and would be fine with one popping up as a side/background element. I specifically enjoy Renee/Daria Hernandez, Renee/Kate Kane, Renee/Helena Bertinelli, and recent canon has piqued my interest in Renee/Lois Lane, but I'm very open to other possibilities.
Vic Sage: It's a trick question, Renee...not who are you...but who are you going to become?
What I Like About Them:
I love the dynamic between these two so much (have I mentioned that 52 was great? Because it was great!). I have a lot of affection for both of these characters individually, but together *chef's kiss*. As someone who was a big fan of the character arc Renee started in Gotham Central, I also love how much Vic was exactly what she needed exactly when she needed it and how rewarding it was to see her continue out that arc as Vic’s chosen successor to the Question mantle. I love every phase of their partnership and seeing Renee’s actually totally justified annoyance at this weirdo invading her personal life developing to genuine mutual respect and affection. I love Renee coming to see Vic as her best friend and Vic’s total faith in Renee as a person.
These two each have a complicated, equally fascinating relationship with vigilantism and canon treats the choice to put on the Question mask as a type of honesty - for both of them. The question (heh) of morality and how far is too far and trying to figure out where the line lies was a significant part of both of their characters, even if the perspectives and experiences they used to navigate that problem are unique to each of them and their role as the Question means something different as a result. Vic meeting Renee fresh off the whole Corrigan mess was always a fascinating point for their characters to form a connection around considering Vic's own musings on "justifiable homicide" (his words). Similarly, it added a lot of depth to Vic helping Renee cope with finally having to take the shot in a situation where she really didn't want to.
They both have a lot of anger at the world and neither one is a stranger to brutal necessity. They're both stubborn, naturally curious, and have a tendency to get in over their heads very quickly. They're also both characters who are always in need of more good friends. As competent as she is on her own, I always feel like Renee is at her best when working with a partner and having someone who can balance her out and Vic absolutely brought out the best in her at a time when Renee had convinced herself that there was nothing good left to find - even if it took a lot of time and effort and sleeping with rats to get there.
On a less serious note, both characters' senses of humour really work for me and their banter was a serious highlight in 52 - they're hilarious! They're also each exceptionally talented detectives in their own right and it's a lot of fun to see either of them work through a case, but seeing where their strengths compliment each other as they puzzle through problems together was a real treat.
General Areas of Interest for Fic:
I’m totally down for stories set during their time together in 52, Convergence stuff where Renee meets an alt version of Vic, AUs where Vic survives and they continue working together, AUs where they meet under different circumstances, AUs where Vic gets resurrected somehow after his death in 52, Blackest Night fic where (somehow, through shenanigans) Vic actually does come back like Tot was hoping instead of being a murder zombie (or in addition to being a murder zombie), fic jumping off of their reunion in Lois Lane, alternate Rebirth fic where the Question harasses an angry Gotham cop into working with him, whatever!Case fic's an obvious choice for this match up and I would absolutely be down for them investigating anything as mundane or as bizarre as you'd like. Organized (or disorganized) crime in Hub City? Gotham-level supervillainy? Religion of Crime up to the usual? Caught in a time loop together? People spontaneously rising from the grave and newly rezzed Vic helping Renee figure out why? Monkey's paw style wish granting causing trouble?
Hurt/Comfort is also great for these two and their respective issues. I would also be down for a fix-it fic centered around Vic's resurrection in and of itself.
Some Potential Prompts:
✎ Canon divergence where Vic not only survives 52 - he's somehow miraculously cured (because comics). Given that his entire game plan was to have Renee succeed him as the Question, they both have to deal with what it means that he's still around.
✎ Given Blackest Night, Tot was clearly ready to go to some extremes for the slim chance of reviving Vic. One such extreme actually works. Renee and Vic have to deal with the fallout of Vic being dragged from the claws of death.
✎ Vic's around to help Renee deal with the whole Faceless One prophecy. How are things different when there are two faceless people on Gotham's streets?
✎ Rebirth canon divergence where the Question harasses an angry Gotham cop into working with him.
✎ People start spontaneously rising from the grave. A newly resurrected Vic works to help Renee figure out why.
✎ Renee meets an AU version of Vic during Convergence.
✎ AU where Renee is never driven to leave the force (maybe Crispus even survives this one!) and still meets Vic at some point during 52.
✎ Renee gets a hold of a monkey's paw style artifact and her tendency toward self-destructive ends justify the means behaviour leads to trouble. Vic has to help her sort it out.
✎ Vic and Renee confront the kind of supernatural threats that Gotham had to deal with in Batwoman's urban legends arc.
✎ Groundhog Day time loop shenanigans. I'm totally willing to break my character death DNW for this, provided the final loop comes out with everyone alive.
✎ Renee time travels and/or universe jumps in an attempt to save Vic's life (or vice versa). There may be Consequences. She may not care.
✎ Give me those difficult choices leading to hurt/comfort. Hostage situations, forced to shoot the bad guy to save your partner, near death experiences, being forced to hurt someone to achieve a necessary goal, not staying down after being hit a lot, pushing through injuries in a dangerous situation, trapped together, etc.
Canon Knowledge Note:
I've read a fair smattering of different writers' takes on Vic Sage since his integration into the DC Universe - O'Neil, Veitch, Rucka. I'm partial to O'Neil or Rucka characterization, but I do have a soft spot for Veitch's weird run with the nice art (as much as canon understandably just ignores it). I'm passingly familiar with the way Ditko wrote him originally, but never read much in depth for the Charlton Comics version of the character. I basically skipped over everything surrounding the Question mantle in general and Vic Sage specifically during the New 52 era (sans Convergence for the sake of New Earth!Renee) until Vic was returned to the role with Rebirth. At this point, I still don't have any plans to go back and read either Trinity of Sin!Question (who does not seem to be related to Vic or Renee anyway) or Suicide Squad!Vic (corrupt bureaucrat doesn't really jive with how I personally see Vic at all, but I'm genuinely glad if that version of the character prompted any new fans to get into him). I have been very, very thorough with my Renee Montoya reading from Gotham Central until Flashpoint and have generally caught up on her and Kate's story lines in Rebirth. I am keeping up to date with Lois Lane and am hyped about both characters being given the Question mantle and the reunion actually happening (I missed you, Rucka).
All that being said, I'm generally willing to be flexible when it comes to comics canons because that is the nature of the beast.
Thomas Adye, Edward Hyde | Henry Jekyll
Fandom Specific Notes: I ship these two very hard and would definitely be into fic that interprets their dynamic in that light. 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 (the volume 2 blurb had me hooked with Tom being ~seduced by Dorian's philosophy~, let me tell you). I'm also fine with general characteristic flirtation and lecherous behaviour from Hyde. However, I would prefer Tom/Hyde endgame in a shippy scenario.
I wouldn't consider mentioning Hyde's engagement to Millicent or Tom's relationship with Mary Jane with regard to character background in violation of my unrequested ship DNW, provided those relationships aren't the focus of the fic. If you choose to just gloss over them or they don't come up, I'm fine with that too.
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 exclusively on that aspect if it can be avoided.
Tom: Is this how you did it? How you justified the laws of men and nature you disregarded, with philosophical equivocations?
Hyde: Try to get through a day without two or three juicy equivocations, Tom. It's quite impossible.
What I Like About Them:
Ruthless serial killers developing a soft spot for the naive, stick-in-the-mud detectives they're manipulating! 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.Some Potential Prompts:
✎ Tom meets one Dorian Gray, who "seduces him with his philosophy". Hyde hears through the rumour mill that Mr. Gray might know the secret to eternal life (and anyway, a man has to look out for his mates).
✎ Picking up right where canon left off, Tom pursues the case of the mysterious Invisible Man, still dealing with the aftermath of his time with Hyde and the Jack the Ripper case. Hyde, as it turns out, hasn't gone as far as he'd assumed.
✎ In the wake of a series of grave robberies, Tom hears rumours of a monster sighted on city streets. It turns out that Utterson isn't the only ambitious man with an interest in Hyde's formula.
✎ A mysterious murder leads Tom to meet a wealthy man who's recently acquired property in the area and who only ventures out at night. Tom quickly figures out he's in over his head and reaches out to Hyde for help.
✎ In a canon where there are already themes of duality and transformation...what if werewolves? Tom has earned some grudging respect from his colleagues, but they still think he's mad when he insists there's a definitive human element behind a series of apparent animal attacks. When he finds the culprit, even Hyde's serum might have met its match.
✎ Tom, realizing his dreams and ideals were never what he thought they were, makes a different decision at the end of canon and he and Hyde wind up on the run together.
✎ It's been years, but the time has finally arrived when Tom feels he must hunt Hyde down (though maybe he still doesn't know what he'll do when he finds him).
✎ Tom has some interesting thoughts on Hyde's last string of murders in Whitechapel - rationalizing them in a way that borders on admiration on the basis of who the victims are and that they deserve some kind of comeuppance. In trying to force Tom's hand in Utterson's death, Hyde also refers to having had "high hopes" for him and having "brought [Tom] this far". What would it take to push Tom to murder himself? At what point would he be able to rationalize it as righteous violence and make it mesh with his idea of justice? How would Hyde feel once it finally happened? Would he feel proud, amused, relieved to have a kindred spirit? Would he regret it - seeing the last of Tom's idealism snuffed out and perhaps reminding him a little too keenly of Jekyll's own descent to darker urges and what he had to give up to become Hyde?
✎ Groundhog Day time loop shenanigans. I'm totally willing to break my character death DNW for this, provided the final loop comes out with everyone alive.