Fandom Growth Exchange 2017

[demoerin]

Hi there, and thanks for taking a look at my letter! I'm eager to get something for any of these rare relationships. If you have your own ideas, feel free to go for them, but if you need something to kickstart inspiration, here are some prompts.

Please don't include:
In art:
- One person completely clothed while the other is completely naked.
- Characters looking at the fourth wall.

Overall:
- Anything extremely violent as it is occurring. Aftermath is fine.
- Soulbonds (with things like sharing thoughts or pain, or sensing each other all the time).
- Fisting.
- Rape/noncon.
- Underage sex.
- Steampunk.
- Infidelity. Open relationships are fine, so long as the focus is the requested ship.
- People getting eaten as anything more than a brief mention.
- Non-canon character deaths.
- Spanking.

The most general of prompts, applicable to various relationships:
Art prompts: high-fives, AU character designs, season-themed drawings (winter especially), mermaid AU, dancing, domesticity, kissing (especially lips, back, palm), wearing each other's clothes, touching very lightly - fingertips, a brush of hair, a peck on the cheek
Fic prompts: body swap, demon AU, soulmate AU (platonic or romantic are both good), fanfic amnesia, body horror, werewolf AU, sex pollen, arranged relationships

Marvel Cinematic Universe
If you don't manage to get to romance, friendship or pre-romantic tension is good too.

Drax/Gamora/Peter Quill - They're a great mix of very different points of view but still finding common ground in their pasts: the isolation, being out only for themselves, violence, working out their moral codes in differing and often extremely skewed environments. And in how they're all changing for the better. Also I feel like there is a lot of physicality in each of these characters, and that sure doesn't hurt when it comes to wanting them to get together.

• Danger happens, maybe they get separated, and then later I'm Desperately Glad You're Alive hugs/kisses/sex ensues. Preferably with no established relationship and a glorious clash of surprising & surprised feelings.
• I liked how willing Drax was to be happy in Vol. 2 (he struck me as mildly suicidal in Vol. 1, so I find it a really satisfying contrast) but before watching I hadn't expected him to cut loose that much. So I'd be interested in seeing something post-Vol. 2 where Drax gets more serious and the Guardians get a triumvirate leadership, with him supporting the other two more. Maybe growing closer to Mantis in a semi-fatherly capacity gets him taking on more responsibilities.
• Kid-fic/art. They find a baby/one of them has a baby (or two or all three, idc), and feelings and sweetness ensues.
• Drax gets new tattoos to symbolise the Guardians, and in particular, Peter and Gamora. Maybe they get tattoos too!
• There's a part of Peter that's stuck at around age eight and he grew up in a generally conservative area to boot. Even after all his time out in the galaxy, he flails ridiculously about falling for two people.
• Gamora seems more okay with touching Drax in casual communication than she does with Peter. That might just be a Vol. 1 thing that changed a bit in Vol. 2, but it could be fun to see an exploration of it. Maybe their warrior backgrounds makes it feel right with Drax, it's more divorced from emotional intimacy with him and that's why she prefers it, maybe there are weird pheromones that occasionally make themselves felt. Confusion, occasional jealousy, tangled feelings, and probably threesomes abound.

Nebula/Yondu - this is here because of that exchange between them that went something like "This is going to hurt!" "Promises, promises," and it was way more flirty than I'd ever have expected, by a lot. Those smiles.

• PWP where it hurts! and they're both very happy with that.
• Alternately, I have a headcanon that in rebuilding Nebula, Thanos deliberately made her "sexier" for use in his plans, and consequently she has hang-ups about sex. So I'd be into something where there is lots of terrifying flirting but they're leery about pushing it further and are going, how the hell do you negotiate increased intimacy where you're not sure what anyone involved really wants and hate talking about emotions.
• Yondu swears he's going to take revenge sometime for Nebula shooting out his crest, but also makes it sound like a big joke. Nebula doesn't care and also won't show weakness by avoiding him, and they end up sort of hanging out a lot. The tension might be murderous or sexy, none can say.
• They're in the Guardians team (or at least loosely affiliated with them), and do a heroic mission together, somewhat to their chagrin.

Mantis/Natasha - Mostly I want this because I think it could be the weirdest kind of cute. They have in common that they were made into near-instruments to serve others' interests, but Natasha's gone some distance from that and Mantis has a whole new kind of life ahead of her, and now I want to see them build something from being really set on finding fun stuff to do together.

• Natasha using Mantis's powers as a weapon. Not without shame, but with a pragmatic lack of hesitance nonetheless. And then doing her best to make up for it.
• Mantis being used against Natasha by a third party - could be AU Ego, maybe, but I don't mind how it happens. Maybe she's used to make Natasha actively angry in order to make some assassination that much more terrifying? (This is obviously a lot less fluffy than I envisioned up there, but I like horrifying scenarios too, for spice.)
• Natasha teaches Mantis the art of disguise for getting by on Earth. Preferably as part of showing her a whole lot of the things Natasha most enjoys, too.

Gamora/Ayesha - It's weird to go 'They'd have no patience with each other :D' as my reason for wanting to see them together, but there it is. I'd love to see them frustrated with each other, being challenging, unable to leave each other alone in spite of having plenty of reasons to let it go... and then it turns into sexual/romantic tension.

• Gamora finds it remarkably fun to indulge her bratty teenage side in response to Ayesha so often doing the same thing (even though Ayesha insists she's not, but really, it's a thing with most of the Sovereign).
• Meeting when Gamora still served under Thanos, under much more tense and serious circumstances.
• Cracky established relationship fic where Ayesha does things similar to that red carpet bit from the Contraxia scene. She'll deign to cuddle, but the thread count on the bedsheet better be 10 000.

Mantis/Steve - A man out of time, and a woman out of place and species and practically any shred of society! They could find themselves with more in common than expected, and I think they'd be good at gamely accepting each other's odd qualities. I'd also love to see Mantis having such different perspectives to the norm sometimes that it manages to knock Steve for a loop (in a good way), and also for Steve to be sweet and decent to Mantis, always a plus.

• Wacky space adventures together (via Tesseract accident, maybe). He could help her get her away from Ego earlier, or maybe it's all about fun awkwardness as they both rely on the other one to act as the guide through alien social mores.
• Steve makes a game of avoiding Mantis touching him. She's put out because she's not actually trying to touch him, she just wouldn't mind making friends, but his 'game' is way more paranoid regarding his emotional state than he realises.
• Mantis teaches Steve to dance when she learns how neglected his education has been. He might mention that the kind of dancing Peter does is not what he had in mind, he might roll with it.

Nebula/Kraglin - That awkward conversation about necklaces and hats and the brutal future murder of a near god was so cute. I'm interested in how Kraglin doesn't seem to resent her despite how instrumental she was in the mutiny succeeding, and I like the idea of Nebula getting a whole lotta love with a decent person that also isn't too nice for her to deal with. I'm sure Kraglin also appreciates a good dose of not-too-nice.

• Crossdressing. Kraglin also gets some pretty new stuff! Or instead of Nebula, either way.
• Nebula, needing time to recoup before going after Thanos, joins the Ravagers. There was a hot minute where I thought she was going to assume captaincy, so that would work too. She finds out there are upsides to having a pack, and Kraglin helps make room for her.
• Kraglin helping with maintenance or emergency surgery on some of Nebula's implants.

Gamora/Aleta - Aleta's seven seconds of being grungy and badass made a deep impression on me and I really want to see more of her. I'd love to see her interact with Gamora who presents another kind of power in the galactic theatre - at first Gamora was even more lawless than a Ravager, now she's leaning towards being further up on the "good" side. (PS: Background Aleta/Stakar marriage is fine.)

• Anything with Ravager worldbuilding. What rules regulate a Ravager captain's dating life? Maybe Aleta tries to negotiate/woo/conscript Gamora into her crew. Did Ronan/Thanos - and thus Gamora - ever have to try and work around the Ravagers before the Orb situation came up?
• Trying to steal the same thing, and trying to figure out how to get the other one off the trail.
• Aleta shares the unfortunately common Ravager tendency to regard personal hygiene as optional when you have other things to do. At least she likes it when Gamora invites her to bathe together.
• Fighting together on the same side, anything from a melee battle to a spacecraft dogfight, space monstrosities to other people.
• Aleta & crew intruding on the events of the first movie, making yet another faction for Gamora to work around/with. That Orb was a big score, after all.
• Stranded together in an isolated place, having to learn to trust and rely on each other.

Chronicles of Narnia

Susan & Rabadash
Edmund & Rabadash
I always wonder how Rabadash fooled most people into thinking he was decent. He was revealed to be a violent, heinous brat, so how did Susan get to the point of marriage and how was there so little for anyone else to pinpoint as wrong? He must have been careful and charming. Maybe his genuinely good side came out - what are those good traits?

• A meeting once Rabadash has gained the title of the Ridiculous/the Peacemaker. What's changed, what might just have the appearance of change? On Rabadash's side in particular, but changes in Edmund and Susan would also be interesting to contemplate over the years.
• Wooing and courtship and politicking, everyone at their fanciest and best, with hints of Rabadash's issues and things going wrong juuuust out of solid perception.
• Rabadash stumbles out of Narnia-verse and into our universe at some point when the Pevensies are more or less the age he knew them at, or at least still recognisable to him, and they meet again. (Fudge with timelines as much as you like.)
• Susan and Rabadash do get married, and Susan needs to figure out a way to get out of the situation or change it for the better. But please, no Susan being his slave as is a mentioned possibility.
• Art-specific: fighting, or demonstrations of prowess in arms.

Aravis/Lasaraleen - They're such opposites and don't see eye to eye ... but also can't help but feel affection for and a tie to each other at the same time. I'd love something where they're still basically opposites but see more of each other's points of view and respect each other, preferably set when they're a little older than in canon and have gained more perspective. Or something where they grow closer in a pre-canon scenario, where they're probably at their most clashing what with Aravis being allowed to be more tomboyish, would also be great.

• Gradually shifting closer and closer together at some gathering where they realise that they have the best chance of getting along with each other, out of everyone there.
• Lasaraleen pampering and indulging Aravis as much as she likes to be indulged herself.
• AU where they can court. They eye-rollingly go along with it under family pressure, and then get deeply indignant when it's suggested that maybe it would be best to look for a different match - no, they want this one.
• Meeting in later years, travelling back and forth between countries.
• Riding a magic carpet.
• Encountering a frightening, aggressive being - I'm fond of how terrifying that werewolf in Prince Caspian was, but anything will do - and having to hold their own against it (and it would be nice if a different, frightening-but-good being helping out at some point, but preferably not Aslan).

Dogsbody
Sirius & Tibbles - Dignified cat in need of proper affection becomes good friends with celestial being cum awkward puppy, and my heart is won. I would love anything with more of them interacting once they've got over the rivalry.

• Art-specific - I have simple needs and would love an illustration of this moment: "Come over here and I'll lick you," Sirius suggested, greatly daring. He expected Tibbles to treat the suggestion with contempt, but, instead, she got up and, casually, as if she did not care particularly, she settled down between his front paws. Most astonished and flattered, Sirius gingerly licked her back.
• Tibbles being more involved in Sirius's quest to get the Zoi back, or chatting with Earth and Moon along with him, or maybe even talking to the Master of the Hounds. Anything where she gets to engage with more of the supernatural side of things and gives a different perspective to Sirius's.
• Sirius's Companion star accidentally gets Tibbles occupying it instead of Kathleen. Shenanigans ensue.

Doom
This movie hit some magical sweet spot of implied worldbuilding, asskicking and explosions, and interesting character sketches/interactions, and it all made me want more. Explore practically any of those aspects in relation to my listed relationships and I'll be happy.

I like varying/contrasting/many explanations for Olduvai and Mars at large being in the state that they are. In the movie the monsters are all down to C-24, but throw in demons, or a dimensional rift, more aliens - anything. I'd also really like Sam and John to live and be reasonably okay, as at the end of the movie, regardless of who else lives or dies.

And feel free to mix and match prompts between the different relationships.

Art prompt for any of these ships: moments of peace, in whatever way. Sitting close together, having coffee, leaning into each other, etc.

John & Sam - There's tension and resentment between them, they haven't communicated in years, they even look totally different ... but there are still ways in which they refuse to let go of each other, and they know each other deeply. I love their process of starting to find each other again and saving each other.

• AU or childhood portrayal of "sensitive, empathetic" John, as Sam described him as being before joining the Marines. Possibly going into what happened to kill their parents and scare him off to Earth?
• So there was a thriving Martian civilisation, and the planet supported life and all. Did Sam/the Grimm parents ever uncover anything that indicated what happened to make it such a very dead planet?
• Sam and John escape the slaughter, but to a planet other than Earth, and now they have to deal with aliens who also have strange reactions to this whole C-24 thing/object to what they learn Earth is doing with Mars/are also screaming beastly monstrosities/etc. Or maybe to a parallel universe Earth, making for a crossover - in which case I'd quite like something light-hearted, just so they can catch a break for once. (The traditional Star Trek AOS crossover is also welcome.)
• AU with Sam the Marine and John the scientist.

Duke/Sam - I have this thing where if a guy flirts inappropriately and the woman's response is basically "lol", I tend to start shipping them. Duke seemed like a nice enough person that they could interact more genuinely, too - they even seemed to be starting to get there. I'd love to see them get more time together.

• Resurrection mystery. Suddenly, Duke's alive again! But how? Sam (and probably John) get involved in trying to figure it out.
• Trading stories. Duke talking about him and Destroyer growing up together (especially if there is the opportunity for another cage match with Destroyer, because the one in the movie was impressive), Sam telling Duke more about John or growing up on Mars, talking about their jobs and various outlandish incidents that happened in them...
• AU where they are captured by mumblety mumblety evil scientists and being used as lab rats, and are each other's major support through the ordeal.
• Post-movie fic. Apparently we're all Martians since they used the portal to escape to Earth, so what are their opinions on that? And hiding John's enhancements, explaining why everyone else involved with the rescue mission is dead, etc.

Sarge/John - Sarge was concerned about John returning to Mars, and a level-headed leader, and then that went spectacularly south. I want anything about how they formed part of such a solid team and then ended up so firmly on opposite sides, portrayed as fundamentally opposed.

• Sarge and Reaper's history. Did John ever pick up hints of what Sarge could be? What shaped Sarge into the man who follows his orders above and beyond all else? How did John harden without ultimately breaking?
• Training together over the years, what changes and what stays the same.
• Sarge lives (and is not a ravening monster, probably?) and is tasked with hunting down Sam and John (and any other survivors, if you feel so inclined) and getting them to the United Aerospace Corporation.

Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

Chrome & I-Pin - based on the manga, I friend-ship these two with wild abandon because I-Pin made the decision to speak her first words of Japanese to Chrome, after like a year of only speaking Chinese to all her new friends/family who couldn't even understand it. The world's most dangerously shy six-year-old saw someone as shy as her who very much needed company, and made herself outright ridiculous to find a way to reach out to her. I died it was so cute.

• Cultivating their friendship in all their glorious awkwardness. (There's a cute new post-series comic from Amano where they're playing together on the beach, with Chrome helping I-Pin to swim!)
• TYL badasses working together.
• 20YL I-Pin occasionally haunted by a beloved and very friendly ghost/lingering illusion that (almost) has some of its own life.
• Fantasy AU. Chrome as a witch and I-Pin as a wandering warrior, maybe? I-Pin as a lost godling and Chrome helping her home, as the only person weird enough not to realise how weird I-Pin is?
• Learning languages together.
• Anything with fairy tale elements. Especially some unsettling, bloody ones, because Chrome.
• Rescue mission.
• Any depiction of them reaching out to each other across an open space.