SSR Confidential: Dear Author
Mar. 20th, 2018 03:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakDear writer, thank you so much for participating in this challenge and creating a story for me. I included some prompts in my requests. Know that if none of these speaks to you, you can still make me happy simply by a "Peggy and Jarvis fight crime" case fic. My prompts tend to go in a gen direction, but I'm not averse to shipping, either slash or het or multi, provided you don't put down another another relationship in your story. What I am averse to is character bashing: by which I don't mean character A having a bad opinion of character B, if this is the case in canon or can be extrapolated from it, plus several of my prompts involves villains in central roles, and these people are canonically responsible for horrendous acts. However, there is a difference between that and "ugh, X is the WORST, says every other character ever" type of storytelling, and I trust you, writer, are able to see it.
Re: all the characters not named in my prompts - I'm an ensemble fan and fond of everyone, though of course I have my favourites. Still, just because they're not listed doesn't mean I don't enjoy reading about them, so if you want to work your own favourite into one of the prompts in a prominent role, go ahead, as long as my listed characters have one, too.
Agent Carter/ The Americans crossover:
On the off chance that you, dear writer, share another of my fandoms, my Agent Carter/The Americans crossover idea is this: Elizabeth and Philip start out their time as young KGB agents in the US in the early 1960s. At which point Dottie isn't young anymore, but should still be formidable. Maybe she's returned to the fold/been accepted back/knows Gabriel who's secretly kept in contact, and mentors Philip and Elizabeth during at least one early operation. Elizabeth in the show's 1980s time frame is prone to roll her eyes at how easy her daughter's generation has it when compared to the Soviet Union, but hard as Nadeshda's and Mischa's upbringing was, methinks Dottie with her Black Widow program can beat that, not to mention that Dottie - like Gabriel, who during the The Americans did bring it up as something that haunts him - lived through the era of the Stalinist purges at their most brutal. She'd probably consider young Elizabeth/Nadeshda incredibly naive.
Maybe, on the contrary, Dottie's still rogue (or even works for Peggy now), and young Philip & Elizabeth been tasked to either capture or eliminate her. In which case, once they've worked out that she's a Black Widow and one of the best, they have to wonder whether this is supposed to be a suicide mission or a big vote of confidence. They also have to wonder whether whatever caused Dottie to leave (and who knows what the story on the Soviet side of things is by then) might happen to one of them, too, especially since at this early point they don't know each other that well yet and have only begun to forge a professional partnership, to say nothing of any romantic feelings.
Whichever scenario you prefer would be a fantastic treat for me.
Second idea: Anything about the Jarvises and Howard Stark starting their lives together. Howard, as opposed to Tony, didn't grow up with money, and living with servants wouldn't have come naturally, rather the opposite, given Howard recreated his entire persona for the public. By the time Peggy meets Jarvis, Howard seems to trust him enormously (more than Peggy even, since Jarvis actually knows about Steve's blood), and Ana is utterly comfortable living in the house of a famous lothario. We only know Howard helped Edwin because they'd already met and liked each other, but how did "I like this British general's sidekick way more than the general" translate for Howard into not just coming through with the "save Ana" scenario (which he could have helped with without giving Jarvis a job) basically making Edwin Jarvis his Pepper Potts? As for Edwin, there's a difference between "amusingly excentric American met during war time who probably gives big tips" and "employer who removes my financial worries but also regularly exposes me to embarassment and is overbearing as hell". How did Edwin feel about Howard once they were literally living with each other? (Depending on when he died, Edwin Jarvis is probably the person who had the longest close relationship with Howard Stark ever.)
Ana at first probably was glad to be safe and have the chance to live without financial worries in the US, but what did she make of Howard once she got to know him better, and what did she think of the two of them managing the Stark household as a life time task? If you want to follow the story into the show era and beyond: How tempted is Edwin to work for Peggy full time (which Howard says he'd understand) instead, and Ana? Why don't they?
I share the fanon/extrapolation from canon (specifically Howard's monologue in "The Blitzkrieg Button") about Howard being Jewish. You don't have to use it, but if you do: does this impact on his relationship with Ana, or hers with him?
If you want to include Maria and Tony into the story, by all means, but please avoid the "Howard was the worst father ever" cliché. Also, I really don't buy into Tony as an explanation why the Jarvises stuck around chez Stark; Tony in the MCU was born in 1970, and Edwin Jarvis met Howard during early WWII at the latest.
Fenhoff/Ivchenko aka Faustus as presented in the show fascinates me. I'd love a story exploring his development from Doctor intent on helping people (flashback with the soldier) to ruthless organizer of massacres. Finnau obviously played a key role, but was he with Leviathan before or after that? How much or little does he identify with them aside from his revenge goal? What is his relationship with Dottie and the other Widows like (who joined as children, long before he did, and he was her prisoner at one point, and yet he seems to be her superior in their operation)? When he meets Zola in the cell: right wing clichés not withstanding, Nazis and Stalinist Communists aren't interchangeable, especially directly after a war that killed more Soviet citizens than members of any other nations. So how does their eventual alliance come about?
I think I might have read about half a page or so of the comicverse character, if that, so any comicverse canon would be lost on me. It's the show character that interests me, and whom I'd like to see featured in a prominent role. Lastly: yes, it's entirely possible Ivchenko/Fenhoff's techniques were used in the Winter Soldier programming. If you want to use that, fine - BUT I'd rather the story not be about Bucky, with Ivchenko getting half a line.
Ana Jarvis gets shot by Whitney Frost as a means of slowing Peggy down, nearly dies, and loses her ability to have children (whether or not she wanted some) as a result. We've seen Edwin Jarvis react to this, but Ana, on the show, hardly had a chance to, so I'd like some exploration in fanfiction. Was she looking forward to seeing Whitney in court and felt robbed of justice because Whitney's descent into clinical madness prevented this? Does she believe Whitney is mad, or does she see this as a ploy? Or is Ana a "the best revenge is living well and leaving your assailant behind even in your thoughts" type? Was she familiar with Whitney as an actress before, did she have opinions on her? Ana is an expert dressmaker in a city full of not just stars but starlets and wannabes, so copying some of Whitney's dresses, for example, from a fashion magazine may have been something she did either for someone else or herself. (That Whitney is also a genius inventor is something which in the showverse is a secret until season 2, so Ana can't have known, alas.)
As for Whitney, Ana probably didn't even register on her awareness beyond "I can use this", but if you want to write a scenario where Whitney regains at least some of her sanity and escapes, I'd love for the two of them to run into each other again, with Whitney starting to notice Ana as a person. (This does not have to equal repentance; Whitney was ruthless long before coming into contact with Zero Matter.) Ana as a woman but unlike either Peggy or Dottie not a physical fighter falls outside of Whitney's usual parameter of enemies, and given Ana's background as a Jewish woman who escaped certain death in Europe, she can't be dismissed as someone naive and unfamiliar with the dark side of life, either.
These are just some thoughts. Once again, I'm thrilled that you're taking the trouble of writing a story for me, and am looking forward to reading it!
Re: all the characters not named in my prompts - I'm an ensemble fan and fond of everyone, though of course I have my favourites. Still, just because they're not listed doesn't mean I don't enjoy reading about them, so if you want to work your own favourite into one of the prompts in a prominent role, go ahead, as long as my listed characters have one, too.
Agent Carter/ The Americans crossover:
On the off chance that you, dear writer, share another of my fandoms, my Agent Carter/The Americans crossover idea is this: Elizabeth and Philip start out their time as young KGB agents in the US in the early 1960s. At which point Dottie isn't young anymore, but should still be formidable. Maybe she's returned to the fold/been accepted back/knows Gabriel who's secretly kept in contact, and mentors Philip and Elizabeth during at least one early operation. Elizabeth in the show's 1980s time frame is prone to roll her eyes at how easy her daughter's generation has it when compared to the Soviet Union, but hard as Nadeshda's and Mischa's upbringing was, methinks Dottie with her Black Widow program can beat that, not to mention that Dottie - like Gabriel, who during the The Americans did bring it up as something that haunts him - lived through the era of the Stalinist purges at their most brutal. She'd probably consider young Elizabeth/Nadeshda incredibly naive.
Maybe, on the contrary, Dottie's still rogue (or even works for Peggy now), and young Philip & Elizabeth been tasked to either capture or eliminate her. In which case, once they've worked out that she's a Black Widow and one of the best, they have to wonder whether this is supposed to be a suicide mission or a big vote of confidence. They also have to wonder whether whatever caused Dottie to leave (and who knows what the story on the Soviet side of things is by then) might happen to one of them, too, especially since at this early point they don't know each other that well yet and have only begun to forge a professional partnership, to say nothing of any romantic feelings.
Whichever scenario you prefer would be a fantastic treat for me.
Second idea: Anything about the Jarvises and Howard Stark starting their lives together. Howard, as opposed to Tony, didn't grow up with money, and living with servants wouldn't have come naturally, rather the opposite, given Howard recreated his entire persona for the public. By the time Peggy meets Jarvis, Howard seems to trust him enormously (more than Peggy even, since Jarvis actually knows about Steve's blood), and Ana is utterly comfortable living in the house of a famous lothario. We only know Howard helped Edwin because they'd already met and liked each other, but how did "I like this British general's sidekick way more than the general" translate for Howard into not just coming through with the "save Ana" scenario (which he could have helped with without giving Jarvis a job) basically making Edwin Jarvis his Pepper Potts? As for Edwin, there's a difference between "amusingly excentric American met during war time who probably gives big tips" and "employer who removes my financial worries but also regularly exposes me to embarassment and is overbearing as hell". How did Edwin feel about Howard once they were literally living with each other? (Depending on when he died, Edwin Jarvis is probably the person who had the longest close relationship with Howard Stark ever.)
Ana at first probably was glad to be safe and have the chance to live without financial worries in the US, but what did she make of Howard once she got to know him better, and what did she think of the two of them managing the Stark household as a life time task? If you want to follow the story into the show era and beyond: How tempted is Edwin to work for Peggy full time (which Howard says he'd understand) instead, and Ana? Why don't they?
I share the fanon/extrapolation from canon (specifically Howard's monologue in "The Blitzkrieg Button") about Howard being Jewish. You don't have to use it, but if you do: does this impact on his relationship with Ana, or hers with him?
If you want to include Maria and Tony into the story, by all means, but please avoid the "Howard was the worst father ever" cliché. Also, I really don't buy into Tony as an explanation why the Jarvises stuck around chez Stark; Tony in the MCU was born in 1970, and Edwin Jarvis met Howard during early WWII at the latest.
Fenhoff/Ivchenko aka Faustus as presented in the show fascinates me. I'd love a story exploring his development from Doctor intent on helping people (flashback with the soldier) to ruthless organizer of massacres. Finnau obviously played a key role, but was he with Leviathan before or after that? How much or little does he identify with them aside from his revenge goal? What is his relationship with Dottie and the other Widows like (who joined as children, long before he did, and he was her prisoner at one point, and yet he seems to be her superior in their operation)? When he meets Zola in the cell: right wing clichés not withstanding, Nazis and Stalinist Communists aren't interchangeable, especially directly after a war that killed more Soviet citizens than members of any other nations. So how does their eventual alliance come about?
I think I might have read about half a page or so of the comicverse character, if that, so any comicverse canon would be lost on me. It's the show character that interests me, and whom I'd like to see featured in a prominent role. Lastly: yes, it's entirely possible Ivchenko/Fenhoff's techniques were used in the Winter Soldier programming. If you want to use that, fine - BUT I'd rather the story not be about Bucky, with Ivchenko getting half a line.
Ana Jarvis gets shot by Whitney Frost as a means of slowing Peggy down, nearly dies, and loses her ability to have children (whether or not she wanted some) as a result. We've seen Edwin Jarvis react to this, but Ana, on the show, hardly had a chance to, so I'd like some exploration in fanfiction. Was she looking forward to seeing Whitney in court and felt robbed of justice because Whitney's descent into clinical madness prevented this? Does she believe Whitney is mad, or does she see this as a ploy? Or is Ana a "the best revenge is living well and leaving your assailant behind even in your thoughts" type? Was she familiar with Whitney as an actress before, did she have opinions on her? Ana is an expert dressmaker in a city full of not just stars but starlets and wannabes, so copying some of Whitney's dresses, for example, from a fashion magazine may have been something she did either for someone else or herself. (That Whitney is also a genius inventor is something which in the showverse is a secret until season 2, so Ana can't have known, alas.)
As for Whitney, Ana probably didn't even register on her awareness beyond "I can use this", but if you want to write a scenario where Whitney regains at least some of her sanity and escapes, I'd love for the two of them to run into each other again, with Whitney starting to notice Ana as a person. (This does not have to equal repentance; Whitney was ruthless long before coming into contact with Zero Matter.) Ana as a woman but unlike either Peggy or Dottie not a physical fighter falls outside of Whitney's usual parameter of enemies, and given Ana's background as a Jewish woman who escaped certain death in Europe, she can't be dismissed as someone naive and unfamiliar with the dark side of life, either.
These are just some thoughts. Once again, I'm thrilled that you're taking the trouble of writing a story for me, and am looking forward to reading it!
no subject
Date: 2018-03-20 05:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-03-22 03:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-03-28 03:00 pm (UTC)....aww, I like the Whitney & Ana idea too. Really all of them, but that seems very poignant. (Damn I have to write up my letter....)
no subject
Date: 2018-03-28 05:02 pm (UTC)(My other current crossover idea for Agent Carter is so unlikely to be taken up that I'll end up writing it myself, and has to do with both history and a book series I read last year.9