MCU Exchange 2019
May. 4th, 2019 11:42 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aurillyThank you for offering one of these! I like to leave a lot of info for those who want it, but please don’t feel boxed in by the prompts. You can twist them around, or apply one to a different character, or even ignore them entirely to write your own idea with a general like or two thrown in. As long as you’re having fun, I’m sure I’ll love it!
Here are anchor links to the different sections:
Loki/Steve, Bucky/Thor, Bucky/Loki, Bucky/Edmund (Narnia), Loki/Bertie Wooster (Wodehouse), Bucky/Frank (David Blaize), Bucky Is a Sorcerer
General Notes
• General: I'm just as--often more!--interested in watching characters deal with what comes after a prompted premise than I am in the premise itself. For example, I don't particularly care how people get to the same place and meet. Feel free to skip past that and start in media res, after people have already become friends or colleagues. What I'm most interested in is what happens next--the dynamics they forge, the adventures they have, the things they learn, how they fall in love, etc. Basically, stories that end shortly after the introductions make me sad.
• Steve and Bucky: I have a pet peeve about Bucky and Steve saying "ain't" and sounding like a 1930s gangster movie. Can they please speak as properly as they do in the films? Cursing is fine, though. Please let Bucky be a fully functional badass with at least a glimmer of a sense of humour. I like stories about him trying to move on and build a new life, not ones where he's brainwashed or pathetic for most of it, or that are entirely whump. As long as no one is bashed, you can acknowledge Steve/Peggy’s canon feelings or pretend they were only just friends (same goes for any canon couple).
• Thor and Loki: I adore all versions of Thor--chiseled, or out of shape, whatever! I like Loki as Chaotic Neutral, not actually evil or crazy. I also liked that Hiddleston seemed to be playing 2012!Loki closer to the exasperating yet endearing mischief-maker of TDW and Ragnarok than the sweaty-crazy mess of Avengers. I’m not into fics where Loki spends most of the time in Jotun form or shapeshifted into someone else.
• Lifespan Issues: Endgame debunked the idea that the serum makes you immortal, or gives you an Asgardian-like lifespan. However, in order to facilitate happy endings with Loki and Thor, I'm fine pretending that it was true. Or you could have Loki or Thor do magic to make Steve and/or Bucky immortal. Or something. I don't care about the logistics. However, if writing a Bucky/human ship, you can have him age. Basically, do whatever you need to avoid an ending like TFA's.
• Background Characters: It's really important to me that Bucky and Loki make new friends of his own—especially Bucky, whom I want to see befriend people other than Steve's best friends. Natasha is one of my faves when watching canon, but I'm kind of burned out on fics that use her—and Sam—in the main friend roles. Instead of them, can Steve and/or Bucky spend time with Thor, Loki, Jane, Pepper, Peter Parker, Aunt May, Valkyrie, Heimdall, Frigga, Shuri, M'Baku, Okoye, the Ancient One, Rocket, Nebula, Gamora, Mantis, Drax, or Talos? You can show the friendship developing in the background of the ship, or set it after they've already grown close.
Things I Always Love
• Devoted Friends & Family: odd couples; enjoying one another's company; laughing at one another; fond exasperation; loyalty; quietly self-sacrificial gestures
• Adventures & Journeys: vacations gone awry; fish out of water; exploring new territory; daring rescues or escapes; espionage and missions; finding home where you least expect
• Competence & Resourcefulness: complementary skill sets; badassery; laughing in the face of danger or absurdity; the pen is mightier than the sword; but swords are more fun
• Friends to Lovers: I like many variations, including, a) friends with benefits or sex before feelings that becomes more; b) fics that start after the first kiss/declaration and focus on how they navigate the relationship transition in the days or weeks that follow, c) adventures that cause people to realize they have more than platonic feelings and decide to make a move.
• Sexy Times: I have general porn likes HERE; for all ships, not just the ones listed there. There's a more egregiously detailed version HERE (but honestly, the other one is enough).
• Forced Proximity Tropes: undercover as a couple; undercover as enemies; captured or stranded together; forced to have sex (by the bad guys, for cultural or initiation rites, to cast a spell, as part of undercover roles, etc) but they eventually realize they’re into each other; marriage of convenience that leads to feelings (but only for a reason with stakes, like espionage or greencards; DNW fake dating because your friends or family nag you about being single)
• Crossovers: applying skills/knowledge from one world to another world's problems; contrasting or reconciling differences in how a concept manifests across canons (ex. immortality, magic, realm hopping, time shenanigans); magic in one canon originates from another; characters coming up with logical but incorrect theories before discovering the truth; assuming characters have a past together (ex. cousins, met once as children, etc) and starting the story when they reunite in the present
Do Not Wants
**This looks long because of the notes/exceptions, not because there are really SO many DNWs... I hope!
— fusions, complete alternate setting AUs (i.e. without superheroes or alien royalty), unrequested crossovers, goofy crack
— tragically unresolved lifespan incompatibilities or TFA-style age mismatch endings
— fics where none of the main characters ever find out about the others' backgrounds or magic (the reveal doesn't have to happen 'on-screen', but please don't let the story end with everyone still thinking everyone else is normal!)
— vampires, werewolves, A/B/O
— Things That Upset Me: bleak endings; the afterlife; hatesex or noncon within my requested ships; "it was all a dream" or mindwipe endings; endings that erase the events of the fic (exception for time loops); rape via shapeshifting
— Re: Ships: non-canon romantic pairings other than the ones requested; poly or threesomes; conflicting requested pairings (ex. no Loki/Bucky + Loki/Steve in the same fic; however, Loki/Bucky + Loki&Steve is fine)
— Re: Background Characters: characters from the TV shows, as I'm not familiar with them; Darcy
— Sex & Relationship-Related: D/s dynamics; soulmates; yentas and matchmakers; shovel talks; pregnancy; adultery; characters written as ace, aro, or demi; gender identity headcanons; non-canonical pet names or terms of endearment, such as "Stevie" or "Lo"
— Writing Things: 1st & 2nd person POV (exception for Bertie 1st person); phonetically spelled dialogue (my brain genuinely struggles to process it)
— Crossover-related: crossovers of more than two canons at a time (unless specifically requested); fourth wall breakage; letting real life release dates dictate character ages (please move timelines so requested characters are around the same age)
— replacing love interests with a parallel universe version (ex. 2023!Steve/2012!Loki is fine because Steve never actually got to know Loki in the original timeline, and 2012!Loki&2023!Thor is fine because it's gen; however, I don't want, for example, Bucky to bond with original!Loki and then date 2012!Loki after OG!Loki dies, or for 2023!Steve to have pined romantically for 2023!Bucky and then date 2012!Bucky)
Loki/Steve
I love this ship, but I've never been into the "selfless Steve hurt-comforts woobie Loki to emotional health and goodness" approach. I actually want almost the opposite: for the exasperating yet weirdly charming God of Mischief to coax out Steve’s wily, troublemaking-making, competitive side and wafer-dry sense of humour. I want them to bond while challenging and frustrating one another. I want them to realize that their increased understanding of one another has begun to outweigh their original antipathy. Or I want them to be so distracted or invigorated by whatever project they’re working on together or against each other has led to some self-help or comfort. You can even start in media res, after they've already reached some sort of detente. Basically, I want them to have FUN, interspersed with bits of vulnerability or angst or tough love. No crying. Any version (2012, 2023, 2014) with any other version will be great, even if I don't have specific prompts.
I almost never care who tops or bottoms, but for this ship, if you choose to write a sex scene, I’ll love you even more for Loki topping the hell out of Steve (who may or may not be a virgin) in an enthusiastically sweaty, snarky, satisfying bout of superpowered banging. They can also switch! Or Steve can top, because, again, it's not a big deal.
2012/Loki/2023!Steve
When Steve goes back to 2012 to return the scepter does he try (but obviously fail!) to "fix" the fuck-up of Loki getting away? Or does Loki find him first? Does Loki send Steve on a merry chase and they get to know one another in a way they never did in canon? Does Steve still have multiple objects, or just the Tesseract, and how does that help him or gain Loki's interest?
I’m up for any kind of adventure: on Earth or in space; stealing things back and forth from each other; one leading the other on a scavenger hunt; captured and needing to work together to escape; some external force making them team up as wary allies. Do they stay in the AU created by Loki escaping, or do they return to the 2023 timeline? Does Steve somehow lose his Pym particles, and decide, now that he's stuck, to give no fucks? What does a Steve who gives no fucks look like?
How does Loki find out that this is future!Steve, and what is his reaction (he MUST find out!)? Has 2023!Thor told Steve about Loki and his redemption, making Steve more open to engaging with 2012!Loki? (Or not, and Steve learns about Loki on his own?) Does having someone who treats him like he has potential for more help this Loki get there? When/why does Steve realize he no longer wants to go back to the 50s (if he ever did; you could also pretend he never intended to)? Is Frigga or Heimdall helping Steve? Can Steve and Loki team up to save Frigga or Bucky or prevent Thanos, or whatever, in this new timeline? How do they get to banging?
2012/Loki/2012!Steve
2023!Steve left behind such a mess, with people thinking he's Hydra, and Loki getting away. I'd love to see more of what 2012!Steve does in this new divergence. And Loki seemed like someone with a reluctant crush who doesn't know how to deal other than to tease really hard. How do they end up getting to know each other and falling for each other? Do they go rescue Bucky together? Or destroy the Tesseract so that Infinity War will never happen? Partnered on a space mission for Carol, who comes to Earth back earlier than in canon? Or get stranded together during the Convergence? Or really just keep running into one another in weird places until they become friends and lovers? Does Loki end up captured by Odin, after all, like in canon, but Steve visits him in Asgard until Loki gets out? Anything!
2023!Loki/2023!Steve
What if the ship had arrived on Earth as planned (no Ragnarok post-credits or Infinity War canon), and the Wakandans take the Asgardians in? Maybe Steve meets Loki again while visiting Bucky there. Or maybe they meet again in New Asgard in Norway. Or maybe Infinity War DID happen, but Loki didn't die. Do Steve and Loki go on space missions during the five years? Did Thor and Bucky get snapped, leaving Steve and Loki to bond about their grief? Or did one or both of Bucky and Thor survive and the four of them have space adventures, and Steve/Loki get together during one? Or just use some ridiculous trope like 'sex pollen leads to love' or 'aliens made them do it leads to love'!
Bucky/Thor
So much potential! I just adore them both and think they would get along great, a cool and deadly odd couple who could grow fiercely loyal about one another. I don't have a ton of prompts for them (this letter is long and I'm tired) but I love them just as much as the other ships! Let your imagination go wild. A bunch of my Bucky/Loki prompts below could actually be tweaked to work for these two (some of them already have Thor in them, so just take out the Loki parts or make Loki the friend in the background of the romance instead of Thor).
Bucky/Loki
As long as some version of Loki gets together with some version of Bucky, I'll be pleased (i.e. 2012, 2014, 2023, a mix and match, canon divergent…). I think they would be amazing together, an entertainingly snarky, angsty and badass odd couple. They might be able to get each other, and/or tough love each other to a better place. I'd love to see them get to know and fall for each other while doing stuff together, and finding unexpected complements in one another's personalities, backstories and skillsets.
In addition to post-Ragnarok "Loki didn't die" stuff, I love canon divergences that pretend disparate points in their timelines lined up. Ex. post-TWS+pre-Thor1, or mid-Ragnarok+Bucky escaped Hydra earlier and in some totally different way, or... You get the idea. As long as they retain the backgrounds and character beats established in the first few minutes of their first films, you can ignore any/all parts of later canon. I don't actually care about the logistics of the divergence; feel free to start long after the divergence and/or after they become friends, handwaving the changes to canon.
— Canon divergence where Bucky and Loki survived IW (and possibly other people died/survived? as long as it's implied they'll come back, do whatever). I'd love something that picks up mid-way or at the end of the five years, for a friends to lovers story. Have they been doing space missions for the Avengers or Carol? Rebuilding New Asgard in Norway or Wakanda (if Thor is dead)? Stranded somewhere together? Imprisoned together by governments using the capture of old war criminals to make a dumb point?
— Tropes! All the tropes: sex pollen; undercover as a couple; marriage of convenience; time loops; true love's kiss; something made them do it; friends with benefits becomes more; identity porn; captured together
— The story starts some time after the Asgardians arrived safely on Earth and settled in Wakanda, getting to know Bucky in the process. Hydra leftovers or governments or something come for fugitive Bucky. Loki is like, “Oh, HALE no.” Basically, I love Deadly Disney Princess Bucky, but would love a fic where Loki is the one going on the rampage of revenge or rescue instead of Steve. Are they already together, or still in a pining stage? Bonus points if there's some ancillary benefit that Loki can tell himself is the real reason he's doing this, so that he doesn't have to immediately admit that he's driven by feelings.
— Or reverse of the above, where bad people are after Loki, and Bucky protects him?
— Divergence where the Asgardians made it safely to Earth and Loki meets Bucky, who studied at Kamar-Taj before the fic started (see “Bucky is a sorcerer” request above). Or maybe it's a divergence where Loki was on Earth before Ragnarok, or it's the 2012 timeline, IDK. How do Bucky and Loki's types of magic differ or complement? Do they need to team up? Need to engage in ritual sex magic for reasons? Or, honestly, just magic-enhanced banging.
— When 2012!Loki escaped with the Tesseract, he actually only went a few blocks away, where he ran into the Winter Solder, whom SHIELD/Hydra had activated to help during the Chitauri crisis. Loki's like, "He seems useful," and teleports them both somewhere farther away. But feel free to background all that and start later, because what I actually care about is the bonding that happens later later, when Bucky's been out of cryo long enough for memories and personality to start coming back, and/or Loki has healed him. What adventures do they go on (or do they just settle quietly?), and how do they get together?
— Post-Endgame, does Steve getting his happy ending inspire Bucky to seek out what he wants to do with this second (or third?) chance at making a life--only in Bucky's case, it's moving forward, not back. Does he accompany Thor into space for a change of pace (especially since Thor is in a similar self-defining place)? Could be with the Guardians, or Carol drops them off somewhere to deal with a problem while she takes care of business elsewhere... I don't care. All I care about is what happens after they find Loki! Who turns out to have somehow survived the first five minutes of IW (I couldn't care less how)! Thor is so happy. Bucky is so aroused.
— Similar to above, but without Thor
— What if Bucky had been the one to stumble upon and get inhabited by the Aether, instead of Jane? Since he's superpowered, could he handle it better and/or control it, instead of being damseled? What happens next? If this is a canon divergence of the main timeline, does Thor take Bucky to Asgard, like he did with Jane? How do Bucky/Loki meet and get together in this scenario? Does Frigga love him? Can Bucky save her? Or, is this something that happens in the 2012 timeline? What happens next/differently? Even in the main timeline, feel free to go as divergent as you want (like, maybe the elves never come, IDK). Go wild!
— A Bucky/Loki story that also includes background friendships for either of them with Thor, Heimdall, Valkyrie, Jane, Hope, Luis, Scott, Peter Parker, Aunt May, Pepper, Okoye and/or Shuri would be a cherry on top, if it fits. Maybe they get protective along with Loki or Bucky about the other?
— Kind of similar to my 2023!Steve/2012!Loki prompts... 2023!Bucky went on the object-returning mission with Steve, and they get stuck in the 2012 timeline. Only here, it's Bucky who ends up getting together with Loki, not Steve.
— I've been using the exact same Bucky/Loki prompts over and over for YEARS. I decided I needed a refresh, so wrote a brand new set for this exchange. However, I still want all of my old prompts just as much! You can find them here, if none of the above inspire.
Bucky/Edmund Pevensie (Narnia Crossover)
I very desperately want them to love each other as much as I love them, and to have adventures, and be competent, and make out. What aspects of their angsty backgrounds can they pep talk each other through? How can their experiences and skill sets help each other or help solve an issue in either canon? I'd love to see them teaching each other fighting or survival or other skills. I would give a lot for Bucky with a sword. How do they figure out one another's backstories, and what do they think of the other's (they MUST find out!)? I really want the focus on Edmund/Bucky, but you can include other Narnia characters, as you like! (I love Lucy lots, so, as long as she isn't yenta-ing or shovel-talking or something, giving her a little more focus--befriending Bucky in the background or coming on a non-canonical adventure with them--could be fun.)
I don't want any overage/underage, but Edmund being a kid and Bucky being a grown-up soldier during WWII is too situationally intrinsic to both canons for my usual "just fudge it" mentality. However, time between realms seems so untethered and random that I could totally buy something like post-TWS Bucky traveling to the Golden Age, like, because connections between realms are not linear. Or maybe post-Endgame, Bucky travels with Steve back to the 50s when he and Edmund would be around the same age, and the story starts there. Or a combination. Basically, do whatever you need to make it work, and I'll roll with it.
Narnia DNW: death of the Friends of Narnia, end of Narnia, Aslan's country/afterlife, The Problem of Susan (just pretend she and her siblings never had a rift)
— Bucky goes back in time with Steve at the end of Endgame, where he and Edmund (who does not die!) meet and fall for one another while working on a project together. They both have secrets (i.e. Edmund was king of a country in a cupboard, and Bucky is from the future/has another brainwashed assassin version running around). How do they find out about each other, and how do they react (they MUST find out!)?
— Assume that Bruce or Tony or Thor accidentally made a realm-transporter while trying to figure out time travel. Instead of dying on the train or needing the rings, Bucky uses the device to take Edmund back to Narnia during The Last Battle. What happens next?
— The story starts after Edmund has returned from going on adventures with the rings (instead of dying!!). However, because of handwavey magic, he realizes the rings have dropped him off in the future, any time after TWS… Whoops! How do he and Bucky meet? Are they both out of time and traumatized together? Hurt/comfort? Is Hydra after both of them, but they are back to back badasses, saving each other? Do they escape by using the rings again? Something else? Anything!
— Has Golden Age Edmund blown the horn, summoning Bucky for help with a problem? Or Bucky finds himself there in some other way, I don't care. Fighting giants, espionage, outwitting Calormene spies, implementing educational policies, dealing with the Rabadash situation? Something else?
— Helping Golden Age Edmund remember his previous life? Is this the only time they meet, or do they reconnect later on (both grown-ups again for the happy ending reunion, please)?
— Hydra sends Bucky to the Professor's childhood home to get the rings on the same day that Edmund goes, resulting in them going on adventures to other realms instead of Edmund dying. Exploring the Wood, or deserted Charn, or Westeros, or Asgard, or back to Narnia to help Tirian, or a world you make up? I'd prefer a focus on Edmund (plus Lucy, if you want), not the whole set of Friends.
Loki/Bertie Wooster (Wodehouse Crossover)
As long as they come to genuinely like/care about one another (even if it’s begrudgingly on Loki’s side), I’ll love anything. I want them to unambiguously get together. It could be a fling that amicably ends or forever love (if the latter, please mention a way to solve the lifespan issues). What is their dynamic like? What are Loki's reactions to Wodehouse characters? Like, is he having trouble deciding if they're stupid, or are they so unpredictably zany that he takes them for dangerous savants? What are Bertie's reactions/thoughts on Loki's drama and the existence of gods and magic and whatnot (he must find out!!)? Is the Wodehouse world unexpectedly what Loki needs to be happier and learn some life lessons?
While the Bertie&Jeeves dialogue is (of course) amazing, my favorite parts of these stories are actually the scenes focused on my beloved Bertie with his pals, or trying on his own to deal with aunts, girls he doesn't want, authority figures, etc (but this time not on his own! this time with Loki!). I really want the focus on Bertie/Loki, and secondarily, Bertie+Asgard characters or Bertie/Loki's interactions with non-Jeeves Wodehouse characters. I love everyone in these books, so include whoever you want; Psmith, Mike, and Uncle Fred are also welcome.
DNW any hint of Bertie or Jeeves ever having more than platonic feelings for one another. And I don't want Jeeves breaking Loki/Bertie up. If you want to write 1st person Bertie POV, great! However, I’ll be just as happy with 3rd person Loki POV; I've always wanted to read someone else's take on Bertie and his world. Or maybe something more like the Blandings or Psmith narration style.
— How can Loki help Bertie in the crisis of the week? Are the aunts or Sir Roderick or the Basset almost too formidable of opponents, even for Loki? Or does his god of chaos-ness help him understand them? How does he finally prevail and how does it help them get together?
— Loki as Bertie's guest at the Drones Club or at someone's country estate. Does he help Bertie finally get back at Tuppy for dunking him in the pool? Does Loki want to steal Anatole away to Asgard? Do Bertie's friends or family love his new (secretly boy)friend, or have misgivings about him for entirely the wrong reasons, or...?
— Loki and Bertie scheming at Goodwood or the boat races or some other ridiculous Wodehouse-style plot you make up. Or maybe Loki is here because of some MCU!space-style plot; how does Bertie at least try to help? How do their different schemer/problem solver brains work together? Are their combined plans better than their individual efforts, or doubly disastrous? How does it lead to feelings?
— Bertie and Loki at Blandings! Imposters! Fucking in the yew alley! Do Clarence, Constance or the Empress take an ill-advised shine to Loki? But Baxter suspects! Are they there to steal a magical thingy that is Loki's ticket home? Something else?
— Or start it after they've gotten together, when it's time for Loki to return home, and he wants to take Bertie with him. Did Bertie know before what/who Loki is? Or not, and this is how he finds out? What are his reactions to Asgard and the characters there? What are their reactions to him? Did he learn about Norse mythology at school, or is this all new to him?
— Random ideas for getting Loki into the Wodehouse world, in case you’re stuck: Loki falls off the Bifrost and into ~1930s London (just pretend Thor 1 happened back then), onto Bertie's roof or the garden at Brinkley Court or something. Or maybe he (and Thor?) visited Earth back then for fun or a project and got stranded here for awhile? Do Bertie or Aunt Dahlia take him in? Anything! (But seriously, I don't care how/why he is there; feel free to start later, even after he's met Bertie.)
Bucky/Frank Maddox (David Blaize crossover)
I would like a WWII getting together story--no MCU canon other than the first Cap movie needed (unless you want)! Please pretend the books were set later so that they are around the same age. They’d make such a great odd couple. The Brooklyn boy/posh Brit, classical education/street smarts, etc. How do they overcome Frank’s (possibly also Bucky’s?) internalized homophobia and find something good? Is Bucky actually more open-minded or experienced with men than Frank? Or has he always denied himself, and Frank initiates him? The chapter where Frank devises the plan to catch the cheaters was such fun; if it fits, something that also showcases his cleverness and snark and take-chargeness in action would be lovely, especially in how it complements Bucky's cleverness. Or run with the thing where he cured David with the power of love to a place where Frank is literally magical?
Frank/Happiness is my OTP. He's such a fascinating and endearing blend of judgmental, whimsical, bossy, charismatic, and melancholic. While his anguished self-loathing is super compelling, I ultimately want him to get over it (and himself, a little)—with actual kissing, or more! Please let him completely get over his tragic crush on David and be entirely into Bucky, without bashing David. Please set it when Frank is anywhere between 18-30 (ie. canon divergence, or shortly post-canon), so he doesn't have to wait long to be happier. Feel free to pretend Bucky didn’t fall off the train so they can have a happily ever after. Or Bucky goes back in time with Steve to settle in the 50s with his own WWII love interest. Or you can make it bittersweet, with Bucky still falling, but even though he grieves, their time together has left Frank in a healthier place to live and love again without such self-loathing (and WE know Bucky will eventually be okay, per canon).
Is Frank initially jealous of Bucky’s friendship with Steve, because he’s projecting his own experiences with David onto Steve&Bucky? Does Bucky scoff because he and Steve aren't like that at all, or is Frank actually correct in thinking Bucky has been unrequitedly pining (this is the one sort-of exception to my 'no Steve/Bucky in Bucky ship requests' DNW)? If Bucky had been crushing on Steve, I need him to get over it completely as he and Frank fall for one another, without bashing Steve. Or you could not bring up Steve/Bucky as a question or issue at all!
— Met Fighting In WWII (general soldiering edition): Maybe the 107th is camped alongside Frank’s unit before their capture? Sharing a foxhole together? Exploring or hiding in a bombed out village together? Left behind and forced to trek to safety together? Saving one another? Does the desperation of war get them over their issues enough to act on their feelings?
— Met Fighting in WWII (Howling Commandoes edition): Frank as part of the gang? Getting together while using their combined smarts on a mission, either with the whole group, or a side project just for them? I’m thinking stakeouts, disguises, need for quick thinking, getting information at a party, stranded in a snowy cabin, down time at a bomed out pub… anything!
— Met In Captivity (Azzano edition): Do they huddle together between torture/experimentation sessions, clinging to each other and their identities? Hurt/comfort and desperate “we’ll probably die tomorrow” hookups? Nazis humiliating them or forcing them to do it or confess feelings or watch each other be hurt? Or maybe they only get together after Steve’s rescued them, when they begin to realize the experiments left permanent changes on them (i.e. superpowers). The more whump the better.
— Canon-Setting Spies: Sent on an espionage + sniper mission together? Or maybe Frank isn’t a soldier, but rather some sort of archaeologist/explorer civilian who is asked to use his knowledge to help the war effort. Maybe Hitler’s after some Ancient Greek occult blah blah and they need to stop him? Does the SSR partner them together?
I want a story where Bucky studies or has studied magic with the Ancient One. I loved the idea of magic school as a place of safety and healing for broken adults. I loved the Ancient One, Wong, Mordo (before he went bad), the dynamics between them, and their day-to-day lives in this cool setting before it all went to shit (or, maybe in this divergence, it doesn't go to shit?). I loved the Astral and Mirror Dimensions, the teleportation, the artifacts, and all the other world-building. I'd love to see how Bucky might interact with these concepts. Which artifact chooses him? What projects does Bucky's background make him solely equipped to take on? Stuff like that.
I don't need Strange to enter into it (though he can, if you want). Does the story take place before Strange got to Kamar-Taj? Or does the story start after Bucky has finished his training and show what he does with his life next (in a way where it might not intersect with Strange's)?
— Was Bucky training at the same time as Pangborn and/or Kaecilius, possibly changing DS canon before it starts?
— A fix for the post-credits scene! Nobody puts Benjamin Bratt in the corner! How does Bucky use his magic to help Pangborn get his legs back?
— Maybe Bucky goes for training post-TWS (or in an AU where he escaped Hydra before TWS) to help his triggers? Or did he befriend paralyzed Pangborn while hiding out in New York, and they've traveled to Kamar-Taj together? Or did Bucky find out about it on his own? How? Is Bucky immediately into it, or skeptical?
— The story starts after Bucky has "graduated". Like Pangborn, does he decide to simply live his life? If they're friends, are they roommates now? Or does he take a post at a sanctum? Or something else? What happens next? How does Bucky having magic affect later canon (or not)? Does the Ancient One have new jobs for him after talking to Bruce in Endgame?
— Training: Does his metal arm and other superness help or hinder his training? What hurdles (mental, physical, attitudinal) does he face during his training, and how does he overcome them? Or do his problems actually make him a more effective sorcerer? How does the Ancient One use magic to help Bucky help himself (with his amnesia, or his brainwashing, etc.)? Does Bucky find out about the Ancient One being in touch with Dormammu, but reacts more pragmatically than Mordo did?
— Anything that includes a scene of Bucky using a sling ring to make the portal thing... and then using it like brass knuckles to punch someone in the face.
— I'm okay with this all somehow leading to a Steve/Bucky or Bucky/Loki ending, if you want (but no pressure; I really do want the gen I nominated, too). For example, what if, because of his angst, Bucky at first only lets himself visit Steve in astral form? Or he spends an unhealthy amount of time in the Mirror Dimension because he thinks it's safer? If he meets Loki once his training is done, how do their different styles complement on another? Do they team up to defeat Mordo (with Loki possibly only getting on board because he secretly wants to find out how Mordo is stealing people's seidr, until he genuinely falls for Bucky)? Or other angles you want to explore!
Here are anchor links to the different sections:
Loki/Steve, Bucky/Thor, Bucky/Loki, Bucky/Edmund (Narnia), Loki/Bertie Wooster (Wodehouse), Bucky/Frank (David Blaize), Bucky Is a Sorcerer
General Notes
• General: I'm just as--often more!--interested in watching characters deal with what comes after a prompted premise than I am in the premise itself. For example, I don't particularly care how people get to the same place and meet. Feel free to skip past that and start in media res, after people have already become friends or colleagues. What I'm most interested in is what happens next--the dynamics they forge, the adventures they have, the things they learn, how they fall in love, etc. Basically, stories that end shortly after the introductions make me sad.
• Steve and Bucky: I have a pet peeve about Bucky and Steve saying "ain't" and sounding like a 1930s gangster movie. Can they please speak as properly as they do in the films? Cursing is fine, though. Please let Bucky be a fully functional badass with at least a glimmer of a sense of humour. I like stories about him trying to move on and build a new life, not ones where he's brainwashed or pathetic for most of it, or that are entirely whump. As long as no one is bashed, you can acknowledge Steve/Peggy’s canon feelings or pretend they were only just friends (same goes for any canon couple).
• Thor and Loki: I adore all versions of Thor--chiseled, or out of shape, whatever! I like Loki as Chaotic Neutral, not actually evil or crazy. I also liked that Hiddleston seemed to be playing 2012!Loki closer to the exasperating yet endearing mischief-maker of TDW and Ragnarok than the sweaty-crazy mess of Avengers. I’m not into fics where Loki spends most of the time in Jotun form or shapeshifted into someone else.
• Lifespan Issues: Endgame debunked the idea that the serum makes you immortal, or gives you an Asgardian-like lifespan. However, in order to facilitate happy endings with Loki and Thor, I'm fine pretending that it was true. Or you could have Loki or Thor do magic to make Steve and/or Bucky immortal. Or something. I don't care about the logistics. However, if writing a Bucky/human ship, you can have him age. Basically, do whatever you need to avoid an ending like TFA's.
• Background Characters: It's really important to me that Bucky and Loki make new friends of his own—especially Bucky, whom I want to see befriend people other than Steve's best friends. Natasha is one of my faves when watching canon, but I'm kind of burned out on fics that use her—and Sam—in the main friend roles. Instead of them, can Steve and/or Bucky spend time with Thor, Loki, Jane, Pepper, Peter Parker, Aunt May, Valkyrie, Heimdall, Frigga, Shuri, M'Baku, Okoye, the Ancient One, Rocket, Nebula, Gamora, Mantis, Drax, or Talos? You can show the friendship developing in the background of the ship, or set it after they've already grown close.
Things I Always Love
• Devoted Friends & Family: odd couples; enjoying one another's company; laughing at one another; fond exasperation; loyalty; quietly self-sacrificial gestures
• Adventures & Journeys: vacations gone awry; fish out of water; exploring new territory; daring rescues or escapes; espionage and missions; finding home where you least expect
• Competence & Resourcefulness: complementary skill sets; badassery; laughing in the face of danger or absurdity; the pen is mightier than the sword; but swords are more fun
• Friends to Lovers: I like many variations, including, a) friends with benefits or sex before feelings that becomes more; b) fics that start after the first kiss/declaration and focus on how they navigate the relationship transition in the days or weeks that follow, c) adventures that cause people to realize they have more than platonic feelings and decide to make a move.
• Sexy Times: I have general porn likes HERE; for all ships, not just the ones listed there. There's a more egregiously detailed version HERE (but honestly, the other one is enough).
• Forced Proximity Tropes: undercover as a couple; undercover as enemies; captured or stranded together; forced to have sex (by the bad guys, for cultural or initiation rites, to cast a spell, as part of undercover roles, etc) but they eventually realize they’re into each other; marriage of convenience that leads to feelings (but only for a reason with stakes, like espionage or greencards; DNW fake dating because your friends or family nag you about being single)
• Crossovers: applying skills/knowledge from one world to another world's problems; contrasting or reconciling differences in how a concept manifests across canons (ex. immortality, magic, realm hopping, time shenanigans); magic in one canon originates from another; characters coming up with logical but incorrect theories before discovering the truth; assuming characters have a past together (ex. cousins, met once as children, etc) and starting the story when they reunite in the present
Do Not Wants
**This looks long because of the notes/exceptions, not because there are really SO many DNWs... I hope!
— fusions, complete alternate setting AUs (i.e. without superheroes or alien royalty), unrequested crossovers, goofy crack
— tragically unresolved lifespan incompatibilities or TFA-style age mismatch endings
— fics where none of the main characters ever find out about the others' backgrounds or magic (the reveal doesn't have to happen 'on-screen', but please don't let the story end with everyone still thinking everyone else is normal!)
— vampires, werewolves, A/B/O
— Things That Upset Me: bleak endings; the afterlife; hatesex or noncon within my requested ships; "it was all a dream" or mindwipe endings; endings that erase the events of the fic (exception for time loops); rape via shapeshifting
— Re: Ships: non-canon romantic pairings other than the ones requested; poly or threesomes; conflicting requested pairings (ex. no Loki/Bucky + Loki/Steve in the same fic; however, Loki/Bucky + Loki&Steve is fine)
— Re: Background Characters: characters from the TV shows, as I'm not familiar with them; Darcy
— Sex & Relationship-Related: D/s dynamics; soulmates; yentas and matchmakers; shovel talks; pregnancy; adultery; characters written as ace, aro, or demi; gender identity headcanons; non-canonical pet names or terms of endearment, such as "Stevie" or "Lo"
— Writing Things: 1st & 2nd person POV (exception for Bertie 1st person); phonetically spelled dialogue (my brain genuinely struggles to process it)
— Crossover-related: crossovers of more than two canons at a time (unless specifically requested); fourth wall breakage; letting real life release dates dictate character ages (please move timelines so requested characters are around the same age)
— replacing love interests with a parallel universe version (ex. 2023!Steve/2012!Loki is fine because Steve never actually got to know Loki in the original timeline, and 2012!Loki&2023!Thor is fine because it's gen; however, I don't want, for example, Bucky to bond with original!Loki and then date 2012!Loki after OG!Loki dies, or for 2023!Steve to have pined romantically for 2023!Bucky and then date 2012!Bucky)
Loki/Steve
I love this ship, but I've never been into the "selfless Steve hurt-comforts woobie Loki to emotional health and goodness" approach. I actually want almost the opposite: for the exasperating yet weirdly charming God of Mischief to coax out Steve’s wily, troublemaking-making, competitive side and wafer-dry sense of humour. I want them to bond while challenging and frustrating one another. I want them to realize that their increased understanding of one another has begun to outweigh their original antipathy. Or I want them to be so distracted or invigorated by whatever project they’re working on together or against each other has led to some self-help or comfort. You can even start in media res, after they've already reached some sort of detente. Basically, I want them to have FUN, interspersed with bits of vulnerability or angst or tough love. No crying. Any version (2012, 2023, 2014) with any other version will be great, even if I don't have specific prompts.
I almost never care who tops or bottoms, but for this ship, if you choose to write a sex scene, I’ll love you even more for Loki topping the hell out of Steve (who may or may not be a virgin) in an enthusiastically sweaty, snarky, satisfying bout of superpowered banging. They can also switch! Or Steve can top, because, again, it's not a big deal.
2012/Loki/2023!Steve
When Steve goes back to 2012 to return the scepter does he try (but obviously fail!) to "fix" the fuck-up of Loki getting away? Or does Loki find him first? Does Loki send Steve on a merry chase and they get to know one another in a way they never did in canon? Does Steve still have multiple objects, or just the Tesseract, and how does that help him or gain Loki's interest?
I’m up for any kind of adventure: on Earth or in space; stealing things back and forth from each other; one leading the other on a scavenger hunt; captured and needing to work together to escape; some external force making them team up as wary allies. Do they stay in the AU created by Loki escaping, or do they return to the 2023 timeline? Does Steve somehow lose his Pym particles, and decide, now that he's stuck, to give no fucks? What does a Steve who gives no fucks look like?
How does Loki find out that this is future!Steve, and what is his reaction (he MUST find out!)? Has 2023!Thor told Steve about Loki and his redemption, making Steve more open to engaging with 2012!Loki? (Or not, and Steve learns about Loki on his own?) Does having someone who treats him like he has potential for more help this Loki get there? When/why does Steve realize he no longer wants to go back to the 50s (if he ever did; you could also pretend he never intended to)? Is Frigga or Heimdall helping Steve? Can Steve and Loki team up to save Frigga or Bucky or prevent Thanos, or whatever, in this new timeline? How do they get to banging?
2012/Loki/2012!Steve
2023!Steve left behind such a mess, with people thinking he's Hydra, and Loki getting away. I'd love to see more of what 2012!Steve does in this new divergence. And Loki seemed like someone with a reluctant crush who doesn't know how to deal other than to tease really hard. How do they end up getting to know each other and falling for each other? Do they go rescue Bucky together? Or destroy the Tesseract so that Infinity War will never happen? Partnered on a space mission for Carol, who comes to Earth back earlier than in canon? Or get stranded together during the Convergence? Or really just keep running into one another in weird places until they become friends and lovers? Does Loki end up captured by Odin, after all, like in canon, but Steve visits him in Asgard until Loki gets out? Anything!
2023!Loki/2023!Steve
What if the ship had arrived on Earth as planned (no Ragnarok post-credits or Infinity War canon), and the Wakandans take the Asgardians in? Maybe Steve meets Loki again while visiting Bucky there. Or maybe they meet again in New Asgard in Norway. Or maybe Infinity War DID happen, but Loki didn't die. Do Steve and Loki go on space missions during the five years? Did Thor and Bucky get snapped, leaving Steve and Loki to bond about their grief? Or did one or both of Bucky and Thor survive and the four of them have space adventures, and Steve/Loki get together during one? Or just use some ridiculous trope like 'sex pollen leads to love' or 'aliens made them do it leads to love'!
Bucky/Thor
So much potential! I just adore them both and think they would get along great, a cool and deadly odd couple who could grow fiercely loyal about one another. I don't have a ton of prompts for them (this letter is long and I'm tired) but I love them just as much as the other ships! Let your imagination go wild. A bunch of my Bucky/Loki prompts below could actually be tweaked to work for these two (some of them already have Thor in them, so just take out the Loki parts or make Loki the friend in the background of the romance instead of Thor).
Bucky/Loki
As long as some version of Loki gets together with some version of Bucky, I'll be pleased (i.e. 2012, 2014, 2023, a mix and match, canon divergent…). I think they would be amazing together, an entertainingly snarky, angsty and badass odd couple. They might be able to get each other, and/or tough love each other to a better place. I'd love to see them get to know and fall for each other while doing stuff together, and finding unexpected complements in one another's personalities, backstories and skillsets.
In addition to post-Ragnarok "Loki didn't die" stuff, I love canon divergences that pretend disparate points in their timelines lined up. Ex. post-TWS+pre-Thor1, or mid-Ragnarok+Bucky escaped Hydra earlier and in some totally different way, or... You get the idea. As long as they retain the backgrounds and character beats established in the first few minutes of their first films, you can ignore any/all parts of later canon. I don't actually care about the logistics of the divergence; feel free to start long after the divergence and/or after they become friends, handwaving the changes to canon.
— Canon divergence where Bucky and Loki survived IW (and possibly other people died/survived? as long as it's implied they'll come back, do whatever). I'd love something that picks up mid-way or at the end of the five years, for a friends to lovers story. Have they been doing space missions for the Avengers or Carol? Rebuilding New Asgard in Norway or Wakanda (if Thor is dead)? Stranded somewhere together? Imprisoned together by governments using the capture of old war criminals to make a dumb point?
— Tropes! All the tropes: sex pollen; undercover as a couple; marriage of convenience; time loops; true love's kiss; something made them do it; friends with benefits becomes more; identity porn; captured together
— The story starts some time after the Asgardians arrived safely on Earth and settled in Wakanda, getting to know Bucky in the process. Hydra leftovers or governments or something come for fugitive Bucky. Loki is like, “Oh, HALE no.” Basically, I love Deadly Disney Princess Bucky, but would love a fic where Loki is the one going on the rampage of revenge or rescue instead of Steve. Are they already together, or still in a pining stage? Bonus points if there's some ancillary benefit that Loki can tell himself is the real reason he's doing this, so that he doesn't have to immediately admit that he's driven by feelings.
— Or reverse of the above, where bad people are after Loki, and Bucky protects him?
— Divergence where the Asgardians made it safely to Earth and Loki meets Bucky, who studied at Kamar-Taj before the fic started (see “Bucky is a sorcerer” request above). Or maybe it's a divergence where Loki was on Earth before Ragnarok, or it's the 2012 timeline, IDK. How do Bucky and Loki's types of magic differ or complement? Do they need to team up? Need to engage in ritual sex magic for reasons? Or, honestly, just magic-enhanced banging.
— When 2012!Loki escaped with the Tesseract, he actually only went a few blocks away, where he ran into the Winter Solder, whom SHIELD/Hydra had activated to help during the Chitauri crisis. Loki's like, "He seems useful," and teleports them both somewhere farther away. But feel free to background all that and start later, because what I actually care about is the bonding that happens later later, when Bucky's been out of cryo long enough for memories and personality to start coming back, and/or Loki has healed him. What adventures do they go on (or do they just settle quietly?), and how do they get together?
— Post-Endgame, does Steve getting his happy ending inspire Bucky to seek out what he wants to do with this second (or third?) chance at making a life--only in Bucky's case, it's moving forward, not back. Does he accompany Thor into space for a change of pace (especially since Thor is in a similar self-defining place)? Could be with the Guardians, or Carol drops them off somewhere to deal with a problem while she takes care of business elsewhere... I don't care. All I care about is what happens after they find Loki! Who turns out to have somehow survived the first five minutes of IW (I couldn't care less how)! Thor is so happy. Bucky is so aroused.
— Similar to above, but without Thor
— What if Bucky had been the one to stumble upon and get inhabited by the Aether, instead of Jane? Since he's superpowered, could he handle it better and/or control it, instead of being damseled? What happens next? If this is a canon divergence of the main timeline, does Thor take Bucky to Asgard, like he did with Jane? How do Bucky/Loki meet and get together in this scenario? Does Frigga love him? Can Bucky save her? Or, is this something that happens in the 2012 timeline? What happens next/differently? Even in the main timeline, feel free to go as divergent as you want (like, maybe the elves never come, IDK). Go wild!
— A Bucky/Loki story that also includes background friendships for either of them with Thor, Heimdall, Valkyrie, Jane, Hope, Luis, Scott, Peter Parker, Aunt May, Pepper, Okoye and/or Shuri would be a cherry on top, if it fits. Maybe they get protective along with Loki or Bucky about the other?
— Kind of similar to my 2023!Steve/2012!Loki prompts... 2023!Bucky went on the object-returning mission with Steve, and they get stuck in the 2012 timeline. Only here, it's Bucky who ends up getting together with Loki, not Steve.
— I've been using the exact same Bucky/Loki prompts over and over for YEARS. I decided I needed a refresh, so wrote a brand new set for this exchange. However, I still want all of my old prompts just as much! You can find them here, if none of the above inspire.
Bucky/Edmund Pevensie (Narnia Crossover)
I very desperately want them to love each other as much as I love them, and to have adventures, and be competent, and make out. What aspects of their angsty backgrounds can they pep talk each other through? How can their experiences and skill sets help each other or help solve an issue in either canon? I'd love to see them teaching each other fighting or survival or other skills. I would give a lot for Bucky with a sword. How do they figure out one another's backstories, and what do they think of the other's (they MUST find out!)? I really want the focus on Edmund/Bucky, but you can include other Narnia characters, as you like! (I love Lucy lots, so, as long as she isn't yenta-ing or shovel-talking or something, giving her a little more focus--befriending Bucky in the background or coming on a non-canonical adventure with them--could be fun.)
I don't want any overage/underage, but Edmund being a kid and Bucky being a grown-up soldier during WWII is too situationally intrinsic to both canons for my usual "just fudge it" mentality. However, time between realms seems so untethered and random that I could totally buy something like post-TWS Bucky traveling to the Golden Age, like, because connections between realms are not linear. Or maybe post-Endgame, Bucky travels with Steve back to the 50s when he and Edmund would be around the same age, and the story starts there. Or a combination. Basically, do whatever you need to make it work, and I'll roll with it.
Narnia DNW: death of the Friends of Narnia, end of Narnia, Aslan's country/afterlife, The Problem of Susan (just pretend she and her siblings never had a rift)
— Bucky goes back in time with Steve at the end of Endgame, where he and Edmund (who does not die!) meet and fall for one another while working on a project together. They both have secrets (i.e. Edmund was king of a country in a cupboard, and Bucky is from the future/has another brainwashed assassin version running around). How do they find out about each other, and how do they react (they MUST find out!)?
— Assume that Bruce or Tony or Thor accidentally made a realm-transporter while trying to figure out time travel. Instead of dying on the train or needing the rings, Bucky uses the device to take Edmund back to Narnia during The Last Battle. What happens next?
— The story starts after Edmund has returned from going on adventures with the rings (instead of dying!!). However, because of handwavey magic, he realizes the rings have dropped him off in the future, any time after TWS… Whoops! How do he and Bucky meet? Are they both out of time and traumatized together? Hurt/comfort? Is Hydra after both of them, but they are back to back badasses, saving each other? Do they escape by using the rings again? Something else? Anything!
— Has Golden Age Edmund blown the horn, summoning Bucky for help with a problem? Or Bucky finds himself there in some other way, I don't care. Fighting giants, espionage, outwitting Calormene spies, implementing educational policies, dealing with the Rabadash situation? Something else?
— Helping Golden Age Edmund remember his previous life? Is this the only time they meet, or do they reconnect later on (both grown-ups again for the happy ending reunion, please)?
— Hydra sends Bucky to the Professor's childhood home to get the rings on the same day that Edmund goes, resulting in them going on adventures to other realms instead of Edmund dying. Exploring the Wood, or deserted Charn, or Westeros, or Asgard, or back to Narnia to help Tirian, or a world you make up? I'd prefer a focus on Edmund (plus Lucy, if you want), not the whole set of Friends.
Loki/Bertie Wooster (Wodehouse Crossover)
As long as they come to genuinely like/care about one another (even if it’s begrudgingly on Loki’s side), I’ll love anything. I want them to unambiguously get together. It could be a fling that amicably ends or forever love (if the latter, please mention a way to solve the lifespan issues). What is their dynamic like? What are Loki's reactions to Wodehouse characters? Like, is he having trouble deciding if they're stupid, or are they so unpredictably zany that he takes them for dangerous savants? What are Bertie's reactions/thoughts on Loki's drama and the existence of gods and magic and whatnot (he must find out!!)? Is the Wodehouse world unexpectedly what Loki needs to be happier and learn some life lessons?
While the Bertie&Jeeves dialogue is (of course) amazing, my favorite parts of these stories are actually the scenes focused on my beloved Bertie with his pals, or trying on his own to deal with aunts, girls he doesn't want, authority figures, etc (but this time not on his own! this time with Loki!). I really want the focus on Bertie/Loki, and secondarily, Bertie+Asgard characters or Bertie/Loki's interactions with non-Jeeves Wodehouse characters. I love everyone in these books, so include whoever you want; Psmith, Mike, and Uncle Fred are also welcome.
DNW any hint of Bertie or Jeeves ever having more than platonic feelings for one another. And I don't want Jeeves breaking Loki/Bertie up. If you want to write 1st person Bertie POV, great! However, I’ll be just as happy with 3rd person Loki POV; I've always wanted to read someone else's take on Bertie and his world. Or maybe something more like the Blandings or Psmith narration style.
— How can Loki help Bertie in the crisis of the week? Are the aunts or Sir Roderick or the Basset almost too formidable of opponents, even for Loki? Or does his god of chaos-ness help him understand them? How does he finally prevail and how does it help them get together?
— Loki as Bertie's guest at the Drones Club or at someone's country estate. Does he help Bertie finally get back at Tuppy for dunking him in the pool? Does Loki want to steal Anatole away to Asgard? Do Bertie's friends or family love his new (secretly boy)friend, or have misgivings about him for entirely the wrong reasons, or...?
— Loki and Bertie scheming at Goodwood or the boat races or some other ridiculous Wodehouse-style plot you make up. Or maybe Loki is here because of some MCU!space-style plot; how does Bertie at least try to help? How do their different schemer/problem solver brains work together? Are their combined plans better than their individual efforts, or doubly disastrous? How does it lead to feelings?
— Bertie and Loki at Blandings! Imposters! Fucking in the yew alley! Do Clarence, Constance or the Empress take an ill-advised shine to Loki? But Baxter suspects! Are they there to steal a magical thingy that is Loki's ticket home? Something else?
— Or start it after they've gotten together, when it's time for Loki to return home, and he wants to take Bertie with him. Did Bertie know before what/who Loki is? Or not, and this is how he finds out? What are his reactions to Asgard and the characters there? What are their reactions to him? Did he learn about Norse mythology at school, or is this all new to him?
— Random ideas for getting Loki into the Wodehouse world, in case you’re stuck: Loki falls off the Bifrost and into ~1930s London (just pretend Thor 1 happened back then), onto Bertie's roof or the garden at Brinkley Court or something. Or maybe he (and Thor?) visited Earth back then for fun or a project and got stranded here for awhile? Do Bertie or Aunt Dahlia take him in? Anything! (But seriously, I don't care how/why he is there; feel free to start later, even after he's met Bertie.)
Bucky/Frank Maddox (David Blaize crossover)
I would like a WWII getting together story--no MCU canon other than the first Cap movie needed (unless you want)! Please pretend the books were set later so that they are around the same age. They’d make such a great odd couple. The Brooklyn boy/posh Brit, classical education/street smarts, etc. How do they overcome Frank’s (possibly also Bucky’s?) internalized homophobia and find something good? Is Bucky actually more open-minded or experienced with men than Frank? Or has he always denied himself, and Frank initiates him? The chapter where Frank devises the plan to catch the cheaters was such fun; if it fits, something that also showcases his cleverness and snark and take-chargeness in action would be lovely, especially in how it complements Bucky's cleverness. Or run with the thing where he cured David with the power of love to a place where Frank is literally magical?
Frank/Happiness is my OTP. He's such a fascinating and endearing blend of judgmental, whimsical, bossy, charismatic, and melancholic. While his anguished self-loathing is super compelling, I ultimately want him to get over it (and himself, a little)—with actual kissing, or more! Please let him completely get over his tragic crush on David and be entirely into Bucky, without bashing David. Please set it when Frank is anywhere between 18-30 (ie. canon divergence, or shortly post-canon), so he doesn't have to wait long to be happier. Feel free to pretend Bucky didn’t fall off the train so they can have a happily ever after. Or Bucky goes back in time with Steve to settle in the 50s with his own WWII love interest. Or you can make it bittersweet, with Bucky still falling, but even though he grieves, their time together has left Frank in a healthier place to live and love again without such self-loathing (and WE know Bucky will eventually be okay, per canon).
Is Frank initially jealous of Bucky’s friendship with Steve, because he’s projecting his own experiences with David onto Steve&Bucky? Does Bucky scoff because he and Steve aren't like that at all, or is Frank actually correct in thinking Bucky has been unrequitedly pining (this is the one sort-of exception to my 'no Steve/Bucky in Bucky ship requests' DNW)? If Bucky had been crushing on Steve, I need him to get over it completely as he and Frank fall for one another, without bashing Steve. Or you could not bring up Steve/Bucky as a question or issue at all!
— Met Fighting In WWII (general soldiering edition): Maybe the 107th is camped alongside Frank’s unit before their capture? Sharing a foxhole together? Exploring or hiding in a bombed out village together? Left behind and forced to trek to safety together? Saving one another? Does the desperation of war get them over their issues enough to act on their feelings?
— Met Fighting in WWII (Howling Commandoes edition): Frank as part of the gang? Getting together while using their combined smarts on a mission, either with the whole group, or a side project just for them? I’m thinking stakeouts, disguises, need for quick thinking, getting information at a party, stranded in a snowy cabin, down time at a bomed out pub… anything!
— Met In Captivity (Azzano edition): Do they huddle together between torture/experimentation sessions, clinging to each other and their identities? Hurt/comfort and desperate “we’ll probably die tomorrow” hookups? Nazis humiliating them or forcing them to do it or confess feelings or watch each other be hurt? Or maybe they only get together after Steve’s rescued them, when they begin to realize the experiments left permanent changes on them (i.e. superpowers). The more whump the better.
— Canon-Setting Spies: Sent on an espionage + sniper mission together? Or maybe Frank isn’t a soldier, but rather some sort of archaeologist/explorer civilian who is asked to use his knowledge to help the war effort. Maybe Hitler’s after some Ancient Greek occult blah blah and they need to stop him? Does the SSR partner them together?
I want a story where Bucky studies or has studied magic with the Ancient One. I loved the idea of magic school as a place of safety and healing for broken adults. I loved the Ancient One, Wong, Mordo (before he went bad), the dynamics between them, and their day-to-day lives in this cool setting before it all went to shit (or, maybe in this divergence, it doesn't go to shit?). I loved the Astral and Mirror Dimensions, the teleportation, the artifacts, and all the other world-building. I'd love to see how Bucky might interact with these concepts. Which artifact chooses him? What projects does Bucky's background make him solely equipped to take on? Stuff like that.
I don't need Strange to enter into it (though he can, if you want). Does the story take place before Strange got to Kamar-Taj? Or does the story start after Bucky has finished his training and show what he does with his life next (in a way where it might not intersect with Strange's)?
— Was Bucky training at the same time as Pangborn and/or Kaecilius, possibly changing DS canon before it starts?
— A fix for the post-credits scene! Nobody puts Benjamin Bratt in the corner! How does Bucky use his magic to help Pangborn get his legs back?
— Maybe Bucky goes for training post-TWS (or in an AU where he escaped Hydra before TWS) to help his triggers? Or did he befriend paralyzed Pangborn while hiding out in New York, and they've traveled to Kamar-Taj together? Or did Bucky find out about it on his own? How? Is Bucky immediately into it, or skeptical?
— The story starts after Bucky has "graduated". Like Pangborn, does he decide to simply live his life? If they're friends, are they roommates now? Or does he take a post at a sanctum? Or something else? What happens next? How does Bucky having magic affect later canon (or not)? Does the Ancient One have new jobs for him after talking to Bruce in Endgame?
— Training: Does his metal arm and other superness help or hinder his training? What hurdles (mental, physical, attitudinal) does he face during his training, and how does he overcome them? Or do his problems actually make him a more effective sorcerer? How does the Ancient One use magic to help Bucky help himself (with his amnesia, or his brainwashing, etc.)? Does Bucky find out about the Ancient One being in touch with Dormammu, but reacts more pragmatically than Mordo did?
— Anything that includes a scene of Bucky using a sling ring to make the portal thing... and then using it like brass knuckles to punch someone in the face.
— I'm okay with this all somehow leading to a Steve/Bucky or Bucky/Loki ending, if you want (but no pressure; I really do want the gen I nominated, too). For example, what if, because of his angst, Bucky at first only lets himself visit Steve in astral form? Or he spends an unhealthy amount of time in the Mirror Dimension because he thinks it's safer? If he meets Loki once his training is done, how do their different styles complement on another? Do they team up to defeat Mordo (with Loki possibly only getting on board because he secretly wants to find out how Mordo is stealing people's seidr, until he genuinely falls for Bucky)? Or other angles you want to explore!