Id Pro Quo Letter :)

[telm_393]

Hi! 

I expand on some of the tags I chose for each fandom, but not all of them, since I think the tags stand pretty well as prompts by themselves, and I do talk a lot about how I like the characters and dynamics, but that's really window dressing. Even if you didn't read the letter, anything with these characters and these freeforms would be good for me. I'll love whatever you can cook up using the chosen tag(s).

Window dressing or not, though, since this is an idfic exchange, I get kind of specific in places because I got over-excited and started just having a good time writing this letter, and I make it kind of clear who my preferred woobies are, but hopefully it's not too bad. (And I'm totally aware that it's ODAO on character roles/combinations when there's a group tag involved, and I'm sure I'll love whatever you write no matter what.) 

My likes are also there to guide you, potentially, but in the end the tags are the prompts, and when it comes to context, dream up any premise you want to get us from Point A to Point Freeform Tag(s). I only ask that you make it whumpy.

Also: if you want to use more than one tag at a time (including character/group tags), feel free. If you want to write an Eldritch fic with all of the tags I chose for a fandom, each affecting different characters (or the same character all at once!), please go for it. If you matched on a single tag and want to write a fic based around that one tag, I will be thrilled, because these are all great tags. And, obviously, anything in between.

I did group tags that are similar or that could go together really well in the same spaces in the letter, but that doesn't mean I expect them to be mixed together. It was just easier than writing prompts for each other.

DNWs:

• Fic that is E-rated due to sexual content.
• Furries. (Please don't even mention them.)
• Parasitic infestations. (Please don't even mention them.)
• Human-animal hybrids. Luther Hargreeves is an exception on account of the canonical gorilla torso.
• Characters becoming actual animals.
• Bestiality.
• Slavery.
• Pregnancy, oviposition, things growing inside of people.
• Broken bones, though they and other injuries are fine when they can be fixed easily due to enhanced healing/super advanced medicine/they're in the Good Place/whatever.
• Character bashing. Nothing that could be classified as "X Character Unfriendly," please.
• Unrequested shipfic--as in, fic based around romantic and/or sexual relationships. Canon and background pairings are fine.
• Genderswap/always-another-gender/suddenly-another-gender, etc.
• Focus on gender headcanons, including changing characters' pronouns.
• Autistic or ADHD headcanons.
• Racebending.
• COVID-19 and/or other current events.
• Narratives focused around social justice issues.
• First person POV.
• Unrequested setting-change AUs. This includes A/B/O and Dom/sub.
• Watersports.
• Scat.

Painfully specific LIKES, dredged up from the depths of my id:

• Hurt/Comfort. I LOVE the comfort, and the hurt can be as dark as you want (non-con, torture, abuse both canon and non-canon). Honestly, I encourage you to Go Places with the hurt as long as they don't hit any DNWs. These characters have to earn their mental breakdowns and lasting trauma, after all.
• Non-con aftermath and recovery. General trauma aftermath and recovery.
  
• Hopeful/bittersweet endings.
• Self-harm.
• Literal sleeping together. You can probably tell this from the amount of times I chose the "platonic sleeping together" freeform.
• Mental health issues.
• Sanity slippage and full mental breakdown.
• Characters undergoing trauma (like prolonged torture/captivity) that causes a mental breakdown or even straight-up mindbreak and never being the same again, but their friends/family love them and support them. In that vein, partial recovery.
• Also in that vein, caretaking.
• Caretaker fatigue.
• Loyalty, protectiveness, loved ones supporting each other through anything even if they don't know how or keep screwing up.
• I generally really like protectiveness, especially when the protective character is a woman.
• Breaking characters is A+ and y'know what? Go as woobie as you want as long as it's not predicated on bashing other characters.
• Characters worrying about each other.
• Memory loss/memory issues, up to and including brain damage and dementia.
• Hugging. Crying. Hugging and crying at the same time.
• Bed-wetting because of trauma and comfort related to that.
• Friendship.
• Give and take between woobie and non/less-woobie characters. Like, even if the woobie character can't really take care of themselves by this point, I still want them to clearly care about the other one and try their best to support them.

The Umbrella Academy (TV):

--- Requested ship: Luther Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves (Umbrella Academy TV)

Look. My id at the very least involves Vanya being protective of Luther, so obviously I love the evolution of the characters in season two. I feel like having the distance of amnesia as well as the events that took place while she had amnesia actually helped Vanya become a more confident person open to reconciliation with her siblings--and certainly helped her have less bitterness towards them.

I also like how everything that had happened really kind of brought everyone together as a family, and how various relationships changed in season two. Especially, obviously, between Luther and Vanya, since the first new memory Vanya has of him is his apology and then they just seem to click. I was very relieved that she forgave him and didn't go backwards once she got her memories back.

Luther, for his part, was the disaster I dreamed he would be, poor thing. His damage from his dad and the realization that his dad sucked was fantastic, up to and including the fact that he ended up with another abusive dick. And then Vanya, in spite of still having amnesia, got protective when the abusive dick was, y'know, a dick, which, be still my heart. 

I do also like complicated family relationships and difficult conversations and all of that, though, so they don't have to be BFFs 100% of the time, and it doesn't mean it has to actually be post-season 2, and them having complicated feelings about each other is great. I just don't want Vanya to hate Luther (or vice versa, but that's less common), but more than anything I just want them to be siblings. Who weren't necessarily that close but are getting/have gotten/are traumatized into being close. Hence all the torture prompts, haha.

Also also, canon divergence with no Sparrow Academy where they just went back home no-apocalypse-AU-style is welcome, but you can make it a non-canon divergence too! However it works for you.

I'd love to see both of them ending up traumatized because of some kind of torture or experimentation. Let's be real, there's a lot there for evil scientists when it comes to Luther and Vanya. I want to be clear that I am so not against hurt!Vanya, but hurt/woobie!Vanya being protective of even woobier!Luther would frankly be, like...great? I'd love that. But Luther being hurt and Vanya saving the day and then being like, wait, what do I do??? would ALSO be great.

Also, I love all the characters, but I don't ship anything. Mentions of Allison/Luther are fine. If you want to bring the other siblings in, please do not be afraid to do so! Outside POV from one of the other siblings in a traumatized-into-codependency situation or somesuch would be super interesting too. 

Anyway, onto the tags!

(Also, non-con is welcome for either or both characters, as long as no canon character is doing the non-con.)
 

• Characters traumatized into codependency together: Forced sibling bonding! 
• Recovering from Shared Trauma that Bonded Characters Codependently and Changed Them Permanently
  
• Hurt/Comfort - Character is Feral/Animalistic After Long Dehumanizing Imprisonment: Okay, I'd love to see this with Luther, given the canonical gorilla bod, and Vanya being a very strong person (like, literally, her powers make her very strong) and someone Luther wants to protect and feels guilty about hurting could get close to him.
  • Or this could go for a shared trauma tag where Luther's basically feral but he's very protective of/devoted to Vanya, who was captured and tortured with him, and she's very protective of him. In any case, I think that dehumanizing torture would really fuck both of them up, but Luther in particular because of the gorilla thing and his feeling like a monster.
• Imprisonment and aftermath of it: With another tag? Just being stuck in a cell alone (or with each other)? What do you think?

• Hurt/Comfort - Restraining character so they don't hurt themselves: Like I mentioned, Vanya is actually very strong. Luther is supernaturally strong. Do you see where I'm going with this? I think it could go well with almost any of the other tags or all by itself.
• Whump: Self-mutilation due to self-hatred 

• Platonic Bed-sharing: Within any of these other tags or just by itself because of nightmares or loneliness or something (Vanya's lonely after she gets back from the sixties and doesn't have Sissy anymore? Luther's just kind of lost and wants to cuddle? There are body image issues?)

---

 

DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV):

--- Requested ship: Charlie & John Constantine & Zari Tomaz (Legends of Tomorrow TV)
--- Requested ship: John Constantine & Sara Lance (Legends of Tomorrow TV)

Super specific fandom/character DNW: People ever having seriously thought that John actually murdered Astra or John having been forcibly institutionalized under the assumption that he killed her. I just don't really like characters being blamed for horrible things they didn't actually do.

I'm including that DNW because I honestly would love anything about the clearly not-amazing place that was Ravenscar Asylum for the Mentally Deranged, just not with the added baggage of the people working there thinking he was a murderer. Just crazy and traumatized is good by me. Also, my headcanon is 100% that they actually did ECT on him sans muscle relaxants or anesthetic as seen in the show (rather than the writers just not really knowing how ECT works), and that's fucked up. :)

Anyway, I love the relationship between these two in the show. Sara as both a captain and a friend, and John being surprisingly loyal to her and supportive of her relationship and growth, even if it means she's kind of left him behind .

In any case, I'll admit that John is my preferred woobie, and Sara, on the other hand, I prefer as the protective party. Idk, I'm just into that for her. My id wants that from her. My id wants it from everyone, actually, but especially Sara. However, both characters whumped is, like, more than welcome, given that some of the tags actually go for it. Love it. And give and take is also amazing--show me why they're friends.

(You can ignore the very end of season five or have it take place after or have a double abduction, I don't mind. I also like Ava/Sara and John/Zari 2.0, though for John/Zari 2.0 they can be friends with benefits or just friends or something too if it gets in the way of the whump.)
 

• Character has psychotic break/episode and loved ones try to help
   
• Hurt/Comfort - Aftermath of Torture
• Character is rescued and comforted
• Imprisonment and the aftermath of it
  • One thing I think is interesting with these is that I think that Sara, as captain, would very likely have some guilt about a crewmember being hurt so badly on her watch.
     
• Character who's decided they're over their past child abuse is not in fact over it: So, I think that this would go great with "Haunted by Ghost of Dead Abuser," actually, or just a mission where something reminds John about his unpleasant childhood. I can see him thinking that that time of his life has passed and he just doesn't care anymore, but the trauma pokes its head out like :) and he totally does still care, and then friendship.
• Haunted by Ghost of Dead Abuser: Like I said, I think that John's dad doing the haunting could be really interesting. And Sara being pissed that the haunting is happening in the first place.
       
• Characters traumatized into codependency together: Double alien abduction? Something else? 
   
• Finding Someone Sleeping and Putting a Blanket or Coat Over Them: This is cute, okay. Could also be five times/multiple times/just a couple of times, enough to include both halves of the group/whatever. Or go with another tag. Whatever you want.
   
• Friends helping friends with anxiety attacks: Honestly, like, take what I said about the tag right above this one and apply it to this tag.
    
• Hurt/Comfort - A finds out that B is/was suicidal: Tbh here you could even go for an exploration of Sara in s3 finding out about that one time John tried to erase himself from existence by giving his dad a "back-alley vasectomy." I'm sure she'd be/she was thrilled. (She IS the one who ended up using increasingly complicated means to track him throughout the season without him knowing, maybe the fact that he tried to kill himself on his first mission had to do with it.)
  • ANY other interpretation at any other time in the show would be amazing too. Post-Legends of To-Meow-Meow John who's actually still kind of given up on life? Something that goes with another tag? Go wild. Sara having been suicidal in the past and commiserating would be interesting too! I really like the parallels between the two characters.
• Hurt/Comfort - Suicide watch: Could go really well with several of the other tags, including, obviously, the "character A finds out character B is suicidal" tag. I'm sure John would take to it terribly and it would be a blow to his pride, but Sara would probably be more interested in keeping her friend/crewmember alive and kicking. 
• Hurt/Comfort - Restraining character so they don't hurt themselves
        
• Hurt/Comfort - Medical care after violent rape: Gideon is a very helpful teammate in this case, and a character getting raped and not being able to hide it at all and having to go through the horrible steps of getting all the injuries fixed with someone else trying to provide comfort while feeling fucked up about the whole thing too...Yes.
      
• Platonic Bed-sharing: Nightmares? Something to do with any of the other tags? Whatever else? Five times/three times/two times/one time fic? Please. I love characters literally sleeping together to comfort each other, or being so traumatized they can't sleep without the other.

The Good Place (TV):

--- Requested ship: Jianyu Li | Jason Mendoza & Michael (The Good Place TV)
--- Requested ship: Solo: Jason Mendoza

I love Jason. I'll always love Jason. I want everyone else to also love Jason, because they totally also love Jason, even if he is not the sharpest tool in the shed. 

I like all of the canon ships, so any of them are fine to include, and I love all of Team Cockroach, so any or all of them being involved in any of these tags is great.

Regarding the more specific Jason & Michael tag (and here I ramble a bit), I'm really into Jason and Michael's relationship specifically too. Jason clearly looks up to Michael and likes and trusts him (Michael's a ten! He's only not an eight because he was torturing them!), and Michael gives off such Exasperated Dad Vibes with Jason. It delights me.

I also think that Michael definitely has an overprotective (and/or condescending) streak towards Jason that I think is really interesting, what with leaving him out of the loop or underexplaining things and going "it's okay" instead. Mostly, though, I think that the relationship's really sweet, and Michael is demonically doing his best, and so is Jason. 

Also, set this in any season, when they're alive or dead, or when they're in the Real Good Place, or some random divergence from canon, or a mundane human AU. Probably don't set it after the finale, as I think that that would be very difficult. 

• Entire Squad Willing To Throw Down For One Person: Jason is the best. Also super easy to manipulate. The others being protective and/or this being mashed together with any of the other tags would be amazing. 
   
• Hurt/Comfort - Aftermath of Torture: The Real Bad Place gets ahold of Jason at some point, and even getting to the Real Good Place doesn't fix the trauma?
• Character is rescued and comforted
• Imprisonment and aftermath of it

• Platonic Bed-sharing: Jason being too freaked out for X reason to sleep alone and someone else/Michael being like "he really needs to learn how to sleep by himself/it's impossible to get any sleep when he's there/I literally do not need to sleep, that's not a thing my body needs but also there's no way I'll say no to him" is my id. It just is. I'm not even gonna lie.

• Rape Aftermath: Victim's New Selective Mutism Interferes With Their Life
• Rape Recovery

---

Constantine (TV)

--- Requested ship: Chas Chandler & John Constantine (Constantine TV)
--- Requested ship: Chas Chandler & John Constantine & Zed Martin (Constantine TV)
--- Requested ship: Chas Chandler/John Constantine (Constantine TV)

DNW: John having been blamed for actually murdering Astra. People thinking it was his fault, fine, but not people, including the people working at Ravenscar, thinking that he literally physically was the one who murdered her and blaming him for that.

I love these characters. I love how fucked up they are. I am very into Making John Suffer (and how protective Zed and Chas are--I find Zed's protective streak really charming), but making other characters suffer is A+ too (and I also love John's own protective streak and the mentorship thing going on with Zed). Or have multiple characters suffer at the same time! Apply any of these tags to, like, each character or multiple characters. Though I actually have a separate Chas whump request below, if you are interested. 

I know this section is short, but I would really just love anything for this show based on any of these tags.

• Character has a secret eating disorder: I'd love to see this with anyone but especially John or Chas, really. How would Chas not being able to die and his enhanced healing affect him if he had an eating disorder? Seriously, I want to know.
  

• Character has psychotic break/episode and loved ones try to help: John, even post-Ravenscar (or especially post-Ravenscar, if you want to lean into institutional abuse), is actually pretty fucked up, as it turns out. Zed is surprised, Chas not so much. They try to help him out but it's kind of difficult, especially given the Rising Darkness and the fact that 
    
• Friends helping friends with anxiety attacks: Everyone is friends! Let's be real, everyone here probably has anxiety attacks! And wouldn't necessarily be great at helping, but they'd try, and I would love that.
   
• Hurt/Comfort - A finds out that B is/was suicidal
• Hurt/Comfort - Suicide watch
  • I was thinking of both of those with John, because honestly, everything kind of sucks for him a lot of the time, and even if he's afraid of going to Hell, he's still "been carrying it around with him his whole life," so I think that at a certain point he might be willing to throw in the towel. Of course, Chas (or Chas and Zed) would be a lot less willing to let him. 
          
• Hurt/Comfort - Aftermath of Torture
• Imprisonment and aftermath of it
• Character is rescued and comforted
   
• Hurt/Comfort - Restraining character so they don't hurt themselves: Chas is big, John is less big, I love big characters restraining less big characters. And honestly, if Zed found herself in that kind of situation, I think she could manage (she's pretty strong! plus John--probably not so much Chas, but she and John could probably do it--could always be drunk or something), but how would touching a seriously upset person feel with her empath skills? 
    
• Platonic Bed-sharing: Literally in any h/c situation, canon or non-canon, I am all over it.

---

Constantine (TV):

--- Requested ship: Solo: Chas Chandler (Constantine TV)

So this is literally just Chas whump, because there's a lot of room for whump here, okay? He's semi-immortal! He dies a lot! John has outright said that coming back is excruciating for him! His personal life is a mess! He has a taking-care-of-other-people-to-not-deal-with-his-own-problems thing going on! He's more stable and level-headed than John, but that is a low, low bar.

With his abilities, there are so many opportunities for torture, and honestly, what would the stoic guy who doesn't say much look like in a mental breakdown?

Really, what I am looking for is torture recovery fic. I feel like a lot could be done here with a guy who can die, but not for very long. (Also, protective!John and protective!Zed for good measure. Love that.

I also find the existence of his family really interesting. He's got people who'll notice he's gone, even if he's gone a lot, and he's got people who'll notice if he's suddenly super traumatized. How would that go? I'd prefer him and Renee being broken up but still getting along even if everything still isn't roses.

• Character is rescued and comforted: 
• Hurt/Comfort - Aftermath of Torture:
• Imprisonment and aftermath
   
• Hurt/Comfort - Restraining character so they don't hurt themselves: Like I mentioned above, John and Zed together could probably manage. Chas, I think, would feel embarrassed about having freaked out and also not particularly understand why they even care about his hurting himself, given that nothing permanent happens, in the end.
   
• Medical Experimentation: John even jokes about him getting experimented on when he's in the hospital! What if it actually happened? What if that was the torture? What if--vivisection? 
   
• Platonic Bed-sharing: Post-torture? Not being able to sleep alone anymore? "Not being able to sleep alone anymore" is, let's be real, one of my fave things in the world.
   
• Rape Aftermath: Victim's New Selective Mutism Interferes With Their Life: Here I'd love to see Renee and Geraldine. How would that go over? What would he or the others try to say? Would he end up having to admit what happened?
• Rape Recovery