Marvel Bang 2015
SO! I know not many people visit anymore, but I've just signed up for the Marvel Bang once again this year (please ignore the Merlin Bang fic sitting untouched and weeping in the corner). I have a few ideas of what I'd like to write, however I'm not sure which one to focus on--they all seem fun. Anyone with an opinion, is more than welcome to put in a vote. I'm just sounding the concepts out to mull over them for a week or two.
Plot the First: A Merry RompThrough Yggdrasil
Brief Summary: Phil Coulson thought he was done with New Mexico, angry astrophysicists, and supposed gods. Then he gets a call from Darcy Lewis, and learns that all is not right in Asgard. Odin is dead, Loki is king, and the universe? Is about to end. With Thor leading the way, Phil, Darcy, Jane and Thor travel through the realms of Yggdrasil to try and fix what's been broken. Along the way, they pick up a few more mythic figures, not all of them friendly...
Concept: Essentially, this is the big "Almost all Avengers and Avengers-Friends are part of Norse Mythos" AU with the small exception of SHIELD Agents and Captain America (and possibly the Winter Soldier. Still toying with that). Lot of research to pair the Avengers with appropriate mythic identities, not to mention some pseudoscience that's, like, woah. Phil-centric (for the most part...haven't decided if he dies. I like to do that to him), and his voice for this is very amused. Sarcastic and agitated, but not hostile--very different from last year's Marvel Bang, but another Asgard-heavy one.
Plot the Second: Barney's Tale
Brief Summary: It's another normal day for him, liasing with airport security--and maybe taking a kickback or two--when a one-armed veteran goes crazy in luggage claims. He knows that look, and he knows that feeling, so after he talks the man down he brings him home to his apartment. What? He's a good guy. Protect and serve and all that shit. He's just helping out a fellow--well, soldier, since the guy doesn't seem to talk. At all.
The next day, Agent Rumlow asks him to look for a CIA asset: a marine who's undergone extreme duress training for them. Brock's big and a bully--so's he if he's honest--but he's read some of those classified files on Wikileaks. He knows what passes for CIA 'training' with special assets, and he has every intention to tell Brock where to shove his request until he sees a picture of the target.
Who's currently sleeping on his couch.
God fucking damnit.
Concept: Non-powered AU from the point of view of FBI agent Barney Barton. The gathering of Avengers here is more along the lines of six-degrees-of-separation, with Barney's voice as the source and narrator. A jackass and jerk, deep down he's a good guy who just happens to be a wee bit crooked, until he finds out what his boss (Pierce) is really up to, and works more for the good guys. Along the way he befriends a broken soldier, a stern internal affairs agent, and finally speaks with his brother (whose apartment he's living in--just because they don't speak, doesn't mean they care in other ways). It'd be a different take on Barney Barton, an lean a bit more towards the Hawkeye Comic concept than MCU. This may be more difficult. That whole Pierce-Brock-Ward thing is primarily up front. I'm kind of worried since that part goes away quickly, it's not as...intense or interesting as it could be.
Plot the Third: Hello Sweetie
Brief Summary: No one believes him when he says his mother was a writer and his father was a nurse.
Most agree that his uncle in the FBI probably got him interested in the life of espionage.
Only Nick knows his grandfather is younger than his parents.
Those are only some of the facts of Phil's Coulson's origins. There are other events, though, that aren't quite as straightforward.
He watched Captain America sleep, but it wasn't when he was defrosting.
He hacked JARVIS, but only because they've met before.
He died facing Loki, except he's never met the god.
His life isn't always linear. He'd been warned this might happen.
Concept: This is all to blame on Clark Gregg and his "Hi, Sweetie" post on FaceBook: Phil Coulson is River Song's son. He was raised as the adopted child of Amy and Rory--with Uncle Canton--but is actually the son of River and--well, whomever. During his adult life, after his parents die, River tends to "kidnap" him for vacations. As a result, his life isn't always in order. When he "returns" after the events of The Avengers, Fury comes up with an elaborate ploy to tell the rest of SHIELD, and the events of AoS start. The Winter Soldier events occur, and his team discovers not Project Insight, but Project Blue Box (coincidence? Phil doesn't believe in coincidences). During the raid, he ends up travelling through time. Actually fighting with Cap and Bucky during the world war, meeting Clint when he was starting as a mercenary, etc etc. Whether it's because of a ploy to kill the Avengers or it's just how this wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey thing works, he ends up starting once again at Phase I. His death in Avengers? Is his real death. But with complicated temporal lifeforms, you never know how long it'll last...
Plot the Fourth: Men on the Wall
Brief Summary: Ruthless. Efficient. Damaged. In a world of heroes and age of global communication, the world needs protectors willing and able to make the hard choices, do the dark deeds, and feel no guilt for any blood spilled. The Unseen directs these Men on the Wall, letting the heroes bask in glory while they complete their work in the shadows.
Hawkeye, taken and changed by Loki. The Winter Soldier, tortured and remade by HYDRA. Falcon, tormented and agered by grief.
Phil Coulson, Director of SHIELD, learns the truth from Fury's little black box, as well as the true identity of the Unseen. He understands their necessity, he can be just as efficient and brutal. But the world is changing. SHIELD is changing. He isn't sure if they belong in this new world.
And then the Avengers learn of the Men of the Wall. And Captain America won't stand for this, ready to reveal them as he did HYDRA.
Even if it means taking down friends.
Concept: There is a Marvel comic call War Machine, where Captain America (secretely Bucky) is backed up by Hawkeye and Falcon, as a leading strike team in a rather war torn world. The Unseen is from the comic storyline Original Sin. I don't think I can pull all the threads together on this one--or maybe I could change it, Captain America becomes president, learns the truth, has to make the tough decisions--I'm not sure. It's one I definitely want to play in. But this might not be the year for it.
Plot the Fifth: SHIELD RPG
Brief Summary: Phil Coulson runs one of the best collectables stores in New York, but what he's best known for is the RPG game SHIELD. In it, a world-wide organization discovers extraordinary people and sets them up to face local and global threats, attached to moral delimmas. At last year's GenCon, he made history DMing a game when the game's villain, Loki, actually came on stage and "killed" Coulson, replacing him as DM as the heroes--aka the players--could do nothing but fight against impossible odds.
They won.
Phil isn't sure if he can top that. He's been focusing on a few supplement ideas for SHIELD, including a low-powered Agents game and an interstellar Galactic Guardians one. Even worse, his usual gaming group is having difficulties coming together, and he's missing his friends--he doesn't have many, okay? He treasures the ones he has.
Not to mention the attraction for both Steve Rogers and Clint Barton--he has a type, sue him--that seems to be coming to a head.
And somehow, he became a mentor to all of his friends' kids.
Maybe it's time to finally time to take that vacation his therapist keeps recommending...
Concept: The big Avengers as role players story, with the young avengers around (Billy and Teddy as store assistants--Teddy as Steve's adopted nephew; Kate as Stark's kid, etc etc). It might be more a story about the Young Avengers with Phil as a common denominator. This one I see as more non-traditional fic, with web-articles, blog posts, and email exchanges intersperced. A lot more work than the others, but if done right I think this could be a lot of fun metacommentary.
2013: Hammer & Skull
In modern New York City, the the local SHIELD (Strategic Homeland Investigation, Enforcement, and Litigation Department) office responds to a call-out to investigate the death of an officer at Hammer Laboratories. Lead by Special Agent Phil Coulson, this SHIELD squad delves into the hostile history of the victim, as well as the seedy side of corporate espionage and the tense atmosphere of government-funded research.
With so many enemies, however, narrowing it down to just one suspect is no easy chore. And as the pool of suspects diminishes with each alibi, matters take a turn for the worse as a civilian and one of SHIELD's own is kidnapped! With a reluctant FBI agent and an on-the-run CIA operative providing the only clues, it's up to Agent Coulson's team to find the missing people before the suspect not only escapes, but kills the hostages.
2014: My Love is Vengeance
Plot the First: A Merry RompThrough Yggdrasil
Brief Summary: Phil Coulson thought he was done with New Mexico, angry astrophysicists, and supposed gods. Then he gets a call from Darcy Lewis, and learns that all is not right in Asgard. Odin is dead, Loki is king, and the universe? Is about to end. With Thor leading the way, Phil, Darcy, Jane and Thor travel through the realms of Yggdrasil to try and fix what's been broken. Along the way, they pick up a few more mythic figures, not all of them friendly...
Concept: Essentially, this is the big "Almost all Avengers and Avengers-Friends are part of Norse Mythos" AU with the small exception of SHIELD Agents and Captain America (and possibly the Winter Soldier. Still toying with that). Lot of research to pair the Avengers with appropriate mythic identities, not to mention some pseudoscience that's, like, woah. Phil-centric (for the most part...haven't decided if he dies. I like to do that to him), and his voice for this is very amused. Sarcastic and agitated, but not hostile--very different from last year's Marvel Bang, but another Asgard-heavy one.
Plot the Second: Barney's Tale
Brief Summary: It's another normal day for him, liasing with airport security--and maybe taking a kickback or two--when a one-armed veteran goes crazy in luggage claims. He knows that look, and he knows that feeling, so after he talks the man down he brings him home to his apartment. What? He's a good guy. Protect and serve and all that shit. He's just helping out a fellow--well, soldier, since the guy doesn't seem to talk. At all.
The next day, Agent Rumlow asks him to look for a CIA asset: a marine who's undergone extreme duress training for them. Brock's big and a bully--so's he if he's honest--but he's read some of those classified files on Wikileaks. He knows what passes for CIA 'training' with special assets, and he has every intention to tell Brock where to shove his request until he sees a picture of the target.
Who's currently sleeping on his couch.
God fucking damnit.
Concept: Non-powered AU from the point of view of FBI agent Barney Barton. The gathering of Avengers here is more along the lines of six-degrees-of-separation, with Barney's voice as the source and narrator. A jackass and jerk, deep down he's a good guy who just happens to be a wee bit crooked, until he finds out what his boss (Pierce) is really up to, and works more for the good guys. Along the way he befriends a broken soldier, a stern internal affairs agent, and finally speaks with his brother (whose apartment he's living in--just because they don't speak, doesn't mean they care in other ways). It'd be a different take on Barney Barton, an lean a bit more towards the Hawkeye Comic concept than MCU. This may be more difficult. That whole Pierce-Brock-Ward thing is primarily up front. I'm kind of worried since that part goes away quickly, it's not as...intense or interesting as it could be.
Plot the Third: Hello Sweetie
Brief Summary: No one believes him when he says his mother was a writer and his father was a nurse.
Most agree that his uncle in the FBI probably got him interested in the life of espionage.
Only Nick knows his grandfather is younger than his parents.
Those are only some of the facts of Phil's Coulson's origins. There are other events, though, that aren't quite as straightforward.
He watched Captain America sleep, but it wasn't when he was defrosting.
He hacked JARVIS, but only because they've met before.
He died facing Loki, except he's never met the god.
His life isn't always linear. He'd been warned this might happen.
Concept: This is all to blame on Clark Gregg and his "Hi, Sweetie" post on FaceBook: Phil Coulson is River Song's son. He was raised as the adopted child of Amy and Rory--with Uncle Canton--but is actually the son of River and--well, whomever. During his adult life, after his parents die, River tends to "kidnap" him for vacations. As a result, his life isn't always in order. When he "returns" after the events of The Avengers, Fury comes up with an elaborate ploy to tell the rest of SHIELD, and the events of AoS start. The Winter Soldier events occur, and his team discovers not Project Insight, but Project Blue Box (coincidence? Phil doesn't believe in coincidences). During the raid, he ends up travelling through time. Actually fighting with Cap and Bucky during the world war, meeting Clint when he was starting as a mercenary, etc etc. Whether it's because of a ploy to kill the Avengers or it's just how this wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey thing works, he ends up starting once again at Phase I. His death in Avengers? Is his real death. But with complicated temporal lifeforms, you never know how long it'll last...
Plot the Fourth: Men on the Wall
Brief Summary: Ruthless. Efficient. Damaged. In a world of heroes and age of global communication, the world needs protectors willing and able to make the hard choices, do the dark deeds, and feel no guilt for any blood spilled. The Unseen directs these Men on the Wall, letting the heroes bask in glory while they complete their work in the shadows.
Hawkeye, taken and changed by Loki. The Winter Soldier, tortured and remade by HYDRA. Falcon, tormented and agered by grief.
Phil Coulson, Director of SHIELD, learns the truth from Fury's little black box, as well as the true identity of the Unseen. He understands their necessity, he can be just as efficient and brutal. But the world is changing. SHIELD is changing. He isn't sure if they belong in this new world.
And then the Avengers learn of the Men of the Wall. And Captain America won't stand for this, ready to reveal them as he did HYDRA.
Even if it means taking down friends.
Concept: There is a Marvel comic call War Machine, where Captain America (secretely Bucky) is backed up by Hawkeye and Falcon, as a leading strike team in a rather war torn world. The Unseen is from the comic storyline Original Sin. I don't think I can pull all the threads together on this one--or maybe I could change it, Captain America becomes president, learns the truth, has to make the tough decisions--I'm not sure. It's one I definitely want to play in. But this might not be the year for it.
Plot the Fifth: SHIELD RPG
Brief Summary: Phil Coulson runs one of the best collectables stores in New York, but what he's best known for is the RPG game SHIELD. In it, a world-wide organization discovers extraordinary people and sets them up to face local and global threats, attached to moral delimmas. At last year's GenCon, he made history DMing a game when the game's villain, Loki, actually came on stage and "killed" Coulson, replacing him as DM as the heroes--aka the players--could do nothing but fight against impossible odds.
They won.
Phil isn't sure if he can top that. He's been focusing on a few supplement ideas for SHIELD, including a low-powered Agents game and an interstellar Galactic Guardians one. Even worse, his usual gaming group is having difficulties coming together, and he's missing his friends--he doesn't have many, okay? He treasures the ones he has.
Not to mention the attraction for both Steve Rogers and Clint Barton--he has a type, sue him--that seems to be coming to a head.
And somehow, he became a mentor to all of his friends' kids.
Maybe it's time to finally time to take that vacation his therapist keeps recommending...
Concept: The big Avengers as role players story, with the young avengers around (Billy and Teddy as store assistants--Teddy as Steve's adopted nephew; Kate as Stark's kid, etc etc). It might be more a story about the Young Avengers with Phil as a common denominator. This one I see as more non-traditional fic, with web-articles, blog posts, and email exchanges intersperced. A lot more work than the others, but if done right I think this could be a lot of fun metacommentary.
2013: Hammer & Skull
In modern New York City, the the local SHIELD (Strategic Homeland Investigation, Enforcement, and Litigation Department) office responds to a call-out to investigate the death of an officer at Hammer Laboratories. Lead by Special Agent Phil Coulson, this SHIELD squad delves into the hostile history of the victim, as well as the seedy side of corporate espionage and the tense atmosphere of government-funded research.
With so many enemies, however, narrowing it down to just one suspect is no easy chore. And as the pool of suspects diminishes with each alibi, matters take a turn for the worse as a civilian and one of SHIELD's own is kidnapped! With a reluctant FBI agent and an on-the-run CIA operative providing the only clues, it's up to Agent Coulson's team to find the missing people before the suspect not only escapes, but kills the hostages.
2014: My Love is Vengeance