Dear Night on Fic Mountain writer

[dolorosa_12]

Thank you for writing for me!

I'm pretty easygoing about what type of fic you want to write for me. I read fic of any rating, and would be equally happy with plotty genfic or something very shippy. I read gen, femslash, het and slash, although I have a slight preference towards femslash, het, and gen that focuses on female characters. I mainly read fic to find out what happens to characters after the final page has turned or the credits have rolled, so I would particularly love to have futurefic of some kind. Don't feel you have to limit yourself to the characters I specifically mention — I'm happy with others being included if they fit with the story you want to tell.

Feel free to have a look around my Ao3 profile, as it should give you a good idea of the types of things I like to read.

All requests are for fic.


General likes:

Found families and 'us against the world' dynamics

Human/non-human pairings

Relationships with power imbalances

People with vastly different backgrounds, perspectives, or life experience working together

Grudging, pragmatic temporary alliances that turn into mutual respect and/or love

Characters with a strong sense of home and place (whether that 'home' is a city, or other people)

General dislikes

Fusions and crossovers

AUs, apart from canon-divergence AUs

Incest

Infidelity

Several fandom-specific dislikes, which I will outline below

Fandom-specific prompts:


The Bone Season - Samantha Shannon

Requested characters and relationships: Paige Mahoney, Arcturus Mesarthim | Warden, Paige Mahony/Arcturus Mesarthim | Warden

Canon consists of three books (The Bone Season, The Mime Order, and The Song Rising) of what will eventually be a seven-book series. There are also several short stories, but they are not integral to the main story.

What I like about this series

The intricate alternate world, particularly Scion London, with its underworld of criminal clairvoyants trying to eke out an existence in the face of oppression, the uneasy shifting alliances, and all the little details about the urban geography and history of Soho, Covent Garden and so on.

The pervasive sense of threat and menace that permeates the series, and the choices this forces the characters to make.

Paige and Warden's relationship — the initial mistrust, the power imbalances, the secrets they keep from each other, the way they share dreams, and the way Warden makes Paige a bit more supernatural and she makes him a bit more human.

The tensions and contradictions in Paige's existence — becoming a criminal mollisher for Jaxon Hall gives her a measure of safety, but also puts her in greater danger, and in some ways the series represents her slow shift from pragmatism to risk-taking revolutionary leadership.

Prompts I'd love to see

Any fic that explores Paige and Warden's relationship, particularly the power imbalances, cultural differences, and the ways in which their relationship forces them to reflect on their respective identities as human and Rephaite. Missing moments from either their time together in Oxford or when Paige was in hiding in London would be fantastic. I'd also love to read futurefic set just after the end of events in The Song Rising — how are they coping on the run? Has Paige become unmoored without the familiarity of London and the syndicate to fall back on? I'd love to read fic set in another part of Samantha Shannon's alternate world — so far we've seen Scotland, England and Ireland, but nothing of the rest of the world. What are other Scion countries like? Alternatively, a fic that takes place entirely within shared dreamscapes would be absolutely amazing!

I'm happy for another other characters from the series to feature in any fic you write, but I would prefer it if your fic didn't focus on Jaxon Hall.


An Ember in the Ashes - Sabaa Tahir

Requested characters and relationships: Laia, Elias Veturius, Laia/Elias Veturius

Canon consists of two books (An Ember in the Ashes and A Torch Against the Night) in a four-book series.

What I like about this series

Elias and Laia's relationship, particularly the clash of cultures, power imbalances, and 'us against the world' mentality that the two have.

The tension in the series between the characters' principled stand against injustice and the compromises they're forced to make and cruelty and trauma they're forced to endure.

Elias and Laia's sense of duty and self-sacrifice that sometimes goes beyond reason.

The underlying rumblings of revolution that are slowly pervading Elias and Laia's world, and the fact that their decision to join this revolution is rooted in their deep, self-sacrificing love and sense of responsibility for other people.

Prompts I'd love to see

I'd particularly enjoy receiving fic that explored Elias and Laia's relationship, especially something that delved into their different upbringings and how these shaped them, the power imbalances, and their growing supernatural abilities. How does Elias's new status at the end of Torch affect their relationship? What will their next steps be in challenging the Martial Empire? Genfic that saw the pair dealing with some new political or supernatural challenge would also be great. If you were interested in writing something quieter or more contemplative, what about using one of the myths or folk stories of Tahir's world as the springboard for a moment of calm in which the two characters told each other stories? Missing moments during their time together at Blackcliff might also be another interesting prompt - or what about a meeting before Laia began her undercover mission, perhaps when Elias slipped out and mingled with the non-Martial population, and the pair met but did not know each other?

I'm happy for you to use any other characters from the series in your fic, but I do not ship Elias and Helene romantically (the same goes for Laia and Keenan) and do not want to read about these pairings.


The Pagan Chronicles - Catherine Jinks

Requested characters and relationships: Any of Babylonne Kidrouk, Isidore Orbus, Babylonne Kidrouk/Isidore Orbus, Babylonne Kidrouk & Isidore Orbus

Canon consists of five books (Pagan's Crusade, Pagan in Exile, Pagan's Vows, Pagan's Scribe, and Pagan's Daughter (published as Babylonne in the US)).

What I like about this series

The found families — this whole series is just one long story of hurt/comfort within found families, and I love it!

I love that it's this multigenerational story of broken, damaged orphans finding each other, healing each other and making each other whole.

The strong sense of history, and the way it makes forgotten episodes in world history come alive.

The fact that the series doesn't shy away from its characters' religious faith, but shows that their observance and understanding of religion was more flexible and pluralistic than is generally portrayed in popular fictional depictions of the Middle Ages.

The compassionate, empathetic, and forgiving way the characters deal with the realities of their world — they expect people to be flawed, and the strong to hurt the weak, but this doesn't stop them being kind, and imaginative, and skilled at talking their way out of difficult situations.

Prompts I'd love to see

I was so thrilled to get Pagan Chronicles fic for Yuletide last year - requesting this fandom was so successful that I decided to request it again for Night on Fic Mountain, this time with a focus on the relationship between Isidore and Babylonne. I'm really interested post-canon fic set in the future after Pagan's Daughter in which Isidore and Babylonne have adventures in Bologna. Missing moments fic set during canon would also be very welcome - what sort of adventures (or mishaps) did the pair have on the road between Languedoc and Bologna? Although I didn't request Pagan as a character, I'd also be very open to a fix-it fic where Pagan didn't die before the events of Pagan's Daughter, and have him appear in your fic as a minor character. I'm a passionate shipper of Babylonne/Isidore as a romantic pairing. (I don't mind if you don't ship them, however, and if you prefer to write about their relationship from a gen perspective I would be equally thrilled!)


'Seasons of Glass and Iron' - Amal El-Mohtar

Requested characters and relationships: Amira, Tabitha, Amira/Tabitha

Canon consists of a short story, freely availby online here.

What I like about this story

Tabitha and Amira's tentative, hesitant steps towards a relationship, working through trauma and saving each other in the process.

The mythic, folkloric quality, and the way the story gives voice to characters typically silenced in fairytales

The contrasts between the characters - Tabitha who cannot stop moving, and Amira who is forced to remain silent and still - and the way that stillness and motion are weaponised against them, and then reclaimed as they both reclaim their agency.

Prompts I'd love to see:

I feel this fandom offers endless possibilities when it comes to incorporating other myths, folk stories, or fairytales. I'd love to see Amira and Tabitha experiencing other fairytale situations, particularly those in stories that involve female characters, giving those stories new twists. Or why not create your own new fairytale or myth? So much of 'Seasons of Glass and Iron' is about being trapped - trapped by storytelling conventions, misogyny, and by the glass hill itself - so I would love to read fic where Tabitha and Amira revel in their newfound freedom, and find spaces and places where they can exercise the agency that was denied them for so long. Do they have to keep moving, staying on the road, or are they able to build a new home together and bring an end to their wandering - and do their own respective backstories (one of enforced movement and one of enforced stillness) mean that they have conflicting ideas about what freedom and agency should look like? A fic that explored this tension would also be really welcome, as long as it had a happy resolution.

Don't feel you have to stick rigidly within the bounds of my prompts. As long as your fic is focused on the characters and relationships I requested, I will be thrilled to receive anything you write for me, as these really are some of my most beloved fandoms of the heart, and the existence of any fic for them will make me extremely happy.