Template Dear Author letter
Sep. 14th, 2023 09:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dolorosa_12Thank 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. You can also look at my Yuletide tag, which includes past letters, and recs posts of my previous gifts and other fic I've enjoyed in previous Yuletide colletions.
I have treating enabled on Ao3 and would be delighted to receive treats for any of my requests.
General likes
Found families and 'us against the world' dynamics
Human/non-human pairings
Relationships with power imbalances
Hurt/comfort and trauma recovery
People with vastly different backgrounds, perspectives, or life experience working together - especially grudging enemies/antagonists-to-allies/lovers stories
Explorations of characters' religious/philosophical beliefs, especially if they clash with the beliefs of other characters
Fairytale, folktales or mythology being incorporated into fic
Characters with a strong sense of home and place (whether that 'home' is a city, or other people)
Characters who are migrants, exiles or refugees, and for whom this is an important component of their identity
DNWs
Fusions and crossovers
AUs, apart from canon-divergence AUs (basically, please don't change the setting)
Incest
Unrequested ships involving my requested characters (background pairings involving unrequested characters are fine though)
No death of requested characters
Several fandom-specific DNWs, which I will outline below
Fandom-specific prompts:
Benjamin January mysteries — Barbara Hambly
Requested characters: Chloe Viellard, Dominique Viellard
What I like about the series
The characters! I particularly enjoy the way it throws together characters from opposite ends of the social spectrum, with vastly different experiences and outlooks, and requires them to work together
Characters who have to navigate difficult (and often painful and dangerous) situations, and who use all the tools at their disposal, however meagre those tools might be, to do so
The setting — 1830s New Orleans (and the United States in general) is basically a dystopia for a good portion of the characters in the series. I love those characters' tenacity, and joy, and compassion, and celebrations of small scraps of happiness in the face of that.
The different forms resistance takes in this series — Hambly makes it clear that resistance can look like helping enslaved people escape through the Underground Railroad, but it can also look like tiny acts of passive resistance and kindness, and that all kinds of resistance, from the small, to the large, are to be celebrated.
The various found, extended, and unconventional (to modern eyes) families that appear throughout the series. The series is in some senses a celebration of family in the broadest sense of the word.
Prompts I'd love to see
I have requested Chloe and Dominique for this fandom, because I absolutely adore each character individually, and my favourite moments in the series have been when they've been thrown together. I would love to see anything that brings these two women together to solve a problem: a mystery, a thorny social situation, some drama involving Henri or either of their families — I'm not fussy. I love the idea of fic which would allow both Chloe and Dominique to make use of their very different skillsets — Chloe's analytical and mathematical mind, Dominique's prodigious knowledge of social connections, gossip, and the family history of everyone in New Orleans and surrounds. I love the idea of fic that involved each of them rescuing each other from different dangers. The setting — both New Orleans and the wider region — is one of my favourite things about the Benjamin January series, and I welcome fic about these two characters that explored this worldbuilding in more detail, or took place in a location as yet unvisited in Hambly's books. I am equally happy with gen or shipfic about this pair of characters.
I have no problem if any other characters in the tagset for this fandom make appearances in your fic, as long as the focus is on Chloe, Dominique, and their relationship.
Slavery and anti-black racism are obviously huge themes of the Benjamin January books. I do not mind these being mentioned, discussed, or explored in your fic, as long as this is done in a similar manner, and to a similar degree to the manner in which such themes are explored/discussed in canon.
Fandom-specific DNWs
None
The Bone Season — Samantha Shannon
Requested characters: Warden | Arcturus Mesarthim, Paige Mahoney
What I like about the 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 Arcturus's relationship — the initial mistrust, the power imbalances, the secrets they keep from each other, the way they share dreams, and the way Arcturus makes Paige a bit more supernatural and she makes him a bit more human.
The hurt/comfort potential for the Paige/Arcturus relationship — I absolutely loved The Dawn Chorus, since it was one whole novella of Paige/Arcturus hurt/comfort!
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 Arcturus'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. I really love hurt/comfort fic, and would be particularly delighted to see more scenes of hurt/comfort with this pair of characters. Missing moments from when Paige was in hiding in London would be most welcome. I'd also love to read futurefic set just after the end of events in The Mask Falling — is Arcturus really dead? How do they find each other again, and how do they rebuild trust after the events of the most recent book caused Paige to doubt her own reality? I'd love to read fic set in another part of Samantha Shannon's alternate world — so far we've seen Scotland, England, Ireland, and Paris 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! Given this series is a retelling of the myth of Prometheus and Pandora, any fic that really leans into this premise could also be really interesting.
Fandom-specific DNWs
I'm happy for other characters from the series to appear in any fic you write, but I would prefer it if your fic didn't focus on Jaxon Hall.
Cupid and Psyche (Metamorphoses - Apuleius)
Requested characters: Cupid (Metamorphoses - Apuleius) Psyche (Metamorphoses - Apuleius)
What I like about the story and characters
Stories about human beings in relationships with gods or other supernatural beings are among my favourite thing, and this particular story is an excellent example of this theme
The power imbalances inherent in the characters' relationship, the rules surrounding it, the risks if these rules are broken, the underlying sense of fear (Psyche's assumption that her husband is monstrous, the idea that the gulf between human beings and gods is so great that it renders the gods monstrous)
The various folkloric tasks and quests set by Venus to Psyche, particularly the journey to the underworld
Prompts I'd love to see
I'd really like to see fic that focuses on the power imbalances inherent to the characters' relationship — how to manage a relationship in which one character is human (and missing crucial information about her husband) and the other character is a god (and withholding crucial information about his nature to his human wife). If we matched only one one of the two characters, a fic that focused on their individual feelings about these issues would be great. I'd also really enjoy a fic that played up the differences in their natures after Psyche has first seen Cupid in his true form — she was given a prophecy that she would marry an inhuman 'monster,' so how does a god appear through human eyes? The story describes Cupid's true form as beautiful, but perhaps this beauty appears somewhat terrifying and monstrous to Psyche? The story also depicts Cupid as being exasperated by Psyche's boundless curiosity and disobedience — as a god he seems used to being obeyed, whereas Psyche has a typical human curiosity in the face of forbidding orders. It would be great to see fic that explored this inherent conflict at the heart of their relationship. I'd also be interested in fic covering Psyche's journey to the underworld and her meeting with Proserpine, from her perspective, Cupid's or both.
Fandom-specific DNWs
Although this story ends with Psyche being made immortal, I'd prefer your fic not to dwell on this aspect, as the main draw of this story/relationship for me is the fact that one character is human and the other character isn't.
Galax Arena series
Requested characters: Presh, Allan 'Allyman' Manne
As Terra Farma was published so much later than Galax Arena, it's not very well known, and I'm happy for it not to be treated as canon if ignoring it makes the story you want to tell about these characters easier.
What I like about the series
My favourite things about this series are the ways in which the peb of Galax Arena find ways to build community and assert their humanity in the face of dispossession and exploitation. I love the ways they carve out spaces for themselves, the joy they feel in performing circus acts in spite of the cruel system that forces them to do so, and the choices they make in order to survive.
I've always found Presh and Allyman to be the most interesting characters, and their relationship to be the most intriguing in the series, particularly as all are seen through Joella's rather biased, uncomprehending eyes.
Presh's refusal to make her birth name known, and her emotionless, resigned persona have always struck me as deliberate choices she made in order to survive in terrible circumstances, while Allyman's complicity in the system that exploited him has always struck me as a subject ripe for exploration.
Prompts I'd love to see
I'd be really interested to read any fic that delved further into Presh and Allyman's relationship, particularly how it evolves and is affected by their respective relationships with the Arena. That Allyman gave Presh the name by which she is known in the series seems incredibly significant, and I'd love to read a fic that dealt with that particular act of naming. These two characters don't get much happiness in the series, and I'd be thrilled to receive any fic that captured small, missing moments of happiness for this pairing amidst the greater chaos and tragedy of the series. This is also another canon in which I'd be happy to read a canon-divergent AU in which Allyman survived the events of Terra Farma.
I also find Presh's interactions with Liane and Fenja to be a really interesting aspect of Galax Arena: they idolise and admire her so much, and look up to her, and I imagine this is very uncomfortable and painful to Presh. How does their adoration make her feel? I'd love to read fic that explored this.
The Iliad — Homer
Requested characters: Briseis, Chryseis
What I like about the characters and story
The utter destruction and horror wrought by war and the extremes of male honour culture, and the particular damage these things do to the women in the story.
The fact that Briseis and Chryseis are somewhat voiceless in canon, and the sense that they speak from the margins.
The sense of endurance and survival and strength of Briseis and Chryseis (and all the other women of the Iliad) in spite of all the monstrous things done to them
Prompts I'd love to see
I'd love to see either missing moments or futurefic that dug into either (or both) characters' state of mind. What do they feel about being enslaved, and how do they retain a sense of self? Is there a sense of solidarity among the enslaved women in the Greek camp, and what does resistance look like to them? Fic that explored different types of resistance would be very welcome, particularly if this resistance was entirely internal, confined to the characters' own thoughts. Other prompts that I'd be interested to see include either Briseis, Chryseis, or both women interacting with gods or other supernatural beings, or one or both characters trying to rebuild in the ruins of Troy after the war is over. Or they may have left Troy altogether — many of the women of Troy end up enslaved by the victorious rulers and taken back with them, and fic that explored the experiences of Briseis, Chryseis or both women in such a scenario would be really interesting to me. If you do choose to write fic about both my requested characters, I do ship the two of them together, but would be equally happy with either shipfic or gen.
Fandom-specific DNWs
I'm happy for characters such as Achilles and Agamemnon to feature in the fic, and for any degree of darkness and violence to be depicted in terms of their treatment of Briseis and Chryseis. What I don't want to see is any attempt to excuse their behaviour or for e.g. Briseis to think well of Achilles (although her preferring to be enslaved by him than Agamemnon is fine). I don't mind Achilles/Patroclus to be mentioned as a background pairing but I want the focus of any fic about Briseis to be about her experiences and interactions with other characters rather than e.g. her extended thoughts about the Achilles/Patroclus relationship.
Legendsong series
Requested characters: Ember, Glynn, Bleyd, Solen, Tareed, Feyt
Prompts I'd love to see
I would be really keen to read futurefic for this series. I want to know what happens when Ember and Glynn (and the respective people they've gathered around them) meet on Keltor. How does Glynn react to the fact that Ember - who she's always felt she had to protect - has been getting along just fine on her own? How do the political factions with which the two have aligned themselves affect how they react to the various problems and conflicts plaguing that world?
I would also be very interested in reading about how the various romantic relationships in the series - Solen and Glynn, Ember and Bleyd, and Tareed and Feyt - resolve themselves. I'm not necessarily looking for a happy ending for everyone, but I would be interested in seeing what happened if, for example, Ember was finally able to acknowledge Bleyd's feelings for her.
Fandom-specific DNWs
I would prefer that any fic you write avoided pitting Ember and Glynn against each other. I don't mind if they have opposing aims, but I do not want to read about an antagonistic relationship between them, and would like if any conflicts or differences of opinion between them were resolved by the end of the fic.
The Lions of Al-Rassan - Guy Gavriel Kay
Requested characters: Jehane bet Ishak, Rodrigo Belmonte, Ammar ibn Khairan, Miranda Belmonte
What I like about the series
The gorgeous tone of melancholy that permeates the entire narrative — the way it basically functions as an elegy for a lost society, destroyed by those who never saw its value.
That brief, shining moment when all the three main characters (and Miranda, at a slight remove) are working towards a common cause, and given a chance to demonstrate their incredible competence.
The way all three main characters (and, I would argue, Miranda as well) are in love with each other, while aware they're poised on the brink of destruction.
Prompts I'd love to see
I'm very keen for canon-divergent future fic. Find a way for both Rodrigo and Ammar to survive, and for all four characters to navigate both the love triangle, and Rodrigo and Miranda's marriage in a way that makes everyone happy, and I will be in raptures! I love that all four of the characters sit essentially on the margins of their respective cultures, moving back and fourth freely until the world makes that impossible, so any fic that dealt with this liminal existence would be very welcome. I love how competent they all are at their various professions, so a fic that showcased Jehane's skills as a doctor, Rodrigo's as a soldier, Miranda's at managing a ranch and household, and Ammar's as both a poet and politician would make me extremely happy. I love reading fic about groups characters bringing their wildly different skillsets together to solve a problem, and this would definitely work well with these four characters.
Fandom-specific DNWs
If your fic focuses on various configurations of romantic relationships between the four requested characters, please do not include deception or secrecy. (So, for example, if Rodrigo, Ammar and Jehane admit and act on their feelings for each other, don't leave Miranda in the dark about what's going on, and don't make it cause the breakup of her marriage with Rodrigo.)
I don't want shipfic in which the sole pairing is Ammar/Rodrigo. Any other configurations involving some or all of my four requested characters are fine, and I'm also happy with multiship fic in which Ammar/Rodrigo is one among multiple other pairings (basically, please involve the female characters if you want to write shippy fic).
The power of the story of The Lions of Al-Rassan for me lies in the sense of tragic inevitability of Al-Rassan's collapse, so if you do choose to write post-canon fic, please keep this element of canon. (Basically, I don't want canon-divergent fic in which Al-Rassan continues to exist as an independent political entity beyond the point of its final collapse/overthrow in canon.)
The Pagan Chronicles - Catherine Jinks
Requested characters: Babylonne Kidrouk, Isidore Orbus
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 would be eternally grateful for futurefic set after Pagan's Daughter in which Isidore and Babylonne have adventures in Bologna. (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!)I love the series' emphasis on religious pluralism, scholarship and learning, and good-faith engagement with people with different religious and cultural backgrounds, and any fic that explored these ideas would be fantastic. I'd also love to see the pair travelling elsewhere, having adventures, and meeting (and reacting to) new people and ideas. I love how clever, talkative, argumentative and downright wordy all the characters in this series are, and any fic which gave free rein to their loquaciousness, differing religious perspectives, or similar ideas would be absolutely marvellous.
Fandom specific DNWs
None
Romanitas trilogy — Sophia McDougall
Requested characters: Marcus Novius Faustus Leo, Una
Canon consists of three books: Romanitas, Rome Burning, and Savage City
What I like about this series
The unflinching exploration of privilege and power
Characters (especially Marcus and Una) from vastly different backgrounds and experiences being thrown together and working towards common goals
Una's troubled relationship with her supernatural powers — how they force her into artificial closeness with strangers, and how traumatic she finds this
Una's experiences as a survivor of trauma, and her slow journey from terrified, cynical fugitive to fearless leader of a global resistance movement
The way that both Una and Marcus are intensely private people who would really rather just be left alone, but who are forced by circumstances to lead their lives in public, under intense scrutiny
Prompts I'd love to see
I got wonderful fix-it fic for Marcus and Una several years ago as a Yuletide gift, but I never tire of reading futurefic where Marcus lives, and he and Una end up living happily ever after. Any fic that did this while also sticking to the global resistance/abolitionist movement led by Una from the Library of Alexandria plot of Savage City would be extremely welcome. Alternatively, a missing moment taking place between the events of Romanitas or Rome Burning — one of those rare moments of happiness that Una and Marcus got, before everything went dark again — would be wonderful. I loved how we saw the pair enjoying a period of calm and peace in Greece at the beginning of Rome Burning, and any fic that took place during that time and explored Greece, or other corners of the modern Roman empire would be great. One of my favourite parts of canon is how uncomfortable Una is with the name Noviana being affixed to her name (but then claims the name, and all it represents, later on), and I would love if this struggle with her name and identity could be incorporated into the fic in some way.
Rumpelstilzchen | Rumpelstiltskin (Grimm)
Requested characters: Rumpelstilzchen | Rumpelstiltskin, Müllers Tochter | Miller's Daughter
What I like about the story and characters
The elements of bargaining, deals and exchange.
The way the miller's daughter is forced into a dangerous and impossible situation by the men around her (her father and the king) and finds a way out of it, within the limits imposed on her.
The magic and power of names.
Prompts I'd love to see
This canon only works for me if the miller's daughter is in on the bargain with Rumpelstiltskin from the very beginning — i.e. she's furious with her father and terrified by her situation and see Rumpelstiltskin as an ally rather than an antagonist. Fic that digs into this idea of the pair being allies (Rumpelstiltskin recognising the unfairness and danger of the miller's daughter's situation, the miller's daughter furious at the way she's being exploited, both characters appalled by a world which values gold more than their lives) would be great.
If we matched on a single character, I'd love to see fic that presented the fairytale from Rumpelstiltskin's perspective — why does his true name have such power, what do bargains/exchanges mean to him, and has he had past bad experiences of doing deals with humans? Solo stories about the miller's daughter could explore her feelings of being betrayed and trapped by her father and the king. Or maybe she's also known for being skilled at bargaining and deal-making, and sets about engineering a situation that will put those skills to use.
If you wanted to go in a shippy direction, I'd love to see a fic in which the two characters bonded over mutual admiration at each other's cleverness and resourcefulness. An interesting twist on the requirement to give up her firstborn child might be that said child is actually Rumpelstiltskin's (conceived willingly on the part of both characters).
Fandom-specific DNWs
Fic in which the miller's daughter thinks of Rumpelstiltskin as her antagonist. (It's okay if she starts out viewing him this way, but by the end of the fic I'd want her to think of him as an ally.) I also do not want fic in which the miller's daughter loves the king and is happy to marry him, or fic in which Rumpelstiltskin is an ordinary human being.
The Queens of Innis Lear — Tessa Gratton
Requested characters: Elia Lear, Aefa Thornhill, Morimaros, or Ban the Fox
Please note: I have not read Lady Hotspur, and my request and prompts possibly reflect that. I have no problem if you write a fic that incorporates aspects of Lady Hotspur, as long as it doesn't contradict my prompts or include any of my DNWs.
What I like about the book
I love that it digs behind the bluster and symbolism of King Lear to get to the heart of what motivates the characters psychologically, coming up with convincing and emotive explanations for what could seem like very (self-) destructive behaviour.
I love that all the nominated characters are ultimately motivated by a desire to do good, but what that good looks like is so fundamentally different that it sets them all in conflict.
The quiet moments of devastation: when Elia realises she’s so passive and reactive that people think of her as a sort of buffer, the calm shore against which crash the waves of other people’s emotions, selfishness, and sheer greedy need, or the tragedy of Ban, who is so accustomed to being treated not like a person but rather as a tool or weapon to be wielded that he gives his devoted loyalty to the first person who asks to use him so, rather than demanding or assuming.
The setting of Innis Lear — I love how it's almost a character of its own, alive and reacting to the actions of the characters who walk upon it, the tensions between worship of the stars and worship of roots and earth, and the way this informs the magic of Gratton's world, with people talking to trees and flowers.
The transformation over the course of the book of Elia — from quiet, austere, guarded star priest to a queen who is at once regal and of the earth.
Prompts I'd love to see
This is a fandom in which I'd particularly enjoy post-canon fic. What kind of queen is Elia, and how does she interact with Aremoria, and Morimaros, in the years that follow? Any particular moments requiring royal diplomacy between the two kingdoms would be great. Alternatively, how does she go about repairing the fractured pieces of Innis Lear — dealing with the nobles who sided with Regan or Gaela, reintroducing worship of rootwater, opening the wells again, and so on? What role might Aefa play in that? How does Ban's new semi-supernatural identity interact with all this, and how does Elia's role as mediator between the people and the land interact with Ban?
In terms of shipping, this is a fandom in which I am a genuine and enthusiastic multi-shipper. I love pretty much any combination of the four nominated characters (including threesomes or all four of them together). Elia and Morimaros is such a fraught pairing — they both know they are not just themselves, but are their entire kingdoms as well, and so their relationship has political implications far beyond their own immediate desires. There is genuine admiration and attraction there, but the politics holds them back, particularly Elia (although I love that by the end of the book, Morimaros has realised that he needs to put aside his own aims for the kingdom of Aremoria and just be there for Elia if he's to have any chance at doing the right, moral thing). I always got the feeling from the book that Aefa herself was a little in love with Morimaros (in any case, she certainly ships him and Elia), and is constantly pushing Elia towards him — and I'm therefore intrigued by the idea of Elia/Morimaros/Aefa, or Aefa/Morimaros (although I feel the latter pairing would be fraught with guilt about Elia). Then we come to Ban, whose upbringing has given him a terrible understanding of what love means — to him it means love is like a loaf of bread, and if you cut off one slice for someone, there is less to go around — and whom both Elia and Morimaros love, but, due to their roles as rulers of entire kingdoms, can never put him first. He is at first utterly devoted to Morimaros because he was the first person to truly value Ban and his skills, and I can see very easily how, pre-canon, this might have become something more, although it would be a very bittersweet pairing, as Ban would always be aware that Morimaros meant more to him than he to Morimaros. Ban and Elia are childhood sweethearts, and do get together in canon, but it's painful and fraught for both of them. And I feel that Elia/Aefa would also be a great pairing to explore: Aefa is one of the few people in canon who genuinely cares about Elia not for what she symbolises, but for herself, and who truly knows Elia as a person. I love the contrast in the two of them between Elia's celestial guardedness, and Aefa's kind, earthy practicality.
Fandom specific DNWs
Fic shipping Ban/Aefa without either of the other two characters.
Sally Lockhart series
Requested characters: Sally Lockhart, Daniel Goldberg
What I liked about this series
My favourite things about this series are the brilliant characters, and the deep trust they all have for each other. I adore that this trust has been forged in dangerous and frightening circumstances, and that conflicts are resolved by a combination of various characters' fierce intelligence and abilities. Each character has different strengths, and they all have a good sense of where those strengths are best used to everyone's advantage.
I also really love the strong focus on issues of social justice and the characters' deep ethical sense of right and wrong and desire to fight injustice.
Prompts I'd love to see
I'd particularly enjoy reading fic that included Daniel Goldberg, as we haven't really seen him working with any of the other characters (besides Sally) and I'm keen to see how he interacts with others such as Jim, Adelaide and Becky. How easy was it, for example, for him to fit in with the established dynamic of Sally, Jim and Webster? How did the arrival of characters like Adelaide and Becky work with this? There's a throwaway reference in The Tin Princess to Daniel potentially running for Parliament. What would his campaign look like? Would it even be possible for him to run, and what sort of mud would the establishment throw at him? I would also be very keen to read any fic in which the characters had to solve a case that had broader implications in terms of some historical injustice.
As you can probably tell from the prompts, I'm a big fan of the Sally/Daniel pairing, and I'd love shipfic focusing on them. However, I do also love Fred Garland, and I don't want to read anything that bashes him, or ignores the place he had in Sally's (and other characters') life.
Six of Crows series — Leigh Bardugo
Requested characters: Any of Kaz Brekker, Inej Ghafa, Jesper Fahey, Wylan Van Eck, Nina Zenik, Matthias Helvar, or Kuwei Yul-Bo
Canon consists of two books, Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom
What I like about the series
The found families aspect, which is absolutely central to the story. I love its 'us against the world' dynamic.
The sense of place, particularly of Ketterdam as a city of migrants, refugees and misfits who've made it their home. I love that it's messy and corrupt and dangerous, and that it eventually becomes home to all the characters in the series, even if they don't realise it.
The fact that all the main characters are, in a sense, survivors of trauma, and that they have all found different coping strategies, with varying degrees of success.
The way that Kaz's various schemes force an awkward bunch of misfits, most of whom have extremely clashing personalities and aims, to work together, and the grudging respect that they build for one another as a result.
All the characters are highly competent at their respective skills, and I love the tension between this competence (which, if properly harnessed, would make them a formidable team) and their emotions, tendency to secrecy, desire to work alone to achieve individual aims, and occasionally selfish decisions (which undermine the competence of the team as a whole).
Prompts I'd love to see
Pretty much any combination of the characters in the tagset would be fantastic. One of the things I love about the series is the way it forces characters with wildly different backgrounds, temperaments and motivations to work together, so any pre- or post-canon fic that threw any of these characters together (especially for a heist or other kind of subversive act) would be amazing. Missing moments fic of this nature (throwing mismatched characters together in order for them to achieve some complicated common aim) would also be much appreciated. I would love pretty much any combination of characters in this kind of fic. I love the characters' competence at their respective skills, and would love to see fic which saw them showing off their various talents.
Shipping wise I ship the canon pairings, but the only pairing I'm really interested in reading fic about is Inej and Kaz, and if you want to go in a shippy direction, I would love to read fix-it futurefic in which Inej returned to Ketterdam to stay and she and Kaz figured out a way to work through their respective trauma and have a relationship. (I'm happy for any of the canon pairings to feature as background ships, in either a Kaz/Inej ship fic, or a gen fic.) I'm not one hundred per cent convinved by the ending Bardugo chose which saw so many of the characters leave Ketterdam — in my opinion, one of the themes of the series was misfits, the dispossessed, and refugees finding a home in each other, and in a city whose inhabitants were mainly misfits themselves, so if you were to write post-series fic, whether shipfic or gen, my preference would be a canon divergent AU in which all characters ultimately decided to remain in Ketterdam.
Space Demons trilogy
Requested characters: Elaine Taylor, Mario Ferrone, Ben Challis, Andrew Hayford, Midori Ito, Toshihiro Toda
What I like about this series
Its emphasis on people from vastly different backgrounds working together to solve individual and collective problems, and the intense bonds this forged between the characters as a result. I love how much empathy and love the characters have for one another by the end of Shinkei.
I also appreciate how technology is woven into their lives, almost like another character.
I also really like the strong sense of place in the series, particularly the Australian locations, which are vividly realised.
Prompts I'd love to see
I would be very interested in reading any fic that shows us the characters' lives several years after the events of Shinkei. How are Andrew and Midori dealing with their international relationship? Is Ben more confident after the events of the series? How does Elaine's relationship with her mother unfold? What does an adult Mario look like? Do the characters stay in touch, and if so, how? It would be great to read about them coming together to deal with a new technological threat. How does the ubiquity and speed of the internet (as compared with what we saw in Shinkei) affect their ability to combat new sentient technology?
Tech in general plays a huge role in the trilogy, and I'd love fic that played around with that, interweaving the characters' experiences and relationships with 1990s computer and arcade games, the 1990s internet (bulletin boards! early chatrooms!), or their experiences of technological developments between the canon era and the current day.
One other aspect of the series that I don't think was explored as fully as it could have been was the near-telepathic connection between the characters. I'd be thrilled to read about them in a Sense8-like scenario, sharing memories and experiences, jumping in and out of each others' heads. This could be something that they can control, or not, as the fancy takes you.
In terms of shipfic, I only really ship canon pairings, or pairings that are hinted at as potential in the canon: so Andrew/Midori, and Mario/Elaine. I can also see Mario, Elaine and Ben ending up in some kind of complicated polyamorous scenario (either Mario/Ben/Elaine, or Mario in relationships with both Ben and Elaine with the consent and knowledge of all involved). I'd be happy to read any fic that focused on the pairings I've outlined in this paragraph. Alternatively, if you wanted to take the Sense8 prompt and run with it, I'd be happy to read fic that paired Andrew/Midori/Mario/Elaine/Ben, with however much angst and awkwardness you feel is appropriate!
Spinning Silver — Naomi Novik
Requested characters: Miryem Mandelstam, the Staryk Lord
Canon consists of a single book, Spinning Silver
What I like about the book
I absolutely adore fairytale retellings, particularly those that bring a bit of darkness to the retellig, so Spinning Silver is very welcome in that regard.
The human/non-human pairings, especially Miryem and the Staryk Lord, because Novik doesn't shy away from his sheer inhuman strangeness. There's often a temptation with characters like that to soften and humanise them, and I'm glad this isn't present in Spinning Silver.
The emphasis on bargaining and exchange, and the way they're made heroic. It's an absolute joy to see that Miryem's skills as a moneylender become a sort of magical power in the Staryk lands, where making deals underpins every social action.
All the little details — the fact that Miryem worries about the passage of time in the otherworld, because she won't know when to observe Shabbat, and worries about whether Staryk food is kosher. And I love that Miryem's identity and practice as an observant Jewish woman does not bar her from the otherworld, but rather is something that she brings with her to that otherworld and uses as a source of strength.
The way the fairytale dangers and horrors sit neatly beside more prosaic, earthly horrors such as poverty, hunger, or antisemitism — and the fact that characters' experiences dealing with the latter give them the ability to deal with the former.
Prompts I'd love to see
One of my favourite scenes in canon was when the Staryk Lord joined Miryem as promised and danced at her cousin's wedding. I really love moments where the supernatural world is brought into rituals and celebrations of the human world, and would adore to see more of this - perhaps the Staryk Lord participating in another celebration or festival with Miryem, or, alternatively, Miryem involved in a festival in the Staryk lands. I loved the way bargaining and exchange were made powerful, and words, contracts and promises became weapons, so any fic that involved that element of canon would be amazing (particularly something that played around with ideas of naming and claiming, and the power of names). I also loved the human/non-human pairing of Miryem and the Staryk Lord, and appreciated that although both characters shaped and changed each other, he did not become more human, and remained strange and otherworldly, but rather gained in his appreciation of Miryem's humanity and human qualities. Any future fic exploring this pairing that focused on the human/non-human aspects (and related cultural clashes, resolution of misunderstandings or just the two characters revelling in their partner's respective human/non-human nature) would be wonderful. I also really enjoyed the elements of folklore, fairytale and Eastern European mythology, and would adore any fic that used existing mythology as a frame.
Sunshine (Robin McKinley)
Requested characters: Rae "Sunshine" Seddon, Constantine
Prompts I'd love to see
This is one canon where I really want to read futurefic! Robin McKinley left everything on such a cliffhanger, with so many unresolved threads, and I'd really love to know, for example, whether the world the characters inhabit really is on the brink of collapse, and what such a collapse would look like, and whether anything Sunshine and co could do would stop or slow this collapse.
I'm particularly keen to read fic that explores Sunshine and Constantine's relationship further. What happened after the last page turned and Sunshine 'went with [Constantine] into the night'? I love that in becoming allies and facing danger together, Sunshine became a little bit more like Constantine, and vice versa. I love the way they were able to bring each other into their worlds - Sunshine leading Con around in the daylight that would kill him if not for her presence is a particularly resonant scene, and one of my favourites in the book. Likewise, I enjoy the way Con's presence opens up the darkness to Sunshine. I would love reading any fic that explores this aspect of their relationship.
It would also be great to read about the pair of them teaming up to deal with new supernatural threats, or any changes to the balance of power that resulted from their defeat of Bo at the end of the book.
Fandom-specific DNWs
I have one DNW for fic of this canon, and that is the Sunshine/Mel relationship. I certainly don't want to read fic that bashes Mel or has Sunshine cheating on him with Con, but I'm not interested in Mel as a character and don't want to read about his and Sunshine's relationship.
Winternight series — Katherine Arden
Requested characters: Morozko (Winternight Series), Vasilisa Petrovna
Canon consists of two books, The Bear and the Nightingale and The Girl in the Tower, of an eventual trilogy.
What I like about the series
I love the way it weaves medieval Russian history with Russian mythology and the more intimate, personal stories of the characters.
The human/non-human pairing of Morozko and Vasya.
The vivid setting: the contrast between the frozen harshness of the natural world (bleak lakes, snow-covered forests) and the warmth of human spaces (massive kitchen stoves, bathhouses, warm blankets and delicious food).
Vasya's goodness and compassion and her strong sense of duty and justice, and the courage it takes her to do what is right, even at great personal cost.
I love the emphasis on women's work and women's spaces - for all Vasya shuns them, they have shaped her, and have their own power that drives a lot of the action of the series.
Prompts I'd love to see
Pretty much any fic in which Vasya and Morozko have to work together to solve a problem either supernatural, political, personal, or some combination thereof. I love the tensions that simmer between these two characters - in interacting with one another they have somehow each managed to shift something fundamental about themselves, and neither character has fully dealt with that in canon yet. Morozko is the god of death, and it appears from canon that his ability to be so is weakened by his love for Vasya - how could this be resolved? I would love a fic that brought in more allusions to Russian mythology/folklore, especially if it could be framed to fit with the two characters. I really ship the pairing of Vasya/Morozko but am happy if you would prefer to take their relationship in a gen direction as well - I'd love any fic about these two as long as it emphasised the differences in culture, attitude, and moral outlook that their respective identities as human/non-human characters create. I also love the way the supernatural can be smaller and more domestic (all the elemental domestic deities that Vasya interacts with) and would adore a fic that explored this further and saw both Vasya and Morozko dealing with smaller deities whose existence is fixed to a particular house, stables, bathhouse or similar. And I love the two horses who carry these two characters, and would really love to read fic that saw the pair of them interacting with the horses, illuminating interesting things about their character.
Tochmarc Étaíne
Requested characters: Étaín, Fúamnach
What I like about this story and characters
It's just really, really bizarre and weird, and jumps from point to point and character to character so abruptly that it feels like a bunch of unrelated stories stuck together.
I love the sense that there's this whole story about the two women happening below the surface of what is actually written down in the source material.
In canon, both women are somewhat voiceless, their motivations never explained, and Étaín acted upon rather than acting, and I love the sense of freedom and possibility this gives to fic writers.
The interaction between the otherworldly and human worlds — the barrier between both is thin, and permeable, with the supernatural constantly bleeding into the everyday world.
Prompts I'd love to see
I particularly want to see fic set during the point in canon when Midir brings Étaín into the otherworld to be his wife. In canon, Fúamnach is immediately jealous and transforms Étaín into a pool of water in a fit of rage. But what if, instead, the two women bond, and Fúamnach transformed Étaín to protect her and keep her away from Midir? Fic where the two have a sense of solidarity in the face of being brought into the otherworld against their will would be great — I've always felt Midir has a kind of ruthless acquisitiveness, and for the two women to recognise and resist this in whatever small ways they can would be great. I'd also be interested in fic that explored the otherworldly setting and focused on the strange inhabitants and landscape of the supernatural otherworld. If you wanted to pair up Étaín and Fúamnach and write shipfic I'd be delighted, but I'd be equally delighted with gen.
When it comes to Fúamnach, I'd love to see fic focusing on her magical powers. Does Midir curtail these powers in some way? How do her powers work, and are there any other situations in which she's used them?
In terms of Étaín, fic that dug into the disorienting weirdness of her situation — an endless cycle of death and rebirth, appearing and reappearing after vast amounts of time have passed, travelling in and out of the otherworld, transformation into water, and into various types of animal — would be wonderful.
Fandom specific DNWs
Fic that portrays Étaín or Fúamnach as jealous of each other or competing for Midir's affections. I don't mind a focus on pairing both or either woman up with Midir as long as it's non-consensual. Other than the aforementioned Midir/Fúamnach or Midir/Étaín, I don't want to see any pairings for either woman besides Étaín/Fúamnach.
Don't feel you have to stick rigidly within the bounds of my prompts. As long as your fic is focused on the characters 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.
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. You can also look at my Yuletide tag, which includes past letters, and recs posts of my previous gifts and other fic I've enjoyed in previous Yuletide colletions.
I have treating enabled on Ao3 and would be delighted to receive treats for any of my requests.
General likes
DNWs
Fandom-specific prompts:
Benjamin January mysteries — Barbara Hambly
Requested characters: Chloe Viellard, Dominique Viellard
What I like about the series
Prompts I'd love to see
I have requested Chloe and Dominique for this fandom, because I absolutely adore each character individually, and my favourite moments in the series have been when they've been thrown together. I would love to see anything that brings these two women together to solve a problem: a mystery, a thorny social situation, some drama involving Henri or either of their families — I'm not fussy. I love the idea of fic which would allow both Chloe and Dominique to make use of their very different skillsets — Chloe's analytical and mathematical mind, Dominique's prodigious knowledge of social connections, gossip, and the family history of everyone in New Orleans and surrounds. I love the idea of fic that involved each of them rescuing each other from different dangers. The setting — both New Orleans and the wider region — is one of my favourite things about the Benjamin January series, and I welcome fic about these two characters that explored this worldbuilding in more detail, or took place in a location as yet unvisited in Hambly's books. I am equally happy with gen or shipfic about this pair of characters.
I have no problem if any other characters in the tagset for this fandom make appearances in your fic, as long as the focus is on Chloe, Dominique, and their relationship.
Slavery and anti-black racism are obviously huge themes of the Benjamin January books. I do not mind these being mentioned, discussed, or explored in your fic, as long as this is done in a similar manner, and to a similar degree to the manner in which such themes are explored/discussed in canon.
Fandom-specific DNWs
None
The Bone Season — Samantha Shannon
Requested characters: Warden | Arcturus Mesarthim, Paige Mahoney
What I like about the series
Prompts I'd love to see
Any fic that explores Paige and Arcturus'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. I really love hurt/comfort fic, and would be particularly delighted to see more scenes of hurt/comfort with this pair of characters. Missing moments from when Paige was in hiding in London would be most welcome. I'd also love to read futurefic set just after the end of events in The Mask Falling — is Arcturus really dead? How do they find each other again, and how do they rebuild trust after the events of the most recent book caused Paige to doubt her own reality? I'd love to read fic set in another part of Samantha Shannon's alternate world — so far we've seen Scotland, England, Ireland, and Paris 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! Given this series is a retelling of the myth of Prometheus and Pandora, any fic that really leans into this premise could also be really interesting.
Fandom-specific DNWs
I'm happy for other characters from the series to appear in any fic you write, but I would prefer it if your fic didn't focus on Jaxon Hall.
Cupid and Psyche (Metamorphoses - Apuleius)
Requested characters: Cupid (Metamorphoses - Apuleius) Psyche (Metamorphoses - Apuleius)
What I like about the story and characters
Prompts I'd love to see
I'd really like to see fic that focuses on the power imbalances inherent to the characters' relationship — how to manage a relationship in which one character is human (and missing crucial information about her husband) and the other character is a god (and withholding crucial information about his nature to his human wife). If we matched only one one of the two characters, a fic that focused on their individual feelings about these issues would be great. I'd also really enjoy a fic that played up the differences in their natures after Psyche has first seen Cupid in his true form — she was given a prophecy that she would marry an inhuman 'monster,' so how does a god appear through human eyes? The story describes Cupid's true form as beautiful, but perhaps this beauty appears somewhat terrifying and monstrous to Psyche? The story also depicts Cupid as being exasperated by Psyche's boundless curiosity and disobedience — as a god he seems used to being obeyed, whereas Psyche has a typical human curiosity in the face of forbidding orders. It would be great to see fic that explored this inherent conflict at the heart of their relationship. I'd also be interested in fic covering Psyche's journey to the underworld and her meeting with Proserpine, from her perspective, Cupid's or both.
Fandom-specific DNWs
Although this story ends with Psyche being made immortal, I'd prefer your fic not to dwell on this aspect, as the main draw of this story/relationship for me is the fact that one character is human and the other character isn't.
Galax Arena series
Requested characters: Presh, Allan 'Allyman' Manne
As Terra Farma was published so much later than Galax Arena, it's not very well known, and I'm happy for it not to be treated as canon if ignoring it makes the story you want to tell about these characters easier.
What I like about the series
Prompts I'd love to see
I'd be really interested to read any fic that delved further into Presh and Allyman's relationship, particularly how it evolves and is affected by their respective relationships with the Arena. That Allyman gave Presh the name by which she is known in the series seems incredibly significant, and I'd love to read a fic that dealt with that particular act of naming. These two characters don't get much happiness in the series, and I'd be thrilled to receive any fic that captured small, missing moments of happiness for this pairing amidst the greater chaos and tragedy of the series. This is also another canon in which I'd be happy to read a canon-divergent AU in which Allyman survived the events of Terra Farma.
I also find Presh's interactions with Liane and Fenja to be a really interesting aspect of Galax Arena: they idolise and admire her so much, and look up to her, and I imagine this is very uncomfortable and painful to Presh. How does their adoration make her feel? I'd love to read fic that explored this.
The Iliad — Homer
Requested characters: Briseis, Chryseis
What I like about the characters and story
Prompts I'd love to see
I'd love to see either missing moments or futurefic that dug into either (or both) characters' state of mind. What do they feel about being enslaved, and how do they retain a sense of self? Is there a sense of solidarity among the enslaved women in the Greek camp, and what does resistance look like to them? Fic that explored different types of resistance would be very welcome, particularly if this resistance was entirely internal, confined to the characters' own thoughts. Other prompts that I'd be interested to see include either Briseis, Chryseis, or both women interacting with gods or other supernatural beings, or one or both characters trying to rebuild in the ruins of Troy after the war is over. Or they may have left Troy altogether — many of the women of Troy end up enslaved by the victorious rulers and taken back with them, and fic that explored the experiences of Briseis, Chryseis or both women in such a scenario would be really interesting to me. If you do choose to write fic about both my requested characters, I do ship the two of them together, but would be equally happy with either shipfic or gen.
Fandom-specific DNWs
I'm happy for characters such as Achilles and Agamemnon to feature in the fic, and for any degree of darkness and violence to be depicted in terms of their treatment of Briseis and Chryseis. What I don't want to see is any attempt to excuse their behaviour or for e.g. Briseis to think well of Achilles (although her preferring to be enslaved by him than Agamemnon is fine). I don't mind Achilles/Patroclus to be mentioned as a background pairing but I want the focus of any fic about Briseis to be about her experiences and interactions with other characters rather than e.g. her extended thoughts about the Achilles/Patroclus relationship.
Legendsong series
Requested characters: Ember, Glynn, Bleyd, Solen, Tareed, Feyt
Prompts I'd love to see
I would be really keen to read futurefic for this series. I want to know what happens when Ember and Glynn (and the respective people they've gathered around them) meet on Keltor. How does Glynn react to the fact that Ember - who she's always felt she had to protect - has been getting along just fine on her own? How do the political factions with which the two have aligned themselves affect how they react to the various problems and conflicts plaguing that world?
I would also be very interested in reading about how the various romantic relationships in the series - Solen and Glynn, Ember and Bleyd, and Tareed and Feyt - resolve themselves. I'm not necessarily looking for a happy ending for everyone, but I would be interested in seeing what happened if, for example, Ember was finally able to acknowledge Bleyd's feelings for her.
Fandom-specific DNWs
I would prefer that any fic you write avoided pitting Ember and Glynn against each other. I don't mind if they have opposing aims, but I do not want to read about an antagonistic relationship between them, and would like if any conflicts or differences of opinion between them were resolved by the end of the fic.
The Lions of Al-Rassan - Guy Gavriel Kay
Requested characters: Jehane bet Ishak, Rodrigo Belmonte, Ammar ibn Khairan, Miranda Belmonte
What I like about the series
Prompts I'd love to see
I'm very keen for canon-divergent future fic. Find a way for both Rodrigo and Ammar to survive, and for all four characters to navigate both the love triangle, and Rodrigo and Miranda's marriage in a way that makes everyone happy, and I will be in raptures! I love that all four of the characters sit essentially on the margins of their respective cultures, moving back and fourth freely until the world makes that impossible, so any fic that dealt with this liminal existence would be very welcome. I love how competent they all are at their various professions, so a fic that showcased Jehane's skills as a doctor, Rodrigo's as a soldier, Miranda's at managing a ranch and household, and Ammar's as both a poet and politician would make me extremely happy. I love reading fic about groups characters bringing their wildly different skillsets together to solve a problem, and this would definitely work well with these four characters.
Fandom-specific DNWs
If your fic focuses on various configurations of romantic relationships between the four requested characters, please do not include deception or secrecy. (So, for example, if Rodrigo, Ammar and Jehane admit and act on their feelings for each other, don't leave Miranda in the dark about what's going on, and don't make it cause the breakup of her marriage with Rodrigo.)
I don't want shipfic in which the sole pairing is Ammar/Rodrigo. Any other configurations involving some or all of my four requested characters are fine, and I'm also happy with multiship fic in which Ammar/Rodrigo is one among multiple other pairings (basically, please involve the female characters if you want to write shippy fic).
The power of the story of The Lions of Al-Rassan for me lies in the sense of tragic inevitability of Al-Rassan's collapse, so if you do choose to write post-canon fic, please keep this element of canon. (Basically, I don't want canon-divergent fic in which Al-Rassan continues to exist as an independent political entity beyond the point of its final collapse/overthrow in canon.)
The Pagan Chronicles - Catherine Jinks
Requested characters: Babylonne Kidrouk, Isidore Orbus
What I like about this series
Prompts I'd love to see
I would be eternally grateful for futurefic set after Pagan's Daughter in which Isidore and Babylonne have adventures in Bologna. (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!)I love the series' emphasis on religious pluralism, scholarship and learning, and good-faith engagement with people with different religious and cultural backgrounds, and any fic that explored these ideas would be fantastic. I'd also love to see the pair travelling elsewhere, having adventures, and meeting (and reacting to) new people and ideas. I love how clever, talkative, argumentative and downright wordy all the characters in this series are, and any fic which gave free rein to their loquaciousness, differing religious perspectives, or similar ideas would be absolutely marvellous.
Fandom specific DNWs
None
Romanitas trilogy — Sophia McDougall
Requested characters: Marcus Novius Faustus Leo, Una
Canon consists of three books: Romanitas, Rome Burning, and Savage City
What I like about this series
Prompts I'd love to see
I got wonderful fix-it fic for Marcus and Una several years ago as a Yuletide gift, but I never tire of reading futurefic where Marcus lives, and he and Una end up living happily ever after. Any fic that did this while also sticking to the global resistance/abolitionist movement led by Una from the Library of Alexandria plot of Savage City would be extremely welcome. Alternatively, a missing moment taking place between the events of Romanitas or Rome Burning — one of those rare moments of happiness that Una and Marcus got, before everything went dark again — would be wonderful. I loved how we saw the pair enjoying a period of calm and peace in Greece at the beginning of Rome Burning, and any fic that took place during that time and explored Greece, or other corners of the modern Roman empire would be great. One of my favourite parts of canon is how uncomfortable Una is with the name Noviana being affixed to her name (but then claims the name, and all it represents, later on), and I would love if this struggle with her name and identity could be incorporated into the fic in some way.
Rumpelstilzchen | Rumpelstiltskin (Grimm)
Requested characters: Rumpelstilzchen | Rumpelstiltskin, Müllers Tochter | Miller's Daughter
What I like about the story and characters
Prompts I'd love to see
This canon only works for me if the miller's daughter is in on the bargain with Rumpelstiltskin from the very beginning — i.e. she's furious with her father and terrified by her situation and see Rumpelstiltskin as an ally rather than an antagonist. Fic that digs into this idea of the pair being allies (Rumpelstiltskin recognising the unfairness and danger of the miller's daughter's situation, the miller's daughter furious at the way she's being exploited, both characters appalled by a world which values gold more than their lives) would be great.
If we matched on a single character, I'd love to see fic that presented the fairytale from Rumpelstiltskin's perspective — why does his true name have such power, what do bargains/exchanges mean to him, and has he had past bad experiences of doing deals with humans? Solo stories about the miller's daughter could explore her feelings of being betrayed and trapped by her father and the king. Or maybe she's also known for being skilled at bargaining and deal-making, and sets about engineering a situation that will put those skills to use.
If you wanted to go in a shippy direction, I'd love to see a fic in which the two characters bonded over mutual admiration at each other's cleverness and resourcefulness. An interesting twist on the requirement to give up her firstborn child might be that said child is actually Rumpelstiltskin's (conceived willingly on the part of both characters).
Fandom-specific DNWs
Fic in which the miller's daughter thinks of Rumpelstiltskin as her antagonist. (It's okay if she starts out viewing him this way, but by the end of the fic I'd want her to think of him as an ally.) I also do not want fic in which the miller's daughter loves the king and is happy to marry him, or fic in which Rumpelstiltskin is an ordinary human being.
The Queens of Innis Lear — Tessa Gratton
Requested characters: Elia Lear, Aefa Thornhill, Morimaros, or Ban the Fox
Please note: I have not read Lady Hotspur, and my request and prompts possibly reflect that. I have no problem if you write a fic that incorporates aspects of Lady Hotspur, as long as it doesn't contradict my prompts or include any of my DNWs.
What I like about the book
Prompts I'd love to see
This is a fandom in which I'd particularly enjoy post-canon fic. What kind of queen is Elia, and how does she interact with Aremoria, and Morimaros, in the years that follow? Any particular moments requiring royal diplomacy between the two kingdoms would be great. Alternatively, how does she go about repairing the fractured pieces of Innis Lear — dealing with the nobles who sided with Regan or Gaela, reintroducing worship of rootwater, opening the wells again, and so on? What role might Aefa play in that? How does Ban's new semi-supernatural identity interact with all this, and how does Elia's role as mediator between the people and the land interact with Ban?
In terms of shipping, this is a fandom in which I am a genuine and enthusiastic multi-shipper. I love pretty much any combination of the four nominated characters (including threesomes or all four of them together). Elia and Morimaros is such a fraught pairing — they both know they are not just themselves, but are their entire kingdoms as well, and so their relationship has political implications far beyond their own immediate desires. There is genuine admiration and attraction there, but the politics holds them back, particularly Elia (although I love that by the end of the book, Morimaros has realised that he needs to put aside his own aims for the kingdom of Aremoria and just be there for Elia if he's to have any chance at doing the right, moral thing). I always got the feeling from the book that Aefa herself was a little in love with Morimaros (in any case, she certainly ships him and Elia), and is constantly pushing Elia towards him — and I'm therefore intrigued by the idea of Elia/Morimaros/Aefa, or Aefa/Morimaros (although I feel the latter pairing would be fraught with guilt about Elia). Then we come to Ban, whose upbringing has given him a terrible understanding of what love means — to him it means love is like a loaf of bread, and if you cut off one slice for someone, there is less to go around — and whom both Elia and Morimaros love, but, due to their roles as rulers of entire kingdoms, can never put him first. He is at first utterly devoted to Morimaros because he was the first person to truly value Ban and his skills, and I can see very easily how, pre-canon, this might have become something more, although it would be a very bittersweet pairing, as Ban would always be aware that Morimaros meant more to him than he to Morimaros. Ban and Elia are childhood sweethearts, and do get together in canon, but it's painful and fraught for both of them. And I feel that Elia/Aefa would also be a great pairing to explore: Aefa is one of the few people in canon who genuinely cares about Elia not for what she symbolises, but for herself, and who truly knows Elia as a person. I love the contrast in the two of them between Elia's celestial guardedness, and Aefa's kind, earthy practicality.
Fandom specific DNWs
Fic shipping Ban/Aefa without either of the other two characters.
Sally Lockhart series
Requested characters: Sally Lockhart, Daniel Goldberg
What I liked about this series
Prompts I'd love to see
I'd particularly enjoy reading fic that included Daniel Goldberg, as we haven't really seen him working with any of the other characters (besides Sally) and I'm keen to see how he interacts with others such as Jim, Adelaide and Becky. How easy was it, for example, for him to fit in with the established dynamic of Sally, Jim and Webster? How did the arrival of characters like Adelaide and Becky work with this? There's a throwaway reference in The Tin Princess to Daniel potentially running for Parliament. What would his campaign look like? Would it even be possible for him to run, and what sort of mud would the establishment throw at him? I would also be very keen to read any fic in which the characters had to solve a case that had broader implications in terms of some historical injustice.
As you can probably tell from the prompts, I'm a big fan of the Sally/Daniel pairing, and I'd love shipfic focusing on them. However, I do also love Fred Garland, and I don't want to read anything that bashes him, or ignores the place he had in Sally's (and other characters') life.
Six of Crows series — Leigh Bardugo
Requested characters: Any of Kaz Brekker, Inej Ghafa, Jesper Fahey, Wylan Van Eck, Nina Zenik, Matthias Helvar, or Kuwei Yul-Bo
Canon consists of two books, Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom
What I like about the series
Prompts I'd love to see
Pretty much any combination of the characters in the tagset would be fantastic. One of the things I love about the series is the way it forces characters with wildly different backgrounds, temperaments and motivations to work together, so any pre- or post-canon fic that threw any of these characters together (especially for a heist or other kind of subversive act) would be amazing. Missing moments fic of this nature (throwing mismatched characters together in order for them to achieve some complicated common aim) would also be much appreciated. I would love pretty much any combination of characters in this kind of fic. I love the characters' competence at their respective skills, and would love to see fic which saw them showing off their various talents.
Shipping wise I ship the canon pairings, but the only pairing I'm really interested in reading fic about is Inej and Kaz, and if you want to go in a shippy direction, I would love to read fix-it futurefic in which Inej returned to Ketterdam to stay and she and Kaz figured out a way to work through their respective trauma and have a relationship. (I'm happy for any of the canon pairings to feature as background ships, in either a Kaz/Inej ship fic, or a gen fic.) I'm not one hundred per cent convinved by the ending Bardugo chose which saw so many of the characters leave Ketterdam — in my opinion, one of the themes of the series was misfits, the dispossessed, and refugees finding a home in each other, and in a city whose inhabitants were mainly misfits themselves, so if you were to write post-series fic, whether shipfic or gen, my preference would be a canon divergent AU in which all characters ultimately decided to remain in Ketterdam.
Space Demons trilogy
Requested characters: Elaine Taylor, Mario Ferrone, Ben Challis, Andrew Hayford, Midori Ito, Toshihiro Toda
What I like about this series
Prompts I'd love to see
I would be very interested in reading any fic that shows us the characters' lives several years after the events of Shinkei. How are Andrew and Midori dealing with their international relationship? Is Ben more confident after the events of the series? How does Elaine's relationship with her mother unfold? What does an adult Mario look like? Do the characters stay in touch, and if so, how? It would be great to read about them coming together to deal with a new technological threat. How does the ubiquity and speed of the internet (as compared with what we saw in Shinkei) affect their ability to combat new sentient technology?
Tech in general plays a huge role in the trilogy, and I'd love fic that played around with that, interweaving the characters' experiences and relationships with 1990s computer and arcade games, the 1990s internet (bulletin boards! early chatrooms!), or their experiences of technological developments between the canon era and the current day.
One other aspect of the series that I don't think was explored as fully as it could have been was the near-telepathic connection between the characters. I'd be thrilled to read about them in a Sense8-like scenario, sharing memories and experiences, jumping in and out of each others' heads. This could be something that they can control, or not, as the fancy takes you.
In terms of shipfic, I only really ship canon pairings, or pairings that are hinted at as potential in the canon: so Andrew/Midori, and Mario/Elaine. I can also see Mario, Elaine and Ben ending up in some kind of complicated polyamorous scenario (either Mario/Ben/Elaine, or Mario in relationships with both Ben and Elaine with the consent and knowledge of all involved). I'd be happy to read any fic that focused on the pairings I've outlined in this paragraph. Alternatively, if you wanted to take the Sense8 prompt and run with it, I'd be happy to read fic that paired Andrew/Midori/Mario/Elaine/Ben, with however much angst and awkwardness you feel is appropriate!
Spinning Silver — Naomi Novik
Requested characters: Miryem Mandelstam, the Staryk Lord
Canon consists of a single book, Spinning Silver
What I like about the book
Prompts I'd love to see
One of my favourite scenes in canon was when the Staryk Lord joined Miryem as promised and danced at her cousin's wedding. I really love moments where the supernatural world is brought into rituals and celebrations of the human world, and would adore to see more of this - perhaps the Staryk Lord participating in another celebration or festival with Miryem, or, alternatively, Miryem involved in a festival in the Staryk lands. I loved the way bargaining and exchange were made powerful, and words, contracts and promises became weapons, so any fic that involved that element of canon would be amazing (particularly something that played around with ideas of naming and claiming, and the power of names). I also loved the human/non-human pairing of Miryem and the Staryk Lord, and appreciated that although both characters shaped and changed each other, he did not become more human, and remained strange and otherworldly, but rather gained in his appreciation of Miryem's humanity and human qualities. Any future fic exploring this pairing that focused on the human/non-human aspects (and related cultural clashes, resolution of misunderstandings or just the two characters revelling in their partner's respective human/non-human nature) would be wonderful. I also really enjoyed the elements of folklore, fairytale and Eastern European mythology, and would adore any fic that used existing mythology as a frame.
Sunshine (Robin McKinley)
Requested characters: Rae "Sunshine" Seddon, Constantine
Prompts I'd love to see
This is one canon where I really want to read futurefic! Robin McKinley left everything on such a cliffhanger, with so many unresolved threads, and I'd really love to know, for example, whether the world the characters inhabit really is on the brink of collapse, and what such a collapse would look like, and whether anything Sunshine and co could do would stop or slow this collapse.
I'm particularly keen to read fic that explores Sunshine and Constantine's relationship further. What happened after the last page turned and Sunshine 'went with [Constantine] into the night'? I love that in becoming allies and facing danger together, Sunshine became a little bit more like Constantine, and vice versa. I love the way they were able to bring each other into their worlds - Sunshine leading Con around in the daylight that would kill him if not for her presence is a particularly resonant scene, and one of my favourites in the book. Likewise, I enjoy the way Con's presence opens up the darkness to Sunshine. I would love reading any fic that explores this aspect of their relationship.
It would also be great to read about the pair of them teaming up to deal with new supernatural threats, or any changes to the balance of power that resulted from their defeat of Bo at the end of the book.
Fandom-specific DNWs
I have one DNW for fic of this canon, and that is the Sunshine/Mel relationship. I certainly don't want to read fic that bashes Mel or has Sunshine cheating on him with Con, but I'm not interested in Mel as a character and don't want to read about his and Sunshine's relationship.
Winternight series — Katherine Arden
Requested characters: Morozko (Winternight Series), Vasilisa Petrovna
Canon consists of two books, The Bear and the Nightingale and The Girl in the Tower, of an eventual trilogy.
What I like about the series
Prompts I'd love to see
Pretty much any fic in which Vasya and Morozko have to work together to solve a problem either supernatural, political, personal, or some combination thereof. I love the tensions that simmer between these two characters - in interacting with one another they have somehow each managed to shift something fundamental about themselves, and neither character has fully dealt with that in canon yet. Morozko is the god of death, and it appears from canon that his ability to be so is weakened by his love for Vasya - how could this be resolved? I would love a fic that brought in more allusions to Russian mythology/folklore, especially if it could be framed to fit with the two characters. I really ship the pairing of Vasya/Morozko but am happy if you would prefer to take their relationship in a gen direction as well - I'd love any fic about these two as long as it emphasised the differences in culture, attitude, and moral outlook that their respective identities as human/non-human characters create. I also love the way the supernatural can be smaller and more domestic (all the elemental domestic deities that Vasya interacts with) and would adore a fic that explored this further and saw both Vasya and Morozko dealing with smaller deities whose existence is fixed to a particular house, stables, bathhouse or similar. And I love the two horses who carry these two characters, and would really love to read fic that saw the pair of them interacting with the horses, illuminating interesting things about their character.
Tochmarc Étaíne
Requested characters: Étaín, Fúamnach
What I like about this story and characters
Prompts I'd love to see
I particularly want to see fic set during the point in canon when Midir brings Étaín into the otherworld to be his wife. In canon, Fúamnach is immediately jealous and transforms Étaín into a pool of water in a fit of rage. But what if, instead, the two women bond, and Fúamnach transformed Étaín to protect her and keep her away from Midir? Fic where the two have a sense of solidarity in the face of being brought into the otherworld against their will would be great — I've always felt Midir has a kind of ruthless acquisitiveness, and for the two women to recognise and resist this in whatever small ways they can would be great. I'd also be interested in fic that explored the otherworldly setting and focused on the strange inhabitants and landscape of the supernatural otherworld. If you wanted to pair up Étaín and Fúamnach and write shipfic I'd be delighted, but I'd be equally delighted with gen.
When it comes to Fúamnach, I'd love to see fic focusing on her magical powers. Does Midir curtail these powers in some way? How do her powers work, and are there any other situations in which she's used them?
In terms of Étaín, fic that dug into the disorienting weirdness of her situation — an endless cycle of death and rebirth, appearing and reappearing after vast amounts of time have passed, travelling in and out of the otherworld, transformation into water, and into various types of animal — would be wonderful.
Fandom specific DNWs
Fic that portrays Étaín or Fúamnach as jealous of each other or competing for Midir's affections. I don't mind a focus on pairing both or either woman up with Midir as long as it's non-consensual. Other than the aforementioned Midir/Fúamnach or Midir/Étaín, I don't want to see any pairings for either woman besides Étaín/Fúamnach.
Don't feel you have to stick rigidly within the bounds of my prompts. As long as your fic is focused on the characters 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.