Dear Once Upon A Fic Author
Thank you for writing me a fic!!
Below are some thoughts on my requested fandoms, meant really as jumping-off points at best or things to happily ignore if they don't do anything for you. I say this on all my dear-author letters: The fic I want to read is the one that you are personally interested in writing. That is the best fic, so if you write a story that makes you happy, I too will be pleased.
What I like about Beowulf
[So!] like the sense of generations passing by, the inevitability of death and destruction and change, that Anglo-Saxon style of fatalism. I like how we know Heorot is gonna burn, but we want to see Beowulf save it in the meantime. I like the boasting and great battles and Hrothgar and Beowulf's friendship, and how Beowulf exemplifies the qualities of both a good thane and a good king. I love Grendel's mother and all the untold stories she must have, and poor Wiglaf, whose future we never really learn (beyond the IMPLIED despair and ocean-wandering and meloncholia). I'm also fascinated by the poem's transmission, which we don't know a ton about. If you were interested in writing a story about a bard or scribe and what the poem meant to that character, I'd be really down with that.I
What I like about Gilgamesh
[Repetition]There's something about this story that sets it apart from the other world mythologies that I'm familiar with. The story is touching emotionally; I feel deeply for Gilgamesh, where Hercules or Odysseus, for instance, as interesting as they are, don't particularly move me. It's probably the care taken with the contrasting characterizations of Gilgamesh and Enkidu and the intimacy of their friendship (slash or gen, they belong together). The first time I read it, I was dumbfounded (in a good way) by the very end, where Gilgamesh finds solace in the walls of his city. There's a sort of compassionate maturity throughout the narrative. As with Beowulf, the history of the epic's transcription and study is something I also wouldn't mind seeing fic about. I also adore the women characters, who are varied and wise and powerful.
What I like About The Girl Who Pretended be a Boy
[Spoiler: It's very shallow.]There is a girl. She pretends to be a boy. I like that muchly. Then she turns into a boy and likes it, and I like that muchly too. I'm also into poor Princess Iliane, who has her own bag of tricks and is into Fet-Fruners and probably was since before he actually became a boy. Do with that as you will. Basically, this story is wonderfully queer and I love it.
What I like About Orpheus and Eurydice
[Not as much the sad.]Actually, I requested this on a whim. The canon is necessarily sad. You feel bad for everyone involved. I wonder about Eurydice and her life down in the Underworld. Maybe she makes friends with Persephone or meets a dead person from another myth or fairy tale (Enkidu comes to mind) and has adventures/solves crime?
Thank you again, so much! Happy writing!
xoxo
Port