dear sutcliff swapper
Dear writer! Thank you for offering to create a fanwork for one of these obscure-ish sources. Please be reassured that I will be equally happy whichever you choose, because I love all these worlds and these characters.
Some general stuff about my tastes: Explicit sex (slash, het, or femslash) is okay, non-explicit sex is okay, no sex is okay, but any sex should be in believable language for these historical sources, and there should be more to the story than just PWP. UST, gen, whatever. It's all good. If you choose to have relationships in the story, I'd prefer the canonical ones, but if you can make a case for a relationship that doesn't appear in the text that's fine, too.
I have made some prompts and suggestions, but feel free to take things in whatever direction you like and/or include characters I haven't mentioned. My favorite things about Sutcliff stories are the strong relationships and loyalties, the way her characters care fiercely about the things and people and ideals that are important to them, and the sense of place and time created through thoughtful description of the natural world. I like: historical detail, scenery porn, non-explicitly-detailed sex, ghost stories, supernatural elements, what-if AUs, original characters. Unhappy endings and character deaths are fine if they're appropriate.
Flame-Colored Taffeta (Damaris or Genty)
I'd be interested in a scene from Damaris's life post-canon. Does she wear the flame-colored petticoat after her wedding, or put it away and take it out to fondle? What kind of person does she become? I'd love to see her meeting Tom again. (And how did Tom know she was getting married?) Don't break up her and Peter, but I'm fine with something set late in her life after his (timely, please) death, if you like. And of course artwork of her with her new petticoat would be amazing!
Alternatively, I'd love something about Genty Small. The Wise Woman archetype has always interested me, and Genty in particular seems like more of a witch than most, though this might just be through Damaris' childish eyes. I'd be interested in any scene from her life, before or after the events of the book. Or during - her POV on canon events would be great, though for this I'd rather see a missing scene than a rehash of what's already in the book.
The Shield Ring (Frytha)
I loved this book because it's Sutcliff's usual shieldbrother trope, except one of the shieldbrothers is a girl! "Frytha who should have been born to the sword side and carried a shield among the War-bands..." How does her experience of battle shape her later life with Bjorn, or the way she's viewed by other men and women? There's also a strong thread of music and harpers running through this story - a harpstring, if you will - and I would love to see that expanded on, or used as a theme for artwork.
Sword at Sunset (Guenhumara)
Guinevere is the linchpin of the classical Arthurian tragedy, but Guenhumara has always seemed much more nuanced to me, from her origin here as the chieftanin's daughter dancing in the firelight, to her understanding of Gault and Levin, dealing with Artos' impotency, standing by his side during the winter of starvation, and her grief at the loss of a child. Guenhumara/Bedwyr/Artos is an OT3 for me; even if part of the triangle wasn't a physical one the love between Bedwyr and Artos is evident. I'd love a bit of her viewpoint on just about anything in canon, or a story from her childhood. And any illustration would of course be wonderful!
Crossposted from isis at Dreamwidth where there are
comments. | Comment at Dreamwidth
Some general stuff about my tastes: Explicit sex (slash, het, or femslash) is okay, non-explicit sex is okay, no sex is okay, but any sex should be in believable language for these historical sources, and there should be more to the story than just PWP. UST, gen, whatever. It's all good. If you choose to have relationships in the story, I'd prefer the canonical ones, but if you can make a case for a relationship that doesn't appear in the text that's fine, too.
I have made some prompts and suggestions, but feel free to take things in whatever direction you like and/or include characters I haven't mentioned. My favorite things about Sutcliff stories are the strong relationships and loyalties, the way her characters care fiercely about the things and people and ideals that are important to them, and the sense of place and time created through thoughtful description of the natural world. I like: historical detail, scenery porn, non-explicitly-detailed sex, ghost stories, supernatural elements, what-if AUs, original characters. Unhappy endings and character deaths are fine if they're appropriate.
Flame-Colored Taffeta (Damaris or Genty)
I'd be interested in a scene from Damaris's life post-canon. Does she wear the flame-colored petticoat after her wedding, or put it away and take it out to fondle? What kind of person does she become? I'd love to see her meeting Tom again. (And how did Tom know she was getting married?) Don't break up her and Peter, but I'm fine with something set late in her life after his (timely, please) death, if you like. And of course artwork of her with her new petticoat would be amazing!
Alternatively, I'd love something about Genty Small. The Wise Woman archetype has always interested me, and Genty in particular seems like more of a witch than most, though this might just be through Damaris' childish eyes. I'd be interested in any scene from her life, before or after the events of the book. Or during - her POV on canon events would be great, though for this I'd rather see a missing scene than a rehash of what's already in the book.
The Shield Ring (Frytha)
I loved this book because it's Sutcliff's usual shieldbrother trope, except one of the shieldbrothers is a girl! "Frytha who should have been born to the sword side and carried a shield among the War-bands..." How does her experience of battle shape her later life with Bjorn, or the way she's viewed by other men and women? There's also a strong thread of music and harpers running through this story - a harpstring, if you will - and I would love to see that expanded on, or used as a theme for artwork.
Sword at Sunset (Guenhumara)
Guinevere is the linchpin of the classical Arthurian tragedy, but Guenhumara has always seemed much more nuanced to me, from her origin here as the chieftanin's daughter dancing in the firelight, to her understanding of Gault and Levin, dealing with Artos' impotency, standing by his side during the winter of starvation, and her grief at the loss of a child. Guenhumara/Bedwyr/Artos is an OT3 for me; even if part of the triangle wasn't a physical one the love between Bedwyr and Artos is evident. I'd love a bit of her viewpoint on just about anything in canon, or a story from her childhood. And any illustration would of course be wonderful!
Crossposted from isis at Dreamwidth where there are
comments. | Comment at Dreamwidth