Yuletide 2016 Letter
Thank you so much for writing for me! I love all these fandoms and can’t wait to see what you choose to create. I've included prompts for each fandom, but they're mostly there to give you an idea of the kind of story I like--please feel free to go in a completely different direction.
If you're a writer who likes a lot of detail, you can check out this post on fic preferences. Otherwise, here are some general points:
Things I love:
Specific fandoms:
The Comfortable Courtesan - Madame C- C-: Any character
I love everyone at this soiree. This fandom is my happy place, and I can hardly think of anything you might write for it that wouldn’t be utterly delightful. Anything from a swashbuckling revolutionary episode to a comedy of manners to a country house murder to the fluffiest of fluff! Happy ending, please, though a bit of angst en route is fine. If you’re up for writing in Madame C-’s own style, I would adore that, but it’s certainly not required. Sex scenes welcome in this fandom, for the maximizing of felicity, though I’d prefer the focus on the character interactions more than the sex itself. I'm fine with Christmas fic for this fandom, if that's something you enjoy.
Please feel free to include any canon ‘ships-and, for that matter, pretty much any non-canon ‘ships you can think of.
Thoughts and (totally optional) prompts for each nominated character:
Madame C-/Lady B-: I ‘ship her with anyone she takes a fancy to, as I know she will be fully respectful of their other relationships, but I also love her friendships. Aside from all the suggestions involving her below, I’m interested in her relationships with Miss G-/Mrs. T- and Matt Johnson (seriously, how sweet was he?). I’ve also discovered a craving for future-fic set during Flora’s first Season where she learns the truth about her Aunty C-’s profession and her own parentage, and struggles with those revelations.
The F-’s: I’d love more about any of the angles of the triangle, individually or severally. The F-’s backstory together is so charming, and I’d love to see more of it; or Josiah’s early interactions with C-, from their first time to developing and acknowledging stronger feelings; or more details on Eliza’s first time joining them, which was only hinted at in canon! Bonus points for competence porn for either/both of them.
Hector: I love his interactions with the household, both when he’s being competent and when he’s distracted by his personal life. Maybe a fic about his courtship with Euphemia (mutual pining!); or something soon after he meets Madame C-, as they develop their working relationship. Or-okay, I sort of ‘ship it, and by ‘sort of’ I mean I ‘ship it hard but in very specific circumstances. Maybe he was so hesitant over the marriage to Euphemia because of his inexperience with women, and so Euphemia goes to Madame C- (who of course is an expert at putting men at their ease) and asks her to deflower him. Ordinarily C- wouldn’t sleep with her staff, but for Hector and Euphemia's sake she makes an exception….
Belinda/Lady B-: I would really like to know more about the disastrous circumstances of her marriage and how she got out of it. How did she arrive at that mutually beneficial arrangement with Captain P-? How do they got on together? I’m also a huge fan of her friendship with the other Lady B-.
Lord G- R-: I love his relationship with C-, but how did they arrive there? Did he get to know and trust her before confiding his secret, or did he attempt a flirtation before she figured it out? I’d also anything about his relationship with Sandy, particularly more detail on the events mentioned in https://the-comfortable-courtesan.dreamwidth.org/51642.html or one of the occasions where they dealt with their mutual relationship insecurities.
Sandy: Oh, Sandy. See all the prompts above re: Lord G- R-. Also, his friendship with C- makes me so happy. I’d love to see him helping her solve problems, her gently putting his life in order, both of them being supportive and teasing and fond; or, again, I ‘ship it. Hard. See also https://the-comfortable-courtesan.dreamwidth.org/96574.html and this one.
Lady J-: I appreciate her forceful personality, but I appreciate even more the way she’s matured over the course of the series and can acknowledge her missteps. I love the way her relationship with Miss A- has turned out. Maybe getting-together fic that points toward the healthier relationship they have later in the series, or something set later on when they’re more confident in their regard for each other. I’m charmed by her history with and marriage to Admiral W-. Backstory or missing scenes with them would be great, as would be awkward, friendly, non-passionate but affectionate wedding night sex.
The Divine Cities - Robert Jackson Bennett: Shara Komayd
I love Shara. In a series riddled with compelling characters, she is far and away my favorite. I love her reserve, her brilliance, her fascination with the divine, her angry cooking, her conflicting loyalties, and the way her worldview changes with time and exposure to different situations. I love watching her mind at work, and I felt for her so deeply in the first book, with her exhaustion and determination and crushed hopes, and the intellectual curiosity she preserved through all of it.
I have read this blurb for City of Miracles, but I’d prefer not to receive anything dealing with those spoilers.
In this canon particularly, I’d adore casefic, political intrigue, or worldbuilding; or if you’re writing character or relationship-centric fic, a sense of how the characters are influenced by their world or the political context.
I’m more interested in gen fic for Shara, but references to canon pairings are fine, and I would love anything with found family, friendship, or working partnerships.
I'd like to see fic with her at pretty much any point in the timeline. Prompts and general ideas:
The Queen's Thief - Megan Whalen Turner: Attolia, Eddis, the Magus
I’m interested in any combination of these characters maneuvering around each other, about how their political goals diverge and converge, about the reasons and ways they're willing to take advantage of one another. I'm a sucker for political intrigue, diplomacy (in anyone's name!), and respectful relationships complicated by widely different priorities.
It’s absolutely fine if this story focuses more on one or two of my requested characters, or if they're responding to one another's actions from a distance instead of interacting directly.
I also love Gen and Sophos, but I'd particularly enjoy a story where the queens are discussing something other than Gen's place in their lives, or where his primary significance to the conversation is political rather than personal.
(Note: I ship Eddis and the Magus, but not in a way that's mutually exclusive to canon ships--my headcanon is actually Eddis/politics/the Magus, where politics get so firmly in the way that neither of them acknowledges the romantic tension even privately, because there are bigger things at stake. If you want the tension acknowledged, feel free. If you're not interested in the ship, feel free to leave it out.)
Prompts, if you want them:
The Steerswoman - Rosemary Kirstein: Rowan, Reeder
I adore these books for the slow burn of the worldbuilding, the gradual reveal of the setting and its history, and even more for the mechanism of the reveal. Rowan’s training makes her a fascinating, insightful POV character, and it’s a joy to watch her work things out. The series treats all its characters with such wonderful compassion, and Rowan values everyone she meets for their different areas of knowledge and expertise.
Which brings us to Reeder. In the first book, Rowan is irritated by his arrogance but also, briefly, able to sympathize with him; in the fourth book, she clashes with him at times but is also able to work with him, and she finds his relationship with Naio fascinating. I do, too, and I think it could be read as either an unlikely but incredibly strong friendship or as (unrequited?) romance.
I’d enjoy worldbuilding in any fic for this canon, maybe through exploration of the steerswomen’s duties and way of life, or background on the wizards if you’re up for dealing with the overarching plot. If you want to do something character-based, I’d love to see Rowan running up against the restrictions and requirements of conversation with steerswomen. For example, take the end of the first book when she had to work with the young wizards without asking them questions they’d refuse to answer, or in the third book when she had long interactions with a friend whose questions she couldn’t answer.
I’m really interested in relationships that start antagonistic but evolve into cooperation because of mutual goals. By the end of Language of Power, Reeder and Rowan have reached a fascinating if not entirely comfortable understanding. I would be thrilled with a fic that explored how that could progress after the fourth book, and I’d be equally happy with gen or a pairing fic for them.
If you’re looking to round out the cast a bit, I adore Bel and ‘ship Bel/Rowan.
Specific ideas, if you want them:
comments at http://pendrecarc.dreamwidth.org/186697.html. Feel free to comment wherever you prefer.
If you're a writer who likes a lot of detail, you can check out this post on fic preferences. Otherwise, here are some general points:
Things I love:
- Stories with a sense of motion (plotty fic is great, or anything with characters working to accomplish something)
- Complexity in characterization and relationships, particularly when two characters’ priorities and interests are in agreement at some times and in conflict at others
- Deep caring and respect between characters, even if they disagree, and even or especially if it’s not stated outright
- Stories where the characters have goals other than romance, even if a romance is included in the fic
- Tropes: h/c, casefic, competence porn, arranged marriage or marriage of convenience, mutual pining, canon divergence AUs, always-a-woman AUs, enemies to allies (or friends, or lovers)
- Sexual violence, noncon, or dubcon
- Infidelity
- Unremitting angst
- PWP (including sex is fine, especially if the style is in keeping with the tone of the canon, but it’s not a big draw for me)
- AUs (except for canon divergence and genderswap, as mentioned above)
- Longfic, shortfic, any length is fine
- Gen, f/f, m/f, m/m, and any combination thereof
- Fic that plays with POV and narrative styles, especially if it’s in keeping with the source material (ex: epistolary fic; nested stories)
- Interactive fiction
- Canon-typical levels of character death and nonsexual violence
Specific fandoms:
The Comfortable Courtesan - Madame C- C-: Any character
I love everyone at this soiree. This fandom is my happy place, and I can hardly think of anything you might write for it that wouldn’t be utterly delightful. Anything from a swashbuckling revolutionary episode to a comedy of manners to a country house murder to the fluffiest of fluff! Happy ending, please, though a bit of angst en route is fine. If you’re up for writing in Madame C-’s own style, I would adore that, but it’s certainly not required. Sex scenes welcome in this fandom, for the maximizing of felicity, though I’d prefer the focus on the character interactions more than the sex itself. I'm fine with Christmas fic for this fandom, if that's something you enjoy.
Please feel free to include any canon ‘ships-and, for that matter, pretty much any non-canon ‘ships you can think of.
Thoughts and (totally optional) prompts for each nominated character:
Madame C-/Lady B-: I ‘ship her with anyone she takes a fancy to, as I know she will be fully respectful of their other relationships, but I also love her friendships. Aside from all the suggestions involving her below, I’m interested in her relationships with Miss G-/Mrs. T- and Matt Johnson (seriously, how sweet was he?). I’ve also discovered a craving for future-fic set during Flora’s first Season where she learns the truth about her Aunty C-’s profession and her own parentage, and struggles with those revelations.
The F-’s: I’d love more about any of the angles of the triangle, individually or severally. The F-’s backstory together is so charming, and I’d love to see more of it; or Josiah’s early interactions with C-, from their first time to developing and acknowledging stronger feelings; or more details on Eliza’s first time joining them, which was only hinted at in canon! Bonus points for competence porn for either/both of them.
Hector: I love his interactions with the household, both when he’s being competent and when he’s distracted by his personal life. Maybe a fic about his courtship with Euphemia (mutual pining!); or something soon after he meets Madame C-, as they develop their working relationship. Or-okay, I sort of ‘ship it, and by ‘sort of’ I mean I ‘ship it hard but in very specific circumstances. Maybe he was so hesitant over the marriage to Euphemia because of his inexperience with women, and so Euphemia goes to Madame C- (who of course is an expert at putting men at their ease) and asks her to deflower him. Ordinarily C- wouldn’t sleep with her staff, but for Hector and Euphemia's sake she makes an exception….
Belinda/Lady B-: I would really like to know more about the disastrous circumstances of her marriage and how she got out of it. How did she arrive at that mutually beneficial arrangement with Captain P-? How do they got on together? I’m also a huge fan of her friendship with the other Lady B-.
Lord G- R-: I love his relationship with C-, but how did they arrive there? Did he get to know and trust her before confiding his secret, or did he attempt a flirtation before she figured it out? I’d also anything about his relationship with Sandy, particularly more detail on the events mentioned in https://the-comfortable-courtesan.dreamwidth.org/51642.html or one of the occasions where they dealt with their mutual relationship insecurities.
Sandy: Oh, Sandy. See all the prompts above re: Lord G- R-. Also, his friendship with C- makes me so happy. I’d love to see him helping her solve problems, her gently putting his life in order, both of them being supportive and teasing and fond; or, again, I ‘ship it. Hard. See also https://the-comfortable-courtesan.dreamwidth.org/96574.html and this one.
Lady J-: I appreciate her forceful personality, but I appreciate even more the way she’s matured over the course of the series and can acknowledge her missteps. I love the way her relationship with Miss A- has turned out. Maybe getting-together fic that points toward the healthier relationship they have later in the series, or something set later on when they’re more confident in their regard for each other. I’m charmed by her history with and marriage to Admiral W-. Backstory or missing scenes with them would be great, as would be awkward, friendly, non-passionate but affectionate wedding night sex.
The Divine Cities - Robert Jackson Bennett: Shara Komayd
I love Shara. In a series riddled with compelling characters, she is far and away my favorite. I love her reserve, her brilliance, her fascination with the divine, her angry cooking, her conflicting loyalties, and the way her worldview changes with time and exposure to different situations. I love watching her mind at work, and I felt for her so deeply in the first book, with her exhaustion and determination and crushed hopes, and the intellectual curiosity she preserved through all of it.
I have read this blurb for City of Miracles, but I’d prefer not to receive anything dealing with those spoilers.
In this canon particularly, I’d adore casefic, political intrigue, or worldbuilding; or if you’re writing character or relationship-centric fic, a sense of how the characters are influenced by their world or the political context.
I’m more interested in gen fic for Shara, but references to canon pairings are fine, and I would love anything with found family, friendship, or working partnerships.
I'd like to see fic with her at pretty much any point in the timeline. Prompts and general ideas:
- Something set pre-canon as she gets to know Sigrud or Efrem Pangyui
- Something featuring her research into or encounters with the divine
- The story of how Shara met Sigrud’s wife, Hild, and convinced her to leave Voortyashtan for a more secure location. Bonus points for including Signe!
- Something set post-City of Stairs with Vinya, as they grapple with recent revelations and adjust to their new positions
- More on Shara’s personal and political life between the first two books
- Anything dealing with the fallout to City of Blades
- Any subsequent encounter between Shara and Olvos after their meeting in City of Stairs
The Queen's Thief - Megan Whalen Turner: Attolia, Eddis, the Magus
I’m interested in any combination of these characters maneuvering around each other, about how their political goals diverge and converge, about the reasons and ways they're willing to take advantage of one another. I'm a sucker for political intrigue, diplomacy (in anyone's name!), and respectful relationships complicated by widely different priorities.
It’s absolutely fine if this story focuses more on one or two of my requested characters, or if they're responding to one another's actions from a distance instead of interacting directly.
I also love Gen and Sophos, but I'd particularly enjoy a story where the queens are discussing something other than Gen's place in their lives, or where his primary significance to the conversation is political rather than personal.
(Note: I ship Eddis and the Magus, but not in a way that's mutually exclusive to canon ships--my headcanon is actually Eddis/politics/the Magus, where politics get so firmly in the way that neither of them acknowledges the romantic tension even privately, because there are bigger things at stake. If you want the tension acknowledged, feel free. If you're not interested in the ship, feel free to leave it out.)
Prompts, if you want them:
- Any or all of the three corresponding on some military or economic disagreement before the start of the series
- Eddis and Attolia responding to the other's rise to power
- Pre-series, the Magus deciding Eddis is the best possible queen for Sounis, and subsequent attempts to negotiate the match; Attolia's reaction to this
- AU where the Magus succeeds in getting Eddis to marry Sounis
- Negotiations surrounding Gen and Irene's wedding
- Negotiations surrounding Helen and Sophos's wedding, especially the new balance of power
- Eddis attending Attolia's wedding; Attolia & the Magus attending Eddis’ wedding
- AU where the Magus attends Attolia’s wedding (and gets tipsy? I’m trying to imagine the toast he’d deliver)
- The three of them dealing with the threat of the Mede Empire
The Steerswoman - Rosemary Kirstein: Rowan, Reeder
I adore these books for the slow burn of the worldbuilding, the gradual reveal of the setting and its history, and even more for the mechanism of the reveal. Rowan’s training makes her a fascinating, insightful POV character, and it’s a joy to watch her work things out. The series treats all its characters with such wonderful compassion, and Rowan values everyone she meets for their different areas of knowledge and expertise.
Which brings us to Reeder. In the first book, Rowan is irritated by his arrogance but also, briefly, able to sympathize with him; in the fourth book, she clashes with him at times but is also able to work with him, and she finds his relationship with Naio fascinating. I do, too, and I think it could be read as either an unlikely but incredibly strong friendship or as (unrequited?) romance.
I’d enjoy worldbuilding in any fic for this canon, maybe through exploration of the steerswomen’s duties and way of life, or background on the wizards if you’re up for dealing with the overarching plot. If you want to do something character-based, I’d love to see Rowan running up against the restrictions and requirements of conversation with steerswomen. For example, take the end of the first book when she had to work with the young wizards without asking them questions they’d refuse to answer, or in the third book when she had long interactions with a friend whose questions she couldn’t answer.
I’m really interested in relationships that start antagonistic but evolve into cooperation because of mutual goals. By the end of Language of Power, Reeder and Rowan have reached a fascinating if not entirely comfortable understanding. I would be thrilled with a fic that explored how that could progress after the fourth book, and I’d be equally happy with gen or a pairing fic for them.
If you’re looking to round out the cast a bit, I adore Bel and ‘ship Bel/Rowan.
Specific ideas, if you want them:
- Missing scenes during Rowan’s time in Donner in Language of Power
- More detail on Reeder’s estrangement from Ona and Naio
- Some time after the events in the fourth book, they wind up on the same ship again, as they did in The Steerswoman
- Reeder’s one of a few people likely to recognize Slado on sight. How might they meet, and how would he get the word back to Rowan?
comments at http://pendrecarc.dreamwidth.org/186697.html. Feel free to comment wherever you prefer.