Dear Yuletide writer:
Hello! Thanks for offering to write in these fandoms!
Optional details are optional, and I want to say first that seriously, any fic will do me. I read in a lot of genres (though I've grown up on fantasy/historical fiction/sci-fi, and it's obvious in my yuletide fandoms) and enjoy a lot of different styles and takes. These fandoms are so small that there is SO MUCH unexplored, so many situations and permutations unexploited, that you are not at all obliged to follow my prompts or likes if you don't find them working for you; I will still be happy with more fic for them! (Also, I am bad at manufacturing prompts. An exhaustive list, this is not!)
I tend to be very wordy, so if you can't make my optional details work, I would very much prefer that you wrote a fic you liked and felt enthusiastic about, than one where you try really hard to fit yourself into my arbitrary requests and have a miserable time doing it. Like I said: I read a lot of different stuff, so try me!
Lastly, for the fandoms I've written about a lot, I've linked entries on my journal (they'll be public til December 25th). They're not required reading, by any means! Just, if you want to hear ALL MY THOUGHTS on the books - they were originally private braindumps about the books, and are therefore rather unstructured/long - there you go.
General likes and dislikes:
*I do not have any triggers.
*I like plotty stories, gen, shippy fics, further exploration of the world the novels take place in, characters interacting with each other in different permutations, deleted scenes/offstage scenes. I usually prefer canon-compliant fic - i.e. where the characters stay close to their canon personalities and the events of the novel aren't changed - but I see this as a spectrum: if you can justify it in the writing, I will totally accept that, say, Harry Potter is a squid or something!
*I am a huge history geek, and all the books are either straight-up set in a historical past, or are based off one time period or another. If you want to include hints of, oh, IDK, what a peasant's life in sub-Roman Britain was like or hints of famous historical events happening elsewhere or whatever, that would be amazing.
*I read fast and like longfic, if you swing that way!
*Please, no crossovers or fusions.
*I prefer when characters are not mouthpieces for authors, especially on present-day political/social/economic issues. (Er, anachronisms kind of bug me ;)
*I don't like - for lack of a better word - grimdark, perpetually-cynical, depressing stories. I like angst and grittier historical fiction fine, I just don't like it when everything is pervasively dark or depressing.
*No songfic please. I like poetry lots, but I tend to be even more critical of poetry because of its conciseness and emphasis on style. Since my basis for liking poetry generally falls along lines of "I LIKE IT" or "I DON'T" I've kind of given up trying to quantify it.
*I don't mind explicit scenes, but I tend to scroll instead of actually reading.
Specific fandoms:
[Kushiel's Legacy]
I requested Moirin to tie my request into the third trilogy, because there is more fic for the first and second trilogies and a sad lack for the third. I nominated Fainche, Jehanne, and Bao (and was dying to nominate more like Balthasar and Thierry and Jagrati and Master Lo and Aleksei and Valentina and Achcualti and so many more); this isn't to pressure you into writing more than Moirin if you don't feel up to it, but to say if you write fic with more characters from the Naamah trilogy, I'd love it!
I always wondered why Fainche could not accompany Moirin (other than the Doylist "protagonist goes on quest alone" part, I mean!) because it kind of implies that she's needed for something, back in Alba. They're gone for a long time, and I wondered if maybe the Maghuin Dhonn might decide that the art of shapeshifting might be returned, since it's obvious that the people have and continue to remember the consequences. What are the skills and small magics and tricks that the Maghuin Dhonn have, that Oengus mentions to Moirin at the end of the books? (Moirin lives in basically a hermitage with her mother and then leaves, Terre d'Ange and Alba know very little about the people of the Maghuin Dhonn, so they are a pretty big blank that I'd love to see more about.)
On the Terre d'Ange side: I've always wanted to have the messed up triangle of Raphael and Jehanne and Moirin sorted out (Daniel seems to have made his peace); if nothing, to sit Raphael down and make him listen. Moreover, I've had so much fun wrestling over when this trilogy is allegedly set. (Oh god, so much mental debate.) Did the Reconquista and conquest of the Iberian Peninsula in the first place happen? (We only get to see Barcelona, so...) The conversion of Vralia suggests 10th century, but then you've got travel to Terra Nova, which pushes the time period to 15th century or later (though again: if Leif Erickson could reach Canada circa about 1000 AD then it's possible it's earlier). No gunpowder. The presence of the marketplaces and apparent excellent trade suggests high Middle Ages - the optimism and population suggests before the devastation of the Black Plague - and France seems to be under one power and has a unifying language (!) and the borders are like modern France's (so before the partition of Louis the Pious' territory by his sons?) so I don't know! I'd love to see fic exploring this, too. I love the politicking. And the varying families of the nobility, and how they seem to have totally not changed (see House Shahrizai, for one! I notice that Septimus Rousse is following in his ancestor's footsteps.)
On shipping: I ship Moirin/Bao as my 'endgame' ship, but I will and do gleefully read basically about a million permutations. (Though seriously, IDEK what to do about Jehanne, Moirin, Raphael and Daniel, I really don't. Issues, oh god, do they have them!) Aleksei, Jagrati, Cillian, Jehanne, Raphael, Erdene - the openness of both main characters to relationships throws the door wide open to shipping.
Lastly, I have unlocked my random meta/squee/reaction posts about the series, if you're curious. Uh, I've written a lot. I have read all the books except for Kushiel's Mercy - is there some clue in there that will tell me where the books are set? - but honestly, I'm not fussed about spoilers.
[Down the Long Wind]
In Winter's Shadow kind of broke me (dear God, so much death). I love the bildungsroman genre in general (which is one reason why I really like Hawk of May) and I can't deny that Gwalchmai is my favourite character. However, I'd love fic with pretty much all the rest of the cast - Agravain, Cei, Rhys ap Sion, Arthur, Gwynhwyfar, Bedwyr, Eivlin, Morgawse, Medraut, Taliesin. I'd prefer not to have any secondary character carry the plot themselves, though.
The one thing that was frustrating (beyond the whole "this is the end of it all") that made me sad about In Winter's Shadow was the lack of resolution among a lot of characters, though if it happened in canon I'd feel it misplaced. Bedwyr never gets to really work anything out with...well, anyone, because he's stuck in Car Aes. Gwynhwyfar and Arthur never really hash it out.
Gwalchmai is our POV character for the first book, and so he doesn't know what happens in a lot of parts - the two years he's off in Lugh's feast hall, nor what the rest of the island is like, doesn't get to see Arthur's actions except second- or third-hand from messengers and his father. Likewise, we don't see much of how Arthur and Gwynhwyfar's relationship develops (even though she is the one who reports it...) When Gwyn died I was frozen, shocked, because that's not supposed to happen and it will break Gwalchmai's heart so badly. I would love to see expansion on the kingdom of summer, Lugh's palace, or on the prophetic dreams and seeings that are dropped in Hawk of May by Taliesin and Sion ap Rhys.
Here's my tag for this series with stuff I've written about the books. Rather incoherent there about In Winter's Shadow.
[Collegia Magica]
I'll admit, I'm still in love with Ilario de Sylvae, and Anne de Vernase is amazing. The whole world fascinates me. I like how it's framed as a world recovering from a cataclysmic war (and all the trauma it represents). I like how Berg drops in notes like sorcerers being so plainly marked (collaring in shiny silver, permanent tattoos that must be shown, etc) the division between the church/state/magic (academics, really?) Same with the whole changing world; it's like a pre-Renaissance world, on the cusp of discarding magic for science.
I love Ilario for many reasons - fantastic swordsman that no one takes seriously because he's also a fantastic actor! Loyal! Knows how exactly to dress and act and react to do whatever he needs! And for Anne de Vernase, she's the classic thrust-into-a-situation-she's-unprepared-for and rising-with-equanimity to do whatever needs to be done - testifying against her beloved father, whipping out a knife to defend herself, blasting raw undiluted magic when necessary even though she's afraid of it.
I'd love to see more of what the magic that Portier left behind does! Is it just the elemental fire, or does Dante's constructed visualizations of everything still stand true? Does Anne's raw power just disappear? What about the people without magic - it seemed to me to imply that everyone could share in that particular brand of magic. I wonder, too, what would happen to the Temple, and the Collegia, now that the ideas about Ixtador, death, and magic have been revised. How does crown deal with all this upheaval? Then there are all the relationship dynamics between all the characters. All the protagonists/main characters go around with masks, hiding their actual thoughts and intentions, to varying degrees, and Berg kind of experiments with taking them off for one or two together (Dante doesn't realize about Ilario for the longest time, for example, and everyone thinking that Dante has crossed over, Portier's just a failed magician, etc).
I realize that the two characters I've requested may be rather difficult to work into a story together: if necessary, it's all right if you end up focussing on one more than the other! They come from disparate places; Ilario would be reluctant to leave Eugenie (who's tied to the court) and Anne rather detests the court.
When I read Collegia Magica I seem to not have been in the custom of writing down all my various reactions about it, so I'm afraid I have no links. I requested this last year and got some really awesome fic out of it; chances are if you're in the fandom, you've seen it before, but it's here: A Liar's Honour, by theblueescapist. I request this fandom frequently because I love it, and would like to see more of the world and the characters; I am greedy enough to want more than one amazing fic.
Thanks again, and have a happy Yuletide! I'm really excited to see what you come up with!
Optional details are optional, and I want to say first that seriously, any fic will do me. I read in a lot of genres (though I've grown up on fantasy/historical fiction/sci-fi, and it's obvious in my yuletide fandoms) and enjoy a lot of different styles and takes. These fandoms are so small that there is SO MUCH unexplored, so many situations and permutations unexploited, that you are not at all obliged to follow my prompts or likes if you don't find them working for you; I will still be happy with more fic for them! (Also, I am bad at manufacturing prompts. An exhaustive list, this is not!)
I tend to be very wordy, so if you can't make my optional details work, I would very much prefer that you wrote a fic you liked and felt enthusiastic about, than one where you try really hard to fit yourself into my arbitrary requests and have a miserable time doing it. Like I said: I read a lot of different stuff, so try me!
Lastly, for the fandoms I've written about a lot, I've linked entries on my journal (they'll be public til December 25th). They're not required reading, by any means! Just, if you want to hear ALL MY THOUGHTS on the books - they were originally private braindumps about the books, and are therefore rather unstructured/long - there you go.
General likes and dislikes:
*I do not have any triggers.
*I like plotty stories, gen, shippy fics, further exploration of the world the novels take place in, characters interacting with each other in different permutations, deleted scenes/offstage scenes. I usually prefer canon-compliant fic - i.e. where the characters stay close to their canon personalities and the events of the novel aren't changed - but I see this as a spectrum: if you can justify it in the writing, I will totally accept that, say, Harry Potter is a squid or something!
*I am a huge history geek, and all the books are either straight-up set in a historical past, or are based off one time period or another. If you want to include hints of, oh, IDK, what a peasant's life in sub-Roman Britain was like or hints of famous historical events happening elsewhere or whatever, that would be amazing.
*I read fast and like longfic, if you swing that way!
*Please, no crossovers or fusions.
*I prefer when characters are not mouthpieces for authors, especially on present-day political/social/economic issues. (Er, anachronisms kind of bug me ;)
*I don't like - for lack of a better word - grimdark, perpetually-cynical, depressing stories. I like angst and grittier historical fiction fine, I just don't like it when everything is pervasively dark or depressing.
*No songfic please. I like poetry lots, but I tend to be even more critical of poetry because of its conciseness and emphasis on style. Since my basis for liking poetry generally falls along lines of "I LIKE IT" or "I DON'T" I've kind of given up trying to quantify it.
*I don't mind explicit scenes, but I tend to scroll instead of actually reading.
Specific fandoms:
[Kushiel's Legacy]
I requested Moirin to tie my request into the third trilogy, because there is more fic for the first and second trilogies and a sad lack for the third. I nominated Fainche, Jehanne, and Bao (and was dying to nominate more like Balthasar and Thierry and Jagrati and Master Lo and Aleksei and Valentina and Achcualti and so many more); this isn't to pressure you into writing more than Moirin if you don't feel up to it, but to say if you write fic with more characters from the Naamah trilogy, I'd love it!
I always wondered why Fainche could not accompany Moirin (other than the Doylist "protagonist goes on quest alone" part, I mean!) because it kind of implies that she's needed for something, back in Alba. They're gone for a long time, and I wondered if maybe the Maghuin Dhonn might decide that the art of shapeshifting might be returned, since it's obvious that the people have and continue to remember the consequences. What are the skills and small magics and tricks that the Maghuin Dhonn have, that Oengus mentions to Moirin at the end of the books? (Moirin lives in basically a hermitage with her mother and then leaves, Terre d'Ange and Alba know very little about the people of the Maghuin Dhonn, so they are a pretty big blank that I'd love to see more about.)
On the Terre d'Ange side: I've always wanted to have the messed up triangle of Raphael and Jehanne and Moirin sorted out (Daniel seems to have made his peace); if nothing, to sit Raphael down and make him listen. Moreover, I've had so much fun wrestling over when this trilogy is allegedly set. (Oh god, so much mental debate.) Did the Reconquista and conquest of the Iberian Peninsula in the first place happen? (We only get to see Barcelona, so...) The conversion of Vralia suggests 10th century, but then you've got travel to Terra Nova, which pushes the time period to 15th century or later (though again: if Leif Erickson could reach Canada circa about 1000 AD then it's possible it's earlier). No gunpowder. The presence of the marketplaces and apparent excellent trade suggests high Middle Ages - the optimism and population suggests before the devastation of the Black Plague - and France seems to be under one power and has a unifying language (!) and the borders are like modern France's (so before the partition of Louis the Pious' territory by his sons?) so I don't know! I'd love to see fic exploring this, too. I love the politicking. And the varying families of the nobility, and how they seem to have totally not changed (see House Shahrizai, for one! I notice that Septimus Rousse is following in his ancestor's footsteps.)
On shipping: I ship Moirin/Bao as my 'endgame' ship, but I will and do gleefully read basically about a million permutations. (Though seriously, IDEK what to do about Jehanne, Moirin, Raphael and Daniel, I really don't. Issues, oh god, do they have them!) Aleksei, Jagrati, Cillian, Jehanne, Raphael, Erdene - the openness of both main characters to relationships throws the door wide open to shipping.
Lastly, I have unlocked my random meta/squee/reaction posts about the series, if you're curious. Uh, I've written a lot. I have read all the books except for Kushiel's Mercy - is there some clue in there that will tell me where the books are set? - but honestly, I'm not fussed about spoilers.
[Down the Long Wind]
In Winter's Shadow kind of broke me (dear God, so much death). I love the bildungsroman genre in general (which is one reason why I really like Hawk of May) and I can't deny that Gwalchmai is my favourite character. However, I'd love fic with pretty much all the rest of the cast - Agravain, Cei, Rhys ap Sion, Arthur, Gwynhwyfar, Bedwyr, Eivlin, Morgawse, Medraut, Taliesin. I'd prefer not to have any secondary character carry the plot themselves, though.
The one thing that was frustrating (beyond the whole "this is the end of it all") that made me sad about In Winter's Shadow was the lack of resolution among a lot of characters, though if it happened in canon I'd feel it misplaced. Bedwyr never gets to really work anything out with...well, anyone, because he's stuck in Car Aes. Gwynhwyfar and Arthur never really hash it out.
Gwalchmai is our POV character for the first book, and so he doesn't know what happens in a lot of parts - the two years he's off in Lugh's feast hall, nor what the rest of the island is like, doesn't get to see Arthur's actions except second- or third-hand from messengers and his father. Likewise, we don't see much of how Arthur and Gwynhwyfar's relationship develops (even though she is the one who reports it...) When Gwyn died I was frozen, shocked, because that's not supposed to happen and it will break Gwalchmai's heart so badly. I would love to see expansion on the kingdom of summer, Lugh's palace, or on the prophetic dreams and seeings that are dropped in Hawk of May by Taliesin and Sion ap Rhys.
Here's my tag for this series with stuff I've written about the books. Rather incoherent there about In Winter's Shadow.
[Collegia Magica]
I'll admit, I'm still in love with Ilario de Sylvae, and Anne de Vernase is amazing. The whole world fascinates me. I like how it's framed as a world recovering from a cataclysmic war (and all the trauma it represents). I like how Berg drops in notes like sorcerers being so plainly marked (collaring in shiny silver, permanent tattoos that must be shown, etc) the division between the church/state/magic (academics, really?) Same with the whole changing world; it's like a pre-Renaissance world, on the cusp of discarding magic for science.
I love Ilario for many reasons - fantastic swordsman that no one takes seriously because he's also a fantastic actor! Loyal! Knows how exactly to dress and act and react to do whatever he needs! And for Anne de Vernase, she's the classic thrust-into-a-situation-she's-unprepared-for and rising-with-equanimity to do whatever needs to be done - testifying against her beloved father, whipping out a knife to defend herself, blasting raw undiluted magic when necessary even though she's afraid of it.
I'd love to see more of what the magic that Portier left behind does! Is it just the elemental fire, or does Dante's constructed visualizations of everything still stand true? Does Anne's raw power just disappear? What about the people without magic - it seemed to me to imply that everyone could share in that particular brand of magic. I wonder, too, what would happen to the Temple, and the Collegia, now that the ideas about Ixtador, death, and magic have been revised. How does crown deal with all this upheaval? Then there are all the relationship dynamics between all the characters. All the protagonists/main characters go around with masks, hiding their actual thoughts and intentions, to varying degrees, and Berg kind of experiments with taking them off for one or two together (Dante doesn't realize about Ilario for the longest time, for example, and everyone thinking that Dante has crossed over, Portier's just a failed magician, etc).
I realize that the two characters I've requested may be rather difficult to work into a story together: if necessary, it's all right if you end up focussing on one more than the other! They come from disparate places; Ilario would be reluctant to leave Eugenie (who's tied to the court) and Anne rather detests the court.
When I read Collegia Magica I seem to not have been in the custom of writing down all my various reactions about it, so I'm afraid I have no links. I requested this last year and got some really awesome fic out of it; chances are if you're in the fandom, you've seen it before, but it's here: A Liar's Honour, by theblueescapist. I request this fandom frequently because I love it, and would like to see more of the world and the characters; I am greedy enough to want more than one amazing fic.
Thanks again, and have a happy Yuletide! I'm really excited to see what you come up with!