it is time for HISTORIES MADNESS
OKAY YOU GUYS. It is ALMOST FICATHON TIME -- most of the fics have been received or will be received soon. The ficathon will go live on Thursday August 26th, and this year we are doing something a little different (borrowed from ides_of_april) -- a free-for-all round!
Here's how it works:
1. Pick one (or more) of the prompts below.
2. Write a fic of any length -- from drabble to big-bang-sized epic (if you can do that in three days, I will be incredibly impressed).
3. Send it to me at strangebrooch AT gmail DOT com AND/OR lareinenoire AT gmail DOT com by MIDNIGHT CDT on AUGUST 26th, i.e. Wednesday night/Thursday morning (if you are writing for one of us, just send it to the other one, because mods like surprises too). Use the official format for headers:
Title:
Author: [will obviously not be visible at first; I'll add them later]
Play:
Recipient:
Character(s)/Pairing(s):
Warnings: [if any; please warn for common triggers]
Rating:
Notes: [optional]
Summary:
4. Profit!
These prompts are open to anyone; instead of posting claims in the comments, just pick one and write. Also, IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE SPOILED FOR YOUR FIC, DO NOT CLICK THE CUT. In some cases prompts do appear in their entirety; this is either because I don't know which prompt the writer chose, or because the writer incorporated all aspects of the prompt into the fic and everyone deserves an equal chance at multiple stories.
speak_me_fair
I would like:
Richard II -- Henry IV Part I in terms of time-span: Hotspur/Kate, Hotspur/Douglas OR the three of them in any permutation. I am content to receive any and/or all AU scenarios, EXCEPT high-school (because I am a sulky Brit).
I would most like to see the following in any form:
Hotspur and swords
Hotspur's wrists
Rain and therefore wetness.
I am happy with deathfics, but PLEASE no non-con. Dub-con is fine (badly-negotiated con is usually amusing!), but outright rape is not something I would like to read, choose to avoid, and consider a trigger.
lareinenoire
Any or all of these prompts can be set in the play's universe or in an AU. I love both.
- Henry VI plays: Something about Eleanor of Gloucester. Massive, massive bonus points for references to hatesex (metaphorical -- I'm looking at you, Michael Drayton! -- or otherwise!) with Margaret, although I am very happy with Humphrey/Eleanor (even in the play, they're oddly adorable). Even more bonus points for bringing in Jacqueline 'Not-appearing-in-this-play' of Holland, his actual first wife.
- Henry VI: Joan la Pucelle. What makes her tick? Be as creative as you like; gen, het, slash, all welcome. ;) My only stipulation is that you stick to the play's version because I just cannot imagine a way to make historical Joan work at all in this context.
likeadeuce
2. Hotspur & Hal -- Gen or slash, but something involving Hotspur running into Hal at the tavern (or elsewhere, with Falstaff & the gang)
3. Henry IV AU, involving superheroes in some way. Seriously, go to town with this, use any characters you want, though I'd like Hal's relationship with his father to figure in some way or other.
cherith
I would love something from Henry VIII (because it's my favorite), specifically something around Anne's birth of Elizabeth, or Henry/Anne or even Henry/Katherine (after Anne is in the picture). But, I'm pretty darn open to whatever someone would want to write within Henry VIII.
absinthe_shadow
i. I would love some RII. We all know it is the thing I adore. Any universe is good, I love them all. Any Richard pairing will win my love, Richard/Henry, Richard/Aumerle, Richard/anyone you like, it's all good. Slash or gen or het is fine. Kink or no kink is fine. Ummm, prompts, let's see. Okay -- child!Richard and Sir Simon doing anything educational; hunting (obviously I am not IN FAVOUR of hunting today, but I think there is not much fic about hunting, and Richard did enjoy it); some kind of castleprisonfic. Those are my three suggestions, but I really would be happy with any story that involves Richard. And AUs are equally beloved.
gileonnen
King John. Gen or slash AU--the Bastard doesn't kill Austria. Instead, they bash out their differences (and possibly each other) and have adventures. These adventures might include: joining one side of the war; giving up on England and France and Bretagne and all of the places in between and being DIRE BRIGANDS; taking an oath together to make Richard I's death right by making a pilgrimage to the holy land (and knowing them, this would probably be a 'pilgrimage'-by-which-I-mean-crusade; if so, please be respectful of all cultures involved); kidnapping Arthur and keeping him from doing something stupid like throwing himself off a cliff. Some narrative kinks that you may or may not wish to include: enemy dearest, banter, camaraderie and comradeship, good men in a bad war. Any rating acceptable, violence and sex also acceptable. No dubious or coerced consent, please.
Henry IV plays. Gen; Northumberland. What did he want that made him willing to sacrifice all he held dear? What's his angle? What's he trying to accomplish? (IS HE A VAMPIRE?)
Richard II/1 Henry IV. GREAT BIG HOTSPUR AU. Any kind. I do not care. Put him in space, in ancient Rome, in a submarine; make him a cowboy, make him an office drone or an MI6 agent. Slash, het, gen, poly--all good. Genre unimportant. Rating unimportant. Violence and sex also acceptable. No dubious or coerced consent, please.
1 Henry VI--Talbot fic, het, gen, or slash. Genderswitch AU; the elder Talbot is a woman. How you handle this is up to you; maybe it's an AU where women can serve militarily in the same way that men can (possibly an eraswitch or a bendy-reality sort of thing), or maybe it's about what Talbot does instead of going to war; include whichever other characters you like. All ratings and pairings are acceptable. No dubious or coerced consent, please.
aka_centimetre2
1. a) Henry V/Catherine, humour ; c) Henry V musing on his army.
the_alchemist
- Richard III. Anything at all.
- I've asked for this before, and I suspect it might be too crack-tastic even for this fandom, but I would love to see a mid 20th century boarding school AU with a large selection of female characters from throughout the histories, paying no attention to whether they actually lived at the same time. I'm picturing gen, but have no objection to femslash.
the_gentleman
Hal bores his wife with stories of his days with Falstaff. Bonus points for Catherine inna bathtub and really awful French.
AU Richard II in the glam rock era, possibly riffing off Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, or at least David Bowie as Richard.
gehayi
a) AU. King John. John's nephew Arthur survives his escape attempt--which doesn't make Arthur's situation one bit simpler.
b) Mystery. Richard II. The Duke of Gloucester's murder remains unsolved. Eleanor de Bohun decides that if no one is going to solve her husband's murder, she will. Writer's choice as to the time and setting.
d) Fantasy AU. Henry VI, Part 2. Magic exists in this world. As with the gift of music, many people cannot manage it at all, a number are competent at it but no more, some are good at it but not great, and a very few are geniuses. It's not a sign of nobility or moral superiority; it's just a tool that some people possess and some people don't. How does the conflict between York and Lancaster play out in such a world? And what happens to Eleanor Cobham, Duchess of Gloucester?
roz_mcclure
Obviously first is Margaret and Suffolk and their action-packed sexy plotting (as I have called it for the past two years, The Adventures of Unscrupulous Frenchwomen With Swords And Their Devoted, Almost-As-Unscrupulous Boyfriends), but I would also like to get a bit of Henry and Margaret's marriage in there, and how hard (and in what ways) both of them try and fail to Make It Work. But really I am all about Margaret and Suffolk being catty and manipulative, in an Evil Romantic Comedy, Revengers-Tragedy-as-written-by-Noel-Coward kind of way. I especially like it when they hang out with Somerset and/or York, because I like Plantagenets with poor impulse control and bad insults.
Doll Tearsheet is fantastic and interesting, especially the part where she starts yelling at Pistol and waving a knife around. Eastcheap is a great setting generally, so any sort of story set there would be lovely -- maybe a Cheers-like comedy about the regulars, or how Mistress Quickly ended up running the place, A Day In The Life of Francis the Tapster, anything with the Boar's Head as a strong setting/framing device.
I also like AUs! For any of the above! And comedy drinking! I am just going to C&P from my last Yuletide letter because it still holds true: "I like: active (and activist) women, women who talk to each other, jokes, explosions, dancing, casual multiculturalism, angry idealism, optimistic history, strong settings/places, historical characters with modern progressive views and tolerance, booze, sex comedy, danger, road trips, bars in space stations, everyday details, arguing, airships, making out in libraries, bluffing, dressing up (disguises, formalwear, costumes, whatever), heists, kissing, Bruce Springsteen, ragtag bunches of ____, trains, revolutionaries, progressive religion, impromptu music sessions, globe-hopping, party guests with secret agendas, pocket pistols."
angevin2
In general I am very amenable to pretty much any style (except for cod-Shakespeare, which I never really enjoy), and I love crazy AUs and meticulous period detail both.
- MY STANDARD REQUEST, IF YOU DON'T LIKE MY OTHER PROMPTS, THIS ONE WILL ALWAYS MAKE ME HAPPY: Richard II - Absolutely anything about this play would ROCK. There is actually a respectable (for a tiny little fandom) number of fics out there, but I just am apparently incapable of ever getting enough of it, so what I would especially love is stuff involving characters/aspects of the play that don't get much play in fic. So, like, what is Richard's relationship with his wife like? Did Aumerle and York ever work things out after the big cockup with the letter? What the hell is the deal with Henry and Gaunt? Anything you want to do will make me totally happy. Unless it involves Northumberland having sex with anybody. Or Gaunt having sex with anybody. Or Gaunt/Northumberland slash. Don't do that. But anything else you want to do!
- Henry IVs -- Falstaff fic! Nobody ever writes him, and I feel this is an imbalance that needs to be addressed. I am especially interested in Falstaff and Hal (um, probably not Falstaff/Hal, not that I expect anyone wants to write that, but I can see it as at most one-sided), and Falstaff/Doll. I have this skeevy mental image of them where Falstaff is totally impotent but totally loves it when Doll tells him about work, which I realize is basically the plot of "Breaking the Waves." You don't have to write that, though, if you don't want to (obviously). On a less skeevy note, I would sort of love it if Falstaff met Richard II although I think you would probably have to use an AU setting for that (which is totally fine; I love AUs).
- King John - Fic about the Bastard. Because he rocks. Even if he is just, like, hanging out with Eleanor of Aquitaine and drinking the twelfth-century equivalent of martinis. I would read the hell out of that. Or, more seriously, something post-play about him and Hubert would be cool (slashy or not), or something with him and wee!Henry III, or seeing his (original) family after the play or something like that.
Here's how it works:
1. Pick one (or more) of the prompts below.
2. Write a fic of any length -- from drabble to big-bang-sized epic (if you can do that in three days, I will be incredibly impressed).
3. Send it to me at strangebrooch AT gmail DOT com AND/OR lareinenoire AT gmail DOT com by MIDNIGHT CDT on AUGUST 26th, i.e. Wednesday night/Thursday morning (if you are writing for one of us, just send it to the other one, because mods like surprises too). Use the official format for headers:
Title:
Author: [will obviously not be visible at first; I'll add them later]
Play:
Recipient:
Character(s)/Pairing(s):
Warnings: [if any; please warn for common triggers]
Rating:
Notes: [optional]
Summary:
4. Profit!
These prompts are open to anyone; instead of posting claims in the comments, just pick one and write. Also, IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE SPOILED FOR YOUR FIC, DO NOT CLICK THE CUT. In some cases prompts do appear in their entirety; this is either because I don't know which prompt the writer chose, or because the writer incorporated all aspects of the prompt into the fic and everyone deserves an equal chance at multiple stories.
speak_me_fair
I would like:
Richard II -- Henry IV Part I in terms of time-span: Hotspur/Kate, Hotspur/Douglas OR the three of them in any permutation. I am content to receive any and/or all AU scenarios, EXCEPT high-school (because I am a sulky Brit).
I would most like to see the following in any form:
Hotspur and swords
Hotspur's wrists
Rain and therefore wetness.
I am happy with deathfics, but PLEASE no non-con. Dub-con is fine (badly-negotiated con is usually amusing!), but outright rape is not something I would like to read, choose to avoid, and consider a trigger.
lareinenoire
Any or all of these prompts can be set in the play's universe or in an AU. I love both.
- Henry VI plays: Something about Eleanor of Gloucester. Massive, massive bonus points for references to hatesex (metaphorical -- I'm looking at you, Michael Drayton! -- or otherwise!) with Margaret, although I am very happy with Humphrey/Eleanor (even in the play, they're oddly adorable). Even more bonus points for bringing in Jacqueline 'Not-appearing-in-this-play' of Holland, his actual first wife.
- Henry VI: Joan la Pucelle. What makes her tick? Be as creative as you like; gen, het, slash, all welcome. ;) My only stipulation is that you stick to the play's version because I just cannot imagine a way to make historical Joan work at all in this context.
likeadeuce
2. Hotspur & Hal -- Gen or slash, but something involving Hotspur running into Hal at the tavern (or elsewhere, with Falstaff & the gang)
3. Henry IV AU, involving superheroes in some way. Seriously, go to town with this, use any characters you want, though I'd like Hal's relationship with his father to figure in some way or other.
cherith
I would love something from Henry VIII (because it's my favorite), specifically something around Anne's birth of Elizabeth, or Henry/Anne or even Henry/Katherine (after Anne is in the picture). But, I'm pretty darn open to whatever someone would want to write within Henry VIII.
absinthe_shadow
i. I would love some RII. We all know it is the thing I adore. Any universe is good, I love them all. Any Richard pairing will win my love, Richard/Henry, Richard/Aumerle, Richard/anyone you like, it's all good. Slash or gen or het is fine. Kink or no kink is fine. Ummm, prompts, let's see. Okay -- child!Richard and Sir Simon doing anything educational; hunting (obviously I am not IN FAVOUR of hunting today, but I think there is not much fic about hunting, and Richard did enjoy it); some kind of castleprisonfic. Those are my three suggestions, but I really would be happy with any story that involves Richard. And AUs are equally beloved.
gileonnen
King John. Gen or slash AU--the Bastard doesn't kill Austria. Instead, they bash out their differences (and possibly each other) and have adventures. These adventures might include: joining one side of the war; giving up on England and France and Bretagne and all of the places in between and being DIRE BRIGANDS; taking an oath together to make Richard I's death right by making a pilgrimage to the holy land (and knowing them, this would probably be a 'pilgrimage'-by-which-I-mean-crusade; if so, please be respectful of all cultures involved); kidnapping Arthur and keeping him from doing something stupid like throwing himself off a cliff. Some narrative kinks that you may or may not wish to include: enemy dearest, banter, camaraderie and comradeship, good men in a bad war. Any rating acceptable, violence and sex also acceptable. No dubious or coerced consent, please.
Henry IV plays. Gen; Northumberland. What did he want that made him willing to sacrifice all he held dear? What's his angle? What's he trying to accomplish? (IS HE A VAMPIRE?)
Richard II/1 Henry IV. GREAT BIG HOTSPUR AU. Any kind. I do not care. Put him in space, in ancient Rome, in a submarine; make him a cowboy, make him an office drone or an MI6 agent. Slash, het, gen, poly--all good. Genre unimportant. Rating unimportant. Violence and sex also acceptable. No dubious or coerced consent, please.
1 Henry VI--Talbot fic, het, gen, or slash. Genderswitch AU; the elder Talbot is a woman. How you handle this is up to you; maybe it's an AU where women can serve militarily in the same way that men can (possibly an eraswitch or a bendy-reality sort of thing), or maybe it's about what Talbot does instead of going to war; include whichever other characters you like. All ratings and pairings are acceptable. No dubious or coerced consent, please.
aka_centimetre2
1. a) Henry V/Catherine, humour ; c) Henry V musing on his army.
the_alchemist
- Richard III. Anything at all.
- I've asked for this before, and I suspect it might be too crack-tastic even for this fandom, but I would love to see a mid 20th century boarding school AU with a large selection of female characters from throughout the histories, paying no attention to whether they actually lived at the same time. I'm picturing gen, but have no objection to femslash.
the_gentleman
Hal bores his wife with stories of his days with Falstaff. Bonus points for Catherine inna bathtub and really awful French.
AU Richard II in the glam rock era, possibly riffing off Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, or at least David Bowie as Richard.
gehayi
a) AU. King John. John's nephew Arthur survives his escape attempt--which doesn't make Arthur's situation one bit simpler.
b) Mystery. Richard II. The Duke of Gloucester's murder remains unsolved. Eleanor de Bohun decides that if no one is going to solve her husband's murder, she will. Writer's choice as to the time and setting.
d) Fantasy AU. Henry VI, Part 2. Magic exists in this world. As with the gift of music, many people cannot manage it at all, a number are competent at it but no more, some are good at it but not great, and a very few are geniuses. It's not a sign of nobility or moral superiority; it's just a tool that some people possess and some people don't. How does the conflict between York and Lancaster play out in such a world? And what happens to Eleanor Cobham, Duchess of Gloucester?
roz_mcclure
Obviously first is Margaret and Suffolk and their action-packed sexy plotting (as I have called it for the past two years, The Adventures of Unscrupulous Frenchwomen With Swords And Their Devoted, Almost-As-Unscrupulous Boyfriends), but I would also like to get a bit of Henry and Margaret's marriage in there, and how hard (and in what ways) both of them try and fail to Make It Work. But really I am all about Margaret and Suffolk being catty and manipulative, in an Evil Romantic Comedy, Revengers-Tragedy-as-written-by-Noel-Coward kind of way. I especially like it when they hang out with Somerset and/or York, because I like Plantagenets with poor impulse control and bad insults.
Doll Tearsheet is fantastic and interesting, especially the part where she starts yelling at Pistol and waving a knife around. Eastcheap is a great setting generally, so any sort of story set there would be lovely -- maybe a Cheers-like comedy about the regulars, or how Mistress Quickly ended up running the place, A Day In The Life of Francis the Tapster, anything with the Boar's Head as a strong setting/framing device.
I also like AUs! For any of the above! And comedy drinking! I am just going to C&P from my last Yuletide letter because it still holds true: "I like: active (and activist) women, women who talk to each other, jokes, explosions, dancing, casual multiculturalism, angry idealism, optimistic history, strong settings/places, historical characters with modern progressive views and tolerance, booze, sex comedy, danger, road trips, bars in space stations, everyday details, arguing, airships, making out in libraries, bluffing, dressing up (disguises, formalwear, costumes, whatever), heists, kissing, Bruce Springsteen, ragtag bunches of ____, trains, revolutionaries, progressive religion, impromptu music sessions, globe-hopping, party guests with secret agendas, pocket pistols."
angevin2
In general I am very amenable to pretty much any style (except for cod-Shakespeare, which I never really enjoy), and I love crazy AUs and meticulous period detail both.
- MY STANDARD REQUEST, IF YOU DON'T LIKE MY OTHER PROMPTS, THIS ONE WILL ALWAYS MAKE ME HAPPY: Richard II - Absolutely anything about this play would ROCK. There is actually a respectable (for a tiny little fandom) number of fics out there, but I just am apparently incapable of ever getting enough of it, so what I would especially love is stuff involving characters/aspects of the play that don't get much play in fic. So, like, what is Richard's relationship with his wife like? Did Aumerle and York ever work things out after the big cockup with the letter? What the hell is the deal with Henry and Gaunt? Anything you want to do will make me totally happy. Unless it involves Northumberland having sex with anybody. Or Gaunt having sex with anybody. Or Gaunt/Northumberland slash. Don't do that. But anything else you want to do!
- Henry IVs -- Falstaff fic! Nobody ever writes him, and I feel this is an imbalance that needs to be addressed. I am especially interested in Falstaff and Hal (um, probably not Falstaff/Hal, not that I expect anyone wants to write that, but I can see it as at most one-sided), and Falstaff/Doll. I have this skeevy mental image of them where Falstaff is totally impotent but totally loves it when Doll tells him about work, which I realize is basically the plot of "Breaking the Waves." You don't have to write that, though, if you don't want to (obviously). On a less skeevy note, I would sort of love it if Falstaff met Richard II although I think you would probably have to use an AU setting for that (which is totally fine; I love AUs).
- King John - Fic about the Bastard. Because he rocks. Even if he is just, like, hanging out with Eleanor of Aquitaine and drinking the twelfth-century equivalent of martinis. I would read the hell out of that. Or, more seriously, something post-play about him and Hubert would be cool (slashy or not), or something with him and wee!Henry III, or seeing his (original) family after the play or something like that.