Dear Writer of Unsent Letters
Mar. 2nd, 2021 02:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakDear Letter writer,
this is the first time I'll participate in this exchange, and I am very much looking forward to reading your story - and grateful. All the prompts are just suggestions; if you have very different ideas, go for them.
General DNW: I'm okay with characters who canonically loathe other characters expressing that opinion as a part of the story, but there's a difference between this and character bashing, i.e.: if you always loathed character X, please don't use the story you're writing for me for venting, vent elsewhere.
Canon specific DNW, see below for individual canons.
General Preferences: I'm easy. The format of this exchange seems immensely suitable to exploring feelings and thoughts without having to provide plot to go with them. (Not that I'm against plot if you can use the letter format to provide one.) I like complications and contradictory elements in relationships - affection and resentment intermingled, dislike but also respect, that kind of thing.
On to the fandoms.
18th Century CE Frederician RPF:
No restrictions here; if letters and diaries aren't to your taste, I'm open for modern day AUs where the characters text each other or start a twitter war. Some of the combinations lend themselves more to crack (the Friedrich Wilhelm I. and George II. feuding and almost duel, canon sources for which you can find here), some more to serious character exploration - for the two Kattes, Hans Herrmann and his father Hans Heinrich, for example, I'm imagining Hans Heinrich trying to understand what motivated his son after his death and trying to work through the grief and surpressed rage by writing a letter to his dead child. Some could be both - the two Hohenzollern brothers, Friedrich and Heinrich, come to mind, where I can see anything from Heinrich's replies to Friedrich's taunting Marwitz letters on the crack end of the scale to Heinrich, during the last years of his life when he's moving into Wusterhausen for some months and reading Wilhelmine's memoirs for the first time, thinking about his dead family, brother Fritz included. The Voltaire/Émilie correspondence is lost, so a letter from any point - when they fell in love, when they argued, when they reconciled, argued again, etc., till and including Voltaire after her death would be great. For Lehndorff and Heinrich, I could see letter excerpts portraying their relationship through the decades, ups and downs, including Lehndorff's reaction to Heinrich's death (lost in WWII along with part of his papers). But all of these are just possible prompts, not musts. As I said: any combination, any format would make me happy.
The Borgias (Showtime):
Here, I'd prefer canon era type of documents to modern AUs, i.e. letters or journals, not emails from modern versions of the characters. If you want to use bits of history which didn't make it into the show - such as Giulia Farnese's daughter Laura, for example - , you're welcome to, as long as they don't completely contradict show characterisation. (Say, in the case if Giulia Farnese: her husband being Rodrigo's cousin's son.)
Possible prompts: for Rodrigo and Vannozza, letters set during their backstory. They both already had plenty of experience when meeting each other; when did they realize this wasn't just another affair, and that it wouldn't be just one child and then Rodrigo moving on, but several, and that he'd openly acknowledge them? In show canon, Juan is afraid that he might be the son of Vannozza's husband, not Rodrigo's, and some of his behavior results from that insecurity. Maybe use that question, and whether or not it is important to either Rodrigo or Vannozza at all for a topic?
For Rodrigo and Lucrezia: the irony is that Lucrezia, far more and either Cesare or Juan, would be suited as her father's successor, as she has the instinct for spirituality and power both, but she can't be due to her sex. Still, during that short time Rodrigo appoints her as his representative, she does fulfill the office of Pope. I'd love a letter or letters addressing this, and also how it fits in Lucrezia's growing independence during s2, Rodrigo's sense of guilt as voiced in his nightmare of her in s1, or their big confrontation after Juan's death. (If you want to go beyond show canon and use Lucrezia's third marriage as a time frame, with Rodrigo writing her, that would work for me, too.)
For Lucrezia and Giulia: one of my big show frustrations is that the relationship, which is so lovely and well developed in s1, more or less disappears in subsequent seasons. (Though not as radically as brother Joffre and Sancia.) Fanfiction is ideal to fill in for canon flaws, so give me Lucrezia and Giulia corresponding in s2, maintaining their relationship between episodes!
Lucrezia and Vannozza: I have severe problems with s3, but one of the elements I enjoyed was that we got more on Lucrezia's relationship with her mother. Beyond the show era, they would eventually become the survivors of the family for a time, when Rodrigo and Cesare were both dead. Maybe give me a letter or letters from that era between them, as Vannozza remained in Rome?
Rodrigo and Giulia: Giulia must have figured out soon enough that Rodrigo only came in a family package, i.e. that he wasn't just another cleric with bastard children kept out of sight but that these children - and his former mistress - were enormously present in his life. Now she might have started the relationship simply to secure herself protection in the pilot, but we do see her coming to care. So what I would like to read would be an exchange of letters on any or all members of his family, or a journal entry (or several) of Giulia's; does observing Rodrigo and his children change her original view of him? Does she see Vannozza as her future, or does she regard their respective relationships with Rodrigo as too different for that? Does she have plans beyond Rodrigo's life time - because even if he lives for, say 20 years more, she will most likely outlive him - and does this become easier or harder as their relationship solidifies? As I said above, if you want to use historical Laura, that would be okay by me, as I could see Giulia wondering about having a child of her own in the light of what she observes close up. But you can also stick with show canon only, where she appears to be childless. (Maybe that is a decision, too?)
DNW: You may have noticed these prompts do not include Cesare. Not because I don't like the character, but because 95% of the fandom output is already Lucrezia/Cesare (with the rest being Cesare/Micheletto), and what I really really do NOT want to get is another Lucrezia/Cesare story in disguise. So, Cesare: can be mentioned and written about, of course, as long as Lucrezia/Cesare isn't the focus of whatever story you write.
Roma Sub Rosa Series - Steven Saylor:
Because the novels are from Gordianus' pov, there are so many relationships and characters only teased at, about which I want to know more. Gordianus' and Bethesda's daughter Diana chief among them, who gets relatively little print time compared to her brothers, save near the end of the series so far, and yet she does something of enormous gravity early on, when she's still a child. (Trying to phrase this unspoilerly for those who haven't read the novel in question. So give me a Diana diary entry or letter - I don't care which one - dealing with this!
In the novels, there's this intriguing scene where Gordianus who has heard that Clodia Pulcher is in his house expects to find her and Bethesda in a fight and instead finds them (and Diana!) bonding with each other, and the novel indicates this isn't a one time only thing. So: Former slave Bethesda and the most (in)famous noblewoman of Rome - give me letters between them!
Lastly: "Catilina's Riddle" manages to elegantly indicate a Gordianus/Catilina one night stand, but even if you believe they spent that night on strictly platonic terms, talking under the stars, the relationship throughout the novel with its UST and Gordianus being charmed againts his better knowledge and all common sense is delicious, so: one or several letters would be lovely.
DNW: Modern AU, because this would alter Bethesda's circumstances and everyone's power dfferentials too radically - unless you can manage to find a good equivalent to "former slave"?
Black Sails:
My instinctive preference in this 'verse is for canon era media, but if you can pull off a modern AU and want to use modern media to go with it, I'm fine with this, too.
Possible prompts:
Miranda: for a long time my favourite character on the show. Anything Miranda would be great, diary entries from her time as Lady Hamilton or as Mrs. Barlow, outcast, engagement letters between her and Thomas, angry, grieving and consoling letters between her and James during his first years as Flint, letters between her, Thomas and James during their short time together - whatever strikes your fancy. Even a post mortem letter from dead Miranda would be loved.
Max and John Silver: two people seeing each other quite clearly, without the mess of emotions that bind Max to Anne and Jack, or Silver to Madi, and whose occasional alliances at three points in the show was plot changing. Did they remain in contact afterwards? Once Silver had figured out what the information Max gave him re: Oglethorpe could mean, and had his suspicions verified, did he ever tell her why this was such a game changer? What did she make of his various transformations, and did they stay in contact post show, however losely?
Silver and Flint: any and all letter exchanges during their evolving relationship, from annoyed Captain Flint to irritatingly good at survival not!cook Silver to an exchange between allies out of necessity to letters between them as partners to letters once Silver did what he did in the finale, unsent on either man's part would be great.
Jim Hawkins and Silver: that's in a way asking for a Treasure Island crossover, of course. Maybe Jim finds out bits and pieces of the real backstory in excerpts from "Treasure Island" that were cut for publication. Maybe once Jim has grown up, he hears from Silver again and doesn't know him self whether what Silver now tells him is the truth (because it's Silver), but it could be. Maybe Silver had planned to tell Jim (some of) the truth but destroys the letter before it's send. As long as the ambiguity of the Jim and Silver relationship is maintained (i.e. Silver is not a well meaning replacement dad, but he does care to some degree), I'm good.
Babylon 5:
Dear old fandom of my heart, how I love you still! Definitely no AU here, please. Possible prompts:
- G'Kar and Londo corresponding during G'Kar's years of travelling with Lyta; there is of course a lot Londo can't say, but G'Kar is good at reading between the lines (even if they're not literal lines); or just a single message which the Keeper then forces Londo to destroy
- Vir and Londo: messages showing their changing relationship from irritated ambassador and new lost attache through the show years to the years after; Vir and Londo, too, can communicate in hints
- Londo and Timov: what did their post "Soul Mates" communication look like? Be it a single Timov message sharply commenting on Londo's rise or a series of messages, anything would be great
DNW: I'm not that keen on Peter David's Centauri trilogy. There are parts of it I like - Senna, for example, or Timov coming back into Londo's life for a while - but even more parts I dislike, especially the world building or lack of same for the Centauri. So unless you've set your heart on it, if possible, don't use the book canon.
this is the first time I'll participate in this exchange, and I am very much looking forward to reading your story - and grateful. All the prompts are just suggestions; if you have very different ideas, go for them.
General DNW: I'm okay with characters who canonically loathe other characters expressing that opinion as a part of the story, but there's a difference between this and character bashing, i.e.: if you always loathed character X, please don't use the story you're writing for me for venting, vent elsewhere.
Canon specific DNW, see below for individual canons.
General Preferences: I'm easy. The format of this exchange seems immensely suitable to exploring feelings and thoughts without having to provide plot to go with them. (Not that I'm against plot if you can use the letter format to provide one.) I like complications and contradictory elements in relationships - affection and resentment intermingled, dislike but also respect, that kind of thing.
On to the fandoms.
18th Century CE Frederician RPF:
No restrictions here; if letters and diaries aren't to your taste, I'm open for modern day AUs where the characters text each other or start a twitter war. Some of the combinations lend themselves more to crack (the Friedrich Wilhelm I. and George II. feuding and almost duel, canon sources for which you can find here), some more to serious character exploration - for the two Kattes, Hans Herrmann and his father Hans Heinrich, for example, I'm imagining Hans Heinrich trying to understand what motivated his son after his death and trying to work through the grief and surpressed rage by writing a letter to his dead child. Some could be both - the two Hohenzollern brothers, Friedrich and Heinrich, come to mind, where I can see anything from Heinrich's replies to Friedrich's taunting Marwitz letters on the crack end of the scale to Heinrich, during the last years of his life when he's moving into Wusterhausen for some months and reading Wilhelmine's memoirs for the first time, thinking about his dead family, brother Fritz included. The Voltaire/Émilie correspondence is lost, so a letter from any point - when they fell in love, when they argued, when they reconciled, argued again, etc., till and including Voltaire after her death would be great. For Lehndorff and Heinrich, I could see letter excerpts portraying their relationship through the decades, ups and downs, including Lehndorff's reaction to Heinrich's death (lost in WWII along with part of his papers). But all of these are just possible prompts, not musts. As I said: any combination, any format would make me happy.
The Borgias (Showtime):
Here, I'd prefer canon era type of documents to modern AUs, i.e. letters or journals, not emails from modern versions of the characters. If you want to use bits of history which didn't make it into the show - such as Giulia Farnese's daughter Laura, for example - , you're welcome to, as long as they don't completely contradict show characterisation. (Say, in the case if Giulia Farnese: her husband being Rodrigo's cousin's son.)
Possible prompts: for Rodrigo and Vannozza, letters set during their backstory. They both already had plenty of experience when meeting each other; when did they realize this wasn't just another affair, and that it wouldn't be just one child and then Rodrigo moving on, but several, and that he'd openly acknowledge them? In show canon, Juan is afraid that he might be the son of Vannozza's husband, not Rodrigo's, and some of his behavior results from that insecurity. Maybe use that question, and whether or not it is important to either Rodrigo or Vannozza at all for a topic?
For Rodrigo and Lucrezia: the irony is that Lucrezia, far more and either Cesare or Juan, would be suited as her father's successor, as she has the instinct for spirituality and power both, but she can't be due to her sex. Still, during that short time Rodrigo appoints her as his representative, she does fulfill the office of Pope. I'd love a letter or letters addressing this, and also how it fits in Lucrezia's growing independence during s2, Rodrigo's sense of guilt as voiced in his nightmare of her in s1, or their big confrontation after Juan's death. (If you want to go beyond show canon and use Lucrezia's third marriage as a time frame, with Rodrigo writing her, that would work for me, too.)
For Lucrezia and Giulia: one of my big show frustrations is that the relationship, which is so lovely and well developed in s1, more or less disappears in subsequent seasons. (Though not as radically as brother Joffre and Sancia.) Fanfiction is ideal to fill in for canon flaws, so give me Lucrezia and Giulia corresponding in s2, maintaining their relationship between episodes!
Lucrezia and Vannozza: I have severe problems with s3, but one of the elements I enjoyed was that we got more on Lucrezia's relationship with her mother. Beyond the show era, they would eventually become the survivors of the family for a time, when Rodrigo and Cesare were both dead. Maybe give me a letter or letters from that era between them, as Vannozza remained in Rome?
Rodrigo and Giulia: Giulia must have figured out soon enough that Rodrigo only came in a family package, i.e. that he wasn't just another cleric with bastard children kept out of sight but that these children - and his former mistress - were enormously present in his life. Now she might have started the relationship simply to secure herself protection in the pilot, but we do see her coming to care. So what I would like to read would be an exchange of letters on any or all members of his family, or a journal entry (or several) of Giulia's; does observing Rodrigo and his children change her original view of him? Does she see Vannozza as her future, or does she regard their respective relationships with Rodrigo as too different for that? Does she have plans beyond Rodrigo's life time - because even if he lives for, say 20 years more, she will most likely outlive him - and does this become easier or harder as their relationship solidifies? As I said above, if you want to use historical Laura, that would be okay by me, as I could see Giulia wondering about having a child of her own in the light of what she observes close up. But you can also stick with show canon only, where she appears to be childless. (Maybe that is a decision, too?)
DNW: You may have noticed these prompts do not include Cesare. Not because I don't like the character, but because 95% of the fandom output is already Lucrezia/Cesare (with the rest being Cesare/Micheletto), and what I really really do NOT want to get is another Lucrezia/Cesare story in disguise. So, Cesare: can be mentioned and written about, of course, as long as Lucrezia/Cesare isn't the focus of whatever story you write.
Roma Sub Rosa Series - Steven Saylor:
Because the novels are from Gordianus' pov, there are so many relationships and characters only teased at, about which I want to know more. Gordianus' and Bethesda's daughter Diana chief among them, who gets relatively little print time compared to her brothers, save near the end of the series so far, and yet she does something of enormous gravity early on, when she's still a child. (Trying to phrase this unspoilerly for those who haven't read the novel in question. So give me a Diana diary entry or letter - I don't care which one - dealing with this!
In the novels, there's this intriguing scene where Gordianus who has heard that Clodia Pulcher is in his house expects to find her and Bethesda in a fight and instead finds them (and Diana!) bonding with each other, and the novel indicates this isn't a one time only thing. So: Former slave Bethesda and the most (in)famous noblewoman of Rome - give me letters between them!
Lastly: "Catilina's Riddle" manages to elegantly indicate a Gordianus/Catilina one night stand, but even if you believe they spent that night on strictly platonic terms, talking under the stars, the relationship throughout the novel with its UST and Gordianus being charmed againts his better knowledge and all common sense is delicious, so: one or several letters would be lovely.
DNW: Modern AU, because this would alter Bethesda's circumstances and everyone's power dfferentials too radically - unless you can manage to find a good equivalent to "former slave"?
Black Sails:
My instinctive preference in this 'verse is for canon era media, but if you can pull off a modern AU and want to use modern media to go with it, I'm fine with this, too.
Possible prompts:
Miranda: for a long time my favourite character on the show. Anything Miranda would be great, diary entries from her time as Lady Hamilton or as Mrs. Barlow, outcast, engagement letters between her and Thomas, angry, grieving and consoling letters between her and James during his first years as Flint, letters between her, Thomas and James during their short time together - whatever strikes your fancy. Even a post mortem letter from dead Miranda would be loved.
Max and John Silver: two people seeing each other quite clearly, without the mess of emotions that bind Max to Anne and Jack, or Silver to Madi, and whose occasional alliances at three points in the show was plot changing. Did they remain in contact afterwards? Once Silver had figured out what the information Max gave him re: Oglethorpe could mean, and had his suspicions verified, did he ever tell her why this was such a game changer? What did she make of his various transformations, and did they stay in contact post show, however losely?
Silver and Flint: any and all letter exchanges during their evolving relationship, from annoyed Captain Flint to irritatingly good at survival not!cook Silver to an exchange between allies out of necessity to letters between them as partners to letters once Silver did what he did in the finale, unsent on either man's part would be great.
Jim Hawkins and Silver: that's in a way asking for a Treasure Island crossover, of course. Maybe Jim finds out bits and pieces of the real backstory in excerpts from "Treasure Island" that were cut for publication. Maybe once Jim has grown up, he hears from Silver again and doesn't know him self whether what Silver now tells him is the truth (because it's Silver), but it could be. Maybe Silver had planned to tell Jim (some of) the truth but destroys the letter before it's send. As long as the ambiguity of the Jim and Silver relationship is maintained (i.e. Silver is not a well meaning replacement dad, but he does care to some degree), I'm good.
Babylon 5:
Dear old fandom of my heart, how I love you still! Definitely no AU here, please. Possible prompts:
- G'Kar and Londo corresponding during G'Kar's years of travelling with Lyta; there is of course a lot Londo can't say, but G'Kar is good at reading between the lines (even if they're not literal lines); or just a single message which the Keeper then forces Londo to destroy
- Vir and Londo: messages showing their changing relationship from irritated ambassador and new lost attache through the show years to the years after; Vir and Londo, too, can communicate in hints
- Londo and Timov: what did their post "Soul Mates" communication look like? Be it a single Timov message sharply commenting on Londo's rise or a series of messages, anything would be great
DNW: I'm not that keen on Peter David's Centauri trilogy. There are parts of it I like - Senna, for example, or Timov coming back into Londo's life for a while - but even more parts I dislike, especially the world building or lack of same for the Centauri. So unless you've set your heart on it, if possible, don't use the book canon.
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Date: 2021-03-02 03:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-03-02 03:45 pm (UTC)