Dear Yuletide Writer…
Oct. 14th, 2021 04:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakthank you so much for creating a story for me! I hope you'll enjoy the experience and appreciate the work you're doing - writing a story in a tiny fandom we share is absolutely lovely, and I'm guaranteed to be pleased by your gift, so don't fret. My prompts are just that, prompts, not absolutes; if you have an idea that doesn't fit with any of them, but features (some of) the characters I asked for, I'll love it with added joyful surprise.
General DNWs:
A/B/O - if you want to write a werewolf AU for any of the canons I nominated, be my guest, but I'm really not into this particular type of story -, infantilisation, golden showers.
General likes:
character exploration, characters helping each other recover from trauma, messed up and/or co-dependent family relationships, witty banter, friendship against the odds, the occasional light moment in a darker story or conversely some serious character stuff thrown into a comedy fic.
On to the fandoms.
16th Century CE Hapsburg RPF
For my take (which doesn't have to be yours) on the characters I'm most interested in, see here. Almost any combination of the nominated characters would please me, in any phase of their lives, with preferably some of their relationships with each other are included. Some possible prompts:
Margaret of Austria: mentoring Mary of Hungary and Margaret of Parma - is this her legacy for the Netherlands? For the Habsburg Dynasty?
Negotiating the “Ladies’ Peace” with Louise of Savoy: they’ve known each other since childhood, they each represent both Empires. Margaret could have been Queen of France but wasn’t, Louise did everything to make her son King of France only to see him now imprisoned by Margaret’s nephew and being Regent in his place.
What does Margaret think of her sister-in-law Juana? Does she consider her truly mad? She’s raising most of Juana’s children, und has the power to govern which Juana was never able to use - is Juana a warning example, an obstacle, a might-have-been?
Margaret and kid!Anne Boleyn: evidently young Anne made a very good impression, hence Margaret’s letter about her. And vice versa? A day in the life of young Anne at Margaret’s court?
Young Charles and Germaine de Foix: two unwanted outsiders in Castile getting close - for a while.
Margaret of Parma: Margaret and Catherine (who were sort-of-sisters in law if you assume Alessandro de' Medici was Catherine's brother rather than her cousin), teenage brides, met before Catherine got married off to France. Catherine already has the terrifying ordeal of the siege to Florence and what that meant for her behind her, Margaret (if you let this meeting take place after rather than before Alessandro's assassination) her brief marriage and the murder of her husband. Two young ladies who are future political power players of the first order but right now also know what it is to be utterly powerless. What do they talk about?
Margaret and her half brothers: in personal encounters, she got along both with Philip and with Juan, but politically, Philip was impossible to work for. For Margaret and Philip, maybe her visiting him in England (when he was married to Mary Tudor)? For Margaret and Juan, their encounter in Italy after the end of her first regency in the Netherlands. They’re both bastards who made political careers - but with the awareness that any power they have can be withdrawn by the monarch. How similar or different is being a female and a male bastard of the world’s most powerful man and a woman you’ve never really known?
Charles, Eleanor and Mary after his retirement in Spain: looking back at their lives, losses, memories - still having each other.
18th Century CE Frederician RPF
Still the crazy historical fandom of my heart. Here, too, you don’t have to use all the characters requested, it’s an “or” rather than an “and”. I’m game for straightforwqrd historical canon or AU, crack fic or angsty drama. Some possible prompts:
AU: King Friedrich Wilhelm gets mysteriously murdered during his son’s engagement party in the spring of 1733, with multiple stabbing wounds. Visiting Duke Franz Stephan of Lorraine investigates, as the number of suspects is infinite, including the deceased’s wife and oldest son, now the King… aka Murder at Wusterhausen (Express). (If you want someone else in the Poirot role, be my guest, it’s just that I thought Maria Theresia’s future husband was about the only guest at that engagement party all the guests would have to talk to and who was easy going enough to get them to talk. Bonus if you can work in Anne de Laurey, Gundling’s widow, as one of the suspects.
AU: Friedrich Wilhelm and his cousin George II of Britain almost challenged each other to hand-to-hand combat in 1729, but calmer heads prevailed. (Alas.) (You can read the historical quotes here. How about an AU where the duel happens? Choose your victor (both of them killing each other is also fine), go wild! This one has the advantage of happening before the escape atttempt and Katte’s execution, so it would count as a preemptive fix-it as well.
Canon: In 1746, Frederick the recently Great visited the spa at Pyrmont; his entourage included his younger brother Heinrich. Considering Heinrich and Fritz had just been through the Marwitz affair, and were about to get ever more dysfunctional with each other, and considering Fritz actually seems to have listened to Doctor’s orders on th the occasion (meaning that there were no getaway trips from the spa) this must have been something to behold. Give me the glorious fraternal bickering, the spies among the spa guests (who reported on this visit), or, hey, the perspective of pregnant Biche the dog, for whom Friedrich was far more concerned than for most living people. :)
Canon: Lehndorff’s life long passion for Heinrich strikes me as ideal for a “five times…” scenario. Five kisses, for example, from the time Lehndorff first fell in love through their various ups and downs (including the time Lehndorff thought he’d emigrate to Britain, or the time Heinrich returned from the war with massive PTSD) to, say, a gentle old age leave taking after a visit from Lehndorff to Rheinsberg.
Stealing Fire - Jo Graham
I'm a great fan of stories where people who've each experienced tragedies manage to help each other go on with their lives, heal, find joy and purpose again, without this negating what came before, which is one big reason why this particular novel is such a favorite for me. If your story carries elements of this, I'll be delighted. Whether you favor emphasis on the angst part or the joy is entirely up to you, by which I mean: anything from a story exploring Lydias' and Bagoas' powerless childhoods and horrendous losses to fluffy curtain fic (shopping in new Alexandria together - hey, there's a canon basis) would be welcome. For Chloe, whom we only got to meed as a child and young teen, I'd be curious to see a story showing her growing up and creating her own space in this sstory - what her relationship with Lydias will be like, how she relates to Bagoas, how she feels about her mother and father now that Ptolemy is the Pharao and has an "official" new family. What was it like growing up as a child of the baggage train and then ending up in Egypt? Did she ever wonder whether she would have been a Hetaira like her mother if things had gone differently? As for Thais: due to its setting, the novel doesn't deal with the most famous story about her, the burning she supposedly instigated - leaving room for fanfic to provide a version. But I'd equally pleased with reading from her pov how the transition to Egypt worked for her, how she feels about the country aside from Ptolemy being its new ruler. And how does she relate to Berenike, once they inevitably meet?
James Asher Vampire Series
Now I adore the relationships between the Ashers and Ysidro, and anything focused on it would make me happy, but if you feel historically, well, Ysidro’s centuries of backstory offer so much potential. Young Simon, coming to England as part of Philip of Spain’s entourage only to get stuck there with a case of being undead. Considering all the cultural and religious differences and the massive rampaging xenophobia on both sides, it’s an open question whether being a vampire or being a Catholic Spaniard would have been more of an issue. Or: the novels have a lot to say about how inconvenient the French Revolution was for the French vampires (hence most of the older ones perishing in it). What about the English Civil War and the 12 year Interregnum/English Republic, then? Spending them on the continent wouldn’t have made Ysidro much safer, given it overlapped with the 30 Years War, which was the bloodiest, most devastating event before the 20th century wars, with the most fervent cases of witch hunts and paranoia going on from while nobles weren’t more safe than the general population. One of Hambly’s ongoing themes in the series, all the ways nationalisting early 20th century forces could abuse vcampire powers, could just as much be applied there.
If you want to stay with the canon era: I haven’t yet caught up with the latest books, but I’m pretty sure Hambly won’t make either Lydia or James into a vampire, and in book canon, I don’t want that, either. However, fanfiction is another matter. So: I propose a scenario where Lydia gets turned by a vampire who isn’t Ysidro (can be one of the canon vampires or an OC). How to James and Simon respond? What traits of Lydia’s personality survive, which are altered? How does it change her outlook - on her marriage, Ysidro, maybe also the time she’s living in with its mixture of radical medical developments and an ever more toxic nationalism?
General DNWs:
A/B/O - if you want to write a werewolf AU for any of the canons I nominated, be my guest, but I'm really not into this particular type of story -, infantilisation, golden showers.
General likes:
character exploration, characters helping each other recover from trauma, messed up and/or co-dependent family relationships, witty banter, friendship against the odds, the occasional light moment in a darker story or conversely some serious character stuff thrown into a comedy fic.
On to the fandoms.
16th Century CE Hapsburg RPF
For my take (which doesn't have to be yours) on the characters I'm most interested in, see here. Almost any combination of the nominated characters would please me, in any phase of their lives, with preferably some of their relationships with each other are included. Some possible prompts:
Margaret of Austria: mentoring Mary of Hungary and Margaret of Parma - is this her legacy for the Netherlands? For the Habsburg Dynasty?
Negotiating the “Ladies’ Peace” with Louise of Savoy: they’ve known each other since childhood, they each represent both Empires. Margaret could have been Queen of France but wasn’t, Louise did everything to make her son King of France only to see him now imprisoned by Margaret’s nephew and being Regent in his place.
What does Margaret think of her sister-in-law Juana? Does she consider her truly mad? She’s raising most of Juana’s children, und has the power to govern which Juana was never able to use - is Juana a warning example, an obstacle, a might-have-been?
Margaret and kid!Anne Boleyn: evidently young Anne made a very good impression, hence Margaret’s letter about her. And vice versa? A day in the life of young Anne at Margaret’s court?
Young Charles and Germaine de Foix: two unwanted outsiders in Castile getting close - for a while.
Margaret of Parma: Margaret and Catherine (who were sort-of-sisters in law if you assume Alessandro de' Medici was Catherine's brother rather than her cousin), teenage brides, met before Catherine got married off to France. Catherine already has the terrifying ordeal of the siege to Florence and what that meant for her behind her, Margaret (if you let this meeting take place after rather than before Alessandro's assassination) her brief marriage and the murder of her husband. Two young ladies who are future political power players of the first order but right now also know what it is to be utterly powerless. What do they talk about?
Margaret and her half brothers: in personal encounters, she got along both with Philip and with Juan, but politically, Philip was impossible to work for. For Margaret and Philip, maybe her visiting him in England (when he was married to Mary Tudor)? For Margaret and Juan, their encounter in Italy after the end of her first regency in the Netherlands. They’re both bastards who made political careers - but with the awareness that any power they have can be withdrawn by the monarch. How similar or different is being a female and a male bastard of the world’s most powerful man and a woman you’ve never really known?
Charles, Eleanor and Mary after his retirement in Spain: looking back at their lives, losses, memories - still having each other.
18th Century CE Frederician RPF
Still the crazy historical fandom of my heart. Here, too, you don’t have to use all the characters requested, it’s an “or” rather than an “and”. I’m game for straightforwqrd historical canon or AU, crack fic or angsty drama. Some possible prompts:
AU: King Friedrich Wilhelm gets mysteriously murdered during his son’s engagement party in the spring of 1733, with multiple stabbing wounds. Visiting Duke Franz Stephan of Lorraine investigates, as the number of suspects is infinite, including the deceased’s wife and oldest son, now the King… aka Murder at Wusterhausen (Express). (If you want someone else in the Poirot role, be my guest, it’s just that I thought Maria Theresia’s future husband was about the only guest at that engagement party all the guests would have to talk to and who was easy going enough to get them to talk. Bonus if you can work in Anne de Laurey, Gundling’s widow, as one of the suspects.
AU: Friedrich Wilhelm and his cousin George II of Britain almost challenged each other to hand-to-hand combat in 1729, but calmer heads prevailed. (Alas.) (You can read the historical quotes here. How about an AU where the duel happens? Choose your victor (both of them killing each other is also fine), go wild! This one has the advantage of happening before the escape atttempt and Katte’s execution, so it would count as a preemptive fix-it as well.
Canon: In 1746, Frederick the recently Great visited the spa at Pyrmont; his entourage included his younger brother Heinrich. Considering Heinrich and Fritz had just been through the Marwitz affair, and were about to get ever more dysfunctional with each other, and considering Fritz actually seems to have listened to Doctor’s orders on th the occasion (meaning that there were no getaway trips from the spa) this must have been something to behold. Give me the glorious fraternal bickering, the spies among the spa guests (who reported on this visit), or, hey, the perspective of pregnant Biche the dog, for whom Friedrich was far more concerned than for most living people. :)
Canon: Lehndorff’s life long passion for Heinrich strikes me as ideal for a “five times…” scenario. Five kisses, for example, from the time Lehndorff first fell in love through their various ups and downs (including the time Lehndorff thought he’d emigrate to Britain, or the time Heinrich returned from the war with massive PTSD) to, say, a gentle old age leave taking after a visit from Lehndorff to Rheinsberg.
Stealing Fire - Jo Graham
I'm a great fan of stories where people who've each experienced tragedies manage to help each other go on with their lives, heal, find joy and purpose again, without this negating what came before, which is one big reason why this particular novel is such a favorite for me. If your story carries elements of this, I'll be delighted. Whether you favor emphasis on the angst part or the joy is entirely up to you, by which I mean: anything from a story exploring Lydias' and Bagoas' powerless childhoods and horrendous losses to fluffy curtain fic (shopping in new Alexandria together - hey, there's a canon basis) would be welcome. For Chloe, whom we only got to meed as a child and young teen, I'd be curious to see a story showing her growing up and creating her own space in this sstory - what her relationship with Lydias will be like, how she relates to Bagoas, how she feels about her mother and father now that Ptolemy is the Pharao and has an "official" new family. What was it like growing up as a child of the baggage train and then ending up in Egypt? Did she ever wonder whether she would have been a Hetaira like her mother if things had gone differently? As for Thais: due to its setting, the novel doesn't deal with the most famous story about her, the burning she supposedly instigated - leaving room for fanfic to provide a version. But I'd equally pleased with reading from her pov how the transition to Egypt worked for her, how she feels about the country aside from Ptolemy being its new ruler. And how does she relate to Berenike, once they inevitably meet?
James Asher Vampire Series
Now I adore the relationships between the Ashers and Ysidro, and anything focused on it would make me happy, but if you feel historically, well, Ysidro’s centuries of backstory offer so much potential. Young Simon, coming to England as part of Philip of Spain’s entourage only to get stuck there with a case of being undead. Considering all the cultural and religious differences and the massive rampaging xenophobia on both sides, it’s an open question whether being a vampire or being a Catholic Spaniard would have been more of an issue. Or: the novels have a lot to say about how inconvenient the French Revolution was for the French vampires (hence most of the older ones perishing in it). What about the English Civil War and the 12 year Interregnum/English Republic, then? Spending them on the continent wouldn’t have made Ysidro much safer, given it overlapped with the 30 Years War, which was the bloodiest, most devastating event before the 20th century wars, with the most fervent cases of witch hunts and paranoia going on from while nobles weren’t more safe than the general population. One of Hambly’s ongoing themes in the series, all the ways nationalisting early 20th century forces could abuse vcampire powers, could just as much be applied there.
If you want to stay with the canon era: I haven’t yet caught up with the latest books, but I’m pretty sure Hambly won’t make either Lydia or James into a vampire, and in book canon, I don’t want that, either. However, fanfiction is another matter. So: I propose a scenario where Lydia gets turned by a vampire who isn’t Ysidro (can be one of the canon vampires or an OC). How to James and Simon respond? What traits of Lydia’s personality survive, which are altered? How does it change her outlook - on her marriage, Ysidro, maybe also the time she’s living in with its mixture of radical medical developments and an ever more toxic nationalism?
