Trick or Treat Letter
Sep. 12th, 2023 05:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakDear Trick or Treater,
we share at least one fandom, which is great, and I’m really grateful to you for writing a trick or treat for me. All the prompts are just suggestions; if you have very different ideas featuring the same central characters, go for them. Also, I enjoy a broad range from fluff to angst, so whatever suits you best works fine with me.
DNW:
- bashing of canon pairings or characters in general. By which I don't mean the characters have to like each and everyone - a great number of those I've nominated can be described as prickly jerks, among other things, and it would be entirely ic for them to say something negative about people they canonically can't stand - but there's a difference between that and the narrative giving me the impression to go along with said opinions.
- Alpha/Beta/Omega scenarios, watersports, infantilisation. Really not my thing, sorry.
Likes:
- flirting/seduction via wordplay and banter (if it works for you with the characters in question)
- for the darker push/pull dynamics: moments of tenderness and understanding in between the fighting/one upman shipping (without abandoning the anger)
- for the pairings, both romantic and non-romantic, that are gentler and harmonious by nature: making it clear each has their own life and agenda as well
- some humor amidst the angst (especially if the character in question displays it in canon)
The question of AUs: depends. "What if this key canon event did not happen?" can lead to great character and dynamics exploration, some of which made it into my specific prompts, but I do want to recognize the characters. Half of those I nominated are from historical canons, and the history is part of the fascination the canon has for me. ) However, if you feel inspired to, say, write Maria Theresa, space captain, and manage to do it in a way that gives me gripping analogues to the historical situations: be my guest!
How much or how little sex: I'm cool with anything you feel comfortable with, from detailed sex to the proverbial fade out after a kiss. Or no sex at all (case in point: several of the non-romantic relationships I nominated), as long as the story explores the emotional dynamics in an intense way.
"The Road Home" this year gave me a great many new ideas, but if you haven't watched it yet, don't fret, for I have plenty of prompts for the show canon we had until now as well. As ever, the characters are here in an "or" capacity, you don't have to include all, any of them will make me happy, and if you have an idea not matching any of my prompts, I'll be happy with it as well
- Vir: what/whom did he see during the Day of the Dead? and for "The Road Home": how was he doing in any of these canon AUs?
- Timov: I know Peter David kills her off at the end of the Centauri Trilogy, but for me, only tv canon is canon, so: Timov after Londo's death, helping Vir to restore Centauri Prime, please? Alternatively: Timov meets G'Kar, at any point pre, during or post show - what do they say to each other?
- Bester: canonically did a lot of necroscans and thus is intimately aquainted with dying minds, which according to Lyta freaks even other telepaths out: sounds like a Halloween subject to me! What is he looking for beyond Case Of The Moment? Whaqt do the dead leave with him, or he with them?
- Londo/G'Kar: anything, in any universe. I bet both the Narn and the Centauri have their equivalent of ghost stories, I’d be happy with either a more lighthearted tale (say, in an early s1 or a late s4/early s5 setting, maybe the two of them come across an event/person which reminds them of mythological creature X, but they don’t want to admit it in front of the other, except that Londo is actually well versed enough in Narn faith(/s) to know about the relevance of the flower in s1, and G’Kar would have made a point of learning anything useful against his enemies when young, so the respective other recognises it), or a darker tale (all that blood and guilt), as for example a “what if?” AU in which Morden decides to make his deal with G’Kar. (Maybe one of them makes an incautious “make this never happened!” wish?)
Or: How and when did G'Kar figure out about the Keeper post show once he returned to Centauri Prime? (The novels do not exist.) How do he and Londo prevent the Drakh from inflicting one on G'Kar as well? For "The Road Home": in the timeline where the Shadows didn't wake up and thus no one gets asked what they want, how did their relationship develop through three years?
After a reread of this series, I love it as much as ever but also desperately wish for a Tamasin pov set during any of the later novels. Coming to terms with the death of her first child, reconciling with Barak between Revelation and Heartstone, her anger and eventual coming to terms during Tombland, these would be fine, but if you can write something about her friendship with Guy, preferably set during Matthew's and Jack's absences in "Heartstone" or "Tombland", that would be great. It can be day to day interaction or helping each other through a crisis, or hey, hearing about some ghostly sightings and determined to solving the case without Shardlake & Barak (because that would inevitably end up involving mighty enemies as well) before mass hysteria can break loose.
Or: Exploring Guy from his pown pov. What's it like, living as a Spanish poc Catholic in Henry's England? He's always everyone's great confidant, but Sansom also lets him have his own crisis in "Revelation", and I imagine the emotional transition between Dissolution and Dark Fire, the life as a monk and the life as a layman, must have been massive.
Or, if neither Tamasin or Guy work for you as your focus character: how about Hugh Curteys post Heartstone? We get a glimpse of Hugh in "Lamentation" via letters to Matthew Shardlake, but nothing in "Tombland", and I'd love to find out more. There's the obvious identity exploration (btw, my own instinct is to read Hugh as trans, but I'm flexible there, and if you have another interpretation, that's fine with me), but also the coming close to killing people and the consequences to David, all the loss Hugh suffered in the past, and the way Hugh went from glorifying the soldier life, seeing it as a way out, to experiencing the Mary Rose and abandoing the idea forever, finding new goals.
Hugh doesn't have to be in the story if you decide to focus on Tamasin and/or Guy, but if you manage to work Hugh in as well, all the more power to you!
DNW: Shardlake/Barak as a pairing, background or otherwise. It's not that I don't see the basic potential, but a) I want the focus on the story on Tamasin, Guy or Hugh, and b) I don't want to deal with cheating issues in the story.
All the characters are in an "or" position, i.e. you don't have to include the lot of them, though of course some of my prompts ask for combinations; they're just that, prompts, and if your own idea is quite different, go for it.
- Wilhelmine & Maria Theresa: the lunch they had in 1745 which upset Frederick so much remains high on my "this needs to be written by someone" list
- Wilhelmine alone: those months after the escape attempt and before she gives in and agrees to marry, when she doesn't know whether her brother will live or die, whether she herself will end up like one of her grandmothers, locked up for life, while she's essentially held prisoner as well, just in her own rooms
- Wilhelmine AU where she does marry Frederick of Wales and finds out the Hannover cousins are just as dysfunctional as her own family, complete with Fritz-hating parent
- Maria Theresa & Francis: their reaction when Frederick (whom Francis actually likes) invades in 1740 and MT decides not to cave in and fight
- Maria Theresa alone: deciding the War of the Bavarian Succession is just a bad idea all around and reaching out to her greatest enemy to stop it behind her son's back
- Joseph & Maria Theresa & Francis: anything from how he related to his parents, from funny (reporting to Mum on what Dad was eating and the cold he had en route to Frankfurt) to angry & angsty (he did not want that second marriage, and of course later the clashes with his mother were gazillion to h/c (different as he was from his parents, I don't think he ever doubted they loved him, and chose to be buried with them; they both died in his arms years apart, and I like to think during his own miserable death he felt they were close.
Aelswith and her character development are my not so secret favourite aspect of the later seasons, and I would love anything that puts her in the center of a story. That she invited herself to stay with Uthred at Bebbanburg for a while in the show finale is a terrific set up, given their entire history with each other (and Alfred), both for comedy gold or serious character exploration. If you’d rather write something set in earlier seasons, or focus on Aelswith’s relationship with her grandchildren, it would be lovely as well. Again, can be light or dark, can deal with Aelswith’s guilt re: separating Aethelstan from his mother, or any mixed feelings she, a Mercian, might have about Aelswynn losing the throne to Edward, or grief for her daughter Aethelflaed, or any other aspect.
If Aelswith as the central character absolutely does not work for you, and we got matched on Alfred & Uthred or Alfred/Uthred instead: their relationship is my favourite thing about the first three seasons, and “medieval road trip” my favourite trope. Maybe Alfred has a secret meeting to go to for which he needs Uthred, but of course won’t just ask, he’s Alfred, he has to manipulate Uthred into volunteering? Maybe Uhtred finally getting Bebbanburg and ensuring Northumbrian independence for another generation is enough to irritate Alfred into making a ghostly appearance? (And also, he would never admit it, but he’s bored surrounded by saints.) Anything goes.
If we're matched on Brida and/or Brida/Uthred: I love what the show did with their relationship, pushing my friends & lovers to political enemies but always emotionally connected buttons like nothing since old school Magneto/Xavier did. Any glimpse at their relationship is welcome, but is a vignette focusing on Brida on her own. If you're up for it: Brida faces the afterlife. Can be entirely the Norse mythology variation or anything else you can come up with. She had blood on her hands far beyond being a warrior at the end, but she also sought a way out; she both experienced and did horrible things. Maybe she faces what comes next with a friend and a foe at her side? If none of this strikes your fancy: a Brida & Hild encounter. How would they deal with each other?
Joseph and his frenemy Justus of Tiberias were a delight to read in trilogy from Joseph's pov, but I'm greedy: give me that of Justus. Does he figure out who got him off the literal cross and is he furious about it?
The first golem story is reported. Joseph and Justus, naturally, argue about the likelihood or lack of same of its existence. And then they meet one!
Mara: speaking of povs the novels ever give us. I'd love a vignette of Mara in Rome in the second novel, no longer the teenage captive and a self reliant woman but bound to have some traumatic flashbacks to her Vespasian experience with all the Romans around her, and that's before the (spoiler tragic event) happens. Or, less traumatic: Mara in Israel, rebuilding her life in Joseph's absence and growing into being her own person. Lastly: an encounter between Mara and Berenike and/or Mara and Caenis, two women who are completely on the other end of the social scale and who still share elements of her experience.
we share at least one fandom, which is great, and I’m really grateful to you for writing a trick or treat for me. All the prompts are just suggestions; if you have very different ideas featuring the same central characters, go for them. Also, I enjoy a broad range from fluff to angst, so whatever suits you best works fine with me.
DNW:
- bashing of canon pairings or characters in general. By which I don't mean the characters have to like each and everyone - a great number of those I've nominated can be described as prickly jerks, among other things, and it would be entirely ic for them to say something negative about people they canonically can't stand - but there's a difference between that and the narrative giving me the impression to go along with said opinions.
- Alpha/Beta/Omega scenarios, watersports, infantilisation. Really not my thing, sorry.
Likes:
- flirting/seduction via wordplay and banter (if it works for you with the characters in question)
- for the darker push/pull dynamics: moments of tenderness and understanding in between the fighting/one upman shipping (without abandoning the anger)
- for the pairings, both romantic and non-romantic, that are gentler and harmonious by nature: making it clear each has their own life and agenda as well
- some humor amidst the angst (especially if the character in question displays it in canon)
The question of AUs: depends. "What if this key canon event did not happen?" can lead to great character and dynamics exploration, some of which made it into my specific prompts, but I do want to recognize the characters. Half of those I nominated are from historical canons, and the history is part of the fascination the canon has for me. ) However, if you feel inspired to, say, write Maria Theresa, space captain, and manage to do it in a way that gives me gripping analogues to the historical situations: be my guest!
How much or how little sex: I'm cool with anything you feel comfortable with, from detailed sex to the proverbial fade out after a kiss. Or no sex at all (case in point: several of the non-romantic relationships I nominated), as long as the story explores the emotional dynamics in an intense way.
"The Road Home" this year gave me a great many new ideas, but if you haven't watched it yet, don't fret, for I have plenty of prompts for the show canon we had until now as well. As ever, the characters are here in an "or" capacity, you don't have to include all, any of them will make me happy, and if you have an idea not matching any of my prompts, I'll be happy with it as well
- Vir: what/whom did he see during the Day of the Dead? and for "The Road Home": how was he doing in any of these canon AUs?
- Timov: I know Peter David kills her off at the end of the Centauri Trilogy, but for me, only tv canon is canon, so: Timov after Londo's death, helping Vir to restore Centauri Prime, please? Alternatively: Timov meets G'Kar, at any point pre, during or post show - what do they say to each other?
- Bester: canonically did a lot of necroscans and thus is intimately aquainted with dying minds, which according to Lyta freaks even other telepaths out: sounds like a Halloween subject to me! What is he looking for beyond Case Of The Moment? Whaqt do the dead leave with him, or he with them?
- Londo/G'Kar: anything, in any universe. I bet both the Narn and the Centauri have their equivalent of ghost stories, I’d be happy with either a more lighthearted tale (say, in an early s1 or a late s4/early s5 setting, maybe the two of them come across an event/person which reminds them of mythological creature X, but they don’t want to admit it in front of the other, except that Londo is actually well versed enough in Narn faith(/s) to know about the relevance of the flower in s1, and G’Kar would have made a point of learning anything useful against his enemies when young, so the respective other recognises it), or a darker tale (all that blood and guilt), as for example a “what if?” AU in which Morden decides to make his deal with G’Kar. (Maybe one of them makes an incautious “make this never happened!” wish?)
Or: How and when did G'Kar figure out about the Keeper post show once he returned to Centauri Prime? (The novels do not exist.) How do he and Londo prevent the Drakh from inflicting one on G'Kar as well? For "The Road Home": in the timeline where the Shadows didn't wake up and thus no one gets asked what they want, how did their relationship develop through three years?
After a reread of this series, I love it as much as ever but also desperately wish for a Tamasin pov set during any of the later novels. Coming to terms with the death of her first child, reconciling with Barak between Revelation and Heartstone, her anger and eventual coming to terms during Tombland, these would be fine, but if you can write something about her friendship with Guy, preferably set during Matthew's and Jack's absences in "Heartstone" or "Tombland", that would be great. It can be day to day interaction or helping each other through a crisis, or hey, hearing about some ghostly sightings and determined to solving the case without Shardlake & Barak (because that would inevitably end up involving mighty enemies as well) before mass hysteria can break loose.
Or: Exploring Guy from his pown pov. What's it like, living as a Spanish poc Catholic in Henry's England? He's always everyone's great confidant, but Sansom also lets him have his own crisis in "Revelation", and I imagine the emotional transition between Dissolution and Dark Fire, the life as a monk and the life as a layman, must have been massive.
Or, if neither Tamasin or Guy work for you as your focus character: how about Hugh Curteys post Heartstone? We get a glimpse of Hugh in "Lamentation" via letters to Matthew Shardlake, but nothing in "Tombland", and I'd love to find out more. There's the obvious identity exploration (btw, my own instinct is to read Hugh as trans, but I'm flexible there, and if you have another interpretation, that's fine with me), but also the coming close to killing people and the consequences to David, all the loss Hugh suffered in the past, and the way Hugh went from glorifying the soldier life, seeing it as a way out, to experiencing the Mary Rose and abandoing the idea forever, finding new goals.
Hugh doesn't have to be in the story if you decide to focus on Tamasin and/or Guy, but if you manage to work Hugh in as well, all the more power to you!
DNW: Shardlake/Barak as a pairing, background or otherwise. It's not that I don't see the basic potential, but a) I want the focus on the story on Tamasin, Guy or Hugh, and b) I don't want to deal with cheating issues in the story.
All the characters are in an "or" position, i.e. you don't have to include the lot of them, though of course some of my prompts ask for combinations; they're just that, prompts, and if your own idea is quite different, go for it.
- Wilhelmine & Maria Theresa: the lunch they had in 1745 which upset Frederick so much remains high on my "this needs to be written by someone" list
- Wilhelmine alone: those months after the escape attempt and before she gives in and agrees to marry, when she doesn't know whether her brother will live or die, whether she herself will end up like one of her grandmothers, locked up for life, while she's essentially held prisoner as well, just in her own rooms
- Wilhelmine AU where she does marry Frederick of Wales and finds out the Hannover cousins are just as dysfunctional as her own family, complete with Fritz-hating parent
- Maria Theresa & Francis: their reaction when Frederick (whom Francis actually likes) invades in 1740 and MT decides not to cave in and fight
- Maria Theresa alone: deciding the War of the Bavarian Succession is just a bad idea all around and reaching out to her greatest enemy to stop it behind her son's back
- Joseph & Maria Theresa & Francis: anything from how he related to his parents, from funny (reporting to Mum on what Dad was eating and the cold he had en route to Frankfurt) to angry & angsty (he did not want that second marriage, and of course later the clashes with his mother were gazillion to h/c (different as he was from his parents, I don't think he ever doubted they loved him, and chose to be buried with them; they both died in his arms years apart, and I like to think during his own miserable death he felt they were close.
Aelswith and her character development are my not so secret favourite aspect of the later seasons, and I would love anything that puts her in the center of a story. That she invited herself to stay with Uthred at Bebbanburg for a while in the show finale is a terrific set up, given their entire history with each other (and Alfred), both for comedy gold or serious character exploration. If you’d rather write something set in earlier seasons, or focus on Aelswith’s relationship with her grandchildren, it would be lovely as well. Again, can be light or dark, can deal with Aelswith’s guilt re: separating Aethelstan from his mother, or any mixed feelings she, a Mercian, might have about Aelswynn losing the throne to Edward, or grief for her daughter Aethelflaed, or any other aspect.
If Aelswith as the central character absolutely does not work for you, and we got matched on Alfred & Uthred or Alfred/Uthred instead: their relationship is my favourite thing about the first three seasons, and “medieval road trip” my favourite trope. Maybe Alfred has a secret meeting to go to for which he needs Uthred, but of course won’t just ask, he’s Alfred, he has to manipulate Uthred into volunteering? Maybe Uhtred finally getting Bebbanburg and ensuring Northumbrian independence for another generation is enough to irritate Alfred into making a ghostly appearance? (And also, he would never admit it, but he’s bored surrounded by saints.) Anything goes.
If we're matched on Brida and/or Brida/Uthred: I love what the show did with their relationship, pushing my friends & lovers to political enemies but always emotionally connected buttons like nothing since old school Magneto/Xavier did. Any glimpse at their relationship is welcome, but is a vignette focusing on Brida on her own. If you're up for it: Brida faces the afterlife. Can be entirely the Norse mythology variation or anything else you can come up with. She had blood on her hands far beyond being a warrior at the end, but she also sought a way out; she both experienced and did horrible things. Maybe she faces what comes next with a friend and a foe at her side? If none of this strikes your fancy: a Brida & Hild encounter. How would they deal with each other?
Joseph and his frenemy Justus of Tiberias were a delight to read in trilogy from Joseph's pov, but I'm greedy: give me that of Justus. Does he figure out who got him off the literal cross and is he furious about it?
The first golem story is reported. Joseph and Justus, naturally, argue about the likelihood or lack of same of its existence. And then they meet one!
Mara: speaking of povs the novels ever give us. I'd love a vignette of Mara in Rome in the second novel, no longer the teenage captive and a self reliant woman but bound to have some traumatic flashbacks to her Vespasian experience with all the Romans around her, and that's before the (spoiler tragic event) happens. Or, less traumatic: Mara in Israel, rebuilding her life in Joseph's absence and growing into being her own person. Lastly: an encounter between Mara and Berenike and/or Mara and Caenis, two women who are completely on the other end of the social scale and who still share elements of her experience.
