chronicbookworm (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
chronicbookworm) wrote2024-04-28 12:49 pm
chronicbookworm) wrote2024-04-28 12:49 pm
Dear Fandom 5K Creator
Thanks for creating for me! Should you so want, I can be found at both Tumblr and AO3 also as ChronicBookworm, for any stalking purposes.
I like most genres: fluff, angst, adventure, case fic, humour, character study, slice of life/domestic, you name it – or a mix of them all! I’m very fond of long, plotty fic, but don’t feel pressure, I’ll be just as happy with something short and sweet!
The prompts below are there to help, not box you in, so please feel free to write something different if none of my prompts below grab your imagination or inspiration strikes you in a different direction. The general likes are also there for your inspiration if you prefer looser prompts - do absolutely feel free to use those rather than my prompt ideas if that's more helpful to you!
I love strong friendships, and I’m very fond of deep platonic relationships that are the most important to the characters and relationships that straddle the line between platonic and romantic.
The length of the sections has nothing to do with how much I want the request, only with how many different ideas/questions I have for each. I want to read them all very badly, so I’m sure I’ll love whatever you write!
This got quite long – feel free to just read the parts that are relevant to you. There’s also some repetition between the sections, if things apply to several sections but not all of them, to make it easier for you to find what you’re looking for in the place you’re looking for it, but that means the letter seems to be a bit longer than it actually is.
General likes
DNWs
Crossover Fandom, Narnia and Game of Thrones
Crossover Fandom, Narnia and Agent Carter
Crossover Fandom, Mansfield Park and Master and Commander (2003)
Crossover fandom, Star Wars Crossovers
The Hunger Games Trilogy and Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (solo fandom and crossover)
Leverage
Pride
Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
General likes
• found families
• loyalty, both strong, reciprocated loyalty, and more complicated forms such as conflicting loyalties, loyalty to the undeserving, etc.
• ride or die friendships
• co-dependency
• “us against the world” plots and relationships (whether it’s true or just what the characters imagine)
• friends to lovers
• arranged marriages (that can either lead to love or strong friendship)
• marriages of convenience (that can either lead to love or strong friendship)
• pining
• hurt/comfort
• trauma recovery
• characters with low self-worth being loved and accepted
• characters being shown warmth and kindness when they’re expecting or used to being belittled, bullied or abused
• characters uniting forces against a common enemy
• complicated politics and shifting alliances
• partisan and resistance movements, small groups of people going up against or being pursued by large, powerful governments or organisations
• complicated and messy relationships (can be platonic, romantic or familial)
• conflicts between characters based on differences in opinions, wants, and needs (rather than misunderstandings or erroneous assumptions), conflicts between characters without easy solutions, conflicts between characters where neither side is completely right or completely wrong
• secrets (both kept and revealed)
• characters working with limited knowledge
• competent characters, characters being recognised for their competence
• women supporting other women
• canon divergence
• outsider POV
• case fic/mission fic (however that applies to the canon in question)
• time travel (both Peggy Sue style and physical time travel)
• worldbuilding
• longfic
DNWs
• explicit sex (fade to black or references to sex are fine)
• changes to human anatomy or physiology (such as mpreg, omegaverse, soulmarks, etc.)
• teacher/student (shouldn't be a problem given the characters I've selected, but if you want to write relationships between characters with a teacher/student relationship, please set any romance some time after they've stopped being teacher/student)
• non-canonical incest (including between adopted or foster family members and biological family members who don’t know they’re related - cousin incest is OK for Jane Austen canons)
• adultery, infidelity or jealousy (real or imagined)
• massive age gaps in ships (the rule of “half the older character’s age plus seven” as a limit usually works quite well, although for teenagers a max of 2-year age-gap works better)
• sex involving characters under 15, setting a date when the character is considered "old enough"/"legal" for sex and fixating on that date
• modern-day terminology for sexual and gender identities in historical or fantasy canons
• characters being ostracised by their friends and loved ones
• public embarrassment, humiliation
• character or ship bashing
• hopeless endings, grimdark tone
• unrequested setting change AUs
• Fandom-specific DNW for ASoIaF/GoT: requited Petyr/Sansa (his canonical desire for her is fine)
• Fandom-specific DNW for Narnia: the rift between Susan and her family, the end of TLB (let me pretend everyone’s alive and happy)
• Fandom-specific DNWs for Star Wars: Madalorian Clones, Mando'a, Jedi bashing
Crossover Fandom, Narnia and Game of Thrones
Characters/Groups/Ships:
• Sansa Stark/any Pevensie sibling
• Brienne of Tarth/any Pevensie sibling
General thoughts:
I'd just like anything that crosses these two worlds – both fairly similar in that they borrow from mediaeval Europe to create a fantasy world, but so very different in tone and content. Use Narnia to fix things for our heroine(s) or throw the Pevensies into Westeros and see how they cope, either way, I just love the thought of the potential of these groups of people with such different experiences and expectations meeting and interacting! I have more prompts for specific pairings in previous letters, such as Fic in a Box, here: —although some of them are more shippy than others!
Brienne and the Pevensies
I’d love to read about their adventures, maybe in Westeros trying to find the Stark sisters to fulfil Brienne’s vow – maybe they even manage to find them (one or both) and get to Winterfell. Maybe they get involved in the politics of Westeros, or maybe they stay out of them and just focus on completing their own tasks and surviving.
Or maybe they’re in Narnia playing politics or fighting against threats to Narnia during the Golden Age. Maybe Brienne is a hero summoned by Susan’s horn in an hour of need? How would Brienne react to Talking Animals and the fairy-tale creatures in Narnia? Narnia is a much more friendly and permissive place, so she’d probably fit in much better at Cair Paravel than she did in Westeros—and meet other women warriors!
Brienne/Peter
With Peter, there are some interesting parallels and contrasts. Both are loyal, moral protectors and knights – however, Peter came to it almost reluctantly, whereas Brienne trained all her life to be a knight. Peter never had to prove himself the way Brienne did – after his first battle against the wolf, he as accepted and hailed, and he’s a King, to boot! Maybe she becomes his bodyguard or a general in his army in Narnia, or maybe he joins her in Westeros, looking for and protecting the Stark sisters. How would she react to another golden hero helping her on her quest – would she think him genuine, or would she be as suspicious of him as she was of Jaime to start, despite that she and Peter would meet under very different circumstances?
Brienne/Susan
Susan would absolutely respect Brienne as a warrior, and she would be very impressed by Susan’s grace and poise, while still managing to be a fine marksman. I’d love to read about their adventures, trying to find the Stark sisters for Brienne – maybe they even manage to get to Winterfell and find them: Susan with her experience of managing a castle and running a kingdom would probably feel right at home in Winterfell. Or maybe Brienne is Susan’s bodyguard in Narnia, protecting her from threats? Would she go with Susan to Calormen, and would that change anything? Or does she arrive after Susan’s trip, and is that why Susan prefers female bodyguards?
Brienne/Edmund
I feel like these two would have a very fun dynamic – Edmund’s sarcasm and Brienne’s sincerity. They’ve also both thought very hard about their moral codes and made them deliberate – Edmund after the White Witch debacle and to earn his epithet of the Just, and Brienne to determine what chivalry means for her. Where do they clash and where do they align? How have they adapted to the very different worlds they come from, and how do they meet the other and how the other has adapted to their world and their circumstances?
Brienne/Lucy
This would also be a really fun dynamic to explore – instead of contrasting Brienne’s sincerity with Edmund’s sarcasm, it’s paired with Lucy’s boundless faith and joy! I think Lucy would just accept Brienne completely as she is, no questions asked, and that would be such a breath of fresh air for Brienne who’s always had to justify herself and her choices! Lucy is also not as ladylike and dignified as Susan, so she might not be as intimidating to Brienne, and I’d love to read about their adventures together!
Sansa and the Pevensies
Maybe the Pevensies (one or more) get transported to Westeros and find Sansa in the Eyrie, helping her escape Petyr Baelish’s creepiness? Or the story could be set afterwards, when she’s returned to Winterfell, preparing for the winter and the war against the Others? The Pevensies have experience fighting against a very long winter, after all. Maybe Sansa somehow ends up in Golden Age Narnia, a magical land of summer with good and just rulers where she can heal from her past? Or maybe she ends up in Narnia during their long winter, and has to use the skills she learned from Westeros to survive and help the Pevensies defeat the White Witch?
Sansa/Peter
Peter is the shining noble knight she always dreamed of, both without and within, in a way that no one in Westeros seems to match: he’s handsome, noble, chivalrous, dependable, and kind. He’s also a very good monarch, and Sansa hasn’t had much experience with those. Knowing that such a man exists might restore her faith in songs, stories, and knights, and she would help him be the best High King he could possibly be. Maybe she’s his advisor in Narnia, using her knowledge of managing Winterfell and her experiences from court in the Red Keep? Maybe he would be an advisor to her as Lady of Winterfell of Queen in the North, with his experiences as High King in Narnia, or maybe he’d even be part of her Queensgard?
Sansa/Susan
Sansa and Susan have a lot in common: they’re both noble ladies, used to being coveted for their looks and having their intelligence overlooked. They’re also both good leaders, diplomatic, and practical. Together they would be nigh unstoppable! They also have similar experiences of being wanted not for who they are but for what they represent. Would they bond over Sansa’s experiences in the Vale, King’s Landing, and, if you go with show canon, with Ramsay, and Susan’s experiences in Calormen? Or is the story set before the trip to Calormen, and Susan hasn’t quite experienced the downsides of being a beautiful woman with political connections yet? How does Sansa relate to a more open and unaware Susan, and is that the balm she needs?
Sansa/Edmund
Sansa and Edmund also have a lot in common, but differently than Sansa and Susan. They both have experience of being slightly resentful of their circumstances and family, being charmed beguiled by a beautiful but terrible Queen and trusting the wrong person, and suffering vastly disproportionate consequences from it. Both Edmund and Sansa value justice very highly, partly due to what happened to them. They would understand each other in a different way than the other Pevensies would understand Sansa, and might even be able to share some of the darker aspects of their pasts with each other.
Sansa/Lucy
In contrast to Susan and Edmund sharing some of the darker parts of Sansa’s past. Lucy is light and faith and innocence, and maybe that’s what Sansa needs from Narnia! Maybe Lucy shows her to have fun again and just delight in life, and not worry about the past or the future? Maybe Sansa and Lucy go on adventures in Narnia together? Maybe she helps Sansa in Winterfell, keeping everyone’s spirits us during the Long Night?
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Crossover Fandom, World War 2 and Post-War Edition
Characters/Groups/Ships:
• Peggy Carter & Edwin Jarvis & the Pevensie siblings
General thoughts:
I’d love to see something with the Pevensies interacting with the Agent Carter crew! Maybe the Pevensies are also agents of the SSR after the War? Or maybe they are civilians who help the SSR agents just because they’re in a place to do so and it’s the Right Thing To Do?
Maybe their time in Narnia marked the Pevensies in some way, and either SSR or Leviathan/Hydra or some other sinister organisation is after them? Maybe they don’t quite trust that the Agent Carter crew have their best interests at heart? Maybe the Agent Carter crew don’t quite trust that the Pevensies aren’t hiding more sinister secrets? Maybe they don’t understand how these on the surface normal, middle-class British schoolchildren/young adults (depending on when you set the story and whether you fuff the timelines) can be so competent, and think they’ve been trained as spies?
I like reading about Pevensies who are somehow Different due to their time in Narnia, for instance unexpectedly mature and competent for their ages, or having skills you wouldn’t normally expect from children or young adults in the mid-20th century, but might expect monarchs from a fantasy medieval kingdom to have. I would prefer all the Friends of Narnia to be alive and well in the story – either they survived the train crash, or it never happened. I’m also less fond of the part where Susan turned her back on Narnia and separated herself from her family, or the judgemental tone they use when they talk about how she cares for nothing but “nylons and lipstick and invitations” – feel free to leave that part out entirely and make up your own headcanon on what the Pevensies would be like when they’re older, regardless of what the later books in the series say, or make it clear that Susan can like nylons and lipstick and invitations and also be clever and insightful and retain her belief in Narnia and her siblings’ respect.
Perhaps the Pevensies are in the US for some reason (holiday? Moved there after the War? Working for the British arm/equivalent of the SSR?), or perhaps the story’s set in England (I’m sure there are reasons why Peggy and Jarvis might go to England – family reasons? Sent there by the SSR because they blend in? There on their own investigations, posing as a Lady and her butler?). Do they come across the Pevensies in their investigations? Are they perhaps even investigating the Pevensies?
Maybe it’s even set during the War – maybe Jarvis meets the Pevensies after he has rescued Ana and been discharged? Maybe they live nearby and help Jarvis and Ana find their feet after what they’ve been through? Or maybe Stark is interested in recruiting them/they get involved with his wartime activities and meet Jarvis that way?
Maybe Peggy meets them during leave in London? Perhaps Peter is a new recruit who ends up where the Howling Commandoes are (he’d be just old enough to sign up by the last year of the War, if he was born in the early months of the year), or maybe even Edmund (if he lied about his age/the timeline is fuffed a bit)?
There are plenty of opportunities for polite manners hiding unexpected competence and BAMF-itude on both sides. Plus, the understated snarking would be through the roof!
Not all characters in the group need to be present or focused on (especially if it’s during the War, it might be difficult to get everyone together in the same place).
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Crossover Fandom, Mansfield Park and Master and Commander (2003)
Characters/Groups/Ships:
• Fanny Price/Tom Pullings
General thoughts
I just want Fanny to marry a dashing naval man who will respect her thoughts and opinions and treat her right! This request is mainly due to my desire to see a better outcome for Fanny than she got in canon – she deserves someone who will respect her and listen to her, which neither of her canonical suitors did (they both came close, but they also both put their own desires and wants above hers).
I’m very fond of the Regency period, and would be delighted with something that leaned into the aesthetics and trappings of the time era, and the ritualised etiquette of courtship and marriage. It might be fun to contrast the quiet stability and elegance of life at home with the dangerous and rough life of a sailor, even an officer.
Historical accuracy very optional - as long as there's a general sense of the Regency period, I'll be happy (of course, I won't say no if you do want to painstakingly research how much a naval officer would make and what that meant for the kind of household his wife would be expected to manage, but that part is definitely not required)!
I must admit, this is about 40% because of how handsome James D’Arcy looks with the ponytail, scar, and the naval uniform! The other 60% are because I think they would work quite well together. Pullings is easy-going and cheerful enough to balance out Fanny’s more serious side, but he’s also hard-working, loyal, and dutiful enough that she’d still be able to admire and respect him, unlike Henry Crawford. Like in the above request, Fanny has a naval connection through William, perhaps they serve together when William’s made lieutenant and he introduces them to each other? Or perhaps they meet in Portsmouth when she’s banished from Mansfield? Perhaps he sees her being relentlessly pursued by a man she doesn’t want and steps in to rescue her? Or maybe he can offer her an escape from her family’s poverty and dysfunction? Although, as is pointed out with William, it’s hard to have a successful career when you lack connections in the navy, so they might have to deal with that as well during their married life.
Or, again, just as in the above request, perhaps she even marries Crawford or Edmund, and her husband turns out to be controlling and emotionally abusive. Maybe Pullings meets her while she’s in the abusive marriage (cue pining), or maybe he only meets her when she’s already widowed and is taken by her endurance and fortitude.
I haven’t read the Aubrey/Maturin books, but I am more than happy for you to use material from them, as long as it can be understood by someone who just knows the film!
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The Hunger Games Trilogy and Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (solo fandom and crossover)
Characters/Groups/Ships:
• Mags
• Mags & Snow
General Thoughts:
These are two requests in the sign-up, but I’m bundling them together here in the letter as they are quite related!
I really love Mags and would love to know more about her, as a tribute, a Victor, a Mentor or her life in District 4! How does she interact with other Victors or tributes, perhaps Finnick and Annie, or perhaps other Victors from District 4 who came before them, or perhaps tributes who didn't succeed at the Games, or Victors from other Districts? How involved was she in the rebellion, and how did she get that way? Was she one of the founders, or was she recruited later? How involved is she in daily life in District 4? How involved in District 4 with the rebellion?
I am very intrigued by the 11th Hunger Games. The 10th Hunger Games introduced some changes to bring the Games more in line with what they were by the time Katniss volunteered, but there are still differences as the games moved from just punishment towards spectacle. Which of them were introduced now (which of them were Snow’s ideas) and which of them came later? What was Snow’s role in the Games as Gaul’s apprentice?
How long did they go on for? Was the arena still an arena, or did they now move it into a more naturalistic setting? What security measures were there? Did they still keep the tributes in the zoo, or had they moved to another setting yet? Who did they get in to mentor – presumably not the graduating students again, but there wouldn’t be enough Victors to mentor? How did Mags win? Who were the other tributes? How much did knowing about the sponsorship in advance change things?
How much publicity did Mags have in the Capitol after her win? What was the post-games interview like? How did the District receive her back, and how was that different to the previous years when the Victor had just been bundled off and sent back to their prior lives? What was the first Victory Tour like? How did Snow and Mags interact afterwards? What expectations were placed on her as the first Victor, and how did she react to them? What was her first year of mentoring like? Did she have to mentor right away, and how did it work for Districts with no Victor yet?
I’d also love to see her after her Games, navigating mentoring, politics, rebellion, and her private life. When and how did District 4 get the reputation as a Career district, and how involved was Mags in that? How does training and volunteering work in District 4? How involved is Mags with that, setting it up, running it, or does she only get involved once the Games begin, and others deal with the training?
I would love to see her interact with any other Hunger Games victors – either those that came before her, or other Victors from District 4 she mentored, or other mentors from other Districts! How does she get on with the other Career Victors or outlying Victors? Four seems to straddle the middle of that line, how does she navigate that?
When did the culture of selling victors start? How much did the past Victors see each other when they were in the Capitol? How did they settle back into their home districts as Victors? How did they cope with mentoring, and how did they cope with bringing home new Victors knowing the fate that awaited them?
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Leverage
Characters/Groups/Ships:
• Maggie Collins
• Sterling
• Todd McSweeten
• Todd McSweeten/Parker
General thoughts
I love this show so much – the competence kink, the found family aspects, the trust and loyalty between the characters, the character growth, the in-jokes/catchphrases (“let’s go steal a …”, “it’s a very distinctive …”, “age of the geek, baby”, and more), the general optimism and light-heartedness even as they’re dealing with some complex and terrible people. This canon lends itself especially well to case-fic, and I’d love to read about some kind of heist or con, but if you want to go in a more slice of life or friendship/romantic direction, that would also make me happy.
Maggie
I love Maggie – how quick she is on the uptake, how she can outsmart Nate, but how she generally keeps it under wraps. I love how she’s not jealous of Sophie, but friends with her, and how she genuinely cares for Nate and worries about him even though they’re separated and takes true joy in his moving on.
I would be really interested to see Maggie working with the Leverage team more. Maybe she is their Mastermind approached by Dubenich instead of Nate? She found out that IYS had denied Sam’s treatment and wanted revenge, gathering famous criminals around her? Or maybe Sophie is her way in, since they both move in the fine art circles, and they start with maybe a case like the Two Live Crew Job, helping steal art back for the original owners, and decide to branch out into helping people generally?
Or maybe she works with Parker, Hardison and Eliot after the end of the series when they need an extra person on the con? Maggie is very charming and unassuming, and we’ve seen that she has the makings of a fine grifter – and they all love her and work well with her, so I’m sure they’d be delighted to have her!
I’d also love to see her with the new team, meeting Harry and Breanna, supporting Sophie after Nate’s death. Maybe she’s even on one of the teams that make up Leverage International?
Sterling
What if it was Sterling in Nate’s place as the Leverage team Mastermind? How different would things be? What if Sterling was the one who lost a child (Olivia? An OC?) and blames IYS? He’s equally clever and ruthless as Nate, if not more so, but he’s also less prone to grandstanding. And his moral compass is slightly askew compared to Nate’s. Would they be more prone to go for vengeance on their marks rather than justice for the victims? Or would their goals be the same, just their methods different? Sneakier?
And where is Nate in this? Is he the IYS agent chasing them? Or perhaps they lead Leverage together, like they worked together for IYS? How would their dynamic be as co-criminal masterminds? Would they still have the push and pull that they had in canon, or would they be more egalitarian?
Another thing that might be fun is a fic set pre-series of Sterling chasing members of the Leverage team? Or him and Nate working together at IYS? We saw a glimpse of how they might have worked together in the Zanzibar Marketplace Job, and it might be fun to explore that further. What did they talk about on the rooftop when they were best friends?
Or, for a canon-compliant fic, I love the way Sterling and the team occasionally team up against a bigger threat, but there’s a deep personal dislike there based on their history and always a sense that he will double cross the team at the first opportunity so they can’t trust him. Does there ever come a point where he doesn’t double cross them? Do they reach the point where the antagonism between them is mostly toothless and they mostly get on, or does he remain a slimy bastard?
How does Sterling feel about Nate’s death? Does he ever run across Leverage International and feel like it has Parker, Eliot and Hardison’s finger prints all over it, even if they’re nowhere to be seen (and then it turns out that they are involved after all)? Or does he come across the new team, and how quickly do they learn to hate him as much as the original team members do?
McSweeten, McSweeten/Parker
McSweeten is such a sweetheart! I love his optimism, his faith in people, his kindness! I would love to spend more time with him – as an FBI agent, as a son, as a person. I’d also love more interactions between him and the team. Does the team run across the FBI on another job and have to slip into pretending to be Hagen and Thomas again? Does he ask for their help on another case in the guises they adopted for the D.B. Cooper job? Does he find out who they actually are, and how does he react to that? Does he ever participate actively in their cons, like Sterling, or does he become someone like Bonnano, a law enforcement officer they can trust to look the other way as long as they’re doing good? What does it take to get him to that point? Do McSweeten and Bonnano ever work together? Or McSweeten and Sterling? Maybe that’s how he finds out? Or does the team have to tell him for some reason? Or does he find out on his own during an investigation?
Maybe he’s accused of a crime and the Team helps him? Or maybe he has the pivotal piece of information that helps clear one of the team of unjust accusations?
I also really like how gone he is on Parker as Hagen and how he sweet is about trying to woo her, even when she’s oblivious. I’d love to see something that brings them together – her being on the other side of the law might be even more of a problem in this case than in the gen version of this request, since it’s more personal when it’s someone he’s romantically interested in or involved with. How do they bridge that difference? Does he end up as an associate member of Leverage International, or even an actual member? Or does he stick with the FBI, and they have to navigate the conflict of interest between his career and hers? Or does he act as their inside man in the FBI?
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Crossover Fandom, Star Wars Crossovers
Characters/Groups/Ships:
• Finn & Mace Windu
• Finn & Clone Troopers
• Finn & Rey & Poe & any Jedi Council member
General thoughts:
I’m really keen on the idea of the sequel trio (any or all) ending up in the prequels era! How do they deal with meeting these heroes of a bygone era? Do they try to change the fate of the galaxy, to stop the rise of the Empire, and if so, how do they go about it?
Does Finn or Rey get to train with the Jedi? How do they deal with the Council? Are they welcomed? Or are they viewed with suspicion? Does Finn get to meet the clones? How do they react to what has been done with their legacy? How does he react to meeting his forerunners? How does his experiences and skills from their time with the Resistance help them before or during the galactic civil war?
I’d be super keen to read something where they don’t have all the facts, that they’re floundering a bit – not everything became public knowledge, secrets were being kept, things got twisted in the retellings, and so on. Maybe they have to try to keep their origins a secret – how suspicious are they to those native to the time they travel to? Or do they get on with the others right from the start? Or maybe they can be open about their origins, and the people from the two different times try to piece together what happened by combining their respective fragmented knowledge – I’d love to see what misconceptions they come up with on the way!
My favourite take on the Jedi Order is fundamentally good people who genuinely try to do their best in a very difficult situation, but I’m happy with anything that avoids outright bashing of either the Jedi Order or individual Jedi.
Finn & the Clones
There are so many parallels here! I would love Finn to meet the Clones – both raised for war, given numbers instead of names, indoctrinated to serve a higher purpose – but there are of course differences: the Clones being identical in body but encouraged and allowed individuality in spirit, whereas the First Order “recruits” being the opposite, as well as the Clones having a strong sense of brotherhood and camaraderie that’s lacking in the First Order, to name two. I would love to see Finn go back in time to meet some of the Clones – whether it’s after he’s free of the First Order and has a name, or when he’s still brainwashed – both are good! How do they react to each other? Does he arrive when the Clones are on Kamino still, or when they’re out in the field – both pose very interesting possibilities for how they interact and what possibilities they have to change their fates and the fate of the galaxy.
What does he let slip about the future? What knowledge does he have of the fall of the Republic, and how much of it is First Order propaganda that they have to sort through to get to the truth?
Finn & Mace Windu
I love the idea of Force-sensitive Finn, and I’d love to see him get the opportunity to train as a Jedi! It would be very interesting to see him and Mace interact – Mace who’s a very traditional Jedi, contrasted with Finn, who’s had a much more eclectic past – and who might feel he has more in common with the clone troopers than with the Jedi! How do they overcome this and find common ground?
How does the rest of the Council react? Is there any resistance to the idea of training Finn due to his age, and how do they resolve that? How does Mace react to the fate of the Jedi order? What does Finn know about the fall of the Republic and the Jedi and how it could potentially be avoided?
Finn & Rey & Poe & the Jedi
Does Finn or Rey get to train with the Jedi? How do they deal with the Council? Are they welcomed? Or are they viewed with suspicion? Does Finn get to meet the clones? How do they react to what has been done with their legacy? How does he react to meeting his forerunners? How does his experiences and skills from their time with the Resistance help them before or during the galactic civil war?
How do Rey’s, Finn’s and Poe’s experiences and skills from their time with the Resistance help them in the prequel era? Can they avoid the Clone Wars before they even break out, or is the course locked well before they arrive in the past? Maybe they can help the GAR? Both Poe and to a lesser extent Finn are experienced with command and military tactics, and they all have experience of spying and sabotage missions. Does the fact that they have the skills needed and are willing to help make them less suspicious, or more?
Does Rey know things that Luke discovered on Ach-To that the Jedi have forgotten? How has the Jedi philosophy changed between the prequels and sequels era, and how do the characters relate to that (no bashing of the Jedi philosophy of either era, please! Discussions where both sides have valid points are fine, but I'd prefer if you avoided one side being Clearly Right and the other being Obviously Wrong)?
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Pride (2014)
Characters/Groups/Ships:
• Cliff
• Cliff & Johnny & Lee
• Dai Donovan
• Sian
• Dai Donovan & Mark Ashton
• Dai Donovan & Hefina & Sian
• Joe “Bromley” Cooper & Sian
General thoughts
I love this film! The warmth between the characters, the two separate communities coming together, the friendships, the support they give each other – it’s all so very heart-warming and hopeful! Of course, there are plenty of complications, too, if you want something to sink your teeth in, I’d love something dealing with the complexities and problems of the world we live in and the difficult issues these characters face. Feel free to include difficult themes like poverty, politics, homophobia, and HIV/AIDS that mark the lives of these characters, but don't feel you have to - you can also focus on the happy moments of their lives, the friendships, love and laughter that they share.
I really don’t mind if the story’s set pre-, during or post canon, I’d just love anything that explores the relationships between these wonderful characters! Feel free to include any other non-nominated characters if you want to – I love all of them!
Cliff, Cliff & his nephews
I love Cliff, the soft-spoken, poetry-loving working class intellectual, and I’d love to read more about him and his place in Dulais as a retired miner and gay man, and how he reconciles those two different aspects of himself. Maybe he finds his people in the Gay Poetry and Literature Society? Bonding with Gethin about their love for the written word, and with Jonathan over their love for the spoken word? Going to plays put on by Out Loud? Performing in plays put on by Out Loud? Finding love? Does it come easily for him, or does he struggle with internalised homophobia? Does he meet someone in London or in Wales, and if it’s in London, does the distance pose problems?
How is his relationship with Maureen and his nephews? How was his relationship with his brother, and how did things change when his brother died? What support could he give them when the boys were young, and did Maureen’s pride allow her to accept it, or were there tensions there? Does he come out, and does that change things? At least Johnny came around to accepting LGSM, but does that stretch to Cliff – when it’s not just some abstract gay people in London, but his uncle? Does Lee ever come around?
Dai
I really like Dai, how down-to-earth he is, how caring and open, how he rolls with things, and how his quiet demeanour hides an iron core. How did he and Margaret meet? How did he get involved with union politics? Had he been involved for a long time, or did he become more active during the strike? What happens after the strike? Does he find another job when the pit closes? Does he stay involved with politics, or does he fade into the background after the strike?
Mark & Dai
I loved the friendship these two had, how they both pushed each other onto the stage when they weren’t 100% comfortable in the circumstances, but how they overcame and grew stronger together. The symbol of the clasped hands was a lovely touch, and how Mark and Dai embodied these communities coming together. And they were also wonderful foils for each other – Mark, the firebrand, always looking for a cause, and Dai, the quieter and more pragmatic one who got pushed into activism by circumstances. I’d love something that explores their different approaches to the fight, Dai sharing wisdom from his longer life experience, and Mark sharing wisdom from his longer activism experience. I loved how they were so different, but united.
Joe & Sian
I love how quickly Sian and Joe take to each other, how she’s there for him and supports him when he’s struggling, and how she’s not afraid of telling his family what a treasure they’re wasting. I really liked the scene when she drives him back to London and he falls asleep, and he looks so young and she looks so fond of him - maybe she has some maternal feelings for him, even though she’s not that much older than he is.
It would also be interesting to see Mark and Joe interact – they’re both quite quiet and reserved, which might make it awkward and tense to start off with, even though we know they become great friends by the end of the film.
Sian
I love how strong and caring Sian is, and how she finds her courage and her strength during the mining crisis, how she stands up for what she believes is right, and how she gets down and does what needs to be done. Maybe something about her at university studying Welsh language? Is it a culture shock? How does she get on with the other students? Does she feel alienated as a mature student with rather different life experiences and expectations compared to the other students, or does she find a group of people to fit in with (the 80s was just after the great university expansion and before the introduction of tuition fees, so there would probably be a fair few other students with working-class backgrounds there – maybe she finds her people among them, even if they might be a bit younger than her, or with the other mature students)? Does she struggle balancing her education and her family, and how do they adjust to the change of having a breadwinner and a homemaker to two breadwinners? And how does she get started in politics? Maybe something about her first campaign to become MP? Or her early days in Westminster?
Dai & Hefina & Sian
Another thing I’d love to get is a work about a story about Dai, Hefina, and Sian, bonding over being official and unofficial leaders of a community that is so dependent on the doomed mine. How do they carry on, after the strike? There must be very complicated emotions going back to work after so long, especially knowing that they’ve been defeated and it’s only a matter of time until the mine closes. How do they keep the community going? How do they keep up the ties between LGSM and Dulais?
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Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Characters/Groups/Ships:
• Bail Organa & Mace Windu
• Bail Organa & Padmé Amidala
• Bail Organa
• Mace Windu
General thoughts
I love the worldbuilding of the prequel trilogy, how expansive the galaxy seems, the political intrigue, the tragedy of the fall of the Republic, and the impending sense of doom that the characters can also feel. I love how there are no easy answers (because Palpatine is manipulating everything to remove the easy answers), and I would love to see a story about the heroes prevailing despite this! Or how they survive after the fall of the Republic, how the Rebellion is started and comes together, what challenges and obstacles they face along the way.
My favourite take on the Jedi Order is fundamentally good people who genuinely try to do their best in a very difficult situation, but I’m happy with anything that avoids outright bashing of either the Jedi Order or individual Jedi.
Bail:
I love Bail’s dedication to democracy and his ideals. I love how competent he is, and how he’s not afraid of getting his hands dirty. I love his determination, and how warm he is with his friends, and how he grieves for the Jedi but gets on with founding the rebellion and doing something proactive with his grief! I’d love a story about him as a senator – what made him join the senate? How did he find his feet? How did he get on with Palpatine before he showed his true colours? Or something about his time founding the rebellion, trying to get it off the ground, finding and funding resistance cells? How much do he and Mon Mothma know about what the other is doing? Do they work closely together, or do they keep the other mostly in the dark for plausible deniability reasons?
Or what if Bail from the Imperial era or even the time of his death time travelled? It would be really cool to see a time-travel fix-it that focuses more on the political problems of the galaxy, since most of them (the Separatist crisis, the slow descent into authoritarianism, the chokehold that the Trade Federation, Banking Clans etc. have on the galaxy) are really outside the remit of the Jedi Order. And it would be fun to see Sidious being beaten by someone he has no idea is a threat!
Bail & Padmé:
I would love to see them working together in the Senate before the fall of the Republic – how they divided the labour of convincing allies, deciding what battles to fight and their strategies, balancing Padmé’s passion and Bail’s experience and wisdom. How often did they have different opinions, and how did they manage those?
Or maybe Padmé stays with Bail and Breha after the fall of the Republic with the twins, hiding in plain sight? Or she goes on the run, and only sees them occasionally? Or maybe she never had a relationship with Anakin, and she joins Bail and Mon as the Rebellion’s links to the Senate? How does she manage to keep her ideals under control in the new hostile climate?
This might also be fun as a time travel prompt! Do both of them time travel, or does only one time travel and have to deal with the past version of their friend? If they both time travel, do they know or recognise that the other is also a time traveller? Do they agree on priorities and methods to avoid the fall of the Republic, or do they disagree on how to best go about it? Would they try to reform the Republic, or would they consider the corruption too far gone, and what is the alternative? What if Naboo and Alderaan were to secede while Palpatine was the Chancellor, how would that impact galactic policies?
Mace:
I love Mace so much! I love his seriousness, his dedication to democracy and his principles, I love his compassion and his wisdom! I love that he considers things from different angels, and that he’s willing to reconsider his opinions.
I would love to read more about Mace during the Clone Wars, and how he balances his roles as Master of the Order and General, how he tries to protect both the Jedi and the Clones from the vagaries of the Senate and the Chancellor, and how he tackles being thrown into a war against his will, and how the Jedi attempted to keep their identity and faith as Jedi despite the circumstances. I would also love a story about the quiet moments during the war, with his troops or with civilians, or with other Jedi!
I would adore a fix-it where Mace survives his duel with Palpatine. I love him so much – his seriousness and sincerity, how strongly he believes in the Jedi code, his faith in the Force, his patience and gentleness but also his determination and authority! I would love to see what he gets up to after the fall of the Republic, getting involved with the Resistance, trying to restore the Jedi Order, or just trying to survive. Does he find any Clones and gets them de-chipped, and how does that reunion go?
Mace would also be a fun time traveller, in different ways! How would he handle being back in time? What choices would he make differently, and how would they turn out? I really like the complexities of the situation, and how the Jedi made the only choice they could make, give the situation, but with different facts and more knowledge, would they make a different choice? How would they deal with the Clone army ostensibly ordered in their name, or leave them to a probably worse fate at the hands of the Senate or the Kaminoans? How would they deal with the corruption at the heart of the Republic—both the Sith-related corruption, which clearly falls within their remit, and the everyday, garden variety of political corruption, which doesn’t?
Mace & Bail:
Given how much I love both Bail and Mace, it would be awesome to see something with them together!
I would love to see their take on politics, coming from different viewpoints and representing different interests, but still both with a fundamental belief in democracy. Do they have different ideas of the role of Jedi in the Republic, or the function of the Republic itself, and how do they work to resolve those? Do they work together to tackle problems in the Republic from each of their own angles, politician and peacekeeper/diplomat?
Or maybe they go on an adventure together? There’s lots of fun things that can be done in the Star Wars universe! Maybe they’re on a diplomatic trip together and run into trouble, or maybe they get stranded on an inhospitable planet? How do they deal with that?
Or something set during the Clone Wars, in battle, with Mace trying to protect Bail, or dealing with politics and/or logistics of where to send the army, how to get them there, etc.? Or fighting for Clone rights together?
Or maybe Mace survives his duel with Palaptine, and they meet up after the Fall of the Republic? Does Mace turn to Bail for help, not knowing where else to go? Or do they run into each other unexpectedly? Do they each work against the Empire in different ways, and decide to join forces, or are they coordinated from the start? Do they have different priorities, or are they aligned with each other? Does Mace focus on finding surviving Jedi and hide them, while Bail deals with politics and funding sabotage missions? Or does Mace also carry out sabotage missions?
Just, anything with these two!
I like most genres: fluff, angst, adventure, case fic, humour, character study, slice of life/domestic, you name it – or a mix of them all! I’m very fond of long, plotty fic, but don’t feel pressure, I’ll be just as happy with something short and sweet!
The prompts below are there to help, not box you in, so please feel free to write something different if none of my prompts below grab your imagination or inspiration strikes you in a different direction. The general likes are also there for your inspiration if you prefer looser prompts - do absolutely feel free to use those rather than my prompt ideas if that's more helpful to you!
I love strong friendships, and I’m very fond of deep platonic relationships that are the most important to the characters and relationships that straddle the line between platonic and romantic.
The length of the sections has nothing to do with how much I want the request, only with how many different ideas/questions I have for each. I want to read them all very badly, so I’m sure I’ll love whatever you write!
This got quite long – feel free to just read the parts that are relevant to you. There’s also some repetition between the sections, if things apply to several sections but not all of them, to make it easier for you to find what you’re looking for in the place you’re looking for it, but that means the letter seems to be a bit longer than it actually is.
General likes
DNWs
Crossover Fandom, Narnia and Game of Thrones
Crossover Fandom, Narnia and Agent Carter
Crossover Fandom, Mansfield Park and Master and Commander (2003)
Crossover fandom, Star Wars Crossovers
The Hunger Games Trilogy and Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (solo fandom and crossover)
Leverage
Pride
Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
General likes
• found families
• loyalty, both strong, reciprocated loyalty, and more complicated forms such as conflicting loyalties, loyalty to the undeserving, etc.
• ride or die friendships
• co-dependency
• “us against the world” plots and relationships (whether it’s true or just what the characters imagine)
• friends to lovers
• arranged marriages (that can either lead to love or strong friendship)
• marriages of convenience (that can either lead to love or strong friendship)
• pining
• hurt/comfort
• trauma recovery
• characters with low self-worth being loved and accepted
• characters being shown warmth and kindness when they’re expecting or used to being belittled, bullied or abused
• characters uniting forces against a common enemy
• complicated politics and shifting alliances
• partisan and resistance movements, small groups of people going up against or being pursued by large, powerful governments or organisations
• complicated and messy relationships (can be platonic, romantic or familial)
• conflicts between characters based on differences in opinions, wants, and needs (rather than misunderstandings or erroneous assumptions), conflicts between characters without easy solutions, conflicts between characters where neither side is completely right or completely wrong
• secrets (both kept and revealed)
• characters working with limited knowledge
• competent characters, characters being recognised for their competence
• women supporting other women
• canon divergence
• outsider POV
• case fic/mission fic (however that applies to the canon in question)
• time travel (both Peggy Sue style and physical time travel)
• worldbuilding
• longfic
DNWs
• explicit sex (fade to black or references to sex are fine)
• changes to human anatomy or physiology (such as mpreg, omegaverse, soulmarks, etc.)
• teacher/student (shouldn't be a problem given the characters I've selected, but if you want to write relationships between characters with a teacher/student relationship, please set any romance some time after they've stopped being teacher/student)
• non-canonical incest (including between adopted or foster family members and biological family members who don’t know they’re related - cousin incest is OK for Jane Austen canons)
• adultery, infidelity or jealousy (real or imagined)
• massive age gaps in ships (the rule of “half the older character’s age plus seven” as a limit usually works quite well, although for teenagers a max of 2-year age-gap works better)
• sex involving characters under 15, setting a date when the character is considered "old enough"/"legal" for sex and fixating on that date
• modern-day terminology for sexual and gender identities in historical or fantasy canons
• characters being ostracised by their friends and loved ones
• public embarrassment, humiliation
• character or ship bashing
• hopeless endings, grimdark tone
• unrequested setting change AUs
• Fandom-specific DNW for ASoIaF/GoT: requited Petyr/Sansa (his canonical desire for her is fine)
• Fandom-specific DNW for Narnia: the rift between Susan and her family, the end of TLB (let me pretend everyone’s alive and happy)
• Fandom-specific DNWs for Star Wars: Madalorian Clones, Mando'a, Jedi bashing
Crossover Fandom, Narnia and Game of Thrones
Characters/Groups/Ships:
• Sansa Stark/any Pevensie sibling
• Brienne of Tarth/any Pevensie sibling
General thoughts:
I'd just like anything that crosses these two worlds – both fairly similar in that they borrow from mediaeval Europe to create a fantasy world, but so very different in tone and content. Use Narnia to fix things for our heroine(s) or throw the Pevensies into Westeros and see how they cope, either way, I just love the thought of the potential of these groups of people with such different experiences and expectations meeting and interacting! I have more prompts for specific pairings in previous letters, such as Fic in a Box, here:
Brienne and the Pevensies
I’d love to read about their adventures, maybe in Westeros trying to find the Stark sisters to fulfil Brienne’s vow – maybe they even manage to find them (one or both) and get to Winterfell. Maybe they get involved in the politics of Westeros, or maybe they stay out of them and just focus on completing their own tasks and surviving.
Or maybe they’re in Narnia playing politics or fighting against threats to Narnia during the Golden Age. Maybe Brienne is a hero summoned by Susan’s horn in an hour of need? How would Brienne react to Talking Animals and the fairy-tale creatures in Narnia? Narnia is a much more friendly and permissive place, so she’d probably fit in much better at Cair Paravel than she did in Westeros—and meet other women warriors!
Brienne/Peter
With Peter, there are some interesting parallels and contrasts. Both are loyal, moral protectors and knights – however, Peter came to it almost reluctantly, whereas Brienne trained all her life to be a knight. Peter never had to prove himself the way Brienne did – after his first battle against the wolf, he as accepted and hailed, and he’s a King, to boot! Maybe she becomes his bodyguard or a general in his army in Narnia, or maybe he joins her in Westeros, looking for and protecting the Stark sisters. How would she react to another golden hero helping her on her quest – would she think him genuine, or would she be as suspicious of him as she was of Jaime to start, despite that she and Peter would meet under very different circumstances?
Brienne/Susan
Susan would absolutely respect Brienne as a warrior, and she would be very impressed by Susan’s grace and poise, while still managing to be a fine marksman. I’d love to read about their adventures, trying to find the Stark sisters for Brienne – maybe they even manage to get to Winterfell and find them: Susan with her experience of managing a castle and running a kingdom would probably feel right at home in Winterfell. Or maybe Brienne is Susan’s bodyguard in Narnia, protecting her from threats? Would she go with Susan to Calormen, and would that change anything? Or does she arrive after Susan’s trip, and is that why Susan prefers female bodyguards?
Brienne/Edmund
I feel like these two would have a very fun dynamic – Edmund’s sarcasm and Brienne’s sincerity. They’ve also both thought very hard about their moral codes and made them deliberate – Edmund after the White Witch debacle and to earn his epithet of the Just, and Brienne to determine what chivalry means for her. Where do they clash and where do they align? How have they adapted to the very different worlds they come from, and how do they meet the other and how the other has adapted to their world and their circumstances?
Brienne/Lucy
This would also be a really fun dynamic to explore – instead of contrasting Brienne’s sincerity with Edmund’s sarcasm, it’s paired with Lucy’s boundless faith and joy! I think Lucy would just accept Brienne completely as she is, no questions asked, and that would be such a breath of fresh air for Brienne who’s always had to justify herself and her choices! Lucy is also not as ladylike and dignified as Susan, so she might not be as intimidating to Brienne, and I’d love to read about their adventures together!
Sansa and the Pevensies
Maybe the Pevensies (one or more) get transported to Westeros and find Sansa in the Eyrie, helping her escape Petyr Baelish’s creepiness? Or the story could be set afterwards, when she’s returned to Winterfell, preparing for the winter and the war against the Others? The Pevensies have experience fighting against a very long winter, after all. Maybe Sansa somehow ends up in Golden Age Narnia, a magical land of summer with good and just rulers where she can heal from her past? Or maybe she ends up in Narnia during their long winter, and has to use the skills she learned from Westeros to survive and help the Pevensies defeat the White Witch?
Sansa/Peter
Peter is the shining noble knight she always dreamed of, both without and within, in a way that no one in Westeros seems to match: he’s handsome, noble, chivalrous, dependable, and kind. He’s also a very good monarch, and Sansa hasn’t had much experience with those. Knowing that such a man exists might restore her faith in songs, stories, and knights, and she would help him be the best High King he could possibly be. Maybe she’s his advisor in Narnia, using her knowledge of managing Winterfell and her experiences from court in the Red Keep? Maybe he would be an advisor to her as Lady of Winterfell of Queen in the North, with his experiences as High King in Narnia, or maybe he’d even be part of her Queensgard?
Sansa/Susan
Sansa and Susan have a lot in common: they’re both noble ladies, used to being coveted for their looks and having their intelligence overlooked. They’re also both good leaders, diplomatic, and practical. Together they would be nigh unstoppable! They also have similar experiences of being wanted not for who they are but for what they represent. Would they bond over Sansa’s experiences in the Vale, King’s Landing, and, if you go with show canon, with Ramsay, and Susan’s experiences in Calormen? Or is the story set before the trip to Calormen, and Susan hasn’t quite experienced the downsides of being a beautiful woman with political connections yet? How does Sansa relate to a more open and unaware Susan, and is that the balm she needs?
Sansa/Edmund
Sansa and Edmund also have a lot in common, but differently than Sansa and Susan. They both have experience of being slightly resentful of their circumstances and family, being charmed beguiled by a beautiful but terrible Queen and trusting the wrong person, and suffering vastly disproportionate consequences from it. Both Edmund and Sansa value justice very highly, partly due to what happened to them. They would understand each other in a different way than the other Pevensies would understand Sansa, and might even be able to share some of the darker aspects of their pasts with each other.
Sansa/Lucy
In contrast to Susan and Edmund sharing some of the darker parts of Sansa’s past. Lucy is light and faith and innocence, and maybe that’s what Sansa needs from Narnia! Maybe Lucy shows her to have fun again and just delight in life, and not worry about the past or the future? Maybe Sansa and Lucy go on adventures in Narnia together? Maybe she helps Sansa in Winterfell, keeping everyone’s spirits us during the Long Night?
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Crossover Fandom, World War 2 and Post-War Edition
Characters/Groups/Ships:
• Peggy Carter & Edwin Jarvis & the Pevensie siblings
General thoughts:
I’d love to see something with the Pevensies interacting with the Agent Carter crew! Maybe the Pevensies are also agents of the SSR after the War? Or maybe they are civilians who help the SSR agents just because they’re in a place to do so and it’s the Right Thing To Do?
Maybe their time in Narnia marked the Pevensies in some way, and either SSR or Leviathan/Hydra or some other sinister organisation is after them? Maybe they don’t quite trust that the Agent Carter crew have their best interests at heart? Maybe the Agent Carter crew don’t quite trust that the Pevensies aren’t hiding more sinister secrets? Maybe they don’t understand how these on the surface normal, middle-class British schoolchildren/young adults (depending on when you set the story and whether you fuff the timelines) can be so competent, and think they’ve been trained as spies?
I like reading about Pevensies who are somehow Different due to their time in Narnia, for instance unexpectedly mature and competent for their ages, or having skills you wouldn’t normally expect from children or young adults in the mid-20th century, but might expect monarchs from a fantasy medieval kingdom to have. I would prefer all the Friends of Narnia to be alive and well in the story – either they survived the train crash, or it never happened. I’m also less fond of the part where Susan turned her back on Narnia and separated herself from her family, or the judgemental tone they use when they talk about how she cares for nothing but “nylons and lipstick and invitations” – feel free to leave that part out entirely and make up your own headcanon on what the Pevensies would be like when they’re older, regardless of what the later books in the series say, or make it clear that Susan can like nylons and lipstick and invitations and also be clever and insightful and retain her belief in Narnia and her siblings’ respect.
Perhaps the Pevensies are in the US for some reason (holiday? Moved there after the War? Working for the British arm/equivalent of the SSR?), or perhaps the story’s set in England (I’m sure there are reasons why Peggy and Jarvis might go to England – family reasons? Sent there by the SSR because they blend in? There on their own investigations, posing as a Lady and her butler?). Do they come across the Pevensies in their investigations? Are they perhaps even investigating the Pevensies?
Maybe it’s even set during the War – maybe Jarvis meets the Pevensies after he has rescued Ana and been discharged? Maybe they live nearby and help Jarvis and Ana find their feet after what they’ve been through? Or maybe Stark is interested in recruiting them/they get involved with his wartime activities and meet Jarvis that way?
Maybe Peggy meets them during leave in London? Perhaps Peter is a new recruit who ends up where the Howling Commandoes are (he’d be just old enough to sign up by the last year of the War, if he was born in the early months of the year), or maybe even Edmund (if he lied about his age/the timeline is fuffed a bit)?
There are plenty of opportunities for polite manners hiding unexpected competence and BAMF-itude on both sides. Plus, the understated snarking would be through the roof!
Not all characters in the group need to be present or focused on (especially if it’s during the War, it might be difficult to get everyone together in the same place).
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Crossover Fandom, Mansfield Park and Master and Commander (2003)
Characters/Groups/Ships:
• Fanny Price/Tom Pullings
General thoughts
I just want Fanny to marry a dashing naval man who will respect her thoughts and opinions and treat her right! This request is mainly due to my desire to see a better outcome for Fanny than she got in canon – she deserves someone who will respect her and listen to her, which neither of her canonical suitors did (they both came close, but they also both put their own desires and wants above hers).
I’m very fond of the Regency period, and would be delighted with something that leaned into the aesthetics and trappings of the time era, and the ritualised etiquette of courtship and marriage. It might be fun to contrast the quiet stability and elegance of life at home with the dangerous and rough life of a sailor, even an officer.
Historical accuracy very optional - as long as there's a general sense of the Regency period, I'll be happy (of course, I won't say no if you do want to painstakingly research how much a naval officer would make and what that meant for the kind of household his wife would be expected to manage, but that part is definitely not required)!
I must admit, this is about 40% because of how handsome James D’Arcy looks with the ponytail, scar, and the naval uniform! The other 60% are because I think they would work quite well together. Pullings is easy-going and cheerful enough to balance out Fanny’s more serious side, but he’s also hard-working, loyal, and dutiful enough that she’d still be able to admire and respect him, unlike Henry Crawford. Like in the above request, Fanny has a naval connection through William, perhaps they serve together when William’s made lieutenant and he introduces them to each other? Or perhaps they meet in Portsmouth when she’s banished from Mansfield? Perhaps he sees her being relentlessly pursued by a man she doesn’t want and steps in to rescue her? Or maybe he can offer her an escape from her family’s poverty and dysfunction? Although, as is pointed out with William, it’s hard to have a successful career when you lack connections in the navy, so they might have to deal with that as well during their married life.
Or, again, just as in the above request, perhaps she even marries Crawford or Edmund, and her husband turns out to be controlling and emotionally abusive. Maybe Pullings meets her while she’s in the abusive marriage (cue pining), or maybe he only meets her when she’s already widowed and is taken by her endurance and fortitude.
I haven’t read the Aubrey/Maturin books, but I am more than happy for you to use material from them, as long as it can be understood by someone who just knows the film!
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The Hunger Games Trilogy and Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (solo fandom and crossover)
Characters/Groups/Ships:
• Mags
• Mags & Snow
General Thoughts:
These are two requests in the sign-up, but I’m bundling them together here in the letter as they are quite related!
I really love Mags and would love to know more about her, as a tribute, a Victor, a Mentor or her life in District 4! How does she interact with other Victors or tributes, perhaps Finnick and Annie, or perhaps other Victors from District 4 who came before them, or perhaps tributes who didn't succeed at the Games, or Victors from other Districts? How involved was she in the rebellion, and how did she get that way? Was she one of the founders, or was she recruited later? How involved is she in daily life in District 4? How involved in District 4 with the rebellion?
I am very intrigued by the 11th Hunger Games. The 10th Hunger Games introduced some changes to bring the Games more in line with what they were by the time Katniss volunteered, but there are still differences as the games moved from just punishment towards spectacle. Which of them were introduced now (which of them were Snow’s ideas) and which of them came later? What was Snow’s role in the Games as Gaul’s apprentice?
How long did they go on for? Was the arena still an arena, or did they now move it into a more naturalistic setting? What security measures were there? Did they still keep the tributes in the zoo, or had they moved to another setting yet? Who did they get in to mentor – presumably not the graduating students again, but there wouldn’t be enough Victors to mentor? How did Mags win? Who were the other tributes? How much did knowing about the sponsorship in advance change things?
How much publicity did Mags have in the Capitol after her win? What was the post-games interview like? How did the District receive her back, and how was that different to the previous years when the Victor had just been bundled off and sent back to their prior lives? What was the first Victory Tour like? How did Snow and Mags interact afterwards? What expectations were placed on her as the first Victor, and how did she react to them? What was her first year of mentoring like? Did she have to mentor right away, and how did it work for Districts with no Victor yet?
I’d also love to see her after her Games, navigating mentoring, politics, rebellion, and her private life. When and how did District 4 get the reputation as a Career district, and how involved was Mags in that? How does training and volunteering work in District 4? How involved is Mags with that, setting it up, running it, or does she only get involved once the Games begin, and others deal with the training?
I would love to see her interact with any other Hunger Games victors – either those that came before her, or other Victors from District 4 she mentored, or other mentors from other Districts! How does she get on with the other Career Victors or outlying Victors? Four seems to straddle the middle of that line, how does she navigate that?
When did the culture of selling victors start? How much did the past Victors see each other when they were in the Capitol? How did they settle back into their home districts as Victors? How did they cope with mentoring, and how did they cope with bringing home new Victors knowing the fate that awaited them?
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Leverage
Characters/Groups/Ships:
• Maggie Collins
• Sterling
• Todd McSweeten
• Todd McSweeten/Parker
General thoughts
I love this show so much – the competence kink, the found family aspects, the trust and loyalty between the characters, the character growth, the in-jokes/catchphrases (“let’s go steal a …”, “it’s a very distinctive …”, “age of the geek, baby”, and more), the general optimism and light-heartedness even as they’re dealing with some complex and terrible people. This canon lends itself especially well to case-fic, and I’d love to read about some kind of heist or con, but if you want to go in a more slice of life or friendship/romantic direction, that would also make me happy.
Maggie
I love Maggie – how quick she is on the uptake, how she can outsmart Nate, but how she generally keeps it under wraps. I love how she’s not jealous of Sophie, but friends with her, and how she genuinely cares for Nate and worries about him even though they’re separated and takes true joy in his moving on.
I would be really interested to see Maggie working with the Leverage team more. Maybe she is their Mastermind approached by Dubenich instead of Nate? She found out that IYS had denied Sam’s treatment and wanted revenge, gathering famous criminals around her? Or maybe Sophie is her way in, since they both move in the fine art circles, and they start with maybe a case like the Two Live Crew Job, helping steal art back for the original owners, and decide to branch out into helping people generally?
Or maybe she works with Parker, Hardison and Eliot after the end of the series when they need an extra person on the con? Maggie is very charming and unassuming, and we’ve seen that she has the makings of a fine grifter – and they all love her and work well with her, so I’m sure they’d be delighted to have her!
I’d also love to see her with the new team, meeting Harry and Breanna, supporting Sophie after Nate’s death. Maybe she’s even on one of the teams that make up Leverage International?
Sterling
What if it was Sterling in Nate’s place as the Leverage team Mastermind? How different would things be? What if Sterling was the one who lost a child (Olivia? An OC?) and blames IYS? He’s equally clever and ruthless as Nate, if not more so, but he’s also less prone to grandstanding. And his moral compass is slightly askew compared to Nate’s. Would they be more prone to go for vengeance on their marks rather than justice for the victims? Or would their goals be the same, just their methods different? Sneakier?
And where is Nate in this? Is he the IYS agent chasing them? Or perhaps they lead Leverage together, like they worked together for IYS? How would their dynamic be as co-criminal masterminds? Would they still have the push and pull that they had in canon, or would they be more egalitarian?
Another thing that might be fun is a fic set pre-series of Sterling chasing members of the Leverage team? Or him and Nate working together at IYS? We saw a glimpse of how they might have worked together in the Zanzibar Marketplace Job, and it might be fun to explore that further. What did they talk about on the rooftop when they were best friends?
Or, for a canon-compliant fic, I love the way Sterling and the team occasionally team up against a bigger threat, but there’s a deep personal dislike there based on their history and always a sense that he will double cross the team at the first opportunity so they can’t trust him. Does there ever come a point where he doesn’t double cross them? Do they reach the point where the antagonism between them is mostly toothless and they mostly get on, or does he remain a slimy bastard?
How does Sterling feel about Nate’s death? Does he ever run across Leverage International and feel like it has Parker, Eliot and Hardison’s finger prints all over it, even if they’re nowhere to be seen (and then it turns out that they are involved after all)? Or does he come across the new team, and how quickly do they learn to hate him as much as the original team members do?
McSweeten, McSweeten/Parker
McSweeten is such a sweetheart! I love his optimism, his faith in people, his kindness! I would love to spend more time with him – as an FBI agent, as a son, as a person. I’d also love more interactions between him and the team. Does the team run across the FBI on another job and have to slip into pretending to be Hagen and Thomas again? Does he ask for their help on another case in the guises they adopted for the D.B. Cooper job? Does he find out who they actually are, and how does he react to that? Does he ever participate actively in their cons, like Sterling, or does he become someone like Bonnano, a law enforcement officer they can trust to look the other way as long as they’re doing good? What does it take to get him to that point? Do McSweeten and Bonnano ever work together? Or McSweeten and Sterling? Maybe that’s how he finds out? Or does the team have to tell him for some reason? Or does he find out on his own during an investigation?
Maybe he’s accused of a crime and the Team helps him? Or maybe he has the pivotal piece of information that helps clear one of the team of unjust accusations?
I also really like how gone he is on Parker as Hagen and how he sweet is about trying to woo her, even when she’s oblivious. I’d love to see something that brings them together – her being on the other side of the law might be even more of a problem in this case than in the gen version of this request, since it’s more personal when it’s someone he’s romantically interested in or involved with. How do they bridge that difference? Does he end up as an associate member of Leverage International, or even an actual member? Or does he stick with the FBI, and they have to navigate the conflict of interest between his career and hers? Or does he act as their inside man in the FBI?
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Crossover Fandom, Star Wars Crossovers
Characters/Groups/Ships:
• Finn & Mace Windu
• Finn & Clone Troopers
• Finn & Rey & Poe & any Jedi Council member
General thoughts:
I’m really keen on the idea of the sequel trio (any or all) ending up in the prequels era! How do they deal with meeting these heroes of a bygone era? Do they try to change the fate of the galaxy, to stop the rise of the Empire, and if so, how do they go about it?
Does Finn or Rey get to train with the Jedi? How do they deal with the Council? Are they welcomed? Or are they viewed with suspicion? Does Finn get to meet the clones? How do they react to what has been done with their legacy? How does he react to meeting his forerunners? How does his experiences and skills from their time with the Resistance help them before or during the galactic civil war?
I’d be super keen to read something where they don’t have all the facts, that they’re floundering a bit – not everything became public knowledge, secrets were being kept, things got twisted in the retellings, and so on. Maybe they have to try to keep their origins a secret – how suspicious are they to those native to the time they travel to? Or do they get on with the others right from the start? Or maybe they can be open about their origins, and the people from the two different times try to piece together what happened by combining their respective fragmented knowledge – I’d love to see what misconceptions they come up with on the way!
My favourite take on the Jedi Order is fundamentally good people who genuinely try to do their best in a very difficult situation, but I’m happy with anything that avoids outright bashing of either the Jedi Order or individual Jedi.
Finn & the Clones
There are so many parallels here! I would love Finn to meet the Clones – both raised for war, given numbers instead of names, indoctrinated to serve a higher purpose – but there are of course differences: the Clones being identical in body but encouraged and allowed individuality in spirit, whereas the First Order “recruits” being the opposite, as well as the Clones having a strong sense of brotherhood and camaraderie that’s lacking in the First Order, to name two. I would love to see Finn go back in time to meet some of the Clones – whether it’s after he’s free of the First Order and has a name, or when he’s still brainwashed – both are good! How do they react to each other? Does he arrive when the Clones are on Kamino still, or when they’re out in the field – both pose very interesting possibilities for how they interact and what possibilities they have to change their fates and the fate of the galaxy.
What does he let slip about the future? What knowledge does he have of the fall of the Republic, and how much of it is First Order propaganda that they have to sort through to get to the truth?
Finn & Mace Windu
I love the idea of Force-sensitive Finn, and I’d love to see him get the opportunity to train as a Jedi! It would be very interesting to see him and Mace interact – Mace who’s a very traditional Jedi, contrasted with Finn, who’s had a much more eclectic past – and who might feel he has more in common with the clone troopers than with the Jedi! How do they overcome this and find common ground?
How does the rest of the Council react? Is there any resistance to the idea of training Finn due to his age, and how do they resolve that? How does Mace react to the fate of the Jedi order? What does Finn know about the fall of the Republic and the Jedi and how it could potentially be avoided?
Finn & Rey & Poe & the Jedi
Does Finn or Rey get to train with the Jedi? How do they deal with the Council? Are they welcomed? Or are they viewed with suspicion? Does Finn get to meet the clones? How do they react to what has been done with their legacy? How does he react to meeting his forerunners? How does his experiences and skills from their time with the Resistance help them before or during the galactic civil war?
How do Rey’s, Finn’s and Poe’s experiences and skills from their time with the Resistance help them in the prequel era? Can they avoid the Clone Wars before they even break out, or is the course locked well before they arrive in the past? Maybe they can help the GAR? Both Poe and to a lesser extent Finn are experienced with command and military tactics, and they all have experience of spying and sabotage missions. Does the fact that they have the skills needed and are willing to help make them less suspicious, or more?
Does Rey know things that Luke discovered on Ach-To that the Jedi have forgotten? How has the Jedi philosophy changed between the prequels and sequels era, and how do the characters relate to that (no bashing of the Jedi philosophy of either era, please! Discussions where both sides have valid points are fine, but I'd prefer if you avoided one side being Clearly Right and the other being Obviously Wrong)?
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Pride (2014)
Characters/Groups/Ships:
• Cliff
• Cliff & Johnny & Lee
• Dai Donovan
• Sian
• Dai Donovan & Mark Ashton
• Dai Donovan & Hefina & Sian
• Joe “Bromley” Cooper & Sian
General thoughts
I love this film! The warmth between the characters, the two separate communities coming together, the friendships, the support they give each other – it’s all so very heart-warming and hopeful! Of course, there are plenty of complications, too, if you want something to sink your teeth in, I’d love something dealing with the complexities and problems of the world we live in and the difficult issues these characters face. Feel free to include difficult themes like poverty, politics, homophobia, and HIV/AIDS that mark the lives of these characters, but don't feel you have to - you can also focus on the happy moments of their lives, the friendships, love and laughter that they share.
I really don’t mind if the story’s set pre-, during or post canon, I’d just love anything that explores the relationships between these wonderful characters! Feel free to include any other non-nominated characters if you want to – I love all of them!
Cliff, Cliff & his nephews
I love Cliff, the soft-spoken, poetry-loving working class intellectual, and I’d love to read more about him and his place in Dulais as a retired miner and gay man, and how he reconciles those two different aspects of himself. Maybe he finds his people in the Gay Poetry and Literature Society? Bonding with Gethin about their love for the written word, and with Jonathan over their love for the spoken word? Going to plays put on by Out Loud? Performing in plays put on by Out Loud? Finding love? Does it come easily for him, or does he struggle with internalised homophobia? Does he meet someone in London or in Wales, and if it’s in London, does the distance pose problems?
How is his relationship with Maureen and his nephews? How was his relationship with his brother, and how did things change when his brother died? What support could he give them when the boys were young, and did Maureen’s pride allow her to accept it, or were there tensions there? Does he come out, and does that change things? At least Johnny came around to accepting LGSM, but does that stretch to Cliff – when it’s not just some abstract gay people in London, but his uncle? Does Lee ever come around?
Dai
I really like Dai, how down-to-earth he is, how caring and open, how he rolls with things, and how his quiet demeanour hides an iron core. How did he and Margaret meet? How did he get involved with union politics? Had he been involved for a long time, or did he become more active during the strike? What happens after the strike? Does he find another job when the pit closes? Does he stay involved with politics, or does he fade into the background after the strike?
Mark & Dai
I loved the friendship these two had, how they both pushed each other onto the stage when they weren’t 100% comfortable in the circumstances, but how they overcame and grew stronger together. The symbol of the clasped hands was a lovely touch, and how Mark and Dai embodied these communities coming together. And they were also wonderful foils for each other – Mark, the firebrand, always looking for a cause, and Dai, the quieter and more pragmatic one who got pushed into activism by circumstances. I’d love something that explores their different approaches to the fight, Dai sharing wisdom from his longer life experience, and Mark sharing wisdom from his longer activism experience. I loved how they were so different, but united.
Joe & Sian
I love how quickly Sian and Joe take to each other, how she’s there for him and supports him when he’s struggling, and how she’s not afraid of telling his family what a treasure they’re wasting. I really liked the scene when she drives him back to London and he falls asleep, and he looks so young and she looks so fond of him - maybe she has some maternal feelings for him, even though she’s not that much older than he is.
It would also be interesting to see Mark and Joe interact – they’re both quite quiet and reserved, which might make it awkward and tense to start off with, even though we know they become great friends by the end of the film.
Sian
I love how strong and caring Sian is, and how she finds her courage and her strength during the mining crisis, how she stands up for what she believes is right, and how she gets down and does what needs to be done. Maybe something about her at university studying Welsh language? Is it a culture shock? How does she get on with the other students? Does she feel alienated as a mature student with rather different life experiences and expectations compared to the other students, or does she find a group of people to fit in with (the 80s was just after the great university expansion and before the introduction of tuition fees, so there would probably be a fair few other students with working-class backgrounds there – maybe she finds her people among them, even if they might be a bit younger than her, or with the other mature students)? Does she struggle balancing her education and her family, and how do they adjust to the change of having a breadwinner and a homemaker to two breadwinners? And how does she get started in politics? Maybe something about her first campaign to become MP? Or her early days in Westminster?
Dai & Hefina & Sian
Another thing I’d love to get is a work about a story about Dai, Hefina, and Sian, bonding over being official and unofficial leaders of a community that is so dependent on the doomed mine. How do they carry on, after the strike? There must be very complicated emotions going back to work after so long, especially knowing that they’ve been defeated and it’s only a matter of time until the mine closes. How do they keep the community going? How do they keep up the ties between LGSM and Dulais?
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Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Characters/Groups/Ships:
• Bail Organa & Mace Windu
• Bail Organa & Padmé Amidala
• Bail Organa
• Mace Windu
General thoughts
I love the worldbuilding of the prequel trilogy, how expansive the galaxy seems, the political intrigue, the tragedy of the fall of the Republic, and the impending sense of doom that the characters can also feel. I love how there are no easy answers (because Palpatine is manipulating everything to remove the easy answers), and I would love to see a story about the heroes prevailing despite this! Or how they survive after the fall of the Republic, how the Rebellion is started and comes together, what challenges and obstacles they face along the way.
My favourite take on the Jedi Order is fundamentally good people who genuinely try to do their best in a very difficult situation, but I’m happy with anything that avoids outright bashing of either the Jedi Order or individual Jedi.
Bail:
I love Bail’s dedication to democracy and his ideals. I love how competent he is, and how he’s not afraid of getting his hands dirty. I love his determination, and how warm he is with his friends, and how he grieves for the Jedi but gets on with founding the rebellion and doing something proactive with his grief! I’d love a story about him as a senator – what made him join the senate? How did he find his feet? How did he get on with Palpatine before he showed his true colours? Or something about his time founding the rebellion, trying to get it off the ground, finding and funding resistance cells? How much do he and Mon Mothma know about what the other is doing? Do they work closely together, or do they keep the other mostly in the dark for plausible deniability reasons?
Or what if Bail from the Imperial era or even the time of his death time travelled? It would be really cool to see a time-travel fix-it that focuses more on the political problems of the galaxy, since most of them (the Separatist crisis, the slow descent into authoritarianism, the chokehold that the Trade Federation, Banking Clans etc. have on the galaxy) are really outside the remit of the Jedi Order. And it would be fun to see Sidious being beaten by someone he has no idea is a threat!
Bail & Padmé:
I would love to see them working together in the Senate before the fall of the Republic – how they divided the labour of convincing allies, deciding what battles to fight and their strategies, balancing Padmé’s passion and Bail’s experience and wisdom. How often did they have different opinions, and how did they manage those?
Or maybe Padmé stays with Bail and Breha after the fall of the Republic with the twins, hiding in plain sight? Or she goes on the run, and only sees them occasionally? Or maybe she never had a relationship with Anakin, and she joins Bail and Mon as the Rebellion’s links to the Senate? How does she manage to keep her ideals under control in the new hostile climate?
This might also be fun as a time travel prompt! Do both of them time travel, or does only one time travel and have to deal with the past version of their friend? If they both time travel, do they know or recognise that the other is also a time traveller? Do they agree on priorities and methods to avoid the fall of the Republic, or do they disagree on how to best go about it? Would they try to reform the Republic, or would they consider the corruption too far gone, and what is the alternative? What if Naboo and Alderaan were to secede while Palpatine was the Chancellor, how would that impact galactic policies?
Mace:
I love Mace so much! I love his seriousness, his dedication to democracy and his principles, I love his compassion and his wisdom! I love that he considers things from different angels, and that he’s willing to reconsider his opinions.
I would love to read more about Mace during the Clone Wars, and how he balances his roles as Master of the Order and General, how he tries to protect both the Jedi and the Clones from the vagaries of the Senate and the Chancellor, and how he tackles being thrown into a war against his will, and how the Jedi attempted to keep their identity and faith as Jedi despite the circumstances. I would also love a story about the quiet moments during the war, with his troops or with civilians, or with other Jedi!
I would adore a fix-it where Mace survives his duel with Palpatine. I love him so much – his seriousness and sincerity, how strongly he believes in the Jedi code, his faith in the Force, his patience and gentleness but also his determination and authority! I would love to see what he gets up to after the fall of the Republic, getting involved with the Resistance, trying to restore the Jedi Order, or just trying to survive. Does he find any Clones and gets them de-chipped, and how does that reunion go?
Mace would also be a fun time traveller, in different ways! How would he handle being back in time? What choices would he make differently, and how would they turn out? I really like the complexities of the situation, and how the Jedi made the only choice they could make, give the situation, but with different facts and more knowledge, would they make a different choice? How would they deal with the Clone army ostensibly ordered in their name, or leave them to a probably worse fate at the hands of the Senate or the Kaminoans? How would they deal with the corruption at the heart of the Republic—both the Sith-related corruption, which clearly falls within their remit, and the everyday, garden variety of political corruption, which doesn’t?
Mace & Bail:
Given how much I love both Bail and Mace, it would be awesome to see something with them together!
I would love to see their take on politics, coming from different viewpoints and representing different interests, but still both with a fundamental belief in democracy. Do they have different ideas of the role of Jedi in the Republic, or the function of the Republic itself, and how do they work to resolve those? Do they work together to tackle problems in the Republic from each of their own angles, politician and peacekeeper/diplomat?
Or maybe they go on an adventure together? There’s lots of fun things that can be done in the Star Wars universe! Maybe they’re on a diplomatic trip together and run into trouble, or maybe they get stranded on an inhospitable planet? How do they deal with that?
Or something set during the Clone Wars, in battle, with Mace trying to protect Bail, or dealing with politics and/or logistics of where to send the army, how to get them there, etc.? Or fighting for Clone rights together?
Or maybe Mace survives his duel with Palaptine, and they meet up after the Fall of the Republic? Does Mace turn to Bail for help, not knowing where else to go? Or do they run into each other unexpectedly? Do they each work against the Empire in different ways, and decide to join forces, or are they coordinated from the start? Do they have different priorities, or are they aligned with each other? Does Mace focus on finding surviving Jedi and hide them, while Bail deals with politics and funding sabotage missions? Or does Mace also carry out sabotage missions?
Just, anything with these two!