chronicbookworm (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
chronicbookworm) wrote2024-06-30 07:53 am
chronicbookworm) wrote2024-06-30 07:53 am
Dear LBD 2024 Creator,
Thanks for creating things for me! Should you so want, I can be found at both Tumblr and AO3 also as ChronicBookworm, for any stalking purposes.
In general, I like most things. I’m a multishipper, and I read slash, het, femslash, and gen. I also like most genres: fluff, angst, adventure, case fic, humour, get-together, established relationship, character study, slice of life/domestic, you name it – or a mix of them all! I’m very fond of long, plotty fic, but I also like short and sweet things!
The prompts below are there to help, not box you in, so please feel free to write/make something different if none of my prompts below grab your imagination or inspiration strikes you in a different direction. I provide a few suggestions and thoughts for each character to be paired with—please take these as suggestions, and if you want to write a different ship than any of the ones suggested, by all means go for it! I want to see your take on who the characters might fit with!
The length of the sections has nothing to do with how much I want the request, only with how many different prompts I have for each. I want to read them all very badly, so I’m sure I’ll love whatever you write!
General likes
DNWs
A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones
Bridgerton TV
Downton Abbey
Mansfield Park
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, a/b/o, soulmarks, etc.)
• teacher/student (please set any romance sometime 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, but cousin incest is OK)
• infidelity or jealousy within relationships (real or imagined. Open relationships and jealousy as a path to feelings discovery are OK)
• more than 3-year age gaps for any ships involving characters 16 years or younger
• 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 (merging crossover universes into one or having characters from one universe dimension travel to the other by either hand-wavey or explained means are all 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 DNW for Downton Abbey: any reference to the kiss between Jimmy and Thomas
•Fandom-specific DNW for Bridgerton: people being forced into an engagement/marriage due to being ~compromised (I would much rather see people choosing to get together for either love or practical reasons)
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A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones
Character(s):
• Sansa Stark
Categories:
• LBD/M
• LBD/F
•LBD/NB
• LBD/M/F
• LBD/M/M
• LBD/F/F
•LBD/M/NB
•LBD/F/NB
Opt-ins:
• Crossovers with
o Chronicles of Narnia
o Lord of the Rings
o Tortall – Tamora Pierce
o Emelan – Tamora Pierce
o Avatar the last Airbender
Ship DNWs (including in poly configurations):
• Petyr
• Sandor
• Cersei
Prompts:
Sansa is one of my favourite characters in ASOIAF/GoT – I’d love to see a story that doesn’t gloss over the horrors she’s suffered, but also doesn’t reduce her to them. She’s clever and cunning, and she’s learnt to play the game, but she’s still managed to keep her kindness and compassion, despite everything she’s suffered. I like stories where she’s able to heal and move on from the traumas she’s suffered and reclaim her agency.
I also like stories that deal with politics and playing the game of thrones, especially ones that allow Sansa to demonstrate that she actually knows how to play – ones where she demonstrates her cunning and agency earlier in Kings Landing, and somehow manages to save her family, or stories where she’s older and has come into her own in a position of power, maybe as Lady of Winterfell or some other castle, or as a member of the Small Council to Robb, Daenerys, Jon, Aegon, Stannis, Tommen or whoever you choose to give a crown to, maybe as Queen in the North, or maybe even Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.
I have a lot of prompts for Sansa paired with various characters from A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones as well as crossovers with The Chronicles of Narnia in previous letters, including Willas, Doran, Oberyn and/or Ellaria, Arianne, Quentyn, Jaime, Tyrion, Gendry, Theon, Loras, Daenerys, Margaery, Brienne, Peter Pevensie, Susan Pevensie, Edmund Pevensie and probably more that I’m forgetting now at my Dreamwidth (follow the fandom: got or fandom:asoiaf tags)—but if you want to pair her with someone else, by all means, go ahead!
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Bridgerton TV
Characters/ships
• Cressida Cowper (LBD/M, LBD/F, LBD/M/F, LBD/M/M)
• Alfred Debling (LBD/M, LBD/F, LBD/M/F)
• Prince Friedrich (LBD/F, LBF/M, LBD/M/F)
• Edwina Sharma (LBD/M)
• Marina Thompson (LBD/M, LBD/F, LBD/M/F, LBD/M/M)
Categories:
• See each character
Opt-ins:
• Crossovers with Jane Austen canons
• Original Characters
• Cressida/Penelope/Eloise
Ship DNWs (including in poly configurations):
• Hyacinth Bridgerton (unless aged 17+)
• Gregory Bridgerton (unless aged 17+)
Prompts:
I would love to see things work out well for the ones who didn’t get a happy ending in the show! Whether that means pairing them with the Bridgertons they had the strongest connection with in the show, another Bridgerton sibling, each other, one of the love interests who did get a Bridgerton, or another character is completely up to you! With regards to the canonical pairings, feel free to have them never get together, break things off before the wedding, or kill off any character to make your chosen pairing work.
Cressida
I love Cressida in all her petty, spiteful, insecure, lonely glory! I love how complicated she is, how she is what her parents made her be, how she becomes a better person when exposed to better influences but can’t quite shake herself free from her parents’ hold over her. She made bad decisions, but so understandable ones, scrabbling for whatever power she could get. I would love to see her gain happiness and independence, and be valued for who and what she is—maybe some of her rough edges are sanded off if she no longer feels under threat. Maybe she manages to pull off the great feat of snagging Prince Friedrich during her first season, and finds that he is actually a nice man, and finds herself falling for the man as much as his title? Maybe she marries one of the Bridgerton boys, and has to find her place with all of her in-laws, who are all sceptical of her? Maybe she marries Debling after his failed courtship of Penelope, and gains the freedom she’s been looking for?
I was also really intrigued by the connection she and Eloise seemed to form, and how much she seemed to value Eloise’s friendship—it wouldn’t be hard to convince me there were some romantic feelings there as well! Or possibly her feud with Penelope or Daphne is a cover for her own attraction to them? I’m opting into Cressida/Eloise/Penelope—lot’s of intriguing character dynamics in all directions! Perhaps she and Kate find themselves matching wits and form an antagonistic friendship that turns into more? With a woman comes the additional complication that they can’t marry—and I doubt Cressida’s parents will be very happy to pay for her to set up a household on her own with a friend, which might be a cause of concern for the relationship, but maybe the love interest has means of her own or a family that’s happy to support her and her partner? Or maybe she finds some way of bringing in enough to support her lifestyle—maybe she has a hidden talent not revealed in the show that will allow her to live an independent life?
Lord Debling
I really liked Debling’s openness and frankness—he’s a man who knows who he is and what he wants, and doesn’t let anyone make him ashamed of that. I love his practicality and pragmatism, his kind-heartedness and willingness to accept people as they are, not trying to please him! I would love for him to get his wife who can manage his estate and be someone to come back to after his travels? Maybe Colin never shows up to ruin his plan to propose, and Penelope is able to move on as Debling’s wife? Maybe he finds that Cressida would love the kind of arrangement he proposes: one where she gets to manage a household out of her family’s power? Maybe he discovers that Eloise is also someone who knows who she is, and is unafraid to be herself? Maybe he finds that Lady Bridgerton is ready for a second love? Maybe he finds out he prefers the company of men, and that appointing someone (a younger Bridgerton brother) as his estate agent is a good cover for a relationship? Or maybe he finds that he’s OK with his wife not remaining 100% faithful, as long as he’s invited into the relationship when he's at home?
Prince Friedrich
Prince Friedrich was such a sweetheart! I loved the care with which he courted Daphne, and how gallant he was! I loved how understanding and non-possessive he was, and how considerate he was of Daphne and her wants and wishes. I like how he wants a family, and how willing he was to step aside for true love: I would love for him to get that kind of love himself, either at courtship, or growing after the wedding, and having the chance to start a family for himself! Maybe his courtship with Daphne goes as planned, and she accepts his proposal? Maybe Daphne never returns his attentions, and he starts to get to know the woman beneath Cressida’s spikes? Maybe he arrives a season later, and is charmed be either one of the Sharma sisters, sponsored by his aunt’s dear friend? Maybe he finds Eloise refreshing, after so much time at court where everyone hides their true thoughts behind manners and propriety? Maybe he decides to do a good deed and pay attention to the wallflowers, and discovers that Penelope has hidden depths?
Or maybe he falls for a man? How does he deal with that—the pressures on him to marry and having an heir being especially strong due to his royal status? Perhaps he and Simon hit it off (and perhaps Daphne is the glue that binds them together?)? Perhaps he’s invited to one of Granville’s scandalous gatherings where royalty should absolutely not be caught and meets Benedict? Perhaps he meets Colin at a club and falls for his open honesty and good nature? Or does he instead find Anthony’s protectiveness appealing?
Edwina
What I like about Edwina is her sweet temperament, her shyness, her charm, her willingness to please, and her ability to get on with a range of different people, coupled with an integrity that makes her take a stand when it’s something she feels strongly about! I like how she clearly cared for both Kate and Anthony, and how she was willing to forgive and move on after they both hurt her deeply and caused a scandal for both families. I would love to see her find love and happiness and a suitable match with someone who can give her what she wants! Maybe she and Anthony go through with the marriage, and love grows between them: a more steady, stable kind of love than the tempestuous and passionate one between Kate nad Anthony, but love nonetheless? Or maybe Benedict or Colin take pity on her during the Pall Mall game, and they form a connection? Maybe she gets together with Prince Friedrich, as the season 2 ending implied she might? Or she arrives one season earlier and meets and charms Simon against his will? Maybe she arrives one season later, and makes a connection with Lord Kilmartin?
Marina
I feel so bad for Marina, trapped by circumstances and trying to make the best of the hand she’s been dealt! I have a great deal of sympathy for her actions in trying to save herself a horrible future. I would love to see her gain a better end than she got in the show, and a chance at real happiness, real love to grow from her marriage, whether that is changing the marriage she did have to be more fulfilling, or having her marry someone else, or letting her find someone (male or female) after the death of her husband, or even having her and Sir Philip agree to find happiness elsewhere despite their marriage. Maybe she confesses to Colin and he decides to go through with it? Maybe another one of the Bridgerton boys step in to save their little brother? Maybe Simon decides that’s the best way to spite his father: to have the Hastings name continue through children with none of his blood? Prince Friedrich spots her early in the season, and whisks her away from her judgmental family?
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Downton Abbey
Characters/Ships
• Thomas Barrow
Categories:
• LBD/M
• LBD/M/M
Opt-ins:
• Original servant or working-class characters
Ship DNWs (including poly configurations):
• Jimmy
• Edward Courtenay
• Philip Crowborough
Prompts:
Perhaps early season Thomas finds love and acceptance earlier than in canon, possibly with William, Branson, or Andy, or with an OC, or with him meeting Chris Webster, Richard Ellis or Guy Dexter early. Does it soften his rough edges when he’s no longer feeling like he’s fighting against the whole world? How open can they be about their relationship Downstairs – we see that he gained some level of acceptance from most of the staff, but does that change when it’s not just a theoretical boyfriend, but an actual one?
Or possibly something about what Thomas and Guy get up to in Hollywood post-canon, and how they make the relationship work, or and AU where he ends up with Webster or Ellis. Who is Chris Webster? What does he do when he’s not dancing with pretty men in underground gay bars? How would Ellis and Thomas make it work, with Ellis in London in the Royal household, and Thomas at Downton?
The two major Thomas ships that I’m not really into are Thomas/Jimmy and Thomas/Courtenay. Feel free to have Thomas pining for Jimmy, but I don’t want it requited, and I also don’t want Thomas kissing an unwitting Jimmy – I don’t really mind how you deal with it: change the circumstances so the possibility never arises because he’s already found requited love by then, have his friends talk him out of it, keep everything the same but just pretend it never happened, or some other way are all fine with me.
Historical accuracy very optional - as long as there's a general sense of the early 20th century, I'll be happy (of course, I won't say no if you do want to painstakingly research what daily life below stairs would be like, but that part is definitely not required)!
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Mansfield Park
Character:
• Fanny Price
Categories:
• LBD/M
• LBD/F
• LBD/M/F
• LBD/M/M
• LBD/F/F
Opt-ins:
• Crossover ships with
o characters from other Jane Austen canons that the narrative sympathises with (e.g. Eliza Williams or Charles Bingley, but not Lucy Steele or George Wickham)
o Any officer on the HMS Surprise from Master and Commander 2003
o James Norrington from Pirates of the Caribbean
o Any character from Bridgerton TV
• Original characters
Ship DNWs (including poly configurations):
None
Prompts:
Fanny is probably Austen’s most divisive heroines, but I love her! I like that she’s quiet, and unassuming, and self-sacrificing to a flaw, but she still won’t budge when everyone around her is trying to persuade her into something she thinks is wrong. I like that inner strength she has, that allows her to endure both Mansfield and Portsmouth.
I’d really like a story that highlights those qualities – and I’d also really like her to be happy and valued. Maybe post-canon, and Edmund learns to not put how own wants above her needs? Or maybe a canon divergence, in which Henry actually goes to Everingham and not to London, and reforms enough to be the kind of husband she deserves? Or there is another man who would be a better husband to her than either Edmund or Henry? Maybe she falls in love with a redeemed Tom, or Maria, or Julia? Or maybe she becomes the companion to another rich lady, one who values her and enjoys her company, and they fall in love? Or maybe you have another idea in mind for what happens to her – I’m open to anything, as long as she’s happy! Feel free to make this a crossover with any other Austen canon, Pirates of the Caribbean for Fanny/Norrington prompts (there are prompts in past letters for various exchanges), or Master and Commander 2003 (I have prompts for Fanny/Pullings in past letters, but for this exchange I am opening up to any officer of the Surprise, i.e., also Mowett, Aubrey or Maturin).
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In general, I like most things. I’m a multishipper, and I read slash, het, femslash, and gen. I also like most genres: fluff, angst, adventure, case fic, humour, get-together, established relationship, character study, slice of life/domestic, you name it – or a mix of them all! I’m very fond of long, plotty fic, but I also like short and sweet things!
The prompts below are there to help, not box you in, so please feel free to write/make something different if none of my prompts below grab your imagination or inspiration strikes you in a different direction. I provide a few suggestions and thoughts for each character to be paired with—please take these as suggestions, and if you want to write a different ship than any of the ones suggested, by all means go for it! I want to see your take on who the characters might fit with!
The length of the sections has nothing to do with how much I want the request, only with how many different prompts I have for each. I want to read them all very badly, so I’m sure I’ll love whatever you write!
General likes
DNWs
A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones
Bridgerton TV
Downton Abbey
Mansfield Park
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, a/b/o, soulmarks, etc.)
• teacher/student (please set any romance sometime 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, but cousin incest is OK)
• infidelity or jealousy within relationships (real or imagined. Open relationships and jealousy as a path to feelings discovery are OK)
• more than 3-year age gaps for any ships involving characters 16 years or younger
• 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 (merging crossover universes into one or having characters from one universe dimension travel to the other by either hand-wavey or explained means are all 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 DNW for Downton Abbey: any reference to the kiss between Jimmy and Thomas
•Fandom-specific DNW for Bridgerton: people being forced into an engagement/marriage due to being ~compromised (I would much rather see people choosing to get together for either love or practical reasons)
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A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones
Character(s):
• Sansa Stark
Categories:
• LBD/M
• LBD/F
•LBD/NB
• LBD/M/F
• LBD/M/M
• LBD/F/F
•LBD/M/NB
•LBD/F/NB
Opt-ins:
• Crossovers with
o Chronicles of Narnia
o Lord of the Rings
o Tortall – Tamora Pierce
o Emelan – Tamora Pierce
o Avatar the last Airbender
Ship DNWs (including in poly configurations):
• Petyr
• Sandor
• Cersei
Prompts:
Sansa is one of my favourite characters in ASOIAF/GoT – I’d love to see a story that doesn’t gloss over the horrors she’s suffered, but also doesn’t reduce her to them. She’s clever and cunning, and she’s learnt to play the game, but she’s still managed to keep her kindness and compassion, despite everything she’s suffered. I like stories where she’s able to heal and move on from the traumas she’s suffered and reclaim her agency.
I also like stories that deal with politics and playing the game of thrones, especially ones that allow Sansa to demonstrate that she actually knows how to play – ones where she demonstrates her cunning and agency earlier in Kings Landing, and somehow manages to save her family, or stories where she’s older and has come into her own in a position of power, maybe as Lady of Winterfell or some other castle, or as a member of the Small Council to Robb, Daenerys, Jon, Aegon, Stannis, Tommen or whoever you choose to give a crown to, maybe as Queen in the North, or maybe even Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.
I have a lot of prompts for Sansa paired with various characters from A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones as well as crossovers with The Chronicles of Narnia in previous letters, including Willas, Doran, Oberyn and/or Ellaria, Arianne, Quentyn, Jaime, Tyrion, Gendry, Theon, Loras, Daenerys, Margaery, Brienne, Peter Pevensie, Susan Pevensie, Edmund Pevensie and probably more that I’m forgetting now at my Dreamwidth (follow the fandom: got or fandom:asoiaf tags)—but if you want to pair her with someone else, by all means, go ahead!
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Bridgerton TV
Characters/ships
• Cressida Cowper (LBD/M, LBD/F, LBD/M/F, LBD/M/M)
• Alfred Debling (LBD/M, LBD/F, LBD/M/F)
• Prince Friedrich (LBD/F, LBF/M, LBD/M/F)
• Edwina Sharma (LBD/M)
• Marina Thompson (LBD/M, LBD/F, LBD/M/F, LBD/M/M)
Categories:
• See each character
Opt-ins:
• Crossovers with Jane Austen canons
• Original Characters
• Cressida/Penelope/Eloise
Ship DNWs (including in poly configurations):
• Hyacinth Bridgerton (unless aged 17+)
• Gregory Bridgerton (unless aged 17+)
Prompts:
I would love to see things work out well for the ones who didn’t get a happy ending in the show! Whether that means pairing them with the Bridgertons they had the strongest connection with in the show, another Bridgerton sibling, each other, one of the love interests who did get a Bridgerton, or another character is completely up to you! With regards to the canonical pairings, feel free to have them never get together, break things off before the wedding, or kill off any character to make your chosen pairing work.
Cressida
I love Cressida in all her petty, spiteful, insecure, lonely glory! I love how complicated she is, how she is what her parents made her be, how she becomes a better person when exposed to better influences but can’t quite shake herself free from her parents’ hold over her. She made bad decisions, but so understandable ones, scrabbling for whatever power she could get. I would love to see her gain happiness and independence, and be valued for who and what she is—maybe some of her rough edges are sanded off if she no longer feels under threat. Maybe she manages to pull off the great feat of snagging Prince Friedrich during her first season, and finds that he is actually a nice man, and finds herself falling for the man as much as his title? Maybe she marries one of the Bridgerton boys, and has to find her place with all of her in-laws, who are all sceptical of her? Maybe she marries Debling after his failed courtship of Penelope, and gains the freedom she’s been looking for?
I was also really intrigued by the connection she and Eloise seemed to form, and how much she seemed to value Eloise’s friendship—it wouldn’t be hard to convince me there were some romantic feelings there as well! Or possibly her feud with Penelope or Daphne is a cover for her own attraction to them? I’m opting into Cressida/Eloise/Penelope—lot’s of intriguing character dynamics in all directions! Perhaps she and Kate find themselves matching wits and form an antagonistic friendship that turns into more? With a woman comes the additional complication that they can’t marry—and I doubt Cressida’s parents will be very happy to pay for her to set up a household on her own with a friend, which might be a cause of concern for the relationship, but maybe the love interest has means of her own or a family that’s happy to support her and her partner? Or maybe she finds some way of bringing in enough to support her lifestyle—maybe she has a hidden talent not revealed in the show that will allow her to live an independent life?
Lord Debling
I really liked Debling’s openness and frankness—he’s a man who knows who he is and what he wants, and doesn’t let anyone make him ashamed of that. I love his practicality and pragmatism, his kind-heartedness and willingness to accept people as they are, not trying to please him! I would love for him to get his wife who can manage his estate and be someone to come back to after his travels? Maybe Colin never shows up to ruin his plan to propose, and Penelope is able to move on as Debling’s wife? Maybe he finds that Cressida would love the kind of arrangement he proposes: one where she gets to manage a household out of her family’s power? Maybe he discovers that Eloise is also someone who knows who she is, and is unafraid to be herself? Maybe he finds that Lady Bridgerton is ready for a second love? Maybe he finds out he prefers the company of men, and that appointing someone (a younger Bridgerton brother) as his estate agent is a good cover for a relationship? Or maybe he finds that he’s OK with his wife not remaining 100% faithful, as long as he’s invited into the relationship when he's at home?
Prince Friedrich
Prince Friedrich was such a sweetheart! I loved the care with which he courted Daphne, and how gallant he was! I loved how understanding and non-possessive he was, and how considerate he was of Daphne and her wants and wishes. I like how he wants a family, and how willing he was to step aside for true love: I would love for him to get that kind of love himself, either at courtship, or growing after the wedding, and having the chance to start a family for himself! Maybe his courtship with Daphne goes as planned, and she accepts his proposal? Maybe Daphne never returns his attentions, and he starts to get to know the woman beneath Cressida’s spikes? Maybe he arrives a season later, and is charmed be either one of the Sharma sisters, sponsored by his aunt’s dear friend? Maybe he finds Eloise refreshing, after so much time at court where everyone hides their true thoughts behind manners and propriety? Maybe he decides to do a good deed and pay attention to the wallflowers, and discovers that Penelope has hidden depths?
Or maybe he falls for a man? How does he deal with that—the pressures on him to marry and having an heir being especially strong due to his royal status? Perhaps he and Simon hit it off (and perhaps Daphne is the glue that binds them together?)? Perhaps he’s invited to one of Granville’s scandalous gatherings where royalty should absolutely not be caught and meets Benedict? Perhaps he meets Colin at a club and falls for his open honesty and good nature? Or does he instead find Anthony’s protectiveness appealing?
Edwina
What I like about Edwina is her sweet temperament, her shyness, her charm, her willingness to please, and her ability to get on with a range of different people, coupled with an integrity that makes her take a stand when it’s something she feels strongly about! I like how she clearly cared for both Kate and Anthony, and how she was willing to forgive and move on after they both hurt her deeply and caused a scandal for both families. I would love to see her find love and happiness and a suitable match with someone who can give her what she wants! Maybe she and Anthony go through with the marriage, and love grows between them: a more steady, stable kind of love than the tempestuous and passionate one between Kate nad Anthony, but love nonetheless? Or maybe Benedict or Colin take pity on her during the Pall Mall game, and they form a connection? Maybe she gets together with Prince Friedrich, as the season 2 ending implied she might? Or she arrives one season earlier and meets and charms Simon against his will? Maybe she arrives one season later, and makes a connection with Lord Kilmartin?
Marina
I feel so bad for Marina, trapped by circumstances and trying to make the best of the hand she’s been dealt! I have a great deal of sympathy for her actions in trying to save herself a horrible future. I would love to see her gain a better end than she got in the show, and a chance at real happiness, real love to grow from her marriage, whether that is changing the marriage she did have to be more fulfilling, or having her marry someone else, or letting her find someone (male or female) after the death of her husband, or even having her and Sir Philip agree to find happiness elsewhere despite their marriage. Maybe she confesses to Colin and he decides to go through with it? Maybe another one of the Bridgerton boys step in to save their little brother? Maybe Simon decides that’s the best way to spite his father: to have the Hastings name continue through children with none of his blood? Prince Friedrich spots her early in the season, and whisks her away from her judgmental family?
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Downton Abbey
Characters/Ships
• Thomas Barrow
Categories:
• LBD/M
• LBD/M/M
Opt-ins:
• Original servant or working-class characters
Ship DNWs (including poly configurations):
• Jimmy
• Edward Courtenay
• Philip Crowborough
Prompts:
Perhaps early season Thomas finds love and acceptance earlier than in canon, possibly with William, Branson, or Andy, or with an OC, or with him meeting Chris Webster, Richard Ellis or Guy Dexter early. Does it soften his rough edges when he’s no longer feeling like he’s fighting against the whole world? How open can they be about their relationship Downstairs – we see that he gained some level of acceptance from most of the staff, but does that change when it’s not just a theoretical boyfriend, but an actual one?
Or possibly something about what Thomas and Guy get up to in Hollywood post-canon, and how they make the relationship work, or and AU where he ends up with Webster or Ellis. Who is Chris Webster? What does he do when he’s not dancing with pretty men in underground gay bars? How would Ellis and Thomas make it work, with Ellis in London in the Royal household, and Thomas at Downton?
The two major Thomas ships that I’m not really into are Thomas/Jimmy and Thomas/Courtenay. Feel free to have Thomas pining for Jimmy, but I don’t want it requited, and I also don’t want Thomas kissing an unwitting Jimmy – I don’t really mind how you deal with it: change the circumstances so the possibility never arises because he’s already found requited love by then, have his friends talk him out of it, keep everything the same but just pretend it never happened, or some other way are all fine with me.
Historical accuracy very optional - as long as there's a general sense of the early 20th century, I'll be happy (of course, I won't say no if you do want to painstakingly research what daily life below stairs would be like, but that part is definitely not required)!
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Mansfield Park
Character:
• Fanny Price
Categories:
• LBD/M
• LBD/F
• LBD/M/F
• LBD/M/M
• LBD/F/F
Opt-ins:
• Crossover ships with
o characters from other Jane Austen canons that the narrative sympathises with (e.g. Eliza Williams or Charles Bingley, but not Lucy Steele or George Wickham)
o Any officer on the HMS Surprise from Master and Commander 2003
o James Norrington from Pirates of the Caribbean
o Any character from Bridgerton TV
• Original characters
Ship DNWs (including poly configurations):
None
Prompts:
Fanny is probably Austen’s most divisive heroines, but I love her! I like that she’s quiet, and unassuming, and self-sacrificing to a flaw, but she still won’t budge when everyone around her is trying to persuade her into something she thinks is wrong. I like that inner strength she has, that allows her to endure both Mansfield and Portsmouth.
I’d really like a story that highlights those qualities – and I’d also really like her to be happy and valued. Maybe post-canon, and Edmund learns to not put how own wants above her needs? Or maybe a canon divergence, in which Henry actually goes to Everingham and not to London, and reforms enough to be the kind of husband she deserves? Or there is another man who would be a better husband to her than either Edmund or Henry? Maybe she falls in love with a redeemed Tom, or Maria, or Julia? Or maybe she becomes the companion to another rich lady, one who values her and enjoys her company, and they fall in love? Or maybe you have another idea in mind for what happens to her – I’m open to anything, as long as she’s happy! Feel free to make this a crossover with any other Austen canon, Pirates of the Caribbean for Fanny/Norrington prompts (there are prompts in past letters for various exchanges), or Master and Commander 2003 (I have prompts for Fanny/Pullings in past letters, but for this exchange I am opening up to any officer of the Surprise, i.e., also Mowett, Aubrey or Maturin).
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