chronicbookworm (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
chronicbookworm) wrote2024-10-11 08:09 pm
chronicbookworm) wrote2024-10-11 08:09 pm
Dear Amperslash Creator 2024,
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’m equally happy with something short and sweet!
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’m not very used to prompting for non-fic things, so if anything seems unclear or you want more information about the art likes, just reach out via the mods and I’ll do my best to answer any questions you may have.
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, so I’m very excited about the theme of this exchange! I also love relationships where there are lots of emotions and where there is lots of history messing things up and making things complicated.
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!
This got quite long – feel free to just read the parts that are relevant to you. There’s also quite a lot of repetition between the sections, if things apply to several sections, 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
Thoughts on mediums
Bridgerton
Buffyverse
Game of Thrones
House of the Dragon
Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen
Leverage
Tortall
General likes
• found families
• loyalty and devotion, both strong, reciprocated loyalty, and more complicated forms such as conflicting loyalties, unreciprocated loyalty, loyalty to the undeserving, etc.
• ride or die friendships
• co-dependency (in the watered-down fandom sense, not in the clinical sense)
• “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)
• fake relationships (especially if they don’t end up in romance)
• lavender marriages and bearding (in the queer sense)
• 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
• characters navigating power differentials and power dynamics
• 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
• time travel (both Peggy Sue style and physical time travel)
• worldbuilding
• canon divergence
• outsider POV
• case fic/mission fic
• canon-typical plot or themes
• 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 (if it’s relevant, 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. Cousin incest and canon-typical Targaryen incest are 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 DNWs:
• ASoIaF/GoT: requited Petyr/Sansa (his canonical desire for her is fine)
• House of the Dragon: Aemond/Lucerys, focus on Aemond or Daemon
• 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)
• Buffyverse: Connor/Cordelia, Cordelia as a villain, the Jasmine storyline
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Bridgerton
Characters/ships
• Alfred Debling and Penelope Featherington
• Colin Bridgerton and Marina Thompson
• Cressida Cowper and Alfred Debling
• Eloise Bridgerton and Cressida Cowper
• Simon Basset and Marina Thompson
• Eloise Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington
General Thoughts
What I like about this show is the characters, and the conflicts between them, the different points of view that are explored as they try to find love. I am fully aware that historical realism has been thrown out of the window, and it’s essentially Regency fairyland. If you want to write something more historically accurate (for instance, a world in which the Napoleonic wars are a thing), by all means go ahead—but I’m also quite fond of the ridiculousness of the show and would be equally delighted by something that adheres to the same level of fantasy as the show itself. I love arranged marriages and marriages of convenience, especially if they don’t lead to all-out passionate love but more solid companionship and friendship. It might be particularly interesting to explore how that would play out during this time, since society was transitioning towards marriages for love and they were held up as the ideal, but it was still the main way for women to gain security and a meaningful occupation, which of course impacts how they choose partners and make decisions about love and romance. If there is a canonical couple that’s in the way of the requested relationship, feel free to have them never get together, break things off before the wedding, or kill off any character to make the ship work.
Alfred Debling and Penelope Featherington
I have to admit, this almost-romance really charmed me! They were so wonderful together, and I really liked the connection between them! I like how they were open to each other’s eccentricities and how they are both considered odd by society, yet have found a niche of their own. Given Debling isn’t interested in society, Penelope being Lady Whistledown would be much less of an issue! What would have happened if Colin hadn’t shown up to ruin Debling’s plan to propose? How does Penelope settle in as the mistress of Debling’s estate, and how does she get on with managing it throughout his absence? What sorts of challenges does she face, and what sorts of tales does he have to tell on his return?
It might be interesting to explore how they reconcile Penelope’s romanticism with Debling’s pragmatism, and how Penelope’s wish to be placed first conflicts with Debling putting his work ahead of his family?
Cressida Cowper and Alfred Debling
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.
I also love Alfred 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 can see this as a marriage of convenience: Debling get his wife who can manage his estate and be someone to come back to after his travels, and Cressida gains the freedom she’s been looking for! Maybe they grow to find that they have more in common than they thought, or that even if they are very different, they complement each other well? Maybe love grows slowly after marriage, as they navigate society and their duties on the estate as a couple?
I would also be happy with this as a lavender marriage, with either or both of them being gay or ace, and them just growing into good friends who support each other and are happy to cover for each other!
Colin Bridgerton and Marina Thompson
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!
Maybe she confesses to Colin and he decides to go through with it regardless, out of love for her and compassion at her circumstances? How do they navigate that imbalance of feelings?
Or maybe Penelope doesn’t write her exposé, and he finds out after the marriage? How does Colin react, and how do they navigate that, very different relationship than the one described above? How do they reach an equilibrium and reconciliation under those more difficult circumstances?
I would also be interested in seeing Colin deal with Marina’s children. Does he ever grapple with the fact that they aren’t his, or does he simply step into the father role without any second thoughts?
Eloise Bridgerton and Cressida Cowper
I was also really intrigued by the connection Cressida 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! 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 Eloise has means of her own or one of the other Bridgertons are happy and able to support them? Or maybe they find some way of bringing in enough to support their lifestyle—maybe Cressida has a hidden talent not revealed in the show that will allow her to live an independent life?
Simon Basset and Marina Thompson
As I said in my above request for Colin/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!
Maybe Simon decides the best way to spite his father is to have the Hastings name continue through children with none of his blood? How does Simon find out—before or after the wedding? How does he react if it’s after the wedding? How do they deal with rumours and the threat of scandal if it’s before, given that they would have to have a very quick wedding and the children would still be quite premature yet healthy!
How does Marina cope with being Duchess, and how do her Featherington relations react? Is there any jealousy? Does her relationship with Penelope remain intact if Penelope isn’t put in a position to choose between her and Simon, or does Penelope still choose to disclose her pregnancy to everyone?
Eloise and Penelope
I really like the friendship between these two, how they found a companion who was also on the outskirts of society but trying to make their way through without losing either their reputation, their chances for a decent marriage, or their sense of self. I love how they keep secrets from each other and miscommunicate, how they are caught up in their own concerns, but that even when they’re on the outs, they still really care about each other, pay attention to each other and make decisions based on how they anticipate the other will react. They definitely care about each other—maybe there are latent feelings there, unspoken, unacted upon, but still there? Maybe they find they prefer each other’s company to their husbands’, and keep up a close friendship that matters more to them than their marriages? Maybe neither of them marries, and they set up a household as close spinster friends?
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Buffyverse
Characters/ships
• Gunn and Fred and Wesley
• Gunn and Cordelia and Wesley
• Gunn and Wesley
• Gunn and Cordelia
• Cordelia and Wesley
• Illyria and Wesley
• Buffy and Faith
• Gunn and Faith
General Thoughts
I have very fond memories of Angel and the Buffyverse. Recent revelations have soured that a bit, but I still care deeply about the characters and would like to see more of them. I liked how ride-or-die they were for each other, the banter between them, the conflicts between good and evil, how they could mess up (spectacularly) sometimes and still work towards forgiveness and reconciliation.
Gunn and Fred and Wesley
I like how messy and complicated these three are—I loved the relationship between Fred and Gunn, but also Gunn and Wesley’s strong friendship, and Wesley’s pining for Fred, and how that messed up his relationship with both of them and made him feel left out. I would love something that explores the unhealthy dynamics between them—or perhaps something that fixes them and lets them find a healthy equilibrium: what does that look like for them? How do they balance each other? Who is in a relationship with whom, or do they not talk about it?
Gunn and Cordelia and Wesley, Gunn and Wesley, Gunn and Cordelia, Cordelia and Wesley
Season 2 for me was peak Angel, and I loved these three and their relationship, how they try to work with/around Angel as regular humans in a supernatural world, and them trying to do it on their own was also really fun to watch! I like how they turned to each other when they were adrift. I also like their more complicated relationship in the later series, where they have to deal with betrayals, secrets, and conflicting goals, and how they have all hurt each other in different ways (but please avoid the Jasmine storyline or Connor/Cordelia—either avoid Cordelia’s Ascension entirely, or bring her back without Jasmine: what might events in that timeline look like?). Whatever the relationship between them, it’s intense and full of feelings, and I’d love to see more of it, in any combination!
Illyria and Wesley
Ah, this glorious messy relationship! They’re both in a terrible place, and are probably the worst people for each other (or at least, Illyria is the worst person for Wesley to be around right then) but they make it work in their own way. I love the complicated feelings that come from Illyria inhabiting Fred (and being able to mimic her when it’s needed) and Wesley’s depression over the unrealised potential relationship he could have had with Fred. I don’t really have specific prompts for this, but I’m fascinated by the pair of them and would love to see what you come up with!
Buffy and Faith
I like how they mirror each other, how they are foils to each other, how their relationship is very complicated: they are the only ones who truly understand what being a Slayer is like, they seem to like each other, but then there was also that time when they were actively trying to kill each other and when Faith essentially tried to goad Buffy and Angel into killing her, and when she comes back they’re still a bit unsure of each other, but both willing to make it work. I would love something that explored how intense they are about each other, or something when they’ve settled down into something more stable. Either way, their relationship is fascinating and I would love to read more about them!
Gunn and Faith
These only shared a few scenes together, but I really feel like they could fit together! I like how Gunn immediately showed appreciation for Faith, and how she reciprocated, how they respected each other’s skills and competencies, how well they fell into working together. I like how similar they are, in that they’ve both had to make it on their own from an too young age, but also how Gunn seems to seek connections with others while Faith has built defensive walls around herself to handle it. I would love to see them working together in a partnership (whatever kind of partnership you want)!
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Game of Thrones
Characters/Ships
• Doran Martell/Sansa Stark
• Sansa Stark & Loras Tyrell
• Sansa Stark/Margaery Tyrell
• Sansa Stark and Brienne of Tarth
• Sansa Stark and Gendry Waters
• Podrick Payne and Sansa Stark
• Theon Greyjoy and Sansa Stark
General thoughts:
I’m really not fussed about book or show canon – if I want something for one canon, I’ll be equally happy to see it using the other canon.
I prefer only fake sex (if any) to occur if any parties in the relationship are below 15 – I am, however, very fond of the trope where one part (usually the man) cuts themself to fake the bedding sheets.
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, 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 love how marriage is political, and how dynasties can rise or fall by marriages: I’m really into arranged marriages and marriages of convenience where it’s not the traditional passionate love between spouses, but either friendship or something that straddles friendship and romantic love, or slow-blooming romantic love: people who find themselves married and decide to make the best of the situation and find something to love in their spouse!
Sansa and Doran
I think Doran and Sansa would make an excellent power couple! Doran would be patient and kind as she healed and moved on from her traumas in King’s Landing, and she would be compassionate and helpful when he suffered from his gout. They’re both clever, political people, who are capable of reading others and making long-term plans. Sansa would probably do very well in Dorne, where women have more agency, and she would also be an asset, with her connections and her cleverness.
Perhaps Dorne and the North make an alliance for independence from the Seven Kingdoms? Or maybe the point of divergence is later, and she claims her brother’s crown? How does that work, with their two power bases being so geographically far?
Dorne is a complicated place – how does Sansa navigate the Dornish court? Perhaps she manages to make peace between Ellaria and the Sand Snakes and Doran? Does she manage to convince them that killing Myrcella is not in their best interests and that there are better paths to revenge? Or perhaps she manages to discover their treachery in advance, and she and Doran can outmanoeuvre them without it leading to Doran’s death?
I don’t mind how you deal with Doran's wife – maybe they were never married and his children are legitimised bastards (since Dorne is more accepting of such things), or maybe she’s dead, or they’re legally divorced, or any other way you can think of.
Sansa and Loras
What if the Tyrells had managed to marry Sansa and Loras? Sansa gets her handsome gallant knight, and Loras gets to save a pretty damsel! They’re both Romantics, in that they believe in songs and the ideals of chivalry, which might lead to a strong friendship and companionship, but there is still the barrier that Loras can’t love her the way she’s dreamed of. I don’t mind if this goes slightly bittersweet, given their respective situations, dreams, and hopes, but I do have a fondness for arranged marriages that end not in love, but with deep, enduring friendships, and relationships that straddle the line between romantic and platonic love.
Would they go to reclaim Winterfell? Would they go to Highgarden for Loras to rule while Mace is in King’s Landing? Or would they stay in King’s Landing? How would Tywin react to being outmanoeuvred – and would he try to retaliate? How does Cersei react to having her hostage ripped away from her control? How would Sansa’s marriage to Loras change the position she played the game of thrones from? Would she learn from Olenna and Margaery, and would they be able to outplay the Lannisters together? Would having Sansa in the family change how they killed Joffrey, as they’d want no risk of suspicion to fall on anyone close to them? Would Cersei still suspect Tyrion, or would she blame Sansa, and how would they deal with that?
Perhaps Sansa might have been able to save Loras at his trial by the Faith (maybe she would point out that a squire having seen his knight master undressed is not incriminating in the slightest)? Or maybe there wouldn’t have been a trial if they managed to convincingly fake a romantic relationship?
Sansa and Margaery
This can work well with the prompt above, where Loras marries Sansa. That would be the best outcome for everyone involved, really (all that would be needed was a love interest for Loras who wouldn’t sell him out to the Faith) – it would give Sansa the romantic love she’s dreamed of, while still ensuring her safety and a good marriage, and give Sansa and Margaery and excuse to be close and spend a lot of time together, since they’d be good-sisters. How would they manage Tommen, Cersei, and the Faith while hiding both Sansa’s and Margaery’s relationship, as well as Loras’ relationship with his squire?
Maybe the Tyrells succeed with their plot to marry Sansa and Willas, except it turns out Loras is not the only one in the family who prefers the company of men? Or maybe they marry earlier, to create an alliance between Renly and Robb? Maybe the Tyrells kill Stannis and take King’s Landing, making Renly the King, rather than ally with the Lannisters after his death, and rescue Sansa? Sansa, Margaery, Renly and Loras would be such a good power quartet!
Alternatively, if you keep Sansa’s canonical marriage to Tyrion, she and Margaery could get together while they’re still in King’s Landing, behind the backs of their husbands and betrothed: Sansa dealing with her unwanted marriage by seeking out Margaery’s company, and Margaery confiding in Sansa, who knows what Joffrey’s like and what it’s like to have to pretend to love him. Margaery is skilled at manipulation, and Sansa learns quickly (even though she thinks she doesn’t), so before too long, they would be the soft power behind the throne in King’s Landing – I’d love to see the pair of them match wits against Cersei! They’d be even more powerful when Margaery marries Tommen, who’s more biddable than Joffrey, and would probably also get on with Sansa. Would he know about Sansa’s and Margaery’s relationship, or would they hide it from him as well as everyone else? How would Margaery manage to save Sansa’s life if she stayed in King’s Landing after the Purple Wedding? Would Sansa and Margaery working together manage to prevent Cersei’s blunder in giving the Faith more power? Or would they have to deal with it, knowing that they are as much at risk as Loras, if their relationship was discovered? How would they deal with his imprisonment, and would they manage to avert Cersei blowing up the Sept? Or would it still happen, and they somehow survive? I felt like the fall-out from that act was a bit glossed over in the show, so feel free to expand on that, in this request or any other!
Sansa and Brienne
Sansa gets her dashing and gallant knight after all – even if she happens to be female and not knighted! I’m very fond of loyalty, and if there’s one word to describe Brienne of Tarth, it’s loyal. She would do anything for Sansa, and in return Sansa trusts her, values her, and treats her with respect.
Maybe Brienne manages to save Sansa from King’s Landing and deliver her to Robb and Catelyn? What adventures do they have on the road together? Does Sansa trust her from the start, or does she just go with her for lack of other appealing options? Do they somehow prevent the Red Wedding – maybe they overhear something on the road and can warn the Stark army in time? Or do they arrive when it’s too late, and how do they deal with that, where do they go from there?
Maybe Sansa does go with Brienne when they meet in the Vale – how does that change things when Petyr can’t marry her off to Ramsay and they arrive at Castle Black before Jon’s death? Maybe something set after they’ve retaken Winterfell, maybe Sansa’s Queen in the North and Brienne the Lady Commander of her Queensguard rather than Bran’s Kingsguard, as they rebuild the North after all it’s been through? How does Brienne help and support Sansa when they crown rests heavy on her head? How do they deal with the demands that Sansa marry and beget an heir?
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House of the Dragon
Characters/ships
• Alicent Hightower and Criston Cole
• Alicent Hightower amd Rhaenyra Targaryen
• Criston Cole and Rhaenyra Targaryen
• Alicent Hightower and Viserys Targaryen
General thoughts:
I love the complicated and messy politics and family relations, the betrayals and loyalty, how there are multiple points where the characters can choose to be better people and don’t, how both the Greens and the Blacks have legitimate reasons to be upset with each other and how there are no easy answers! I would love to see an exploration of the dynamics, or an alternate universe where things end up better for the characters and they make better choices, or an alternate universe where they make different choices and everything still ends on literal or metaphorical fire! Maybe one in which the coalitions are different (what would it take for the Velaryons to support Aegon at the outbreak of the war? Or for the Lannisters to support Rhaenyra? Or what if the Greens and the Blacks came to an arrangement, and instead the Velaryons rebelled against the Crown? Or some other shift in circumstances that leads the alliances to turn out differently?) or one in which different characters die or survive, and how would that change either the lead-up to or the outcome of the Dance?
I love how marriage is political, and how dynasties can rise or fall by marriages: I’m really into arranged marriages and marriages of convenience where it’s not the traditional passionate love between spouses, but either friendship or something that straddles friendship and romantic love, or slow-blooming romantic love: people who find themselves married and decide to make the best of the situation and find something to love in their spouse!
I have read Fire and Blood, and would be happy to see something drawing from that canon rather than the show canon, or that mixes both.
Criston Cole and Rhaenyra
I like how intense Criston is, and how he desperately wants something or someone he can devote himself to, and how Rhaenyra needs someone who is unquestioningly hers after Alicent marries Viserys, souring her relationships with both her closest friend and father in one swoop: in that way, their needs at that particular time match, but the tragedy is that they had different ideas of what their future would look like. What would their relationship have been like if they didn’t? If they had fled to Essos, like he suggested: would she have been content giving up her crown for him, or would she start to resent him? Or what if they stayed in Westeros, like Rhaenyra wanted – would he have fathered her children instead of Harwin Strong when it turned out Laenor really couldn’t? Or what if she hadn’t tried to seduce him or he hadn’t given in and he still remained her loyal knight, and nothing more – would he have resented Laenor, or would he be content being her guard? Would he have remained her confidant? How might the Dance have changed if Criston Kingmaker was on the side of the Blacks?
Criston Cole and Alicent Hightower
I really like both Alicent and Criston, and I’m fascinated by them both in isolation and their relationship. I would very much like an exploration of the line between courtly love and romantic love, pining for someone when honour won’t allow you to give in – for Alicent because of her faith, and for Criston because he’s been burned once by that, and both of them because of the grave consequences of discovery. I’m also interested in exploring other ways to express love than just via sex and traditional romance, hence the inclusion of them as a platonic relationship in the request, based on strong loyalty and dedication to each other within the roles set out for them as Queen and Kingsguard.
Or, if you do want to include a sexual component to their relationship, season 2 has them actively having sex—how did they get to that point? How soon after Viserys’ death did it start? For both of them, there are very good reasons they would feel conflicted about it, and how do they deal with that? How do they balance their duties and their feelings? How do they deal with the guilt of the consequences of their actions, do they reconcile, or does that tear them apart?
What if he hadn’t picked Aemond over Alicent as Aegon’s regent? Would the council still have gone for the male heir over the experienced woman? How would their relationship have changed if she felt like she could truly count on his support? Would that have changed any of their actions during the second season, or would it still have played out the same?
Alicent and Rhaenyra
I love both these women, and the relationship between them! I love how complicated they both are, and how complicated their relationship is. One of the main tragedies of the show to me is how their friendship fell apart and all the moments they had to mend it but didn’t. I’m really interested in how they relate to each other, and that they’re both complicated women constrained by their stations and the circumstances around them, and how they react and act differently to exercise their agency within those structures.
What if Alicent hadn’t heard and misunderstood Viserys last words? Would she have acted differently in the coup? Tried to send a message to Rhaenyra or even go herself with Rhaenys? Or would she still have fallen into line with her father, and what would she have thought and felt about that, torn between all her various loyalties and duties?
Or what if they had betrothed Jaecerys and Helaena, as per Rhaenyra’s suggestion? Could the two branches of the family have reconciled that way, or would Alicent and Rhaenyra still have clashed, given their different attitudes and ways of approaching the world? How would they have handled their sons, who at that point had a very inflamed relation?
What if Alicent hadn’t found out that Rhaenyra lied about the night with Daemon and Ser Criston? Would she still have been so averse to Rhaenyra’s sons with Harwin Strong, because it means she was unfaithful to her husband and exposed the crown to gossip, or was it the fact that Rhaenyra lied that really hurt her?
Or what if the point of divergence was earlier? What if Rhaenyra married Gwayne Hightower, and the way for Otto to get his grandchild on the Iron Throne went through Rhaenyra (feel free to either deal with or disregard Gwayne’s bashed in face as you see fit)? Would the Dance of the Dragons be averted if he didn’t push for Aegon over Rhaenyra and her children, or would there have been a different Dance with whichever family Viserys’ second wife was from (would he have married Laena if Otto wasn’t pushing Alicent at him, or would he still have balked at marrying a twelve-year-old and married someone else?)? Or would Otto still have hedged his bets and pushed for Alicent as Viserys’ second wife as well, and would Rhaenyra’s marriage to Gwayne change anything about how she reacted to that?
What about a time travel fix-it? Most of the ones I’ve seen have had Rhaenyra as the time traveller, since she has more room to change things with her actions, which is why it might be interesting to see Alicent as the time traveller, as she’s much more constrained in her choices. What can she change, and what happens without her being able to avert it? Or what unexpected consequences are there of her actions – which is something I’m also very interested in with Rhaenyra time travelling! Or what about both? How do they react to each other back in their early days with all the weight of their history behind them? Do they work together to ensure a better future, or do their future conflicts spill over into their old relationship? Do they even know the other also has travelled in time, or do the ascribe all changes to their own actions? How long does it take them to realise, who realises first, and how does she act in response to that?
For the shipfic request, how did they get together? As teenagers, when they were still friends, and if so, how did that change how they reacted to future events? Or as adults, when they have to get over all the betrayals and bitterness that sprung up between them? How do they handle that they’re both highborn women with obligations to marry and bear children? For Rhaenyra, that might be easier, given her personality and her arrangement with Leonor, but how does Alicent reconcile her sense of duty and sacrifice with her love for Rhaenyra?
Alicent and Viserys
This was such a complex, compelling relationship, with power dynamics and uneven feelings galore! I am really compelled by Alicent’s reticence and her powerlessness compared to her husband, yet she does grow fond of him in her own way (as a coping strategy? Genuine fondness? Up to you!), and as he grows weaker, the power dynamics start shifting in the other way, and she takes the position she has and makes something more of it (but still, she’s the one looking after him, his needs and wants are centred, not hers, and her value always lies in what she can provide for him and never the other way round). I would love something that explores the dynamics between them, perhaps early in their marriage, when they’re still unsure of each other, or perhaps later, when they’re more settled into the dynamics. There is plenty of opportunity to explore what a messy relationship this is, with Alicent’s resentment of her powerlessness, and Viserys’ resentment that she isn’t Aemma—but I would also be interested in a fix-it! Perhaps something where Viserys supports Alicent more unequivocally in her new role as Queen, and she grows to not just tolerate but love him? Perhaps Viserys takes a more active role in mending the fences between Rhaenyra and Alicent, and finds a compromise? Perhaps he doesn’t neglect his children by Alicent to such a degree that she fears for their lives when he dies, but instead ensures that their futures are safe even when Rhaenyra inherits?
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Leverage
Characters/Ships
• Sophie and Harry
• Sophie and Nate and Sterling
• Sophie and Sterling
• Nate and Sterling
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.
Sophie and Harry
I like how Harry is not a Nate replacement, how he lets Sophie take the lead and is quite happy to follow her, and his people skills. I like how he lets her open up at her own pace, and the ambiguous relationship between them: are they colleagues? Friends? Potential friends with benefits? Potential partners? I like how Nate didn’t know Sophie when she was with Nate, so she can explore other facets of her personality with him, and her guilt over her past and the people she’s grifted. I like how he listens and understands, and when he challenges her it’s done gently and with respect.
I also love the ambiguity and fondness of the phrase “our Mr Wilson,” which to me sums up what their relationship is all about!
Nate and Sterling and Sophie, Nate and Sterling, Sophie and Sterling
I like the push and pull of these characters, how they leave so much unsaid, how they work together and against each other, annoy and frustrate each other but they understand each other. I like how
It might be fun to explore the dynamics between them 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? Or maybe he has some other reason for wanting to double cross his employers? 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 (not that Nate’s is entirely straight). Would the team 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? How would he and Sophie get along working together? What would their relationship be like if they were on the same team?
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?
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? What makes him come to that point, and how do they react? The Three Little Grifters Job was amazingly fun at exploring how they worked with and around each other, conflicting goals even when their goals are more or less aligned, not able to trust each other, but able to anticipate each other’s reactions and use them to their own advantage!
Alternatively, I’d love to see how Nate and Sterling worked 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?
How does Sterling feel about Nate’s death? It might be fun to explore if Sterling and Sophie come together, messily, in the aftermath, both trying to work out their feelings about Nate and their own shared past with each other?
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Sense and Sensibility - Austen
Characters/ships
• Elinor Dashwood and Colonel Brandon and Edward Ferrars
General thoughts
I like all these characters so much: how good they are, how practical, and how they put others above themselves. I like how they keep their feelings close to their chests, and how oftentimes, they express their feelings through actions, rather than words, and how you have to read the subtext to know what they are thinking and feeling.
I’m very fond of sensible people coming to practical solutions! Perhaps a married couple living with a very good “bachelor friend” of theirs would probably be (just) within the bounds of regency propriety. I’d love to see how they came to the arrangement, and how they live. Who is the married couple, and who is the “bachelor friend”? How close do they come to being a genuine throuple versus maintaining plausible deniability even to themselves?
Perhaps Elinor and Edward marry? Maybe Edward and Elinor marry after he’s been disinherited and Lucy’s thrown him over, and they move into the unmarried Brandon’s parsonage, just as in canon? Maybe then he manages to fall for both his good friends at the same time, and worries that he’s taking advantage of them, as their living standards to some extent depend on him (meanwhile they’re worrying that they’re taking advantage of him, as he’s being so generous towards them).
Or maybe Edward and Elinor marry before canon starts (maybe he avoids being disinherited, or maybe they have to rely on charity from their good friend Brandon), and they console and help Brandon as he’s searching for Eliza Williams, and feelings develop as they mutually support and help one another?
Or maybe Brandon and Elinor marry, instead? Elinor was among the earliest in her family to express appreciation for Brandon, so maybe the appreciation turns to love, and believing Edward to be lost to her, accepts a marriage to him instead? Except then it turns out Edward isn’t lost to her, and she has to deal with loving two men at the same time?
Perhaps Elinor and Brandon enter into a marriage of convenience for her family’s sake – and then Edward enters back into her life and feelings develop in all directions… Maybe Edward and Brandon fall in love/like first, and that helps Elinor also fall in love/like with Brandon, her husband?
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Tortall
Characters/Ships
• Maura of Dunlath and Keladry of Mindelan
• Keladry of Mindelan and Kalasin of Conté
• Keladry of Mindelan and Roald of Conté
General Thoughts
The Tortall books are an old childhood favourite of mine, and I really like the worldbuilding, the strong heroines, and the politics (that Pierce often glosses over as her stories are more focused on protagonists who aren’t very interested in politics, but the bits we do get fascinate me). I like how the universe gets more and more complex as the series go on, how what starts as fairly straightforward good vs. evil becomes more complicated, and the characters become more complex in later stories, but they don’t lose their hope and their belief in the goodness of humankind! While some parts of it haven’t quite stood the test of time, they still have a special place in my heart!
Maura and Keladry
I like both of these very stubborn, very determined young women, and would love to read about a close friendship/romance between them! Kel canonically has no problems with same-sex relationships, but what is Maura’s views on it? Does she harbour internalised homophobia which means she denies her feelings for Kel even to herself?
What if Haven or New Hope was on Dunlath lands, given how close fief Dunlath is to the border? Maybe Maura and Kel would work together to ensure the safety of the refugees?
There are some references to her in the Protector of the Small—what does she think of the pages trampling all over her lands? Is she drawn to Kel because of her bond with the animals? Do Maura’s wolves approve of her?
Maura is the only remaining person of her family—what sort of contingencies are there in place for the inheritance of Dunlath? Who is Maura’s heir until she has children of her own? Is there an arranged marriage for her, and how does she feel about that? How involved is she in arranging it? And how does Kel feel about that?
Kel and Roald
There is something irresistible about a loyal knight and her liege! Kel has complicated feelings about Jon, how does that influence her relationships with Roald as her liege? How does she manage when her liege is also her friend: unlike Jon’s friends, she is more aware of the difference in status, and they have a friendly relationship. How does he win her true loyalty? I’d love to see Kel devoted to Roald, and him repay that devotion. I’d love something with Kel as Roald’s commander, serving the crown, but also serving Roald, the person and the ideal!
Or maybe they start having strong emotions as squires/young knights, before Roald’s marriage, and can’t do anything because of Roald’s upcoming marriage? I would love something that explores their mutual pining, knowing that their honour and respect for Roald’s betrothal (maybe even Shinko herself, if this is when they know who Roald’s Yamani Princess is) as well as their consideration for Kel’s reputation keeps them apart.
Kel and Kalasin
Again, I’d love something that leans into the notions of chivalric and courtly love, with Kel as the loyal knight and Kalasin as the lady she gives her devotion to. The line of plausible deniability might be even more blurred, given they’re both women.
Kalasin wanted to be the first lady knight: perhaps she takes an interest in Kel (either directly or via Roald) and lives vicariously though her? Perhaps she trains with Kel, gives her advice and gifts, or perhaps Kel gives her tips and advice that she’s picked up in her training.
Or maybe Wyldon doesn’t allow Kel to continue, and she joins the Queen’s Ladies, given that was an option Kel considered that would still allow her to fight, or becomes one of Kalasin’s ladies-in-waiting? A plausibly deniable romance between a Princess and her lady-in-waiting would also be very much in line with what I would enjoy with these two! How would Kel manage as a lady of the court? How would she channel her dreams of being a protector and her rather different role in Tortall’s society (which would give her both more and fewer options to enact the changes she wants)?
Like with Roald, Kalasin’s upcoming betrothal would be an issue if they are still in Tortall, and they both know Kalasin will need to go to Carthak to be Empress. Or maybe she already is? Do they meet when Kalasin is at home visiting, or Kel is in Carthak for some reason? How does Kalasin reconcile her duties to Kaddar and Carhtak with her feelings?
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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’m equally happy with something short and sweet!
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’m not very used to prompting for non-fic things, so if anything seems unclear or you want more information about the art likes, just reach out via the mods and I’ll do my best to answer any questions you may have.
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, so I’m very excited about the theme of this exchange! I also love relationships where there are lots of emotions and where there is lots of history messing things up and making things complicated.
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!
This got quite long – feel free to just read the parts that are relevant to you. There’s also quite a lot of repetition between the sections, if things apply to several sections, 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
Thoughts on mediums
Bridgerton
Buffyverse
Game of Thrones
House of the Dragon
Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen
Leverage
Tortall
General likes
• found families
• loyalty and devotion, both strong, reciprocated loyalty, and more complicated forms such as conflicting loyalties, unreciprocated loyalty, loyalty to the undeserving, etc.
• ride or die friendships
• co-dependency (in the watered-down fandom sense, not in the clinical sense)
• “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)
• fake relationships (especially if they don’t end up in romance)
• lavender marriages and bearding (in the queer sense)
• 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
• characters navigating power differentials and power dynamics
• 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
• time travel (both Peggy Sue style and physical time travel)
• worldbuilding
• canon divergence
• outsider POV
• case fic/mission fic
• canon-typical plot or themes
• 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 (if it’s relevant, 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. Cousin incest and canon-typical Targaryen incest are 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 DNWs:
• ASoIaF/GoT: requited Petyr/Sansa (his canonical desire for her is fine)
• House of the Dragon: Aemond/Lucerys, focus on Aemond or Daemon
• 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)
• Buffyverse: Connor/Cordelia, Cordelia as a villain, the Jasmine storyline
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Bridgerton
Characters/ships
• Alfred Debling and Penelope Featherington
• Colin Bridgerton and Marina Thompson
• Cressida Cowper and Alfred Debling
• Eloise Bridgerton and Cressida Cowper
• Simon Basset and Marina Thompson
• Eloise Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington
General Thoughts
What I like about this show is the characters, and the conflicts between them, the different points of view that are explored as they try to find love. I am fully aware that historical realism has been thrown out of the window, and it’s essentially Regency fairyland. If you want to write something more historically accurate (for instance, a world in which the Napoleonic wars are a thing), by all means go ahead—but I’m also quite fond of the ridiculousness of the show and would be equally delighted by something that adheres to the same level of fantasy as the show itself. I love arranged marriages and marriages of convenience, especially if they don’t lead to all-out passionate love but more solid companionship and friendship. It might be particularly interesting to explore how that would play out during this time, since society was transitioning towards marriages for love and they were held up as the ideal, but it was still the main way for women to gain security and a meaningful occupation, which of course impacts how they choose partners and make decisions about love and romance. If there is a canonical couple that’s in the way of the requested relationship, feel free to have them never get together, break things off before the wedding, or kill off any character to make the ship work.
Alfred Debling and Penelope Featherington
I have to admit, this almost-romance really charmed me! They were so wonderful together, and I really liked the connection between them! I like how they were open to each other’s eccentricities and how they are both considered odd by society, yet have found a niche of their own. Given Debling isn’t interested in society, Penelope being Lady Whistledown would be much less of an issue! What would have happened if Colin hadn’t shown up to ruin Debling’s plan to propose? How does Penelope settle in as the mistress of Debling’s estate, and how does she get on with managing it throughout his absence? What sorts of challenges does she face, and what sorts of tales does he have to tell on his return?
It might be interesting to explore how they reconcile Penelope’s romanticism with Debling’s pragmatism, and how Penelope’s wish to be placed first conflicts with Debling putting his work ahead of his family?
Cressida Cowper and Alfred Debling
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.
I also love Alfred 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 can see this as a marriage of convenience: Debling get his wife who can manage his estate and be someone to come back to after his travels, and Cressida gains the freedom she’s been looking for! Maybe they grow to find that they have more in common than they thought, or that even if they are very different, they complement each other well? Maybe love grows slowly after marriage, as they navigate society and their duties on the estate as a couple?
I would also be happy with this as a lavender marriage, with either or both of them being gay or ace, and them just growing into good friends who support each other and are happy to cover for each other!
Colin Bridgerton and Marina Thompson
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!
Maybe she confesses to Colin and he decides to go through with it regardless, out of love for her and compassion at her circumstances? How do they navigate that imbalance of feelings?
Or maybe Penelope doesn’t write her exposé, and he finds out after the marriage? How does Colin react, and how do they navigate that, very different relationship than the one described above? How do they reach an equilibrium and reconciliation under those more difficult circumstances?
I would also be interested in seeing Colin deal with Marina’s children. Does he ever grapple with the fact that they aren’t his, or does he simply step into the father role without any second thoughts?
Eloise Bridgerton and Cressida Cowper
I was also really intrigued by the connection Cressida 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! 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 Eloise has means of her own or one of the other Bridgertons are happy and able to support them? Or maybe they find some way of bringing in enough to support their lifestyle—maybe Cressida has a hidden talent not revealed in the show that will allow her to live an independent life?
Simon Basset and Marina Thompson
As I said in my above request for Colin/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!
Maybe Simon decides the best way to spite his father is to have the Hastings name continue through children with none of his blood? How does Simon find out—before or after the wedding? How does he react if it’s after the wedding? How do they deal with rumours and the threat of scandal if it’s before, given that they would have to have a very quick wedding and the children would still be quite premature yet healthy!
How does Marina cope with being Duchess, and how do her Featherington relations react? Is there any jealousy? Does her relationship with Penelope remain intact if Penelope isn’t put in a position to choose between her and Simon, or does Penelope still choose to disclose her pregnancy to everyone?
Eloise and Penelope
I really like the friendship between these two, how they found a companion who was also on the outskirts of society but trying to make their way through without losing either their reputation, their chances for a decent marriage, or their sense of self. I love how they keep secrets from each other and miscommunicate, how they are caught up in their own concerns, but that even when they’re on the outs, they still really care about each other, pay attention to each other and make decisions based on how they anticipate the other will react. They definitely care about each other—maybe there are latent feelings there, unspoken, unacted upon, but still there? Maybe they find they prefer each other’s company to their husbands’, and keep up a close friendship that matters more to them than their marriages? Maybe neither of them marries, and they set up a household as close spinster friends?
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Buffyverse
Characters/ships
• Gunn and Fred and Wesley
• Gunn and Cordelia and Wesley
• Gunn and Wesley
• Gunn and Cordelia
• Cordelia and Wesley
• Illyria and Wesley
• Buffy and Faith
• Gunn and Faith
General Thoughts
I have very fond memories of Angel and the Buffyverse. Recent revelations have soured that a bit, but I still care deeply about the characters and would like to see more of them. I liked how ride-or-die they were for each other, the banter between them, the conflicts between good and evil, how they could mess up (spectacularly) sometimes and still work towards forgiveness and reconciliation.
Gunn and Fred and Wesley
I like how messy and complicated these three are—I loved the relationship between Fred and Gunn, but also Gunn and Wesley’s strong friendship, and Wesley’s pining for Fred, and how that messed up his relationship with both of them and made him feel left out. I would love something that explores the unhealthy dynamics between them—or perhaps something that fixes them and lets them find a healthy equilibrium: what does that look like for them? How do they balance each other? Who is in a relationship with whom, or do they not talk about it?
Gunn and Cordelia and Wesley, Gunn and Wesley, Gunn and Cordelia, Cordelia and Wesley
Season 2 for me was peak Angel, and I loved these three and their relationship, how they try to work with/around Angel as regular humans in a supernatural world, and them trying to do it on their own was also really fun to watch! I like how they turned to each other when they were adrift. I also like their more complicated relationship in the later series, where they have to deal with betrayals, secrets, and conflicting goals, and how they have all hurt each other in different ways (but please avoid the Jasmine storyline or Connor/Cordelia—either avoid Cordelia’s Ascension entirely, or bring her back without Jasmine: what might events in that timeline look like?). Whatever the relationship between them, it’s intense and full of feelings, and I’d love to see more of it, in any combination!
Illyria and Wesley
Ah, this glorious messy relationship! They’re both in a terrible place, and are probably the worst people for each other (or at least, Illyria is the worst person for Wesley to be around right then) but they make it work in their own way. I love the complicated feelings that come from Illyria inhabiting Fred (and being able to mimic her when it’s needed) and Wesley’s depression over the unrealised potential relationship he could have had with Fred. I don’t really have specific prompts for this, but I’m fascinated by the pair of them and would love to see what you come up with!
Buffy and Faith
I like how they mirror each other, how they are foils to each other, how their relationship is very complicated: they are the only ones who truly understand what being a Slayer is like, they seem to like each other, but then there was also that time when they were actively trying to kill each other and when Faith essentially tried to goad Buffy and Angel into killing her, and when she comes back they’re still a bit unsure of each other, but both willing to make it work. I would love something that explored how intense they are about each other, or something when they’ve settled down into something more stable. Either way, their relationship is fascinating and I would love to read more about them!
Gunn and Faith
These only shared a few scenes together, but I really feel like they could fit together! I like how Gunn immediately showed appreciation for Faith, and how she reciprocated, how they respected each other’s skills and competencies, how well they fell into working together. I like how similar they are, in that they’ve both had to make it on their own from an too young age, but also how Gunn seems to seek connections with others while Faith has built defensive walls around herself to handle it. I would love to see them working together in a partnership (whatever kind of partnership you want)!
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Game of Thrones
Characters/Ships
• Doran Martell/Sansa Stark
• Sansa Stark & Loras Tyrell
• Sansa Stark/Margaery Tyrell
• Sansa Stark and Brienne of Tarth
• Sansa Stark and Gendry Waters
• Podrick Payne and Sansa Stark
• Theon Greyjoy and Sansa Stark
General thoughts:
I’m really not fussed about book or show canon – if I want something for one canon, I’ll be equally happy to see it using the other canon.
I prefer only fake sex (if any) to occur if any parties in the relationship are below 15 – I am, however, very fond of the trope where one part (usually the man) cuts themself to fake the bedding sheets.
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, 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 love how marriage is political, and how dynasties can rise or fall by marriages: I’m really into arranged marriages and marriages of convenience where it’s not the traditional passionate love between spouses, but either friendship or something that straddles friendship and romantic love, or slow-blooming romantic love: people who find themselves married and decide to make the best of the situation and find something to love in their spouse!
Sansa and Doran
I think Doran and Sansa would make an excellent power couple! Doran would be patient and kind as she healed and moved on from her traumas in King’s Landing, and she would be compassionate and helpful when he suffered from his gout. They’re both clever, political people, who are capable of reading others and making long-term plans. Sansa would probably do very well in Dorne, where women have more agency, and she would also be an asset, with her connections and her cleverness.
Perhaps Dorne and the North make an alliance for independence from the Seven Kingdoms? Or maybe the point of divergence is later, and she claims her brother’s crown? How does that work, with their two power bases being so geographically far?
Dorne is a complicated place – how does Sansa navigate the Dornish court? Perhaps she manages to make peace between Ellaria and the Sand Snakes and Doran? Does she manage to convince them that killing Myrcella is not in their best interests and that there are better paths to revenge? Or perhaps she manages to discover their treachery in advance, and she and Doran can outmanoeuvre them without it leading to Doran’s death?
I don’t mind how you deal with Doran's wife – maybe they were never married and his children are legitimised bastards (since Dorne is more accepting of such things), or maybe she’s dead, or they’re legally divorced, or any other way you can think of.
Sansa and Loras
What if the Tyrells had managed to marry Sansa and Loras? Sansa gets her handsome gallant knight, and Loras gets to save a pretty damsel! They’re both Romantics, in that they believe in songs and the ideals of chivalry, which might lead to a strong friendship and companionship, but there is still the barrier that Loras can’t love her the way she’s dreamed of. I don’t mind if this goes slightly bittersweet, given their respective situations, dreams, and hopes, but I do have a fondness for arranged marriages that end not in love, but with deep, enduring friendships, and relationships that straddle the line between romantic and platonic love.
Would they go to reclaim Winterfell? Would they go to Highgarden for Loras to rule while Mace is in King’s Landing? Or would they stay in King’s Landing? How would Tywin react to being outmanoeuvred – and would he try to retaliate? How does Cersei react to having her hostage ripped away from her control? How would Sansa’s marriage to Loras change the position she played the game of thrones from? Would she learn from Olenna and Margaery, and would they be able to outplay the Lannisters together? Would having Sansa in the family change how they killed Joffrey, as they’d want no risk of suspicion to fall on anyone close to them? Would Cersei still suspect Tyrion, or would she blame Sansa, and how would they deal with that?
Perhaps Sansa might have been able to save Loras at his trial by the Faith (maybe she would point out that a squire having seen his knight master undressed is not incriminating in the slightest)? Or maybe there wouldn’t have been a trial if they managed to convincingly fake a romantic relationship?
Sansa and Margaery
This can work well with the prompt above, where Loras marries Sansa. That would be the best outcome for everyone involved, really (all that would be needed was a love interest for Loras who wouldn’t sell him out to the Faith) – it would give Sansa the romantic love she’s dreamed of, while still ensuring her safety and a good marriage, and give Sansa and Margaery and excuse to be close and spend a lot of time together, since they’d be good-sisters. How would they manage Tommen, Cersei, and the Faith while hiding both Sansa’s and Margaery’s relationship, as well as Loras’ relationship with his squire?
Maybe the Tyrells succeed with their plot to marry Sansa and Willas, except it turns out Loras is not the only one in the family who prefers the company of men? Or maybe they marry earlier, to create an alliance between Renly and Robb? Maybe the Tyrells kill Stannis and take King’s Landing, making Renly the King, rather than ally with the Lannisters after his death, and rescue Sansa? Sansa, Margaery, Renly and Loras would be such a good power quartet!
Alternatively, if you keep Sansa’s canonical marriage to Tyrion, she and Margaery could get together while they’re still in King’s Landing, behind the backs of their husbands and betrothed: Sansa dealing with her unwanted marriage by seeking out Margaery’s company, and Margaery confiding in Sansa, who knows what Joffrey’s like and what it’s like to have to pretend to love him. Margaery is skilled at manipulation, and Sansa learns quickly (even though she thinks she doesn’t), so before too long, they would be the soft power behind the throne in King’s Landing – I’d love to see the pair of them match wits against Cersei! They’d be even more powerful when Margaery marries Tommen, who’s more biddable than Joffrey, and would probably also get on with Sansa. Would he know about Sansa’s and Margaery’s relationship, or would they hide it from him as well as everyone else? How would Margaery manage to save Sansa’s life if she stayed in King’s Landing after the Purple Wedding? Would Sansa and Margaery working together manage to prevent Cersei’s blunder in giving the Faith more power? Or would they have to deal with it, knowing that they are as much at risk as Loras, if their relationship was discovered? How would they deal with his imprisonment, and would they manage to avert Cersei blowing up the Sept? Or would it still happen, and they somehow survive? I felt like the fall-out from that act was a bit glossed over in the show, so feel free to expand on that, in this request or any other!
Sansa and Brienne
Sansa gets her dashing and gallant knight after all – even if she happens to be female and not knighted! I’m very fond of loyalty, and if there’s one word to describe Brienne of Tarth, it’s loyal. She would do anything for Sansa, and in return Sansa trusts her, values her, and treats her with respect.
Maybe Brienne manages to save Sansa from King’s Landing and deliver her to Robb and Catelyn? What adventures do they have on the road together? Does Sansa trust her from the start, or does she just go with her for lack of other appealing options? Do they somehow prevent the Red Wedding – maybe they overhear something on the road and can warn the Stark army in time? Or do they arrive when it’s too late, and how do they deal with that, where do they go from there?
Maybe Sansa does go with Brienne when they meet in the Vale – how does that change things when Petyr can’t marry her off to Ramsay and they arrive at Castle Black before Jon’s death? Maybe something set after they’ve retaken Winterfell, maybe Sansa’s Queen in the North and Brienne the Lady Commander of her Queensguard rather than Bran’s Kingsguard, as they rebuild the North after all it’s been through? How does Brienne help and support Sansa when they crown rests heavy on her head? How do they deal with the demands that Sansa marry and beget an heir?
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House of the Dragon
Characters/ships
• Alicent Hightower and Criston Cole
• Alicent Hightower amd Rhaenyra Targaryen
• Criston Cole and Rhaenyra Targaryen
• Alicent Hightower and Viserys Targaryen
General thoughts:
I love the complicated and messy politics and family relations, the betrayals and loyalty, how there are multiple points where the characters can choose to be better people and don’t, how both the Greens and the Blacks have legitimate reasons to be upset with each other and how there are no easy answers! I would love to see an exploration of the dynamics, or an alternate universe where things end up better for the characters and they make better choices, or an alternate universe where they make different choices and everything still ends on literal or metaphorical fire! Maybe one in which the coalitions are different (what would it take for the Velaryons to support Aegon at the outbreak of the war? Or for the Lannisters to support Rhaenyra? Or what if the Greens and the Blacks came to an arrangement, and instead the Velaryons rebelled against the Crown? Or some other shift in circumstances that leads the alliances to turn out differently?) or one in which different characters die or survive, and how would that change either the lead-up to or the outcome of the Dance?
I love how marriage is political, and how dynasties can rise or fall by marriages: I’m really into arranged marriages and marriages of convenience where it’s not the traditional passionate love between spouses, but either friendship or something that straddles friendship and romantic love, or slow-blooming romantic love: people who find themselves married and decide to make the best of the situation and find something to love in their spouse!
I have read Fire and Blood, and would be happy to see something drawing from that canon rather than the show canon, or that mixes both.
Criston Cole and Rhaenyra
I like how intense Criston is, and how he desperately wants something or someone he can devote himself to, and how Rhaenyra needs someone who is unquestioningly hers after Alicent marries Viserys, souring her relationships with both her closest friend and father in one swoop: in that way, their needs at that particular time match, but the tragedy is that they had different ideas of what their future would look like. What would their relationship have been like if they didn’t? If they had fled to Essos, like he suggested: would she have been content giving up her crown for him, or would she start to resent him? Or what if they stayed in Westeros, like Rhaenyra wanted – would he have fathered her children instead of Harwin Strong when it turned out Laenor really couldn’t? Or what if she hadn’t tried to seduce him or he hadn’t given in and he still remained her loyal knight, and nothing more – would he have resented Laenor, or would he be content being her guard? Would he have remained her confidant? How might the Dance have changed if Criston Kingmaker was on the side of the Blacks?
Criston Cole and Alicent Hightower
I really like both Alicent and Criston, and I’m fascinated by them both in isolation and their relationship. I would very much like an exploration of the line between courtly love and romantic love, pining for someone when honour won’t allow you to give in – for Alicent because of her faith, and for Criston because he’s been burned once by that, and both of them because of the grave consequences of discovery. I’m also interested in exploring other ways to express love than just via sex and traditional romance, hence the inclusion of them as a platonic relationship in the request, based on strong loyalty and dedication to each other within the roles set out for them as Queen and Kingsguard.
Or, if you do want to include a sexual component to their relationship, season 2 has them actively having sex—how did they get to that point? How soon after Viserys’ death did it start? For both of them, there are very good reasons they would feel conflicted about it, and how do they deal with that? How do they balance their duties and their feelings? How do they deal with the guilt of the consequences of their actions, do they reconcile, or does that tear them apart?
What if he hadn’t picked Aemond over Alicent as Aegon’s regent? Would the council still have gone for the male heir over the experienced woman? How would their relationship have changed if she felt like she could truly count on his support? Would that have changed any of their actions during the second season, or would it still have played out the same?
Alicent and Rhaenyra
I love both these women, and the relationship between them! I love how complicated they both are, and how complicated their relationship is. One of the main tragedies of the show to me is how their friendship fell apart and all the moments they had to mend it but didn’t. I’m really interested in how they relate to each other, and that they’re both complicated women constrained by their stations and the circumstances around them, and how they react and act differently to exercise their agency within those structures.
What if Alicent hadn’t heard and misunderstood Viserys last words? Would she have acted differently in the coup? Tried to send a message to Rhaenyra or even go herself with Rhaenys? Or would she still have fallen into line with her father, and what would she have thought and felt about that, torn between all her various loyalties and duties?
Or what if they had betrothed Jaecerys and Helaena, as per Rhaenyra’s suggestion? Could the two branches of the family have reconciled that way, or would Alicent and Rhaenyra still have clashed, given their different attitudes and ways of approaching the world? How would they have handled their sons, who at that point had a very inflamed relation?
What if Alicent hadn’t found out that Rhaenyra lied about the night with Daemon and Ser Criston? Would she still have been so averse to Rhaenyra’s sons with Harwin Strong, because it means she was unfaithful to her husband and exposed the crown to gossip, or was it the fact that Rhaenyra lied that really hurt her?
Or what if the point of divergence was earlier? What if Rhaenyra married Gwayne Hightower, and the way for Otto to get his grandchild on the Iron Throne went through Rhaenyra (feel free to either deal with or disregard Gwayne’s bashed in face as you see fit)? Would the Dance of the Dragons be averted if he didn’t push for Aegon over Rhaenyra and her children, or would there have been a different Dance with whichever family Viserys’ second wife was from (would he have married Laena if Otto wasn’t pushing Alicent at him, or would he still have balked at marrying a twelve-year-old and married someone else?)? Or would Otto still have hedged his bets and pushed for Alicent as Viserys’ second wife as well, and would Rhaenyra’s marriage to Gwayne change anything about how she reacted to that?
What about a time travel fix-it? Most of the ones I’ve seen have had Rhaenyra as the time traveller, since she has more room to change things with her actions, which is why it might be interesting to see Alicent as the time traveller, as she’s much more constrained in her choices. What can she change, and what happens without her being able to avert it? Or what unexpected consequences are there of her actions – which is something I’m also very interested in with Rhaenyra time travelling! Or what about both? How do they react to each other back in their early days with all the weight of their history behind them? Do they work together to ensure a better future, or do their future conflicts spill over into their old relationship? Do they even know the other also has travelled in time, or do the ascribe all changes to their own actions? How long does it take them to realise, who realises first, and how does she act in response to that?
For the shipfic request, how did they get together? As teenagers, when they were still friends, and if so, how did that change how they reacted to future events? Or as adults, when they have to get over all the betrayals and bitterness that sprung up between them? How do they handle that they’re both highborn women with obligations to marry and bear children? For Rhaenyra, that might be easier, given her personality and her arrangement with Leonor, but how does Alicent reconcile her sense of duty and sacrifice with her love for Rhaenyra?
Alicent and Viserys
This was such a complex, compelling relationship, with power dynamics and uneven feelings galore! I am really compelled by Alicent’s reticence and her powerlessness compared to her husband, yet she does grow fond of him in her own way (as a coping strategy? Genuine fondness? Up to you!), and as he grows weaker, the power dynamics start shifting in the other way, and she takes the position she has and makes something more of it (but still, she’s the one looking after him, his needs and wants are centred, not hers, and her value always lies in what she can provide for him and never the other way round). I would love something that explores the dynamics between them, perhaps early in their marriage, when they’re still unsure of each other, or perhaps later, when they’re more settled into the dynamics. There is plenty of opportunity to explore what a messy relationship this is, with Alicent’s resentment of her powerlessness, and Viserys’ resentment that she isn’t Aemma—but I would also be interested in a fix-it! Perhaps something where Viserys supports Alicent more unequivocally in her new role as Queen, and she grows to not just tolerate but love him? Perhaps Viserys takes a more active role in mending the fences between Rhaenyra and Alicent, and finds a compromise? Perhaps he doesn’t neglect his children by Alicent to such a degree that she fears for their lives when he dies, but instead ensures that their futures are safe even when Rhaenyra inherits?
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Leverage
Characters/Ships
• Sophie and Harry
• Sophie and Nate and Sterling
• Sophie and Sterling
• Nate and Sterling
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.
Sophie and Harry
I like how Harry is not a Nate replacement, how he lets Sophie take the lead and is quite happy to follow her, and his people skills. I like how he lets her open up at her own pace, and the ambiguous relationship between them: are they colleagues? Friends? Potential friends with benefits? Potential partners? I like how Nate didn’t know Sophie when she was with Nate, so she can explore other facets of her personality with him, and her guilt over her past and the people she’s grifted. I like how he listens and understands, and when he challenges her it’s done gently and with respect.
I also love the ambiguity and fondness of the phrase “our Mr Wilson,” which to me sums up what their relationship is all about!
Nate and Sterling and Sophie, Nate and Sterling, Sophie and Sterling
I like the push and pull of these characters, how they leave so much unsaid, how they work together and against each other, annoy and frustrate each other but they understand each other. I like how
It might be fun to explore the dynamics between them 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? Or maybe he has some other reason for wanting to double cross his employers? 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 (not that Nate’s is entirely straight). Would the team 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? How would he and Sophie get along working together? What would their relationship be like if they were on the same team?
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?
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? What makes him come to that point, and how do they react? The Three Little Grifters Job was amazingly fun at exploring how they worked with and around each other, conflicting goals even when their goals are more or less aligned, not able to trust each other, but able to anticipate each other’s reactions and use them to their own advantage!
Alternatively, I’d love to see how Nate and Sterling worked 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?
How does Sterling feel about Nate’s death? It might be fun to explore if Sterling and Sophie come together, messily, in the aftermath, both trying to work out their feelings about Nate and their own shared past with each other?
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Sense and Sensibility - Austen
Characters/ships
• Elinor Dashwood and Colonel Brandon and Edward Ferrars
General thoughts
I like all these characters so much: how good they are, how practical, and how they put others above themselves. I like how they keep their feelings close to their chests, and how oftentimes, they express their feelings through actions, rather than words, and how you have to read the subtext to know what they are thinking and feeling.
I’m very fond of sensible people coming to practical solutions! Perhaps a married couple living with a very good “bachelor friend” of theirs would probably be (just) within the bounds of regency propriety. I’d love to see how they came to the arrangement, and how they live. Who is the married couple, and who is the “bachelor friend”? How close do they come to being a genuine throuple versus maintaining plausible deniability even to themselves?
Perhaps Elinor and Edward marry? Maybe Edward and Elinor marry after he’s been disinherited and Lucy’s thrown him over, and they move into the unmarried Brandon’s parsonage, just as in canon? Maybe then he manages to fall for both his good friends at the same time, and worries that he’s taking advantage of them, as their living standards to some extent depend on him (meanwhile they’re worrying that they’re taking advantage of him, as he’s being so generous towards them).
Or maybe Edward and Elinor marry before canon starts (maybe he avoids being disinherited, or maybe they have to rely on charity from their good friend Brandon), and they console and help Brandon as he’s searching for Eliza Williams, and feelings develop as they mutually support and help one another?
Or maybe Brandon and Elinor marry, instead? Elinor was among the earliest in her family to express appreciation for Brandon, so maybe the appreciation turns to love, and believing Edward to be lost to her, accepts a marriage to him instead? Except then it turns out Edward isn’t lost to her, and she has to deal with loving two men at the same time?
Perhaps Elinor and Brandon enter into a marriage of convenience for her family’s sake – and then Edward enters back into her life and feelings develop in all directions… Maybe Edward and Brandon fall in love/like first, and that helps Elinor also fall in love/like with Brandon, her husband?
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Tortall
Characters/Ships
• Maura of Dunlath and Keladry of Mindelan
• Keladry of Mindelan and Kalasin of Conté
• Keladry of Mindelan and Roald of Conté
General Thoughts
The Tortall books are an old childhood favourite of mine, and I really like the worldbuilding, the strong heroines, and the politics (that Pierce often glosses over as her stories are more focused on protagonists who aren’t very interested in politics, but the bits we do get fascinate me). I like how the universe gets more and more complex as the series go on, how what starts as fairly straightforward good vs. evil becomes more complicated, and the characters become more complex in later stories, but they don’t lose their hope and their belief in the goodness of humankind! While some parts of it haven’t quite stood the test of time, they still have a special place in my heart!
Maura and Keladry
I like both of these very stubborn, very determined young women, and would love to read about a close friendship/romance between them! Kel canonically has no problems with same-sex relationships, but what is Maura’s views on it? Does she harbour internalised homophobia which means she denies her feelings for Kel even to herself?
What if Haven or New Hope was on Dunlath lands, given how close fief Dunlath is to the border? Maybe Maura and Kel would work together to ensure the safety of the refugees?
There are some references to her in the Protector of the Small—what does she think of the pages trampling all over her lands? Is she drawn to Kel because of her bond with the animals? Do Maura’s wolves approve of her?
Maura is the only remaining person of her family—what sort of contingencies are there in place for the inheritance of Dunlath? Who is Maura’s heir until she has children of her own? Is there an arranged marriage for her, and how does she feel about that? How involved is she in arranging it? And how does Kel feel about that?
Kel and Roald
There is something irresistible about a loyal knight and her liege! Kel has complicated feelings about Jon, how does that influence her relationships with Roald as her liege? How does she manage when her liege is also her friend: unlike Jon’s friends, she is more aware of the difference in status, and they have a friendly relationship. How does he win her true loyalty? I’d love to see Kel devoted to Roald, and him repay that devotion. I’d love something with Kel as Roald’s commander, serving the crown, but also serving Roald, the person and the ideal!
Or maybe they start having strong emotions as squires/young knights, before Roald’s marriage, and can’t do anything because of Roald’s upcoming marriage? I would love something that explores their mutual pining, knowing that their honour and respect for Roald’s betrothal (maybe even Shinko herself, if this is when they know who Roald’s Yamani Princess is) as well as their consideration for Kel’s reputation keeps them apart.
Kel and Kalasin
Again, I’d love something that leans into the notions of chivalric and courtly love, with Kel as the loyal knight and Kalasin as the lady she gives her devotion to. The line of plausible deniability might be even more blurred, given they’re both women.
Kalasin wanted to be the first lady knight: perhaps she takes an interest in Kel (either directly or via Roald) and lives vicariously though her? Perhaps she trains with Kel, gives her advice and gifts, or perhaps Kel gives her tips and advice that she’s picked up in her training.
Or maybe Wyldon doesn’t allow Kel to continue, and she joins the Queen’s Ladies, given that was an option Kel considered that would still allow her to fight, or becomes one of Kalasin’s ladies-in-waiting? A plausibly deniable romance between a Princess and her lady-in-waiting would also be very much in line with what I would enjoy with these two! How would Kel manage as a lady of the court? How would she channel her dreams of being a protector and her rather different role in Tortall’s society (which would give her both more and fewer options to enact the changes she wants)?
Like with Roald, Kalasin’s upcoming betrothal would be an issue if they are still in Tortall, and they both know Kalasin will need to go to Carthak to be Empress. Or maybe she already is? Do they meet when Kalasin is at home visiting, or Kel is in Carthak for some reason? How does Kalasin reconcile her duties to Kaddar and Carhtak with her feelings?
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