Dear Yuletide Writer 2020,
Oct. 17th, 2020 08:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chronicbookwormThanks for writing me a story! 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 don’t feel pressure, I’ll be just as happy with something short and sweet!
The prompts below are there to help, not box you in, so please feel free to write/make something different if none of my prompts below grab your imagination or inspiration strikes you in a different direction. If I request the shippy version of a relationship, I am also very happy to consume the gen version (it sometimes but not always goes the other way as well – feel free to check via the mods if you’re at all unsure). This goes even if the prompts are romantic in nature – I’m also very fond of deep platonic relationships that are the most important to the characters and relationships that straddle the line between platonic and romantic.
The length of the sections has nothing to do with how much I want the request, only with how many different ideas/questions I have for each. I want to read them all very badly, so I’m sure I’ll love whatever you write!
This got quite long – feel free to just read the parts that are relevant to you.
General likes
DNWs
Peer Gynt
Eric’s TBD RPG
Kulla-Gulla series
Pride
House of the Dragon
Sense and Sensibility
General likes
• found families
• loyalty
• ride or die friendships
• co-dependency
• “us against the world” plots and relationships (whether it’s true or just what the characters imagine)
• friends to lovers
• arranged marriages (that can either lead to love or strong friendship)
• marriages of convenience (that can either lead to love or strong friendship)
• pining
• hurt/comfort
• trauma recovery
• characters with low self-worth being loved and accepted
• characters being shown warmth and kindness when they’re expecting or used to being belittled, bullied or abused
• characters uniting forces against a common enemy
• complicated politics and shifting alliances
• partisan and resistance movements, small groups of people going against or being pursued by large, powerful governments or organisations
• complicated and messy relationships (can be platonic, romantic or familial)
• secrets (both being kept and being revealed)
• characters working with limited knowledge
• competent characters
• characters being recognised for their competence
• women supporting other women
• canon divergence
• outsider POV
• case fic/mission fic (however that applies to the canon in question)
• time travel (both Peggy Sue style and physical time travel)
• worldbuilding
• longfic
DNWs
• explicit sex (fade to black or references to sex are fine), visible genitals in art
• changes to human anatomy or physiology (such as mpreg, a/b/o, soulmarks, etc.)
• teacher/student, non-canonical incest (including between adopted or foster family members and biological family members who don’t know they’re related)
• adultery, infidelity or jealousy (real or imagined)
• massive age gaps in ships (the rule of “half the older character’s age plus seven” as a limit usually works quite well, although for teenagers a max of 2-year age-gap works better. This DNW does not apply to House of the Dragon)
• sex involving characters under 15, setting a date when the character is considered "old enough"/"legal" for sex and fixating on that date
• characters being ostracised by their friends and loved ones
• Important and deep relationships going sour due to rumours, assumptions, misunderstandings, miscommunication or a failure to communicate (relationships starting off based on or influenced by assumptions, misunderstandings etc. as well as long-standing relationships going sour due to genuine differences in opinions, wants, and needs are fine and fun!)
• public embarrassment, humiliation
• character or ship bashing
• hopeless endings, grimdark tone
• unrequested setting change AUs
Peer Gynt
Characters: Solveig
Solveig has always fascinated me, as we get so little of her in the play – and many of her scenes are mostly there to further Peer’s narrative (e.g. the scene where he runs away, and the final scene). I’d love to see her fleshed out and given her own narrative.
What made her stay her entire life and wait for Peer? It seems like such an incomprehensible decision – what was she thinking? When did she realise he wasn’t coming back (or at least not anytime soon)? Did she ever doubt? What did she think had happened? How did she manage in the forest all alone? What did she do? How did she fill her days? Did she interact with the village at all, and how did those interactions go? The final scene shows her dressed for church, which implies she did go to the village for church at least (unless it’s merely symbolic). How did she deal with her father, the vicar?
What if she’d followed Peer on his adventures? How would that have changed events of the play?
Or what if Peer hadn’t run off? What if he hadn’t gone off with Ingrid from Hægstad, and he and Solveig could have lived in the town? Would they have been able to have a respectable life together, or would Peer’s lower status, nature and reputation have put insurmountable obstacles in the path for them? Or what if he’d stayed with Solveig after the Green-clad One came? How would things have turned out for them together in the little cabin in the forest? What would have happened to the Green-clad One’s child? Would Solveig have rejected or resented the child, or resented Peer, or would she have accepted the child, the way she accepted all of Peer’s misdeeds at the end of the play?
There is so much potential to explore Solveig’s inner and outer life, and I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of it!
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Eric’s TBD RPG
Characters: Any (Cillian, Finn, Rokokokoko, The Doctor)
I would absolutely adore further adventures with this group of people – either set during or after canon. Canon-typical adventures/”case fic” is absolutely more than welcome here, or possibly something quieter, more like a character study, or something else entirely.
In his closing narration, Eric seemed to imply that the companions will eventually remember what happened to them in the paradox universe once the Doctor has found them again – does that happen quickly or slowly? How to they react? I’d love to see Roko and Finn falling in love all over anew/again, rediscovering things they knew about each other and making new memories, and Cillian discovering who he is and what he once had the power to do, this average electrician from London who once reshaped the universe. Or maybe a story about the Doctor with her core of steel and absolute faith in the goodness of the universe.
Alternatively, I’d also love a story set in the paradox universe, where they’re being chased by Temporal Guards. I loved the feeling of time running out, the high-stakes situations that they were thrown into, and their clever solutions in getting out of them. I also loved how protective they were of each other, how quickly they became ride-or-die, and how clearly it came across that they did truly care for each other, despite their different outlooks on life.
If you want to include or even focus on other characters from the show, such as Vellig, Meatstick, Zeeps, the Corsair, the Master, etc., you’re more than welcome to – both PCs and NPCs are welcome! I didn’t have enough nomination slots for all the characters I adore, so just nominated my very favourites (and believe me, it was hard to choose!). You could even include cameos from characters from the main Whoniverse to see how their counterparts fare in the TBD RPG universe, although I’d prefer it if the focus remained on the TBD RPG characters.
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Kulla-Gulla series
Characters: Masell Modig, Vera, Ville
You don’t need to include all three characters, although you’re more than welcome to, as long as you include at least two of them for this request. If it's easier to write this request in Swedish, that is absolutely okay as well!
These books are a fond childhood memory for me, and I can’t believe they’re in the tagset this year! And with such intriguing characters!
What I really like about this book series is how frankly it deals with the poverty and misery of the poor in Sweden at the turn of the century, and the class divide between the rich and the poor, but that it’s also so firmly anchored in the characters and their conflicts and friendships. I like the optimism and belief in humanity that despite everything permeates the books.
I really like the twins, how cute they are together, how they rely on each other, and how co-dependent they are, but also how they always fight and want the exact same thing as children – interesting dynamics to explore. They’re the somewhat overlooked pair among the more expansive personalities of their siblings – thoughtful Johannis, forceful Lada, and spoiled Sossatina, so it would be really interesting to see how they interact, either with their siblings or with each other. It would also be super interesting to explore their standing in the house, of being Gulla’s siblings and favoured by patron, but also peasant children no better than anyone else. And what do they do when they grow up? Does Vera take over as housekeeper after Mamsell, or does she find another house and be housekeeper there, or does she go into another occupation? Or does she marry, and if so, who? What does Ville do – he’s spent most of his childhood in the kitchen and larder, the women’s domain, is that a hindrance to him? Does patron help him train for an occupation, does he join Johannis as a bookkeeper?
I like how Mamsell Modig is so practical, how she likes children, how kind she is, but that she tempers it with common sense and strictness. I like how her stern appearance hides a heart of gold, and that she does care for all the children and the peasants of Hygge – but still runs a tight ship and keeps all the maids in order. I also really like her relationship with the twins, how they’re hers, her eyes, ears and hands when she can’t manage the household all by herself, how she relies on them and how steady and loyal to her they are in turn.
If you want to include other characters, like Gulla, Patron, Johannis, Lada, or Sossatina, or anyone else from the rich and varied cast of characters that the book contains, that would also be more than welcome! Maybe how Vera gets on with Majsa or Viktorias Nina, who are about her age or slightly older, or how Ville gets on with his brothers, or how either of them gets on with Sossatina, who’s their sister but occupies such a different position to them, or how Mamsell deals with Patron – she’s the closest thing he has to an equal, before Gulla comes to stay with him, and yet the class divide between them is wide and always present.
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Pride
Characters: Any (Dai Donovan, Mark Ashton, Cliff, Gethin, Joe "Bromley" Cooper, Jonathan, Sian, Steph)
I love this film! The warmth between the characters, the two separate communities coming together, the friendships, the support they give each other – it’s all so very heart-warming and hopeful! Of course, there are plenty of complications, too, if you want something to sink your teeth in, I’d love something dealing with the complexities and problems of the world we live in and the difficult issues these characters face.
Maybe an elaboration of what we saw in the film with Gethin and the Welsh contingent, being welcomed home, finding his way back to Wales after 16 years?
Jonathan and Gethin are of course incredibly sweet and funny together, and they balance each other very well, with the more flamboyant Jonathan and the quieter Gethin – I’d love something that explores their relationship in more depth!
Or something about Mark and Mike, with the firebrand leader and the practical one who actually gets things organised and done? The film hinted that Mike has feelings for Mark – what if Mark returns them? It can be a happy, sweet story about finding love, or about them being torn between activism or domesticity, or even something about living with AIDS and the impact that has on their friendship/relationship?
Maybe something about Joe and Steph working out how to live together and be young and gay in 1980s London? Or maybe something about Jonathan and Gethin as their mentors/parent-figures, since at least Joe’s family, and possibly also Steph’s, leave something to be desired? Mike and Steph bonding over both being from Lancashire?
What does LGSM do after the strike? Do they stay together, or do they drift apart? I’m especially interested in the parallels and differences between Joe and Steph on one side and Jonathan and Gethin on the other, with the different generations of gay people interacting? How different is it? What challenges did Jonathan and Gethin face that Joe and Steph don’t, and what challenges do Joe and Steph face that Jonathan and Gethin didn’t?
Or what about a fic about Steph and why she chose to stay with LGSM rather than join LAPC? The Welsh women welcoming Steph into the fold and sharing their fond exasperation with the menfolk?
Maybe something about Cliff, finding his people in the Gay Poetry and Literature Society? Bonding with Gethin about their love for the written word, and with Jonathan over their love for the spoken word? Going to plays put on by Out Loud? Performing in plays put on by Out Loud?
Finding love? Does it come easily for him, or does he struggle with internalised homophobia? Does he meet someone in London or in Wales, and if it’s in London, does the distance pose problems?
How is his relationship with Maureen and his nephews? How was his relationship with his brother, and how did things change when his brother died? What support could he give them when the boys were young, and did Maureen’s pride allow her to accept it, or were there tensions there? Does he come out, and does that change things? At least Johnny came around to accepting LGSM, but does that stretch to Cliff – when it’s not just some abstract gay people in London, but his uncle? Does Lee ever come around?
Or something about Dai and the miners, after the strike? There must be very complicated emotions going back to work after so long, especially knowing that they’ve been defeated and it’s only a matter of time until the mine closes. I really like Dai, how down-to-earth he is, how caring and open, how he rolls with things, and how his quiet demeanour hides an iron core. How did he and Margaret meet? How did he get involved with union politics? Had he been involved for a long time, or did he become more active during the strike? What happens after the strike? Does he find another job when the pit closes? Does he stay involved with politics, or does he fade into the background after the strike?
Or Dai and Mark sharing experiences of the importance of keeping morale up, building on the beautiful friendship they had in the film and the metaphor of the old banner with two hands clasped? Working out how to maintain the links between LGSM and Dulais even after the strike?
Or Dai, Hefina, and Sian, bonding over being official and unofficial leaders of a community that is so dependent on the doomed mine?
I really don’t mind if the story’s set pre-, during or post canon, I’d just love anything that explores the relationships between these characters! Again, feel free to include any other non-nominated characters if you want to – I love all of them!
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House of the Dragon
Characters: Alicent Hightower, Rhaenyra Targaryen
I love both these women, and the relationship between them! I love how complicated they both are, and how complicted 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 would be equally happy with a ship or gen fic for this request, what I’m really interested in is 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 Deamon 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? 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, and would Rhaenyra’s marriage to Gwayne change anything about how she reacted to that?
Alternatively, for something canon-compliant, what went on in the 10-year time skip? Ehat conflicts did they have, and what moments of near-reconciliation and understanding?
For shipfic prompts, 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, whrn they have to get over all the betrayals and bitterness that sprung up between them? How do they handle that they’re both high-born 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?
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Sense and Sensibility
• Characters: Colonel Brandon, Elinor Dashwood, Edward Ferrars
You don’t have to include all three here, as long as two people are included, but if you want to write about all three of them in a relationship, or friendship between them, or one couple and their friend, then feel free! I like them all – how good they are, how practical, and how they put others above themselves.
Elinor and Edward: Edward and Elinor are of course the canon couple, and I loved the pining of the books, and how they’re both good people who would sacrifice their own happiness for others, and yet find happiness together in the end. I’d love either something set after canon, exploring their lives in the parsonage, or maybe a canon divergence. Maybe Edward wasn’t engaged to Lucy Steele, and was free to offer for Elinor earlier – which would save them from the unhappiness of being apart, but might also cause other problems, with his family’s disapproval of her, and their expectations that he’ll become a great man (I think Elinor is probably of high enough status that they’d really disapprove of the match, but wouldn’t necessarily disinherit him).
Elinor and Brandon: Elinor and Brandon share a lot in the book – I really liked how Elinor was one of the only characters to appreciate him for a long time, and I can definitely see how they could be happy together, if Edward married Lucy and Brandon wasn’t pining over Marianne. Their friendship was really sweet, and I loved how he confided in Elinor and trusted her judgement and respected her as a friend and as a person.
Brandon and Edward: Edward and Brandon don’t interact much in the book, but that just leaves the path open for the imagination! Maybe they bond over being awkward around women, and find they both have the same reason why…Maybe they meet before canon, at school or later? Maybe an AU in which Mrs Ferrars bullies Edward into the army? (You can avoid my adultery/infidelity DNW by either having them both be unmarried, or by having their wives be fully informed and supportive of the situation – in that case I’d like the wives to be treated with respect and to also get something out of the marriage, so it doesn’t feel like they’re being used – maybe they’re more interested in women than men, or perhaps they just want the freedom of being a married woman without the constraints of having an interfering husband, or anything else you can think of.)
Elinor and Edward and Brandon: 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”?
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 first, and that helps Elinor also fall in love with Brandon, her husband?
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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 don’t feel pressure, I’ll be just as happy with something short and sweet!
The prompts below are there to help, not box you in, so please feel free to write/make something different if none of my prompts below grab your imagination or inspiration strikes you in a different direction. If I request the shippy version of a relationship, I am also very happy to consume the gen version (it sometimes but not always goes the other way as well – feel free to check via the mods if you’re at all unsure). This goes even if the prompts are romantic in nature – I’m also very fond of deep platonic relationships that are the most important to the characters and relationships that straddle the line between platonic and romantic.
The length of the sections has nothing to do with how much I want the request, only with how many different ideas/questions I have for each. I want to read them all very badly, so I’m sure I’ll love whatever you write!
This got quite long – feel free to just read the parts that are relevant to you.
General likes
DNWs
Peer Gynt
Eric’s TBD RPG
Kulla-Gulla series
Pride
House of the Dragon
Sense and Sensibility
General likes
• found families
• loyalty
• ride or die friendships
• co-dependency
• “us against the world” plots and relationships (whether it’s true or just what the characters imagine)
• friends to lovers
• arranged marriages (that can either lead to love or strong friendship)
• marriages of convenience (that can either lead to love or strong friendship)
• pining
• hurt/comfort
• trauma recovery
• characters with low self-worth being loved and accepted
• characters being shown warmth and kindness when they’re expecting or used to being belittled, bullied or abused
• characters uniting forces against a common enemy
• complicated politics and shifting alliances
• partisan and resistance movements, small groups of people going against or being pursued by large, powerful governments or organisations
• complicated and messy relationships (can be platonic, romantic or familial)
• secrets (both being kept and being revealed)
• characters working with limited knowledge
• competent characters
• characters being recognised for their competence
• women supporting other women
• canon divergence
• outsider POV
• case fic/mission fic (however that applies to the canon in question)
• time travel (both Peggy Sue style and physical time travel)
• worldbuilding
• longfic
DNWs
• explicit sex (fade to black or references to sex are fine), visible genitals in art
• changes to human anatomy or physiology (such as mpreg, a/b/o, soulmarks, etc.)
• teacher/student, non-canonical incest (including between adopted or foster family members and biological family members who don’t know they’re related)
• adultery, infidelity or jealousy (real or imagined)
• massive age gaps in ships (the rule of “half the older character’s age plus seven” as a limit usually works quite well, although for teenagers a max of 2-year age-gap works better. This DNW does not apply to House of the Dragon)
• sex involving characters under 15, setting a date when the character is considered "old enough"/"legal" for sex and fixating on that date
• characters being ostracised by their friends and loved ones
• Important and deep relationships going sour due to rumours, assumptions, misunderstandings, miscommunication or a failure to communicate (relationships starting off based on or influenced by assumptions, misunderstandings etc. as well as long-standing relationships going sour due to genuine differences in opinions, wants, and needs are fine and fun!)
• public embarrassment, humiliation
• character or ship bashing
• hopeless endings, grimdark tone
• unrequested setting change AUs
Peer Gynt
Characters: Solveig
Solveig has always fascinated me, as we get so little of her in the play – and many of her scenes are mostly there to further Peer’s narrative (e.g. the scene where he runs away, and the final scene). I’d love to see her fleshed out and given her own narrative.
What made her stay her entire life and wait for Peer? It seems like such an incomprehensible decision – what was she thinking? When did she realise he wasn’t coming back (or at least not anytime soon)? Did she ever doubt? What did she think had happened? How did she manage in the forest all alone? What did she do? How did she fill her days? Did she interact with the village at all, and how did those interactions go? The final scene shows her dressed for church, which implies she did go to the village for church at least (unless it’s merely symbolic). How did she deal with her father, the vicar?
What if she’d followed Peer on his adventures? How would that have changed events of the play?
Or what if Peer hadn’t run off? What if he hadn’t gone off with Ingrid from Hægstad, and he and Solveig could have lived in the town? Would they have been able to have a respectable life together, or would Peer’s lower status, nature and reputation have put insurmountable obstacles in the path for them? Or what if he’d stayed with Solveig after the Green-clad One came? How would things have turned out for them together in the little cabin in the forest? What would have happened to the Green-clad One’s child? Would Solveig have rejected or resented the child, or resented Peer, or would she have accepted the child, the way she accepted all of Peer’s misdeeds at the end of the play?
There is so much potential to explore Solveig’s inner and outer life, and I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of it!
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Eric’s TBD RPG
Characters: Any (Cillian, Finn, Rokokokoko, The Doctor)
I would absolutely adore further adventures with this group of people – either set during or after canon. Canon-typical adventures/”case fic” is absolutely more than welcome here, or possibly something quieter, more like a character study, or something else entirely.
In his closing narration, Eric seemed to imply that the companions will eventually remember what happened to them in the paradox universe once the Doctor has found them again – does that happen quickly or slowly? How to they react? I’d love to see Roko and Finn falling in love all over anew/again, rediscovering things they knew about each other and making new memories, and Cillian discovering who he is and what he once had the power to do, this average electrician from London who once reshaped the universe. Or maybe a story about the Doctor with her core of steel and absolute faith in the goodness of the universe.
Alternatively, I’d also love a story set in the paradox universe, where they’re being chased by Temporal Guards. I loved the feeling of time running out, the high-stakes situations that they were thrown into, and their clever solutions in getting out of them. I also loved how protective they were of each other, how quickly they became ride-or-die, and how clearly it came across that they did truly care for each other, despite their different outlooks on life.
If you want to include or even focus on other characters from the show, such as Vellig, Meatstick, Zeeps, the Corsair, the Master, etc., you’re more than welcome to – both PCs and NPCs are welcome! I didn’t have enough nomination slots for all the characters I adore, so just nominated my very favourites (and believe me, it was hard to choose!). You could even include cameos from characters from the main Whoniverse to see how their counterparts fare in the TBD RPG universe, although I’d prefer it if the focus remained on the TBD RPG characters.
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Kulla-Gulla series
Characters: Masell Modig, Vera, Ville
You don’t need to include all three characters, although you’re more than welcome to, as long as you include at least two of them for this request. If it's easier to write this request in Swedish, that is absolutely okay as well!
These books are a fond childhood memory for me, and I can’t believe they’re in the tagset this year! And with such intriguing characters!
What I really like about this book series is how frankly it deals with the poverty and misery of the poor in Sweden at the turn of the century, and the class divide between the rich and the poor, but that it’s also so firmly anchored in the characters and their conflicts and friendships. I like the optimism and belief in humanity that despite everything permeates the books.
I really like the twins, how cute they are together, how they rely on each other, and how co-dependent they are, but also how they always fight and want the exact same thing as children – interesting dynamics to explore. They’re the somewhat overlooked pair among the more expansive personalities of their siblings – thoughtful Johannis, forceful Lada, and spoiled Sossatina, so it would be really interesting to see how they interact, either with their siblings or with each other. It would also be super interesting to explore their standing in the house, of being Gulla’s siblings and favoured by patron, but also peasant children no better than anyone else. And what do they do when they grow up? Does Vera take over as housekeeper after Mamsell, or does she find another house and be housekeeper there, or does she go into another occupation? Or does she marry, and if so, who? What does Ville do – he’s spent most of his childhood in the kitchen and larder, the women’s domain, is that a hindrance to him? Does patron help him train for an occupation, does he join Johannis as a bookkeeper?
I like how Mamsell Modig is so practical, how she likes children, how kind she is, but that she tempers it with common sense and strictness. I like how her stern appearance hides a heart of gold, and that she does care for all the children and the peasants of Hygge – but still runs a tight ship and keeps all the maids in order. I also really like her relationship with the twins, how they’re hers, her eyes, ears and hands when she can’t manage the household all by herself, how she relies on them and how steady and loyal to her they are in turn.
If you want to include other characters, like Gulla, Patron, Johannis, Lada, or Sossatina, or anyone else from the rich and varied cast of characters that the book contains, that would also be more than welcome! Maybe how Vera gets on with Majsa or Viktorias Nina, who are about her age or slightly older, or how Ville gets on with his brothers, or how either of them gets on with Sossatina, who’s their sister but occupies such a different position to them, or how Mamsell deals with Patron – she’s the closest thing he has to an equal, before Gulla comes to stay with him, and yet the class divide between them is wide and always present.
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Pride
Characters: Any (Dai Donovan, Mark Ashton, Cliff, Gethin, Joe "Bromley" Cooper, Jonathan, Sian, Steph)
I love this film! The warmth between the characters, the two separate communities coming together, the friendships, the support they give each other – it’s all so very heart-warming and hopeful! Of course, there are plenty of complications, too, if you want something to sink your teeth in, I’d love something dealing with the complexities and problems of the world we live in and the difficult issues these characters face.
Maybe an elaboration of what we saw in the film with Gethin and the Welsh contingent, being welcomed home, finding his way back to Wales after 16 years?
Jonathan and Gethin are of course incredibly sweet and funny together, and they balance each other very well, with the more flamboyant Jonathan and the quieter Gethin – I’d love something that explores their relationship in more depth!
Or something about Mark and Mike, with the firebrand leader and the practical one who actually gets things organised and done? The film hinted that Mike has feelings for Mark – what if Mark returns them? It can be a happy, sweet story about finding love, or about them being torn between activism or domesticity, or even something about living with AIDS and the impact that has on their friendship/relationship?
Maybe something about Joe and Steph working out how to live together and be young and gay in 1980s London? Or maybe something about Jonathan and Gethin as their mentors/parent-figures, since at least Joe’s family, and possibly also Steph’s, leave something to be desired? Mike and Steph bonding over both being from Lancashire?
What does LGSM do after the strike? Do they stay together, or do they drift apart? I’m especially interested in the parallels and differences between Joe and Steph on one side and Jonathan and Gethin on the other, with the different generations of gay people interacting? How different is it? What challenges did Jonathan and Gethin face that Joe and Steph don’t, and what challenges do Joe and Steph face that Jonathan and Gethin didn’t?
Or what about a fic about Steph and why she chose to stay with LGSM rather than join LAPC? The Welsh women welcoming Steph into the fold and sharing their fond exasperation with the menfolk?
Maybe something about Cliff, finding his people in the Gay Poetry and Literature Society? Bonding with Gethin about their love for the written word, and with Jonathan over their love for the spoken word? Going to plays put on by Out Loud? Performing in plays put on by Out Loud?
Finding love? Does it come easily for him, or does he struggle with internalised homophobia? Does he meet someone in London or in Wales, and if it’s in London, does the distance pose problems?
How is his relationship with Maureen and his nephews? How was his relationship with his brother, and how did things change when his brother died? What support could he give them when the boys were young, and did Maureen’s pride allow her to accept it, or were there tensions there? Does he come out, and does that change things? At least Johnny came around to accepting LGSM, but does that stretch to Cliff – when it’s not just some abstract gay people in London, but his uncle? Does Lee ever come around?
Or something about Dai and the miners, after the strike? There must be very complicated emotions going back to work after so long, especially knowing that they’ve been defeated and it’s only a matter of time until the mine closes. I really like Dai, how down-to-earth he is, how caring and open, how he rolls with things, and how his quiet demeanour hides an iron core. How did he and Margaret meet? How did he get involved with union politics? Had he been involved for a long time, or did he become more active during the strike? What happens after the strike? Does he find another job when the pit closes? Does he stay involved with politics, or does he fade into the background after the strike?
Or Dai and Mark sharing experiences of the importance of keeping morale up, building on the beautiful friendship they had in the film and the metaphor of the old banner with two hands clasped? Working out how to maintain the links between LGSM and Dulais even after the strike?
Or Dai, Hefina, and Sian, bonding over being official and unofficial leaders of a community that is so dependent on the doomed mine?
I really don’t mind if the story’s set pre-, during or post canon, I’d just love anything that explores the relationships between these characters! Again, feel free to include any other non-nominated characters if you want to – I love all of them!
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House of the Dragon
Characters: Alicent Hightower, Rhaenyra Targaryen
I love both these women, and the relationship between them! I love how complicated they both are, and how complicted 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 would be equally happy with a ship or gen fic for this request, what I’m really interested in is 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 Deamon 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? 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, and would Rhaenyra’s marriage to Gwayne change anything about how she reacted to that?
Alternatively, for something canon-compliant, what went on in the 10-year time skip? Ehat conflicts did they have, and what moments of near-reconciliation and understanding?
For shipfic prompts, 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, whrn they have to get over all the betrayals and bitterness that sprung up between them? How do they handle that they’re both high-born 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?
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Sense and Sensibility
• Characters: Colonel Brandon, Elinor Dashwood, Edward Ferrars
You don’t have to include all three here, as long as two people are included, but if you want to write about all three of them in a relationship, or friendship between them, or one couple and their friend, then feel free! I like them all – how good they are, how practical, and how they put others above themselves.
Elinor and Edward: Edward and Elinor are of course the canon couple, and I loved the pining of the books, and how they’re both good people who would sacrifice their own happiness for others, and yet find happiness together in the end. I’d love either something set after canon, exploring their lives in the parsonage, or maybe a canon divergence. Maybe Edward wasn’t engaged to Lucy Steele, and was free to offer for Elinor earlier – which would save them from the unhappiness of being apart, but might also cause other problems, with his family’s disapproval of her, and their expectations that he’ll become a great man (I think Elinor is probably of high enough status that they’d really disapprove of the match, but wouldn’t necessarily disinherit him).
Elinor and Brandon: Elinor and Brandon share a lot in the book – I really liked how Elinor was one of the only characters to appreciate him for a long time, and I can definitely see how they could be happy together, if Edward married Lucy and Brandon wasn’t pining over Marianne. Their friendship was really sweet, and I loved how he confided in Elinor and trusted her judgement and respected her as a friend and as a person.
Brandon and Edward: Edward and Brandon don’t interact much in the book, but that just leaves the path open for the imagination! Maybe they bond over being awkward around women, and find they both have the same reason why…Maybe they meet before canon, at school or later? Maybe an AU in which Mrs Ferrars bullies Edward into the army? (You can avoid my adultery/infidelity DNW by either having them both be unmarried, or by having their wives be fully informed and supportive of the situation – in that case I’d like the wives to be treated with respect and to also get something out of the marriage, so it doesn’t feel like they’re being used – maybe they’re more interested in women than men, or perhaps they just want the freedom of being a married woman without the constraints of having an interfering husband, or anything else you can think of.)
Elinor and Edward and Brandon: 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”?
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 first, and that helps Elinor also fall in love with Brandon, her husband?
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