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Fic In A Box Creator Letter (2021)
Aug. 17th, 2021 10:59 pmDear Creator:
Thank you for checking out my letter! I am opening myself up to fic of any length and whatever you might wish to create in other requested mediums for this exchange. I am good with works of any rating and welcome (but in no way expect or require) sexual content for romantic/sexual ship prompts. Below you will find some brief comments on what I like about each requested fandom and character or ship as well as some prompts for each request, and then a huge list of general likes at the end. A few fandoms and ships have specific DNWs, those are listed with each fandom. Don't feel bound by my prompts in this letter if you think you have an idea for something I will like based on my big likes list or prompts I've made previously in other exchanges.
The Man From U.N.C.L.E (2015)
Illya Kuryakin/Napoleon Solo/Gaby Teller
Worldbuilding
I only saw this film for the first time in late 2018 and I fell for it (and three ridiculous spies and their complicated relationship) very hard. The film has beautiful people, beautiful cinematography, gorgeous costumes, and a perfect soundtrack. It combines multiple strains of classic tropey relationship development: enemies to colleagues to friends (to lovers?) for all three of them, plus the great fake engagement between Illya and Gaby, the rivals to friends competition and one-upmanship between Illya and Napoleon, and then multiple big damn rescues (Napoleon rescuing Illya from drowning, Illya rescuing Napoleon from the electric chair, and then Napoleon and Illya both rescuing Gaby from the Vinciguerras). And all of it against a fun, iconic 60s setting backdrop, serving to set up the idea of them working together as a team for the forseeable future.
Prompts:
I live for tropey setups that push them into intimate situations and "oh. oh." realizations about how they feel about one another. Injuries in the line of duty, snowbound in a cabin, hurt/comfort, self-sacrifice (particularly when Napoleon Solo, Mr. Supposedly Always Looking Out For #1, does something very stupid and dangerous to save one or both of his partners, though I like this trope for any of the three of them), big fucking rescues (just like in the movie!), truth serum or other drugs, sharing a bed, etc. I particularly enjoy when they're trying very hard to focus on the extremely important world-saving case and/or punching Nazis but they keep getting distracted by how incredibly inconvenient their attraction to/affection for their partners has become.
Five times fics - whether a time loop caused by a mad scientist's machine, or due to drug/exhaustion hallucinations the same scenario plays out different ways, or a bunch of different themed incidents on different missions - are always good!
Undercover antics - I love the notion of the three of them all doing a mission with different covers (that might know each other or not) and having to play a dynamic that either differs from the one they share or reinforces feelings they're trying to ignore. For example, on a future mission it's Napoleon and Gaby playing at being engaged or married, and Illya "realizes" they're perfect for one another and tries (miserably) to "back off" much to his partners' confusion.
Napoleon does his best to matchmake Illya and Gaby and catches extremely inconvenient feelings for them both in the process.
As an UNCLE agent Gaby will be traveling outside of Germany for likely only the second meaningful time in her life post-film; she's also significantly younger and less experienced than Illya and Napoleon per their end-of-film dossiers. Despite getting one over on the CIA's best and the KGB's finest in the film, perhaps she has uncertainty about choosing the spy's life (maybe Illya and/or Napoleon even grimly encourage her to get out while she can) and she has to actively decide to stay with UNCLE (and her partners) when given the opportunity to do something different.
Any two of the three have to team up to rescue the third. (Doing a "three times" variation of this including scenarios where each pair has to save the third would be fun.)
Wild AU premises that seem interesting: supernatural/magical realism, a world where magic is known and they all have it, or space opera/sci-fi settings all sound like fun.
One of the trio gets blackmailed - perhaps with evidence of their unconventional relationship, or even just their feelings for one another - and tries to deal with the problem alone. (I could particularly see this being the sort of thing Illya would do.)
Post-retirement future fic - what might they get up to once they're too old to be in the field? What if injuries take one or more of them out of the game even earlier? What if they end up being pulled back to their respective agencies but only meet again by chance 10, 15, or 20 years post-movie?
Illya/Napoleon and Illya/Gaby are the main ships of the fandom besides the trio, but I find Gaby/Napoleon really intriguing - a fic where they believe Illya to be dead, or he's somehow out of their reach (a prisoner, gravely injured, on a mission that they can't interfere in without huge risk) and they hook up out of grief or fear or even in anger would be interesting. (And then they go rescue Illya, right?)
I do very much enjoy them getting up to sexcapades in any context. Feel free to totally ignore my headcanons, but when it comes to sex my thoughts are:
Speaking of Victoria, if you're inspired to write any kind of "case fic" I think she is a fabulous villain and would love anything with her as the antagonist of the piece, trying to get her revenge on Napoleon and/or the trio!
Worldbuilding:
What is U.N.C.L.E like? How does it function? How does it get off the ground and what kind of politics does Waverly have to play to keep it functioning and to steal out the KGB's best and the CIA's finest right out from under their noses? What kind of rules does it have, and how much do any of the agents, including our trio, actually follow them?
Feel free to crib from the TV show canon as much or as little as you might want if you're familiar - I've seen the first season and bits of the rest and enjoy it immensely.
Art: Love art that riffs off any of my prompts above or general likes. Any and all styles welcome, and it need not be overtly shippy.
In-universe documents - mission reports (with or without notes by each team member and/or Waverly), debriefings, transcribed interviews, or whatever else you can come up with. Stolen intelligence? A report by an enemy (THRUSH?) agent on any of the trio or Waverly or UNCLE as a whole?
Academic reports: An academic article or review about UNCLE as an agency or any or all of the agents would be really interesting. This could be from any era, including modern.
DNW: Characters under 16 having sex. (References to past underage sex are fine.) Modern Mundane AUs. Permanent major character death. (Temporary death and/or believing another character is dead for a time is fine, though.) Total downer endings. Endgame Illya/Gaby or Illya/Napoleon without the third character involved. (Established Illya/Gaby that becomes Illya/Gaby/Napoleon is fine!)
Motherland: Fort Salem (TV)
Abigail Bellweather & Petra Bellweather
Abigail Bellweather
Sarah Alder
Worldbuilding
Worldbuilding prompts:
I'm really curious about the Imperatrix and the whole witch "breeding program" - and how the heck she specifically (unlike every other witch we see) is not under Alder's authority. How did that happen? How has she lost track of so many witch lines? Is this cultural myopia or is something specifically sinister going on with her or her office? Are there similar programs in other countries?
In general, I would love fic or in-universe reports about any tiny speck of alternate history implied by the setting and explored. For example, I can't find the interview now (will link it here if I find it) but I read something last year in which the show's creator offhandedly mentioned that Sarah Alder's first and closest companions after the Salem Accords were previously enslaved witches, and seemed to strongly imply that most of High Atlantic society descends from former slaves, which is pretty fascinating! What would that have meant for society, both army and civilian?
What is up with The Cession? Are Native American/American Indian witches exempt from the Salem Accords? It seems to be something of a safe haven for witches who aren't entirely enthused about army life and a lot of Dodgers. The casual news report in Ojibwe was very interesting, too!
Sarah Alder
What are all these 80+ military campaigns that Alder's been involved in about? Obviously the Spree have been a big part for the past 20 years, but before that? Were they all witch rebels, or have non-witches fought witches in large numbers? Does every country have a witch army, now? How has Alder dealt with them over the years?
Abigail Bellweather (& Petra Bellweather)
Abigail is my favorite of the trio, though I love them all very much, but her angst over living up to familial expectations and figuring out how to make her own way in the world has been a compelling story. I really enjoy her complicated relationship with her mother (and grandmother, and three dads, and Charvel) and would love any kind of exploration of those bonds, Bellweather family expectations/goals for leadership, and what might be next for her as she stakes out her own special project.
(Side note: I like Adil, and I'm fine with Abigail/Adil being a background component of the fic, but I would prefer that it not be the focus of any story.)
John Wick (Movies)
Worldbuilding
These films are somehow exactly what would happen if you measured out a hearty few cups of my fascination for detailed "hidden world" worldbuilding, stirred in my heart-eyes love for Keanu Reeves, baked it up as a cake, and then frosted it with extremely sexy gratuitous violence and topped it with a puppy. These movies are just so freaking fun that they never get old for me.
Prompts:
Worldbuilding! Feel free to give me something from John's past or future that showcases how weird and wonderful the assassin-world of the films might be, set anywhere you think might be interesting. I'm always curious about what Continental Hotels other than New York and Rome might look like, how the various supporting figures (Charon, the Sommelier, the various other contacts for weapons, money, armor, resources, and the like that John comes into contact with) fit into the world or came to be there in the first place.
I'm also really intrigued by the use of metaphor/code, such as the exchange between John and the Sommelier in Rome about wine that was not at all about wine. The very blurry line between the "hidden world" and the "real world" - at no time during either film any of the more public acts of violence particularly shocking to onlookers - they certainly try to get out of the way, and there are muffled shrieks a time or two, but how is it that all of this happens with absolutely no intervention by the authorities? (Certainly Jimmy is in the know, but are all law enforcement? Are the films set in a universe where there's general awareness and acceptance that conflict between the powers that be are handled via assassination? Could there be magic involved? Sometimes I wonder when watching the films if there's some kind of power inherent in being an assassin who's a member of the underground world that allows them to hide in plain sight...)
Anything that digs into the notion of The High Table further is interesting, too. Implied textual evidence in the films suggests that only major organized crime institutions/families have claim to a seat at it - how did they get them in the first place, and how did those disparate families/groups ever agree to such a thing? There's a subtle implication, too, that the High Table is a very "old world" institution and that the "new world" doesn't have much power - why not, when so much organized crime came to the Americas alongside immigrants, including John himself?
Art: Of any character, OC, or significant location from the films would be welcome. Graphic violence is OK, but please nothing sexually explicit.
In-universe documents: Records kept in the book of blood oaths, a police report by Jimmy or another cop "in the know", other records kept by the High Table
DNW: Characters under 16 having sex. (References to past underage sex are fine.) Setting change AUs with the exception of adding magic or creeping horror elements to the canon setting. Canon divergence is also fine. Animal death. (Do not kill the dog, please. Major Character Death is fine for this fandom otherwise.)
Valdemar Series - Mercedes Lackey
Worldbuilding
With the announcement that the Valdemar books are being adapted for television, I've been feeling very nostalgic for this world. Valdemar was my first real fandom - I recieved Mercedes Lackey fan club newsletters in the mid 90s - and it will always hold a special place in my heart. I love the setting, despite (or perhaps because of) all it's melodrama and silliness.
Prompts: I'm mostly interested in stories that poke at expectations and understandings of the world presented in the book without going really grim-dark. Outsider's perspective on Valdemar and the Heralds. I particularly enjoyed Alberich, Kerowyn, and other non-Herald's more clear-eyed view the strengths and weaknesses of Valdemar's systems.
On the flip side, from the inside, what about a story about a member of the Valdemaran royal family who isn't Chosen, either due to a lack of Gift or the Companions deciding that they had some more important purpose in a different role?
The books imply that prospective Monarch's Own sometimes have "unbonded Choosings" and only *really* Bond with the Grove Born Companion when they take office. (When Jisa is a child in the Last Herald-Mage books Vanyel implies this could be her future, and it's not clear if it didn't happen for political (keeping her out of the line of succession) or practical (Randale wouldn't live long, anyway) reasons.) But... what would that be like, and in what circumstances might it happen? How would the "temporary Companion" feel about it?
Similarly, what happens when an adult Herald is tapped as the next Monarch's Own? Was their bond with their existing Companion not real? Would the Companions argue about it?
In general I'm curious about Companion interpersonal interaction. They are definitely implied to have human-like conflicts and prejudices. How does that play out? Do they chastise one another for breaking the rules? How?
For what it's worth, besides Alberich and Kerowyn some of my favorite characters are Talia and Dirk, Kris, Selenay, and Skif. From Vanyel's time, I am fond of him, Savil, as well as Randale, Shavri, and Jisa. But any characters not in my DNWs are fair game, as are OCs both from within and outside of Valdemar.
Sun/Shadow:
DNW: Characters under 16 having sex. (References to past underage sex are fine.) Focus on any of the characters from the books where Mags or his children are protagonists. I have not read these books (Collegium Chronicles/Family of Spies) so I'm not interested in any extension of their stories. However, the founding of the Collegia is of interest to me, so focus on a story in that time period with Original Characters is fine! (Mention of canonical characters from the Mags books is fine.)
General Likes and Preferences
Setting tropes and AU premises I love
Hurt/Comfort & Whump favorites (note that the "comfort" can be sexual, romantic, or platonic)
The thing I really like the most about h/c and whump is the intimacy of it all. The caring for another person in h/c, and/or the traumatic headspace/emotional rollercoaster of pain and angst the whumped character goes through are absolutely my personal catnip.
Sex tropes I love
Thank you for checking out my letter! I am opening myself up to fic of any length and whatever you might wish to create in other requested mediums for this exchange. I am good with works of any rating and welcome (but in no way expect or require) sexual content for romantic/sexual ship prompts. Below you will find some brief comments on what I like about each requested fandom and character or ship as well as some prompts for each request, and then a huge list of general likes at the end. A few fandoms and ships have specific DNWs, those are listed with each fandom. Don't feel bound by my prompts in this letter if you think you have an idea for something I will like based on my big likes list or prompts I've made previously in other exchanges.
The Man From U.N.C.L.E (2015) | Motherland:Fort Salem (TV) | John Wick (Movies) | Valdemar Series - Mercedes Lackey | General Likes and Preferences
The Man From U.N.C.L.E (2015)
Illya Kuryakin/Napoleon Solo/Gaby Teller
Worldbuilding
I only saw this film for the first time in late 2018 and I fell for it (and three ridiculous spies and their complicated relationship) very hard. The film has beautiful people, beautiful cinematography, gorgeous costumes, and a perfect soundtrack. It combines multiple strains of classic tropey relationship development: enemies to colleagues to friends (to lovers?) for all three of them, plus the great fake engagement between Illya and Gaby, the rivals to friends competition and one-upmanship between Illya and Napoleon, and then multiple big damn rescues (Napoleon rescuing Illya from drowning, Illya rescuing Napoleon from the electric chair, and then Napoleon and Illya both rescuing Gaby from the Vinciguerras). And all of it against a fun, iconic 60s setting backdrop, serving to set up the idea of them working together as a team for the forseeable future.
Prompts:
I live for tropey setups that push them into intimate situations and "oh. oh." realizations about how they feel about one another. Injuries in the line of duty, snowbound in a cabin, hurt/comfort, self-sacrifice (particularly when Napoleon Solo, Mr. Supposedly Always Looking Out For #1, does something very stupid and dangerous to save one or both of his partners, though I like this trope for any of the three of them), big fucking rescues (just like in the movie!), truth serum or other drugs, sharing a bed, etc. I particularly enjoy when they're trying very hard to focus on the extremely important world-saving case and/or punching Nazis but they keep getting distracted by how incredibly inconvenient their attraction to/affection for their partners has become.
Five times fics - whether a time loop caused by a mad scientist's machine, or due to drug/exhaustion hallucinations the same scenario plays out different ways, or a bunch of different themed incidents on different missions - are always good!
Undercover antics - I love the notion of the three of them all doing a mission with different covers (that might know each other or not) and having to play a dynamic that either differs from the one they share or reinforces feelings they're trying to ignore. For example, on a future mission it's Napoleon and Gaby playing at being engaged or married, and Illya "realizes" they're perfect for one another and tries (miserably) to "back off" much to his partners' confusion.
Napoleon does his best to matchmake Illya and Gaby and catches extremely inconvenient feelings for them both in the process.
As an UNCLE agent Gaby will be traveling outside of Germany for likely only the second meaningful time in her life post-film; she's also significantly younger and less experienced than Illya and Napoleon per their end-of-film dossiers. Despite getting one over on the CIA's best and the KGB's finest in the film, perhaps she has uncertainty about choosing the spy's life (maybe Illya and/or Napoleon even grimly encourage her to get out while she can) and she has to actively decide to stay with UNCLE (and her partners) when given the opportunity to do something different.
Any two of the three have to team up to rescue the third. (Doing a "three times" variation of this including scenarios where each pair has to save the third would be fun.)
Wild AU premises that seem interesting: supernatural/magical realism, a world where magic is known and they all have it, or space opera/sci-fi settings all sound like fun.
One of the trio gets blackmailed - perhaps with evidence of their unconventional relationship, or even just their feelings for one another - and tries to deal with the problem alone. (I could particularly see this being the sort of thing Illya would do.)
Post-retirement future fic - what might they get up to once they're too old to be in the field? What if injuries take one or more of them out of the game even earlier? What if they end up being pulled back to their respective agencies but only meet again by chance 10, 15, or 20 years post-movie?
Illya/Napoleon and Illya/Gaby are the main ships of the fandom besides the trio, but I find Gaby/Napoleon really intriguing - a fic where they believe Illya to be dead, or he's somehow out of their reach (a prisoner, gravely injured, on a mission that they can't interfere in without huge risk) and they hook up out of grief or fear or even in anger would be interesting. (And then they go rescue Illya, right?)
I do very much enjoy them getting up to sexcapades in any context. Feel free to totally ignore my headcanons, but when it comes to sex my thoughts are:
- Illya has incredible sub energy and a praise kink the approximate size of the sun.
- Napoleon is both really full of himself and confident in bed but isn't entirely comfortable with sex that has anything to do with feelings.
- Gaby can be incredibly aggressive and likes to be in charge (she tackled Illya to the ground, after all) but has a hard time letting her guard down and being in the moment.
Speaking of Victoria, if you're inspired to write any kind of "case fic" I think she is a fabulous villain and would love anything with her as the antagonist of the piece, trying to get her revenge on Napoleon and/or the trio!
Worldbuilding:
What is U.N.C.L.E like? How does it function? How does it get off the ground and what kind of politics does Waverly have to play to keep it functioning and to steal out the KGB's best and the CIA's finest right out from under their noses? What kind of rules does it have, and how much do any of the agents, including our trio, actually follow them?
Feel free to crib from the TV show canon as much or as little as you might want if you're familiar - I've seen the first season and bits of the rest and enjoy it immensely.
Art: Love art that riffs off any of my prompts above or general likes. Any and all styles welcome, and it need not be overtly shippy.
In-universe documents - mission reports (with or without notes by each team member and/or Waverly), debriefings, transcribed interviews, or whatever else you can come up with. Stolen intelligence? A report by an enemy (THRUSH?) agent on any of the trio or Waverly or UNCLE as a whole?
Academic reports: An academic article or review about UNCLE as an agency or any or all of the agents would be really interesting. This could be from any era, including modern.
DNW: Characters under 16 having sex. (References to past underage sex are fine.) Modern Mundane AUs. Permanent major character death. (Temporary death and/or believing another character is dead for a time is fine, though.) Total downer endings. Endgame Illya/Gaby or Illya/Napoleon without the third character involved. (Established Illya/Gaby that becomes Illya/Gaby/Napoleon is fine!)
Motherland: Fort Salem (TV)
Abigail Bellweather & Petra Bellweather
Abigail Bellweather
Sarah Alder
Worldbuilding
Worldbuilding prompts:
I'm really curious about the Imperatrix and the whole witch "breeding program" - and how the heck she specifically (unlike every other witch we see) is not under Alder's authority. How did that happen? How has she lost track of so many witch lines? Is this cultural myopia or is something specifically sinister going on with her or her office? Are there similar programs in other countries?
In general, I would love fic or in-universe reports about any tiny speck of alternate history implied by the setting and explored. For example, I can't find the interview now (will link it here if I find it) but I read something last year in which the show's creator offhandedly mentioned that Sarah Alder's first and closest companions after the Salem Accords were previously enslaved witches, and seemed to strongly imply that most of High Atlantic society descends from former slaves, which is pretty fascinating! What would that have meant for society, both army and civilian?
What is up with The Cession? Are Native American/American Indian witches exempt from the Salem Accords? It seems to be something of a safe haven for witches who aren't entirely enthused about army life and a lot of Dodgers. The casual news report in Ojibwe was very interesting, too!
Sarah Alder
What are all these 80+ military campaigns that Alder's been involved in about? Obviously the Spree have been a big part for the past 20 years, but before that? Were they all witch rebels, or have non-witches fought witches in large numbers? Does every country have a witch army, now? How has Alder dealt with them over the years?
Abigail Bellweather (& Petra Bellweather)
Abigail is my favorite of the trio, though I love them all very much, but her angst over living up to familial expectations and figuring out how to make her own way in the world has been a compelling story. I really enjoy her complicated relationship with her mother (and grandmother, and three dads, and Charvel) and would love any kind of exploration of those bonds, Bellweather family expectations/goals for leadership, and what might be next for her as she stakes out her own special project.
(Side note: I like Adil, and I'm fine with Abigail/Adil being a background component of the fic, but I would prefer that it not be the focus of any story.)
DNW: Characters under 16 having sex. (References to past events are fine.) Modern Mundane AU. Permanent major character death. (Temporary death and/or believing another character is dead for a time is fine, though.) Total downer endings. Focus on Raelle/Scylla. (References/background existence of the relationship is fine, and the presence of either or both characters in the fanwork is also very welcome.)
John Wick (Movies)
Worldbuilding
These films are somehow exactly what would happen if you measured out a hearty few cups of my fascination for detailed "hidden world" worldbuilding, stirred in my heart-eyes love for Keanu Reeves, baked it up as a cake, and then frosted it with extremely sexy gratuitous violence and topped it with a puppy. These movies are just so freaking fun that they never get old for me.
Prompts:
Worldbuilding! Feel free to give me something from John's past or future that showcases how weird and wonderful the assassin-world of the films might be, set anywhere you think might be interesting. I'm always curious about what Continental Hotels other than New York and Rome might look like, how the various supporting figures (Charon, the Sommelier, the various other contacts for weapons, money, armor, resources, and the like that John comes into contact with) fit into the world or came to be there in the first place.
I'm also really intrigued by the use of metaphor/code, such as the exchange between John and the Sommelier in Rome about wine that was not at all about wine. The very blurry line between the "hidden world" and the "real world" - at no time during either film any of the more public acts of violence particularly shocking to onlookers - they certainly try to get out of the way, and there are muffled shrieks a time or two, but how is it that all of this happens with absolutely no intervention by the authorities? (Certainly Jimmy is in the know, but are all law enforcement? Are the films set in a universe where there's general awareness and acceptance that conflict between the powers that be are handled via assassination? Could there be magic involved? Sometimes I wonder when watching the films if there's some kind of power inherent in being an assassin who's a member of the underground world that allows them to hide in plain sight...)
Anything that digs into the notion of The High Table further is interesting, too. Implied textual evidence in the films suggests that only major organized crime institutions/families have claim to a seat at it - how did they get them in the first place, and how did those disparate families/groups ever agree to such a thing? There's a subtle implication, too, that the High Table is a very "old world" institution and that the "new world" doesn't have much power - why not, when so much organized crime came to the Americas alongside immigrants, including John himself?
Art: Of any character, OC, or significant location from the films would be welcome. Graphic violence is OK, but please nothing sexually explicit.
In-universe documents: Records kept in the book of blood oaths, a police report by Jimmy or another cop "in the know", other records kept by the High Table
DNW: Characters under 16 having sex. (References to past underage sex are fine.) Setting change AUs with the exception of adding magic or creeping horror elements to the canon setting. Canon divergence is also fine. Animal death. (Do not kill the dog, please. Major Character Death is fine for this fandom otherwise.)
Valdemar Series - Mercedes Lackey
Worldbuilding
With the announcement that the Valdemar books are being adapted for television, I've been feeling very nostalgic for this world. Valdemar was my first real fandom - I recieved Mercedes Lackey fan club newsletters in the mid 90s - and it will always hold a special place in my heart. I love the setting, despite (or perhaps because of) all it's melodrama and silliness.
Prompts: I'm mostly interested in stories that poke at expectations and understandings of the world presented in the book without going really grim-dark. Outsider's perspective on Valdemar and the Heralds. I particularly enjoyed Alberich, Kerowyn, and other non-Herald's more clear-eyed view the strengths and weaknesses of Valdemar's systems.
On the flip side, from the inside, what about a story about a member of the Valdemaran royal family who isn't Chosen, either due to a lack of Gift or the Companions deciding that they had some more important purpose in a different role?
The books imply that prospective Monarch's Own sometimes have "unbonded Choosings" and only *really* Bond with the Grove Born Companion when they take office. (When Jisa is a child in the Last Herald-Mage books Vanyel implies this could be her future, and it's not clear if it didn't happen for political (keeping her out of the line of succession) or practical (Randale wouldn't live long, anyway) reasons.) But... what would that be like, and in what circumstances might it happen? How would the "temporary Companion" feel about it?
Similarly, what happens when an adult Herald is tapped as the next Monarch's Own? Was their bond with their existing Companion not real? Would the Companions argue about it?
In general I'm curious about Companion interpersonal interaction. They are definitely implied to have human-like conflicts and prejudices. How does that play out? Do they chastise one another for breaking the rules? How?
For what it's worth, besides Alberich and Kerowyn some of my favorite characters are Talia and Dirk, Kris, Selenay, and Skif. From Vanyel's time, I am fond of him, Savil, as well as Randale, Shavri, and Jisa. But any characters not in my DNWs are fair game, as are OCs both from within and outside of Valdemar.
Sun/Shadow:
Link to the lyrics of all of the Sun & Shadow music here: http://www.goldenboughmusic.com/music/SunShadow/SunShadow.htm
The legend within the story, the one that Lackey swore she'd never actually write about - but I'm intrigued. We know that "officially" Sun and Shadow were cursed, eventually found magic to undo the curse but instead used it to free an heir of Valdemar from an evil mage and lost their chance to beat the curse, and were eventually chosen by Companions to become Heralds, which then (because Companion Magic, presumably) caused them to be freed from the curse.
But...is that really how it went down?
In addition to a direct take on the legend, I would also be game for any fic in the Valdemar setting that touches on the ballads themselves and doesn't directly include the prompted characters - a Bard character working on their own variation of the legend in song or poetry, an archivist trying to find the real history in the legend, a pair of starcrossed lovers somewhere else in the universe of the books relating to the great tragic love of Sun and Shadow.
I'd also be interested in a very meta take involving "Herald-Archivist Myste" (Mercedes Lackey's extremely transparent self-insert, gods love her) writing about (critiquing?) the ballads and the history if that's your interest.
Art: Love art that riffs off any of my prompts above or general likes. Any and all styles welcome, and it need not be overtly shippy.
In-universe documents/academic reports: Anything by Collegium researchers, Herald scholars (or Archivists), Bards, out-Kingdom mages or scholars traveling in Valdemar (or working off second and third-hand reports...), etc, would be great!
Art: Love art that riffs off any of my prompts above or general likes. Any and all styles welcome, and it need not be overtly shippy.
In-universe documents/academic reports: Anything by Collegium researchers, Herald scholars (or Archivists), Bards, out-Kingdom mages or scholars traveling in Valdemar (or working off second and third-hand reports...), etc, would be great!
DNW: Characters under 16 having sex. (References to past underage sex are fine.) Focus on any of the characters from the books where Mags or his children are protagonists. I have not read these books (Collegium Chronicles/Family of Spies) so I'm not interested in any extension of their stories. However, the founding of the Collegia is of interest to me, so focus on a story in that time period with Original Characters is fine! (Mention of canonical characters from the Mags books is fine.)
General Likes and Preferences
Setting tropes and AU premises I love
- canon divergence/"what if" AUs - I love butterfly effect, "change one thing" AUs especially!
- soulmates and soul bonds - and soulmate subversion, and soulmates played dark or strange - feel free to play it straight but I also love characters choosing someone(s) other than a soulmate, or the notion of soulmates being as much trouble as they are a joy. The worldbuilding would be wild in a world where soulmates are A Thing - I love exploring the effects of that, and the ambiguous bits of such an AU.
- battle couples/trios - ties neatly into competency kink and loyalty kink sexual likes, but non-sexual love and romance among folks who fight together is A+ also
- magical aus (give non-magical characters/canons magic - telepathy, mind magic, arcane magic, spellcasting. Though many of the canons I tend to like have magic of some kind, feel free to go on a worldbuilding dive into what any of my non-magical canon requests might look like if magic was real.)
- alternate magical system AUs (keep the canon magic, but make it different somehow)
- fairy tale AUs
- daemon AUs (or any other "sentient animal companion" magic settings - Valdemar's Companions, Chronicles of the Cheysuli's lir, the "Animalled" of Beukes' Zoo City, witch familiars, etc)
- time loops/Groundhog Day premise (via magic or weird science or no explanation whatsoever)
- undercover antics and/or identity porn - undercover fake married, partners or lovers undercover as enemies, or characters having overlapping complex arrangements of fake identities are all good
- future fic and "next gen" fic (about children of canonical characters as older teens or adults)
- ghosts, communicating with the dead (via magic or weird science)
- enemies to lovers
- werewolves and other were-creatures/animal shapeshifters - tying into magical AUs, I like "everyone's a werewolf" or some kind of magical critter AUs, or just one particular character being "other". Mixing and matching - werewolf and vampire, or werewolf and magical creature hunter, for example, is also a lot of fun.
- sharing a bed (sexual, romantic, or platonic) - enforced intimacy!
- huddling for warmth - more enforced intimacy!
- trapped in a cabin in a blizzard - are you seeing the trend about enforced intimacy?!
- Hurt/Comfort - see the whole section on this trope below
Hurt/Comfort & Whump favorites (note that the "comfort" can be sexual, romantic, or platonic)
The thing I really like the most about h/c and whump is the intimacy of it all. The caring for another person in h/c, and/or the traumatic headspace/emotional rollercoaster of pain and angst the whumped character goes through are absolutely my personal catnip.
Hurt and Whump Preferences:
- torture - I'm generally interested in the emotions and sensory elements more than the gore here. Exhaustion, pain, lingering emotional/mental trauma and mild-to-moderate long-term physical effects are my preferences. I'm less interested in super-severe injury, amputation, or mindbreak-levels of torture.
- sleep deprivation/exhaustion
- noble self-sacrifice - risking harm or death (by performing a noble last stand, or being a distraction, or playing the honeypot, or offering yourself up for torture/assault) to spare others punishment or to allow them to escape
- drugging
- hallucinations
- forced to watch others being hurt
Comfort Preferences:
- hair touching/running fingers through hair
- helping others with personal care - hair washing, shaving, injury tending
- small acts of intimacy/care - preparing food, standing guard while the hurt one sleeps, sharpening the hurt one's edged weapons or cleaning their guns
- sex (with some consideration for the seriousness of the hurt, but I do not expect medical accuracy)
Sex tropes I love
- dubcon - specifically in situations when both/all parties are consenting under duress due to outside forces, such as "sex pollen", "bad guys made them do it", or character(s) consenting to spare another character from having to do so. I like all kinds of outcomes from this plot - the somewhat positive outcomes of admitting hidden feelings or strengthening a relationship after such a difficult experience; a more tragic or negative outcome such as the end of a relationship/partnership, or tragedy; or something ambiguously between the two - I'm happy with any direction unless otherwise requested in my DNWs for a particular fandom/character/ship.
- bondage - particularly of stoic or restrained characters getting tied up and absolutely wrecked
- first time sex - both first time sex ever or first time performing a particular sex act for a character if there's a reasonable characterization of said character as inexperienced, and also first time sex with a particular partner
- sex magic
- pegging (both f/m and f/f)
- praise kink - particularly of stoic and/or damaged characters unused to and undone by praise
- casual physical intimacy between partners - falling asleep on partner's shoulder, cuddling, spooning, etc., especially of characters not used to casual physical intimacy becoming comfortable with it - this could include both characters who have lots of casual sex but not much casual cuddling, or characters who are touch starved or anything in between
- begging during sex ("please!")
- sex as an emotional outlet in the wake of tragedy or grief, such as friends grieving the loss of a mutual friend or loved one or getting over a shared bad experience
- Dominance/submission (though I prefer it NOT be formalized BDSM, such as negotiating safewords and "Master/sir" address, etc. Also, if it's f/m I generally prefer the female character be dominant unless otherwise requested. For my various gender composition OT3+ ships I either don't care or will specify in the prompts.)
- sex between platonic friends
- competence kink
- threesomes
- loyalty kink
- oral sex and fingering/handjobs, both as a precursor to vaginal or anal sex, and as its own thing