Yuletide 2021
Oct. 23rd, 2021 06:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
deathsbloodHello,
Thank you for reading my letter! I apologise for the delay in getting it out; I have been swamped - imagine me out in a desert sinking down and getting covered in sand.
I am on AO3 as Nabielka.
DNWs (please do not write me):
- A/B/O verse
- surrogacy/focus on pregnancy (in canons with pregnancy, mentions of past pregnancies are fine, but please not on-screen, in particular please no talk of impregnation around sex (even if that is the point of the sex) or any fetuses kicking)
- D/s relationship dynamics
- BDSM
- trans characters
- rape roleplay
- prostitution/porn
- mummy/daddy kink
- parent/child incest
- modern AUs
- public sex
- 2nd POV
specifically for 2 fandoms
- Garrow's law: AU where they're not in the law, rape between main characters (background rape for case is fine)
- Tudors - that common AU where Anne doesn't miscarry/gives birth to a son
Whyborne and Griffin - Jordan L. Hawk - Whyborne, Griffin, Elliot Manning
I’d enjoy something exploring Griffin and Elliot’s relationship in Threshold in light of Griffin’s comments that his relationship with Whyborne has made him think less positively of his relations with Elliot and of Elliot’s behaviour towards him. And in light of Elliot’s on-screen behaviour. Maybe an AU where Elliot survives (even if he still offers) rather than redeeming himself through sacrifice so they actually have to deal with him more. If they force him to resign from the Pinkertons, maybe he ends up in Widdershins for a while, because the maelstrom thinks he has unfinished business. I’m fine with it if Whyborne is more of a background presence in such a scenario. I like complicated relationships.
I’d love a time travel AU take on their relations. There are a couple of bits in the series where there is some thought of what it might have been like had they (W&G) met back in Chicago. But at that time Griffin is not only casually sleeping with Elliot (and Glenn) but has in general a more negative approach to romance and relationships, and would certainly be sceptical of the future he supposedly has with Whyborne. Maybe Whyborne’s seeking out Griffin while trying to find a way back home. I don't see Whyborne as a 'let the timeline play out' type either if he’s early enough, I think he'd want to help Griffin not face the horrors of the asylum. Interactions with Elliot as someone who enjoys Griffin’s trust (and affection) in the past while having reasons to doubt him because of his canonical behaviour would be interesting. Also Glenn, though much less fraught. I’m mostly interested in these timeline-dissonant interactions, feel free to avoid the focus on consequences of such a change (I’d only prefer for it not to be explicitly stuck in the new timeline, since it’s sad if we end up with a very invested Whyborne with memories of years of relationship with a Griffin he’s never going to see again/pre-canon Griffin who’s only falling for him but lacks the same investment).
Jeanne Calment Conspiracy Theory RPF - Jeanne Calment, Yvonne Calment
Historically speaking, Jeanne Calment died aged 122 as the person with the longest demonstrated longevity, doyenne of the French. The conspiracy theory posits that she did not, but that in fact her identity was adopted after her actual earlier death by her daughter Yvonne, who thus lived out a timeline of a less extraordinary length.
I would be very interested in a fic dealing with such a scenario, with its practical and emotional implications. No doubt it is psychologically draining to have your real self be ‘dead’ and to pretend to hold a different position within your family vis-à-vis the other members, and to pick up the strands of someone else’s life and attempt to weave them around yourself. Or something related to the ‘errors’ that are brought up in the theory – because the idea presumes that it was not that Jeanne, being elderly, could make a mistake, but that it was the hesitations of ‘Yvonne!Jeanne’ – Yvonne trying to learn as many details about her mother’s life, even after Jeanne is in fact already dead – from others and from what remains of Jeanne. That is a kind of love, if in a warped context. Or if she dresses like her and tries to make herself look as much alike, that same sort of melancholy identity-blurring. I’m more interested in the earlier stages of this – it is a mad desperate idea, no? – especially on the idea advanced in one variant of the conspiracy theory that it was perhaps intended to be temporary – to pretend to be someone else temporarily for an administrative purpose is not something so very big, but to get stuck that way is a horror.
In terms of sources if you look up the conspiracy theory, you’ll get some pictures, a little family history and some of the things that have been raised against the elderly Jeanne as inconsistencies. Here are a few links:(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6)
Garrow's Law (TV) - William Garrow, Silvester
Silvester from the first seems stuck on Garrow and even as episodes go on, he retains a focus. In the first episode, his sniping at Garrow feels very much like ‘notice me!’ and explicitly his first thought when the prospect of becoming a judge in future is floated before him is that he could uphold any objection raised against Garrow (…belatedly, in an entirely impartial way, of course…) – but not in a ‘let’s remove this guy’; we see with Garrow’s troubles that Silvester doesn’t actually want that.
Garrow makes Silvester take the law seriously! He was treating it as a game, but says now he will be in earnest. Love developing as an appreciation through the law alongside love for the law also developing? I promise that you could not make a fic too legalistic or too focused on law for me to enjoy it.
We see sometimes Silvester working alongside others (‘all the best legal minds’, anyone?) – how about if he and Garrow had to work together in such a way? Or a scene from when Silvester is to act as Garrow’s counsel when crim. con. is brought. Silvester’s intended strategy, as explained to the judge, seems rather along Garrow’s usual approach to cases. A little partial comfort after Silvester shoots Garrow?
I am interested in late 18th century radicalism/political reform, so if you wanted to bring more of that in, that would be fun. Fictional Garrow can steal more cases off real life Erskine, it’s fine. Silvester can be exasperated and mocking that Garrow’s off defending radicals again and talking too much about principles as usual.
An AU where they’re both secretly women but pretending to be men to be able to have a career in the law would be interesting too.
For a shippy fic, my preference is for an earlier setting, with William not properly with Sarah (the sort of sentiment we see in the first season-early second is fine), I’m not a fan of either infidelity where there is a relationship with emotional ties or of open relationships. Or if a later setting, perhaps Sarah does actually go to France and in this way because their relationship does not (currently) exist, the fic can avoid infidelity in this way.
(There are 12 episodes of this, all are currently available on youtube/and therefore youtube mirrors).
Lilywhite Boys Series - K. J. Charles - Jerry Crozier, Alec Pyne
I’d love something from Jerry’s POV, especially during the earlier stage of canon where they have to spend time together to establish that they are friends publicly for the plot. Jerry chose to be the one to play that role (that little ‘like at an auction’ thing at their first meeting was fun), was there anything about Alec then that caught his eye or was it only a thing between him and Temp? In particular, something about Jerry finding himself actually enjoying spending time with Alec and falling for him but not acknowledging to himself how much he’s falling would be nice. Or something about Jerry at Castle Speight! Whether the sudden shock of Alec’s betrayal and his own entanglement, the thing about Alec having told the truth about all things but his intentions, or a scene where Jerry turns to Temp and tells him that they have to let themselves get caught!
I’d like something with Alec and one of his remaining siblings post-canon. I really liked that after all the drama and the heartache that the blow-up of Alec going back to their father had caused, that when they next met at the end it was again embracing and love and even without knowing Alec’s real motivations, the schism was forgiven. Something after some of the jewels get returned to George would be fun – not suspicious or odd at all for stolen items to make their way back! Or one of the siblings meeting Jerry. I feel like George got a little more characterisation, but choose which you like. In a similar loved one & co, I’d enjoy something about Templeton and Alec improving relations slightly (I have read Gilded Cage, so even in terms of Alec believing him even if only to the ‘wouldn’t lie thus to Jerry’ sense, which was more than others). From where last see Temp in AOD, it seems easier to go up than down!
Some AUs I would like, for the additional complications: the Duke and/or Duchess survive; Alec is an unreliable narrator about more than what he’s really up to (he certainly represses this knowledge pretty hard in his POV); AU where they’re both female! (other characters may also receive the always-the-other-sex!treatment: Temp! Alec’s insufficient parent can be suo iure Duchess and all too. Maybe leave Susan female though.)
If you’re familiar with the Society of Gentlemen series, I think a time travel AU that allows adult!Temp to meet his uncle again would be fun – particularly since Richard is so righteous and Temp has turned to a life of crime! Plus I think Silas would approve of Alec being an aristocrat willingly in (book-related) labour.
Please don’t give me fic about the d/s dynamics of their relationship or incidents of public sex. Mentions of things that happen in canon are okay – Alec can think about the Waterloo bridge thing or Jerry can call him Lord Alexander with a particular meaning – but please nothing that is new to the fic or fic focusing on this, as both DNWs can veer quickly into squick/uncomfortable territory for me.
The Tudors (TV) - Mary Tudor
You know those AUs where things go better for Anne because she doesn’t miscarry or Henry hears something that makes him not believe that she betrayed him or circumstances prevent him from getting rid of her? I’d like something along these lines but for Mary. A (partially?) fix-it AU where things go better for her (in her youth; she was eventually successful in the post-canon bit of history).
I’d particularly like something set between Anne (Boleyn)’s rise and fall, because this provides a lot of dramatic potential (and because Mary canonically enjoys a (partial) restoration afterwards). It’s fun if she knows that there was a threat to her position and has already had to defend it, more than the pure fluff of just continuing as a beloved Princess, pearl of her father’s world.
I’m sure Mary dreamed of Henry ‘coming to his senses’. Perhaps Henry belatedly takes advantage of the good faith argument in line with previous annulments and restores Mary to the succession early? (i.e. Anne’s fears that ‘the King can change his mind’ actually come about). A scene with Mary and Anne having to adjust to now being to occasionally interact while having still so much (natural) distrust would be great. Even if things are materially better for Mary, probably she still feels guilty and undoubtedly saddened if her mother is still kept away and Henry still does not allow them to meet. Maybe Henry’s jousting accident in 1536 ‘knocks some sense into him’ and makes him reassess his treatment of his daughter? Or maybe Henry just dies then, Mary triumphs, and therefore has to do something about Anne? If it diverges after this, I’d like it if Mary were to start to have doubts about it being due to Anne that she had been sent to Hatfield.
While I really liked the show’s depiction of Mary, I’m less attached to changes made in the show universe, e.g. no need to pretend Henry had only one sister; elements of the fic reflecting more the historical events than changes in this adaptation are fine and welcome.
I would also like an AU where she marries Zygmunt August from Poland. Van der Delft wrote to Charles V in 1546, “can discover nothing about the mission of the Polish ambassador. It is publicly asserted to have been for a marriage of his master with Lady Mary”. A scene between her and Bona Sforza? Mary getting Anne Boleyn flashbacks with regard to Barbara?
I enjoyed Mary’s scenes with Chapuys and I liked the subplots relating to possible marriages for her. Something along these lines would also please me, including other RL ideas or something you come up with, whether it comes to fruition or not. If so, my preference is that any consummation is not outright rape or with an emphasis on a man’s ‘conjugal rights’ – maybe it’s not comfortable and they’d both rather not, but there’s an awareness that they have to for the validity of the marriage or for heirs, or it’s just ‘okay’, they don’t have to be in love and greatly enjoying it. I just don’t want Mary to be miserable and I do want her to be treated with respect.
Please don’t give me Mary POV on one of those success-for-Anne AUs. I also don’t like it in fic where Mary gives up on the idea of England/the throne, I find it sad.
Thank you for reading my letter! I apologise for the delay in getting it out; I have been swamped - imagine me out in a desert sinking down and getting covered in sand.
I am on AO3 as Nabielka.
DNWs (please do not write me):
- A/B/O verse
- surrogacy/focus on pregnancy (in canons with pregnancy, mentions of past pregnancies are fine, but please not on-screen, in particular please no talk of impregnation around sex (even if that is the point of the sex) or any fetuses kicking)
- D/s relationship dynamics
- BDSM
- trans characters
- rape roleplay
- prostitution/porn
- mummy/daddy kink
- parent/child incest
- modern AUs
- public sex
- 2nd POV
specifically for 2 fandoms
- Garrow's law: AU where they're not in the law, rape between main characters (background rape for case is fine)
- Tudors - that common AU where Anne doesn't miscarry/gives birth to a son
Whyborne and Griffin - Jordan L. Hawk - Whyborne, Griffin, Elliot Manning
I’d enjoy something exploring Griffin and Elliot’s relationship in Threshold in light of Griffin’s comments that his relationship with Whyborne has made him think less positively of his relations with Elliot and of Elliot’s behaviour towards him. And in light of Elliot’s on-screen behaviour. Maybe an AU where Elliot survives (even if he still offers) rather than redeeming himself through sacrifice so they actually have to deal with him more. If they force him to resign from the Pinkertons, maybe he ends up in Widdershins for a while, because the maelstrom thinks he has unfinished business. I’m fine with it if Whyborne is more of a background presence in such a scenario. I like complicated relationships.
I’d love a time travel AU take on their relations. There are a couple of bits in the series where there is some thought of what it might have been like had they (W&G) met back in Chicago. But at that time Griffin is not only casually sleeping with Elliot (and Glenn) but has in general a more negative approach to romance and relationships, and would certainly be sceptical of the future he supposedly has with Whyborne. Maybe Whyborne’s seeking out Griffin while trying to find a way back home. I don't see Whyborne as a 'let the timeline play out' type either if he’s early enough, I think he'd want to help Griffin not face the horrors of the asylum. Interactions with Elliot as someone who enjoys Griffin’s trust (and affection) in the past while having reasons to doubt him because of his canonical behaviour would be interesting. Also Glenn, though much less fraught. I’m mostly interested in these timeline-dissonant interactions, feel free to avoid the focus on consequences of such a change (I’d only prefer for it not to be explicitly stuck in the new timeline, since it’s sad if we end up with a very invested Whyborne with memories of years of relationship with a Griffin he’s never going to see again/pre-canon Griffin who’s only falling for him but lacks the same investment).
Jeanne Calment Conspiracy Theory RPF - Jeanne Calment, Yvonne Calment
Historically speaking, Jeanne Calment died aged 122 as the person with the longest demonstrated longevity, doyenne of the French. The conspiracy theory posits that she did not, but that in fact her identity was adopted after her actual earlier death by her daughter Yvonne, who thus lived out a timeline of a less extraordinary length.
I would be very interested in a fic dealing with such a scenario, with its practical and emotional implications. No doubt it is psychologically draining to have your real self be ‘dead’ and to pretend to hold a different position within your family vis-à-vis the other members, and to pick up the strands of someone else’s life and attempt to weave them around yourself. Or something related to the ‘errors’ that are brought up in the theory – because the idea presumes that it was not that Jeanne, being elderly, could make a mistake, but that it was the hesitations of ‘Yvonne!Jeanne’ – Yvonne trying to learn as many details about her mother’s life, even after Jeanne is in fact already dead – from others and from what remains of Jeanne. That is a kind of love, if in a warped context. Or if she dresses like her and tries to make herself look as much alike, that same sort of melancholy identity-blurring. I’m more interested in the earlier stages of this – it is a mad desperate idea, no? – especially on the idea advanced in one variant of the conspiracy theory that it was perhaps intended to be temporary – to pretend to be someone else temporarily for an administrative purpose is not something so very big, but to get stuck that way is a horror.
In terms of sources if you look up the conspiracy theory, you’ll get some pictures, a little family history and some of the things that have been raised against the elderly Jeanne as inconsistencies. Here are a few links:(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6)
Garrow's Law (TV) - William Garrow, Silvester
Silvester from the first seems stuck on Garrow and even as episodes go on, he retains a focus. In the first episode, his sniping at Garrow feels very much like ‘notice me!’ and explicitly his first thought when the prospect of becoming a judge in future is floated before him is that he could uphold any objection raised against Garrow (…belatedly, in an entirely impartial way, of course…) – but not in a ‘let’s remove this guy’; we see with Garrow’s troubles that Silvester doesn’t actually want that.
Garrow makes Silvester take the law seriously! He was treating it as a game, but says now he will be in earnest. Love developing as an appreciation through the law alongside love for the law also developing? I promise that you could not make a fic too legalistic or too focused on law for me to enjoy it.
We see sometimes Silvester working alongside others (‘all the best legal minds’, anyone?) – how about if he and Garrow had to work together in such a way? Or a scene from when Silvester is to act as Garrow’s counsel when crim. con. is brought. Silvester’s intended strategy, as explained to the judge, seems rather along Garrow’s usual approach to cases. A little partial comfort after Silvester shoots Garrow?
I am interested in late 18th century radicalism/political reform, so if you wanted to bring more of that in, that would be fun. Fictional Garrow can steal more cases off real life Erskine, it’s fine. Silvester can be exasperated and mocking that Garrow’s off defending radicals again and talking too much about principles as usual.
An AU where they’re both secretly women but pretending to be men to be able to have a career in the law would be interesting too.
For a shippy fic, my preference is for an earlier setting, with William not properly with Sarah (the sort of sentiment we see in the first season-early second is fine), I’m not a fan of either infidelity where there is a relationship with emotional ties or of open relationships. Or if a later setting, perhaps Sarah does actually go to France and in this way because their relationship does not (currently) exist, the fic can avoid infidelity in this way.
(There are 12 episodes of this, all are currently available on youtube/and therefore youtube mirrors).
Lilywhite Boys Series - K. J. Charles - Jerry Crozier, Alec Pyne
I’d love something from Jerry’s POV, especially during the earlier stage of canon where they have to spend time together to establish that they are friends publicly for the plot. Jerry chose to be the one to play that role (that little ‘like at an auction’ thing at their first meeting was fun), was there anything about Alec then that caught his eye or was it only a thing between him and Temp? In particular, something about Jerry finding himself actually enjoying spending time with Alec and falling for him but not acknowledging to himself how much he’s falling would be nice. Or something about Jerry at Castle Speight! Whether the sudden shock of Alec’s betrayal and his own entanglement, the thing about Alec having told the truth about all things but his intentions, or a scene where Jerry turns to Temp and tells him that they have to let themselves get caught!
I’d like something with Alec and one of his remaining siblings post-canon. I really liked that after all the drama and the heartache that the blow-up of Alec going back to their father had caused, that when they next met at the end it was again embracing and love and even without knowing Alec’s real motivations, the schism was forgiven. Something after some of the jewels get returned to George would be fun – not suspicious or odd at all for stolen items to make their way back! Or one of the siblings meeting Jerry. I feel like George got a little more characterisation, but choose which you like. In a similar loved one & co, I’d enjoy something about Templeton and Alec improving relations slightly (I have read Gilded Cage, so even in terms of Alec believing him even if only to the ‘wouldn’t lie thus to Jerry’ sense, which was more than others). From where last see Temp in AOD, it seems easier to go up than down!
Some AUs I would like, for the additional complications: the Duke and/or Duchess survive; Alec is an unreliable narrator about more than what he’s really up to (he certainly represses this knowledge pretty hard in his POV); AU where they’re both female! (other characters may also receive the always-the-other-sex!treatment: Temp! Alec’s insufficient parent can be suo iure Duchess and all too. Maybe leave Susan female though.)
If you’re familiar with the Society of Gentlemen series, I think a time travel AU that allows adult!Temp to meet his uncle again would be fun – particularly since Richard is so righteous and Temp has turned to a life of crime! Plus I think Silas would approve of Alec being an aristocrat willingly in (book-related) labour.
Please don’t give me fic about the d/s dynamics of their relationship or incidents of public sex. Mentions of things that happen in canon are okay – Alec can think about the Waterloo bridge thing or Jerry can call him Lord Alexander with a particular meaning – but please nothing that is new to the fic or fic focusing on this, as both DNWs can veer quickly into squick/uncomfortable territory for me.
The Tudors (TV) - Mary Tudor
You know those AUs where things go better for Anne because she doesn’t miscarry or Henry hears something that makes him not believe that she betrayed him or circumstances prevent him from getting rid of her? I’d like something along these lines but for Mary. A (partially?) fix-it AU where things go better for her (in her youth; she was eventually successful in the post-canon bit of history).
I’d particularly like something set between Anne (Boleyn)’s rise and fall, because this provides a lot of dramatic potential (and because Mary canonically enjoys a (partial) restoration afterwards). It’s fun if she knows that there was a threat to her position and has already had to defend it, more than the pure fluff of just continuing as a beloved Princess, pearl of her father’s world.
I’m sure Mary dreamed of Henry ‘coming to his senses’. Perhaps Henry belatedly takes advantage of the good faith argument in line with previous annulments and restores Mary to the succession early? (i.e. Anne’s fears that ‘the King can change his mind’ actually come about). A scene with Mary and Anne having to adjust to now being to occasionally interact while having still so much (natural) distrust would be great. Even if things are materially better for Mary, probably she still feels guilty and undoubtedly saddened if her mother is still kept away and Henry still does not allow them to meet. Maybe Henry’s jousting accident in 1536 ‘knocks some sense into him’ and makes him reassess his treatment of his daughter? Or maybe Henry just dies then, Mary triumphs, and therefore has to do something about Anne? If it diverges after this, I’d like it if Mary were to start to have doubts about it being due to Anne that she had been sent to Hatfield.
While I really liked the show’s depiction of Mary, I’m less attached to changes made in the show universe, e.g. no need to pretend Henry had only one sister; elements of the fic reflecting more the historical events than changes in this adaptation are fine and welcome.
I would also like an AU where she marries Zygmunt August from Poland. Van der Delft wrote to Charles V in 1546, “can discover nothing about the mission of the Polish ambassador. It is publicly asserted to have been for a marriage of his master with Lady Mary”. A scene between her and Bona Sforza? Mary getting Anne Boleyn flashbacks with regard to Barbara?
I enjoyed Mary’s scenes with Chapuys and I liked the subplots relating to possible marriages for her. Something along these lines would also please me, including other RL ideas or something you come up with, whether it comes to fruition or not. If so, my preference is that any consummation is not outright rape or with an emphasis on a man’s ‘conjugal rights’ – maybe it’s not comfortable and they’d both rather not, but there’s an awareness that they have to for the validity of the marriage or for heirs, or it’s just ‘okay’, they don’t have to be in love and greatly enjoying it. I just don’t want Mary to be miserable and I do want her to be treated with respect.
Please don’t give me Mary POV on one of those success-for-Anne AUs. I also don’t like it in fic where Mary gives up on the idea of England/the throne, I find it sad.
