Dear Worldbuilder,
Jan. 22nd, 2022 05:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ermingardenI'm so excited to see what you'll create! I absolutely love all of the canons I requested, and my requests are generally to explore more deeply certain elements that particularly intrigue me. I’m providing a few prompts for the tags I requested, but please feel free to ignore them; they are just there in case you find yourself looking for a starting point.
I am![[ao3 icon]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/profile_icons/ao3.png)
Ermingarden on AO3 as well.
General Likes and DNWs
I love epistolary fic, academic pastiche, social media pastiche, outsider POV, slice-of-life fic, primary source documents, academic debates, monks, mysticism, humor, and hopeful endings. Most of all, I'm excited to see what you're excited about!
DNW: explicit sex scenes, BDSM, non-canonical pregnancy or parenthood fic, and especially anything sexual involving children.
The Silmarillion
Requests: Drughu/Drúedain culture, archaeology of Beleriand, manuscripts and manuscript transmission, funerary practices
I am honestly kind of obsessed with the Drughu right now! I'm particularly intrigued by the concept of the watch-stones, both in general and in the story of the friendship between Aghan and Barach, and Drughu craftsmanship and magic more generally. I'd also love to see more about the laughter of the Drughu: We see in Unfinished Tales a real emphasis on their laughter, and are told that "their laughter and the laughter of Orcs are as different as is the light of Aman from the darkness of Angband." I'm also fascinated by the way the Drughu value stillness and take pleasure in it. We're also told that the Drughu were "much loved" by the Elves, and I'd love to see some interactions there, especially because the two cultures are so very different, and the Drughu don't seem to seek to emulate the Elves in the way some other Mannish societies do.
As far as both the archaeology and manuscript transmission requests go, what's behind them is really a fascination with (a) what survives the sinking of Beleriand, (b) how it survives, and (c) how the surviving material is interpreted and reinterpreted by future scholars (and laypeople!) to recreate the history of Beleriand. What are the gaps that still need to be filled in? Where is the guesswork right – and where is it wrong? Why were these things preserved and not others – was it chance? If it was deliberate, who decided what was to be preserved, and how did they make that decision? Are there questions of authenticity and suspected forgeries?
I'm also very interested in manuscript production in Beleriand. Where and by whom were manuscripts produced? What scripts were used, and how could the uses of particular scripts or different dating systems indicate political affiliation? How did Mannish, Elven, and Dwarven writing practices differ?
For funerary practices, I'm chiefly interested in (a) the development of Noldorin funerary practices in Beleriand and (b) embalming in Númenor – though if you're interested in something else, go for it, and I'm sure I'll love it! I'm intrigued by how people coming from a place where death is not an ordinary part of life essentially speedrun the development of funerary customs. What do those customs end up looking like? How do they vary across Beleriand? I'm also really interested in how embalming becomes so culturally important in Númenor, in how it evolved, and in what it looks like in practice.
The Lord of the Rings
Requests: Manuscripts and manuscript transmission, funerary practices
For funerary practices, I'm chiefly interested in embalming in Gondor – though if you're interested in something else, go for it, and I'm sure I'll love it! What did the practice of embalming look like in Gondor, and how did it relate to its Númenórean antecedent? Did the practice continue into the Fourth Age, or did Gondorian funerary customs change after the restoration of the monarchy? Was Elessar embalmed?
I'm deeply fascinated by manuscript production and transmission. How and by whom were manuscripts produced in the various lands of Middle-earth? What sort of manuscript tradition did the Rangers preserve in Arnor? How were the histories of the War of the Ring transmitted, and are there variant manuscript traditions? Are there suspected forgeries?
Star Wars Legends
Requests: Jedi culture, Jedi philosophy, holocrons, Centerpoint Station
Centerpoint Station absolutely fascinates me. What is it like to live in the hollow interior of a space station the size of a planet? Who were the first people to live in Centerpoint, and why did they choose to settle there?
I've been low-key obsessed with holocrons recently – the Legends version of holocrons, that have one or more personalities within them. How sentient really are holocrons? What role do they play in Jedi society – both in the Old Republic and in the rebuilt Jedi Order? What is it like to interact with the holographic echo of someone you knew in life?
I'm generally very interested in Jedi culture and Jedi philosophy, in whatever direction you'd like to explore it! I'm fascinated by the historical development of the Jedi Code and by Jedi mysticism generally. I'd also love to see more about how the Jedi Order operates in day-to-day life as a multispecies society – what does the cafeteria look like? Are there Jedi holidays? We mostly see the Jedi as warriors, but what do their other roles in galactic society look like – as diplomats, scholars, or anything else?
Tiān Guān Cì Fú (Heaven Official's Blessing)
Requests: Ghost City
I'm so intrigued by Ghost City – how does it work? What are the norms that keep it running?
I'd love to see a travel guide to Ghost City, or perhaps a ghostly real estate agent's brochure!
Maybe a look at how new ghosts integrate into the city, whether new to ghosthood or just new to Ghost City. It seems like the ghosts work – what is the economy like? How does a ghost go about finding a job? What do they use the money for?
What sort of legal system does Ghost City have? Are there any formalized rules? How does one go about petitioning Hua Cheng for intervention in a dispute? I imagine Hua Cheng doesn't have the time to adjudicate every issue (especially not once he's married!) – what are his representatives like (besides Yin Yu), and how are they chosen?
The Glass Bead Game
Requests: Academic publishing, the novel as an in-universe text, the Game
I requested "Lodovicus Crudelis, who toiled for thirty years translating all extant ancient Egyptian texts into both Greek and Sanscrit" and "Chattus Calvensis II, who has bequeathed to us four immense folio volumes on The Pronunciation of Latin in the Universities of Southern Italy toward the End of the Twelfth Century" as characters because I'm fascinated by why they (or anyone) would choose to devote their lives to such extremely obscure scholarly endeavors. We're told that Castalia supports people who dedicate themselves to things like this and has such works published – what is it like to work in publishing in Castalia?
Also related to publishing in Castalia, I'm really interested in The Glass Bead Game itself as an in-universe text. Under whose auspices was it published, and how was it received? What drove the narrators to write something like this, when biography as a genre is counter-cultural in Castalia – and when the narrative asks some incisive questions about the social structures of Castalia itself?
And, as ever, I'm fascinated by the Glass Bead Game itself. What was gameplay like, and how did the Game change over the course of its history?
The Name of the Rose
Requests: The Library, second book of Aristotle's Poetics
I'm just fascinated by the Library! How did the cataloging system get set up in the first place, and how did it develop? What was the training of a new librarian like?
How did the second book of the Poetics end up at the monastery? What was its transmission like? In what ways does its existence shape scholarship both before and after its destruction? I'd also be open to an AU where it wasn't destroyed, or where it survived in another copy. And what might or might not have been in it, based on what we see in The Name of the Rose? Go wild!
I am
Ermingarden on AO3 as well. General Likes and DNWs
I love epistolary fic, academic pastiche, social media pastiche, outsider POV, slice-of-life fic, primary source documents, academic debates, monks, mysticism, humor, and hopeful endings. Most of all, I'm excited to see what you're excited about!
DNW: explicit sex scenes, BDSM, non-canonical pregnancy or parenthood fic, and especially anything sexual involving children.
The Silmarillion
Requests: Drughu/Drúedain culture, archaeology of Beleriand, manuscripts and manuscript transmission, funerary practices
I am honestly kind of obsessed with the Drughu right now! I'm particularly intrigued by the concept of the watch-stones, both in general and in the story of the friendship between Aghan and Barach, and Drughu craftsmanship and magic more generally. I'd also love to see more about the laughter of the Drughu: We see in Unfinished Tales a real emphasis on their laughter, and are told that "their laughter and the laughter of Orcs are as different as is the light of Aman from the darkness of Angband." I'm also fascinated by the way the Drughu value stillness and take pleasure in it. We're also told that the Drughu were "much loved" by the Elves, and I'd love to see some interactions there, especially because the two cultures are so very different, and the Drughu don't seem to seek to emulate the Elves in the way some other Mannish societies do.
As far as both the archaeology and manuscript transmission requests go, what's behind them is really a fascination with (a) what survives the sinking of Beleriand, (b) how it survives, and (c) how the surviving material is interpreted and reinterpreted by future scholars (and laypeople!) to recreate the history of Beleriand. What are the gaps that still need to be filled in? Where is the guesswork right – and where is it wrong? Why were these things preserved and not others – was it chance? If it was deliberate, who decided what was to be preserved, and how did they make that decision? Are there questions of authenticity and suspected forgeries?
I'm also very interested in manuscript production in Beleriand. Where and by whom were manuscripts produced? What scripts were used, and how could the uses of particular scripts or different dating systems indicate political affiliation? How did Mannish, Elven, and Dwarven writing practices differ?
For funerary practices, I'm chiefly interested in (a) the development of Noldorin funerary practices in Beleriand and (b) embalming in Númenor – though if you're interested in something else, go for it, and I'm sure I'll love it! I'm intrigued by how people coming from a place where death is not an ordinary part of life essentially speedrun the development of funerary customs. What do those customs end up looking like? How do they vary across Beleriand? I'm also really interested in how embalming becomes so culturally important in Númenor, in how it evolved, and in what it looks like in practice.
The Lord of the Rings
Requests: Manuscripts and manuscript transmission, funerary practices
For funerary practices, I'm chiefly interested in embalming in Gondor – though if you're interested in something else, go for it, and I'm sure I'll love it! What did the practice of embalming look like in Gondor, and how did it relate to its Númenórean antecedent? Did the practice continue into the Fourth Age, or did Gondorian funerary customs change after the restoration of the monarchy? Was Elessar embalmed?
I'm deeply fascinated by manuscript production and transmission. How and by whom were manuscripts produced in the various lands of Middle-earth? What sort of manuscript tradition did the Rangers preserve in Arnor? How were the histories of the War of the Ring transmitted, and are there variant manuscript traditions? Are there suspected forgeries?
Star Wars Legends
Requests: Jedi culture, Jedi philosophy, holocrons, Centerpoint Station
Centerpoint Station absolutely fascinates me. What is it like to live in the hollow interior of a space station the size of a planet? Who were the first people to live in Centerpoint, and why did they choose to settle there?
I've been low-key obsessed with holocrons recently – the Legends version of holocrons, that have one or more personalities within them. How sentient really are holocrons? What role do they play in Jedi society – both in the Old Republic and in the rebuilt Jedi Order? What is it like to interact with the holographic echo of someone you knew in life?
I'm generally very interested in Jedi culture and Jedi philosophy, in whatever direction you'd like to explore it! I'm fascinated by the historical development of the Jedi Code and by Jedi mysticism generally. I'd also love to see more about how the Jedi Order operates in day-to-day life as a multispecies society – what does the cafeteria look like? Are there Jedi holidays? We mostly see the Jedi as warriors, but what do their other roles in galactic society look like – as diplomats, scholars, or anything else?
Tiān Guān Cì Fú (Heaven Official's Blessing)
Requests: Ghost City
I'm so intrigued by Ghost City – how does it work? What are the norms that keep it running?
I'd love to see a travel guide to Ghost City, or perhaps a ghostly real estate agent's brochure!
Maybe a look at how new ghosts integrate into the city, whether new to ghosthood or just new to Ghost City. It seems like the ghosts work – what is the economy like? How does a ghost go about finding a job? What do they use the money for?
What sort of legal system does Ghost City have? Are there any formalized rules? How does one go about petitioning Hua Cheng for intervention in a dispute? I imagine Hua Cheng doesn't have the time to adjudicate every issue (especially not once he's married!) – what are his representatives like (besides Yin Yu), and how are they chosen?
The Glass Bead Game
Requests: Academic publishing, the novel as an in-universe text, the Game
I requested "Lodovicus Crudelis, who toiled for thirty years translating all extant ancient Egyptian texts into both Greek and Sanscrit" and "Chattus Calvensis II, who has bequeathed to us four immense folio volumes on The Pronunciation of Latin in the Universities of Southern Italy toward the End of the Twelfth Century" as characters because I'm fascinated by why they (or anyone) would choose to devote their lives to such extremely obscure scholarly endeavors. We're told that Castalia supports people who dedicate themselves to things like this and has such works published – what is it like to work in publishing in Castalia?
Also related to publishing in Castalia, I'm really interested in The Glass Bead Game itself as an in-universe text. Under whose auspices was it published, and how was it received? What drove the narrators to write something like this, when biography as a genre is counter-cultural in Castalia – and when the narrative asks some incisive questions about the social structures of Castalia itself?
And, as ever, I'm fascinated by the Glass Bead Game itself. What was gameplay like, and how did the Game change over the course of its history?
The Name of the Rose
Requests: The Library, second book of Aristotle's Poetics
I'm just fascinated by the Library! How did the cataloging system get set up in the first place, and how did it develop? What was the training of a new librarian like?
How did the second book of the Poetics end up at the monastery? What was its transmission like? In what ways does its existence shape scholarship both before and after its destruction? I'd also be open to an AU where it wasn't destroyed, or where it survived in another copy. And what might or might not have been in it, based on what we see in The Name of the Rose? Go wild!
