Non-Actionable Puffery

Thank you so much for creating for me! I'm really excited to see your take on any of these worlds.

General likes and DNWs

I’m a big fan of epistolary fic, in-universe documents (including academic pastiche and social media pastiche), outsider POV, slice-of-life fic, primary source documents, academic debates, humor, and hopeful endings. I like hurt-comfort, as long as there’s at least a little comfort at the end.

DNW: rape/sexual assault, PWP/porn without plot, BDSM, omegaverse.

The Silmarillion

Religious practices in Beleriand, Elven funerary customs

I'm curious about the ways different groups of people in Beleriand relate to the Valar (or don't). In particular, how do the Noldor adjust to not having the immediate contact with the Valar they've been used to? Might they look to the practices of the Sindar or the Avari, and what would their opinion be of those practices? How do those who have never been to Valinor worship the Valar? (And what about those who don't?)

I'm also interested in how people for whom death isn't quite as permanent would mark it (or not). How is it different in Valinor as opposed to Beleriand, or among, say, the Noldor as opposed to the Sindar?

The Lord of the Rings

Relations between hobbits and Rangers

I'm sure various hobbits had many interactions over the years with the Rangers guarding the Shire, whether or not they knew what the Rangers were there for - some that went well, and maybe some that went...not so well. I'd love to see anything from a specific anecdote to a general retrospective overview of this history, from anyone's perspective!

The Chronicles of Narnia

Talking Animal customs

I'd love to see any thoughts you have on the customs of a group (or groups!) of Talking Beasts, whether extraordinary or mundane, from Mice to Horses and everyone in between. I'm curious about a few things in particular, if you want a starting point: How do Talking Beasts think of, and interact with, their dumb counterparts? How do the (presumably) varied life expectancies of different Beasts affect Narnian society in general and relations among different species? Are there Talking Insects of any kind, or are Mice as small as it goes? And speaking of Mice - we're told that the Talking Mice had their start with the mice who chewed through Aslan's bonds on the Stone Table. What was it like for there to be a new kind of Talking Beast? Or is that not unusual - have other kinds of animals begun to talk who weren't chosen at the beginning?

I'm so excited to see what new additions to one of these worlds you come up with!

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.

DNW: Explicit sex scenes, anything sexual involving children, BDSM.

The Silmarillion

Manuscripts and manuscript transmission, archaeology of Beleriand, Tol Himling after the War of Wrath

I'm fascinated by the question of (a) what survives the sinking of Beleriand, (b) how it survives, and/or (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? What new meanings did objects (and places!) from Beleriand take on in the Ages after the War of Wrath?

The Lord of the Rings

The rebuilding of Annúminas

I'm interested in just about every aspect of the rebuilding of Annúminas, and Tolkien doesn't show us much of it at all! On a practical level, how was it accomplished? What is the architecture like, and what is the relationship between the design of the new Annúminas and the ancient city - and what inspiration might be drawn from Minas Tirith? Who ends up living in the new Annúminas, and what is daily life like there? And even well before the city is rebuilt, what power does the dream of a rebuilt Annúminas have for the Rangers?

Star Wars Legends

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?

And I've been kind of obsessed with holocrons for a while now – 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?

Chronicles of Narnia

The guinea pigs in the Wood Between the Worlds

This prompt is pretty self-explanatory, but I'm just curious: What happened to the guinea pigs? Did they ever find their way out of the Wood - and if not, what is it like to dwell in that kind of in-between place? What happens to a person there - or to a guinea pig, as the case may be?

I am Ermingarden on AO3 as well.

General Likes and DNWs

A few things I love, in no particular order: slice-of-life fic, epistolary fic, outsider POV, primary source documents, academic debates, linguistics, religion, humor, hurt/comfort, and hopeful endings.

DNW: Explicit sex scenes, anything sexual involving children, onscreen rape/noncon/sexual assault, BDSM, non-canonical pregnancy or parenthood fic, omegaverse, infidelity, and setting-changes AUs.

The Silmarillion

Characters: Maedhros

I'm perpetually fascinated by Maedhros; I want to pick him up and turn him over in my hands to look at him from various different angles. I'd particularly like to see something about Maedhros in Beleriand – his recovery post-Thangorodrim, the building of Himring, all the way through to his death. I love his closeness with Fingon (romantic or not) and his relationship with his brothers.

TGCF

Characters: Xie Lian

I'd love to see a snapshot from Xie Lian's wandering years. I'd also enjoy something to do with the Guoshi Fangxin arc, whether that's the aftermath of his burial in the coffin or his relationship with Lang Qianqiu after the truth of the matter is revealed. Something sweet with Hua Cheng, as well, is always welcome! And I'm a big fan of whump and h/c with XL as the whumpee.

MDZS

Characters: Lan Wangji, Lan Qiren

As you can guess from the characters I requested, I'm really interested in the Lans! What is daily life like in the Cloud Recesses? How do people think about the rules as a structure for their lives? I'm also so interested in LWJ's relationship with music and I'd love to see something about that. For LQR, I'm most interested in his relationships with LXC and LWJ, and the experience of raising them.

Note: I'm pretty exclusively familiar with novel canon – I've only seen a few episodes of CQL.

A Song of Ice and Fire

Characters: Baelor the Blessed

Baelor is endlessly intriguing to me. He's such a complicated character! Mad – but his madness ended the war with Dorne; no one else would have responded to Daeron's death by freeing the hostages, never mind walking as a barefoot penitent to Sunspear. Kind to the smallfolk – but ruthless in his obsession with his sisters' chastity. I'd also love an exploration of Baelor's legacy in future generations; we see in ASOIAF how polarizing a figure he can be, alternately beloved and scorned.

Star Wars Legends

Characters: Cilghal, Kam Solusar

I love Cilghal, and fandom is generally (inexplicably!) less than excited about her, so I would honestly be profoundly grateful for whatever you choose to write about her. One of the reasons Cilghal fascinates me so much is that she drops everything - including her political career! - to become a Jedi, and specifically to become a Jedi healer. Did she always feel like there was something missing, and now everything clicks into place? What is it like adjusting to the Praxeum, including going from living on Dac/Mon Calamari among other Mon Cals to being the only Mon Cal in a (human-dominated) mixed-species group? After healing Mon Mothma, did she keep in touch?

Like Cilghal, Kam is tragically underappreciated, and I will be delighted with just about anything. Kam's backstory is very interesting and honestly pretty underexplored in canon. (It's also kind of horrifying!) How does he deal with becoming a Jedi again considering that he was captured and tortured by the Empire as a kid and then spent most of his life as a deadly Dark Jedi enforcer? I'm also really interested in Kam's friendship with Luke, and I'd enjoy seeing him interact with Mara, as well, considering their similar childhoods.

Star Wars: Rebels

Characters: Depa Billaba, Kanan Jarrus, Ezra Bridger

Jedi culture, Jedi culture, Jedi culture! I'd love to see something about Padawan training, and/or about the struggle of being a Jedi and trying to pass down Jedi philosophy and culture in hiding and without the societal structure of the Temple – though a no-Order 66 AU would also be welcome!

James Asher Vampire Novels

Characters: Don Simon Ysidro

I'd love just about anything with Ysidro. I'm particularly interested in his relationship with his faith – and his bookworm tendencies! Feel free to stick with the tone of canon or go as lighthearted as you want, especially post-canon – I still can't believe we got canonical kittens in Gravemould and Ectoplasm, and I love it. I'd be delighted by either gen or shipfic – I ship James/Lydia/Simon.

Object and Concept Anthropomorphism

Characters: The Longstone of Minchinhampton, Mên-an-Tol (Penwith Moor), The Merry Maidens (Boleigh), Whispering Knights (Rollright Stones)

I am so hyped about the very concept of fic about ancient British stones, okay? (Really, any ancient stones!) Please go wild with whatever your paleolithic heart desires!

I'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 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!

Dear "Yoda",

Thank you very much for writing for me!

( Read more... )

Dear Yoda,

I’m so excited to see what you’ll create!
( Read more... )

Thank you for being my “Yoda” - again, I am really looking forward to seeing what you come up with! I’m sure I’ll love it!