Yuletide Letter 2024
Sep. 21st, 2024 04:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snowynightDear creator,
Thank you so much for creating a fanwork for me! I'm sure I will love it anyways, but here are some details about what I like/dislike, in case you like to do your research.
First off, I would rather receive a work that the creator was enthusiastic about than one that fulfilled every detail of my request. Prompts can be altered, combined, twisted, and bent as you see fit.
I am happy to receive a work of any rating. I also welcome treats. I love fanwork in canon setting, a missing moment, canon divergent AU, story set in the past or future of canon.
My requests are varied in lengtth, but I love them equally.
For romance, I love first time, established relationship, as well as a work that a couple goes on adventure/solve problems/enjoys themselves together.
Table of Content:
General Section
Fandom Section
General like:
I like stories with: action/adventure, banter, capture and rescue, competence, the edge between civilization and the unknown, formation of friendship, history affecting the present, humour, hurt/comfort, longing, love or friendship expressed in atypical ways, moral ambiguity, attraction between opposites, outsider POV, people telling stories, people who have each other's backs, people who flat out like each other's company, people suffering stoically, power exchange, people being resolute, secret identity (or lack of it), strong and competent characters, sense memory, time travel, traveling, slow burn, missing scenes, friends to lovers, fixing failed relationships, changing fate, things going wrong and navigating the outcomes, intense long term patient genuinely selfless physical comfort
Though it seems unlikely, if you have not yet given up on my rambling and want to research me more, I've told more about what I like here.
Narrative style opt-in:
epistolary fic, diary entries, nonlinear storytelling, in-universe social media posts, or more experimental writing modes
General DNW: (Fandom specific DNW and exception are listed below)
Trope/Genre Preference
Darkfic Trope Preference:
- emotional manipulation/emotional vulnerability, kidnapping/captivity/stockholm and lima syndromes, unhealthy relationships, fucked-up society/dystopias, satisfying acts of revenge, there are no good guys, characters willing to do morally ambiguous things presented as the sympathetic ones | characters who "only do what's 'right'" presented as unsympathetic/fake/hypocritical, evil is sexy, the lure of corruption, obsession, possessiveness
Horror Trope Preference
Hurt/Comfort Trope Preference:
Romance Trope Preference:
Smut/Porn Trope Preference
I don't have top/bottom preference for all my requests. Please feel to choose whatever you like if applicable. In case you're inspired to write anything more smut based as well, here are some ideas:
Hauntings - Vernon Lee
Requested Characters: Any
Fandom specific DNW exception clarification:
DNW violent rape/outright noncon (intoxicated/impaired consent, sex pollen, and no no yes, etc are fine)
My request:
Oke of Okehurst
Nominated characters in the tag set:
Oedipus and the Sphinx - Gustave Moreau
Requested Characters: Sphinx (Moreau)
My Request:
I really love Gustave Monreau's painting because of the fantasy details. I am really intrigued by his interpretation of the Oedipus and the Sphinx myth. Sphinx is so little and looks so confused while pouncing on Oedipus, as if she were a kitty who - to her horror - found that there was space in the bowl of her food and demanded more immediately. Look at her face! She's so innocent! Meanwhile Oedipus was doing "No, bad kitty".
I would like something fluffy and/or humourous for this murder kitty. She deserved the best! Alternatively, I'm intrigued by the comment that Oedipus and the Sphinx's shared intense gaze suggested that "they recognize each other all too well". If you want to write the adventure and history of Oedipus and Sphinx together, be my guest!
Fandom Specific DNW:
No sex between Oedipus and Sphinx please
About the canon:
It's a painting depicting the myth of Oedipus and the Sphinx in an interesting way: Sphinx pounds on and clings to Oedipus like a confused murder kitty, while the remains of her victims litter the foreground.
Link to the painting on Met website
Tang Dynasty Poets RPF
Requested Characters: Han Yu | Han Tuizhi (Tang Dynasty Poets RPF)
My Request:
I really like how unconventional Han Yu was as a poet. Very few classical Chinese poets wrote about losing teeth, eating toads and ungrateful owl rescues.
His life is very dramatic too: orphaned as a child, struggles to support himself and his clan; and banishment to the extreme south of Tang empire because of his outspokenness against the emperor. I think a story about him will be interesting. Character study, slice of life, humour, angst, drama, etc are all good.
If you want to ship him with other poets, it's fine too. Han Yu's very social, generous and intense in his relationship. His reputation also changes a lot in Tang, Song Dynasty and beyond. Please feel free to bring in any nominated characters, or even people not his time if it fits the story.
If you would like some prompts:
- Han Yu had a dramatic life. Character study of his exile, the time he struggled to keep his family fed, the time when he was on the other political side with his friends, the time he was rumored to get stuck on the Huashan... Any event can be interesting and rife for drama and conflict.
- Han Yu was controversial back in his days, for example: writing playful short stories, arguing against the naming taboo and risking imprisonment. What if there was social media account in Tang Dynasty?
- It'll be great if you get inspired by any of his poems or essay, eg What if Han Yu and Meng Chiao were really dragons in the imaginary world? What's like to listen to music so good that it's like putting ice and fire in your stomach?
- It'll be interesting to look at how the narrative of Han Yu changes with time (for example, he was legendary known for casting out crocodiles with his prose.)
Meanwhile, as he died after most of his friends, his obituary also helped shape what we knew about them. eg: how Liu Zongyuan became a patron god. What's going through when a writer becomes the subject or writing and gets his stories shaped by others?
Epistolary, in-universe documents, outsider POV are all welcome.
About the canon:
Article that highlights interesting facts of Han Yu's life
Wikipedia page
I wrote a post that introduced Han Yu & other poets in the tagset that may be useful
In case you would like to read more of his poems (which's not obligatory), there's a chapter about Han Yu in An Introduction to Chinese Poetry by Michael A. Fuller
Traveller's Tale - Highlander
Requested Characters: Any
My Request:
I love the exploration of the multiverse and the different aliens/humans culture. The setting is wild enough to allow adventure in the wilde universe, horror, secret and intrigue, going on missions, bond building between unlikely people in unlikely situations. Please feel free to throw in any named characters or make up your own. I really want any stories that come from the setting.
One of my favorite aspect is that people in different species, timelines and culture can work together, so I would love to see more of that - first meeting, cultural difference and communication issues, going on missions, or just spend time together.
I'm also interested in exploration of the different departments, factions and secrets of the agency. What kind of secret experiment have gone on again? What's like to negotiate an inner conflict and "fracture a bloody line throughout the organization"? What's it like to work on ascending towards godhoods (and the many debate about the best way way to do it)? A day of life in an agent or any named character's life can be fun.
About the canon:
Traveller's Tale - Highlander is a free futuristic sci-fi setting that your character is a recruit of an intergalactic multidimensional agency with loads of secrets. There are ~60 character options to choose from (eg: post-human construct, a creature of dreams, a river raider from the Xia Dynasty). You can fly around in a spaceship and explore the multiverse, do excavation work in the neuro-hives still crumbling in orbit, slice eldritch beings with a lightsaber then blow up the remains with holy blessed super c4, become a literal god or upload your mind to a computer core that can teleport away if your robotic body is destroyed. Your character can choose to befriend, ally, antagonize, or fall in love with characters from a cast of about ~80 NPCs (including: a sapient machine soul, a bisexual part porcine, part human mediator who can use magic, etc).
It's not necessary to read the whole document. You can skip the skill and equipment section (p.19-76).
The general setting information is in p.142-156.
The following sections are useful, but you can just pick what you like to explore and don't need to read the whole section.
p.4-19: Origin, Nature & Background
p.77-104: Agency information
p.106-p.133: Allies, Acquaintances, Rivals & Friends
p.133-142: Hubworld Deployment
Link to Traveller's Tale 2.0 (including 2 optional free dlc)
The Wanderer's Library
Requested Characters: Any
My Request:
I love libraries. The idea of an infinite library intrigues me. I also love a sense of exploration and wonder. Please feel free to explore the worlds and stories recorded in the library, the library patrons or create characters or stories that explores the infinite possibility of the library collection. If you want to explore the nature of the library itself, it'll be great too.
Prompts:
- What's it like to stumble into this library and find knowledge beyond your imagination? What kind of knowledge may be seeked and what's the consequence? Does the Wanderer's Library has its version of JSTOR? What may the library gossip about? Anything about the library is great.
- I'm really fascinated with the sense of of wonder and unknown in the stories. What's it like to live in the only remaining place in the universe/post-singularity/deep space/fantastic London/etc? What happens thereafter in the stories: eg: Found Across the Sea? Please feel free to explore the different worlds or stories, or make up your own.
About the canon:
"Wanderer's Library is a library with entrances all over the world that contains every book that's ever been written, will be written and will never be written. It's a collection of stories that explore strange and fantastic corners of the world, hidden from ordinary eyes. There are strange things that are not quite of our world. Some are dangerous, some are merely fascinating. They are all extraordinary." The stories mainly set in the multi-universe with the library as a framing device.
The patrons of the library is as varied as the books. Eyeless archivist knows where to find every book. Mouthless humanoids with lanterns for hands enforce the rules and help patrons wandering the shelves. They're also the first line of defense to the library.
Link to the Wanderer's Library
琴師 - 音頻怪物 | A Stringed Instrument Player - Yīnpín Guàiwu (Music Video)
Requested Characters:
My request:
I really like how the instrument player finds unexpected mercy from the guard, and the angst because they're on borrowed time and have to part eventually.
Anything'll be great! A fanwork set during or after the canon is great, so as to canon divergent AU. I like gen, pre-relationship, first time, established relationship and reunion.
Prompts:
I really like how the instrument player finds unexpected mercy from the guard, who respects him and provides subtle comfort. There're so many angst baked in the pairing: they're from enemy countries. The instrument player is spoil of war. Their can't control their fate or when/if they will be separated. The stolen glances, longing and conflicts gives me a lot of feel.
You can set the story during the player's captivity. What does the player think when he isn't really in a position to say no? The tentative attempt to test when a blow will come (and it never comes); they way they start taking care of each other, and the connection through music... What's happened after the player blow out the candle and embrace the guard? XD
Perhaps they can remain in contact after separation. An emotional reunion in future is great too. eg. The guard may go to the player's country, or the player may visit the guard's country now as part of a diplomatic entourage. These are just suggestions.
Some ideas: Unexpected mercy, character connecting or expressing themselves with music, pining, hurt/comfort, stolen moment of respite and solace, longing touches and glances, desperation, emotional reunion.
If you would like to name the characters, here are some naming resources:
List of common Chinese surnames
Chinese male given name
About the canon:
The music video tells the story of an stringed instrument player brought to an enemy court as a spoil of war. He falls in love with a kind palace guard, but separated when the enemy liege lord releases him to his homeland on Winter solstice. Please feel free to make up names for them. It isn't necessary to set the story in any specific historical period.
link to the video with English sub:
Link to the video with original Chinese lyric
Thank you so much for creating a fanwork for me! I'm sure I will love it anyways, but here are some details about what I like/dislike, in case you like to do your research.
First off, I would rather receive a work that the creator was enthusiastic about than one that fulfilled every detail of my request. Prompts can be altered, combined, twisted, and bent as you see fit.
I am happy to receive a work of any rating. I also welcome treats. I love fanwork in canon setting, a missing moment, canon divergent AU, story set in the past or future of canon.
My requests are varied in lengtth, but I love them equally.
For romance, I love first time, established relationship, as well as a work that a couple goes on adventure/solve problems/enjoys themselves together.
Table of Content:
General Section
- General Like
- General DNW
- Darkfic/Horror Preference
- Hurt/Comfort tropes
- Romance tropes
- Smut/Porn Trope Preference
Fandom Section
- Hauntings - Vernon Lee
- Oedipus and the Sphinx - Gustave Moreau
- Tang Dynasty Poets RPF
- Traveller's Tale - Highlander
- The Wanderer's Library
- 琴師 - 音頻怪物 | A Stringed Instrument Player - Yīnpín Guàiwu (Music Video)
General like:
I like stories with: action/adventure, banter, capture and rescue, competence, the edge between civilization and the unknown, formation of friendship, history affecting the present, humour, hurt/comfort, longing, love or friendship expressed in atypical ways, moral ambiguity, attraction between opposites, outsider POV, people telling stories, people who have each other's backs, people who flat out like each other's company, people suffering stoically, power exchange, people being resolute, secret identity (or lack of it), strong and competent characters, sense memory, time travel, traveling, slow burn, missing scenes, friends to lovers, fixing failed relationships, changing fate, things going wrong and navigating the outcomes, intense long term patient genuinely selfless physical comfort
Though it seems unlikely, if you have not yet given up on my rambling and want to research me more, I've told more about what I like here.
Narrative style opt-in:
epistolary fic, diary entries, nonlinear storytelling, in-universe social media posts, or more experimental writing modes
General DNW: (Fandom specific DNW and exception are listed below)
- Deathfic where the requested characters die permanently (canonical death is fine), Rape/noncon
- on screen graphic violence/torture. [Depiction of aftermath of violence is fine. (eg: character dealing with their injuries/covered with blood/etc)], Child Harm
- Animal harm (Descriptions of hunting, monster killing or characters eating meat is fine)
- Fixation on racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, or transphobia as the main theme of a fic, Severe homophobia or transphobia being portrayed as a cultural norm in fictional societies that aren't canonically shown to have it.
- Real life tragedy/serial killers/pandemic, Non-canonical long term/life threatening illness (e.g. Covid, cancer or AIDS), Self-harm
- Pregnancy/mpreg/kidfic, requested characters cheating on/break up with each other, unrequested sexuality/gender/neurodivergence headcanons, poly conventions, unrequested setting change AU (such as high school AU, modern coffee shop AU, omegaverse, human characters with non-canonical non-human body parts, etc.)
- characters discussing whether it's good or bad to practice current/rl religion (mentioning their canonical religious beliefs or practice in the story is fine)
- For porn: underage (no younger than 16, aged up or nom-specific age is all right)), scat/watersports, vore, body fluids besides blood or sexual fluid, bestiality, gangbang (two on one in a threesome is OK)
Trope/Genre Preference
Darkfic Trope Preference:
- emotional manipulation/emotional vulnerability, kidnapping/captivity/stockholm and lima syndromes, unhealthy relationships, fucked-up society/dystopias, satisfying acts of revenge, there are no good guys, characters willing to do morally ambiguous things presented as the sympathetic ones | characters who "only do what's 'right'" presented as unsympathetic/fake/hypocritical, evil is sexy, the lure of corruption, obsession, possessiveness
Horror Trope Preference
- Memory control/Mind occupation & sharing, Psychological horror, nightmare, the feeling of being stalked/watched, unreliable narrator, hallucinations/nightmare, hidden horror in seemingly ordinary situation, claustrophobia
- Supernatural creatures, Ghost and what happens when people die, people who are dead don't realize they have and continue to go about as if they're alive, come back wrong, Cursed artifact
- Dream realm, characters abducted to another realm, creepy locations, atmospheric descriptions
- folk horror/folklores/old wives' tales, existential horror, cosmic/eldritch horror, dark fairy tales, dark fantasy
Hurt/Comfort Trope Preference:
- noble self sacrifice,
- stoic character revealing their secret weakness because of feverish dream/nightmare/hallucination/etc to friends/loved one and get comforted,
- bandaging wounds
- hypothermia and cuddling for warmth•
- characters adapting to loss with help •
- skin hunger
Romance Trope Preference:
- Pining and the feeling ends up requited
- incredible level of trust and loyalty,
- battle couple
- one character rising above the challenge to help someone they love
- characters appreciating the sight of the other at work
- characters touching a lot
Smut/Porn Trope Preference
I don't have top/bottom preference for all my requests. Please feel to choose whatever you like if applicable. In case you're inspired to write anything more smut based as well, here are some ideas:
- Bondage and restraint
- sensory deprivation e.g. blindfolds
- Teasing, edging, orgasm denial/control
- Biting/marking, leaving small reminders that someone is theirs
- Characters wearing luxury jewellery, with or without clothing.
- Cuddling, slow and sweet sex, wanting to create better memory of sex for their partner
- Rough sex, celebration sex, manhandling
- quickies, wall sex, semi-public sex
- First times, kink exploration, focus on the sensory details,
- Body worship, praise kink, consensual foot kissing/massage as a sign of worship/adoration
- Non-penetrative sex: intergluteal / intercrural sex, frottage, etc (I love penetrative sex, but I also like variety in my smut)
- Humour, laughter and banter during sex, awkward sex
Hauntings - Vernon Lee
Requested Characters: Any
Fandom specific DNW exception clarification:
DNW violent rape/outright noncon (intoxicated/impaired consent, sex pollen, and no no yes, etc are fine)
My request:
Oke of Okehurst
Nominated characters in the tag set:
Alice Oke | Nicholas's Wife (Hauntings), Alice Oke | William's Wife (Hauntings), Oke of Okehurst Narrator (Hauntings), William Oke (Hauntings)
I love the loads of psychosexual tension, the obsession and the blurring of the past and the present and the idea of that you could love someone so much that you resent the power of love you feel for them and want to kill them out of love." At the end who's possessing whom? It's intriguingly open. I love the unreliability and disdain-desire of the artist narrator, who seems to irrationally hate and want both the Okes at various times. I love the ambiguity whether the past blends with the the present, and the unreliability of story telling, whether in the narrator or the current Alice's recounting of the past. Is William actually the reincarnation of the past Alice, or is he urged by the killed lover to take revenge on Alice? What's the deal of past Alice? A study of either of these messy obsessive people is awesome.
If you would like to include romance & / or sex: I ship Oke of Okehurst Narrator/Alice Oke | William's Wife (Hauntings), Oke of Okehurst Narrator/William Oke (Hauntings), Oke of Okehurst Narrator /William/Alice Oke | William's Wife (Hauntings) and Alice Oke | Nicholas's Wife/Alice Oke | William's Wife (Hauntings).
A Wicked Voice
Nominated characters in the tag set:
Magnus, Zaffirino
I love Magnus the snotty composer & Zaffirino the sexy castrato ghost who musically ravishes him. It's so delicious how Magnus desperately wants and wants not to want Zaffirino. The obsessed hate-love hits my id very much. Heaven helps Magnus who has "hell-thirsts" for Zaffirino's "handsome, effeminate face" and "wicked voice", but also unwillingly unwillingly longs for uncool old-fashioned music! I really like a story that Zaffirino finishes the seduction and ravishment of Magnus, musically and/or sexually. Mutual musical foeyay is great. Zaffirino works in Magnus' new opera to his chagrin will be great too.
If you would like to write smut, artistically humiliating-but-inspiring dubcon ghost sex is great. I believe that Zaffirino's ghostly power will help him overcome physical limitation when alive if he wants, so please go wild with that.
About the canon:
Hauntings - Vernon Lee is a collection of horror stories available in Project Gutenberg.
Oke of Okehurst: Alice Oke (Hauntings) , Ship: Oke of Okehurst Narrator/Alice Oke/William Oke (Hauntings) , Ship: Oke of Okehurst , Narrator/William Oke (Hauntings) William Oke (Hauntings)
The narrator is a male artist, who reminisces about a commission he undertook from William Oke to paint his wife, Alice. He's contemptuous of William, who he describes as handsome but dull. However, he's attracted to the alluring Alice (Mrs. Oke)
Alice believes herself to be the reincarnation of William and her 17th century ancestor, also named Alice Oke. That Alice Oke was involved in a passionate murderous love triangle. She kills her poet lover with her husband (while cross-dressing as a highwayman). William however is extremely disturbed by the story.
Strangely, the artist begins to worry for William and still fascinated but disenamored with Alice. The house may be haunted. A murder is bound to happen.
William kills Alice. Was he the reincarnation of Past Alice, or was he possessed by the murdered lover to destroy Alice's reincarnation?
A Wicked Voice: Magnus (Hauntings), Zaffirino (Hauntings)
Magnus is a snotty singer-hating composer trying to write a Wagnerian opera, and protests too much about the supposedly annoying sexy dead Baroque castrato Zaffirino. "Why, the sight of this idiotic engraving, the mere name of that coxcomb of a singer, have made my heart beat and my limbs turn to water like a love-sick hobbledehoy."
He begins his recollection to exorcise Zaffirino, but ends the story begging him to come back. "May I not hear one note, only one note of thine, O singer, O wicked and contemptible wretch?" It's really not subtle.
Zaffirino's feeling is more ambiguous, but he spares Magnus' life and inspires Magnus's music, so he probably likes him a little despite himself.
Link to the book:
I love the loads of psychosexual tension, the obsession and the blurring of the past and the present and the idea of that you could love someone so much that you resent the power of love you feel for them and want to kill them out of love." At the end who's possessing whom? It's intriguingly open. I love the unreliability and disdain-desire of the artist narrator, who seems to irrationally hate and want both the Okes at various times. I love the ambiguity whether the past blends with the the present, and the unreliability of story telling, whether in the narrator or the current Alice's recounting of the past. Is William actually the reincarnation of the past Alice, or is he urged by the killed lover to take revenge on Alice? What's the deal of past Alice? A study of either of these messy obsessive people is awesome.
If you would like to include romance & / or sex: I ship Oke of Okehurst Narrator/Alice Oke | William's Wife (Hauntings), Oke of Okehurst Narrator/William Oke (Hauntings), Oke of Okehurst Narrator /William/Alice Oke | William's Wife (Hauntings) and Alice Oke | Nicholas's Wife/Alice Oke | William's Wife (Hauntings).
A Wicked Voice
Nominated characters in the tag set:
Magnus, Zaffirino
I love Magnus the snotty composer & Zaffirino the sexy castrato ghost who musically ravishes him. It's so delicious how Magnus desperately wants and wants not to want Zaffirino. The obsessed hate-love hits my id very much. Heaven helps Magnus who has "hell-thirsts" for Zaffirino's "handsome, effeminate face" and "wicked voice", but also unwillingly unwillingly longs for uncool old-fashioned music! I really like a story that Zaffirino finishes the seduction and ravishment of Magnus, musically and/or sexually. Mutual musical foeyay is great. Zaffirino works in Magnus' new opera to his chagrin will be great too.
If you would like to write smut, artistically humiliating-but-inspiring dubcon ghost sex is great. I believe that Zaffirino's ghostly power will help him overcome physical limitation when alive if he wants, so please go wild with that.
About the canon:
Hauntings - Vernon Lee is a collection of horror stories available in Project Gutenberg.
Oke of Okehurst: Alice Oke (Hauntings) , Ship: Oke of Okehurst Narrator/Alice Oke/William Oke (Hauntings) , Ship: Oke of Okehurst , Narrator/William Oke (Hauntings) William Oke (Hauntings)
The narrator is a male artist, who reminisces about a commission he undertook from William Oke to paint his wife, Alice. He's contemptuous of William, who he describes as handsome but dull. However, he's attracted to the alluring Alice (Mrs. Oke)
Alice believes herself to be the reincarnation of William and her 17th century ancestor, also named Alice Oke. That Alice Oke was involved in a passionate murderous love triangle. She kills her poet lover with her husband (while cross-dressing as a highwayman). William however is extremely disturbed by the story.
Strangely, the artist begins to worry for William and still fascinated but disenamored with Alice. The house may be haunted. A murder is bound to happen.
spoiler
William kills Alice. Was he the reincarnation of Past Alice, or was he possessed by the murdered lover to destroy Alice's reincarnation?
A Wicked Voice: Magnus (Hauntings), Zaffirino (Hauntings)
Magnus is a snotty singer-hating composer trying to write a Wagnerian opera, and protests too much about the supposedly annoying sexy dead Baroque castrato Zaffirino. "Why, the sight of this idiotic engraving, the mere name of that coxcomb of a singer, have made my heart beat and my limbs turn to water like a love-sick hobbledehoy."
He begins his recollection to exorcise Zaffirino, but ends the story begging him to come back. "May I not hear one note, only one note of thine, O singer, O wicked and contemptible wretch?" It's really not subtle.
Zaffirino's feeling is more ambiguous, but he spares Magnus' life and inspires Magnus's music, so he probably likes him a little despite himself.
Link to the book:
Oedipus and the Sphinx - Gustave Moreau
Requested Characters: Sphinx (Moreau)
My Request:
I really love Gustave Monreau's painting because of the fantasy details. I am really intrigued by his interpretation of the Oedipus and the Sphinx myth. Sphinx is so little and looks so confused while pouncing on Oedipus, as if she were a kitty who - to her horror - found that there was space in the bowl of her food and demanded more immediately. Look at her face! She's so innocent! Meanwhile Oedipus was doing "No, bad kitty".
I would like something fluffy and/or humourous for this murder kitty. She deserved the best! Alternatively, I'm intrigued by the comment that Oedipus and the Sphinx's shared intense gaze suggested that "they recognize each other all too well". If you want to write the adventure and history of Oedipus and Sphinx together, be my guest!
Fandom Specific DNW:
No sex between Oedipus and Sphinx please
About the canon:
It's a painting depicting the myth of Oedipus and the Sphinx in an interesting way: Sphinx pounds on and clings to Oedipus like a confused murder kitty, while the remains of her victims litter the foreground.
Link to the painting on Met website
Tang Dynasty Poets RPF
Requested Characters: Han Yu | Han Tuizhi (Tang Dynasty Poets RPF)
My Request:
I really like how unconventional Han Yu was as a poet. Very few classical Chinese poets wrote about losing teeth, eating toads and ungrateful owl rescues.
His life is very dramatic too: orphaned as a child, struggles to support himself and his clan; and banishment to the extreme south of Tang empire because of his outspokenness against the emperor. I think a story about him will be interesting. Character study, slice of life, humour, angst, drama, etc are all good.
If you want to ship him with other poets, it's fine too. Han Yu's very social, generous and intense in his relationship. His reputation also changes a lot in Tang, Song Dynasty and beyond. Please feel free to bring in any nominated characters, or even people not his time if it fits the story.
If you would like some prompts:
- Han Yu had a dramatic life. Character study of his exile, the time he struggled to keep his family fed, the time when he was on the other political side with his friends, the time he was rumored to get stuck on the Huashan... Any event can be interesting and rife for drama and conflict.
- Han Yu was controversial back in his days, for example: writing playful short stories, arguing against the naming taboo and risking imprisonment. What if there was social media account in Tang Dynasty?
- It'll be great if you get inspired by any of his poems or essay, eg What if Han Yu and Meng Chiao were really dragons in the imaginary world? What's like to listen to music so good that it's like putting ice and fire in your stomach?
- It'll be interesting to look at how the narrative of Han Yu changes with time (for example, he was legendary known for casting out crocodiles with his prose.)
Meanwhile, as he died after most of his friends, his obituary also helped shape what we knew about them. eg: how Liu Zongyuan became a patron god. What's going through when a writer becomes the subject or writing and gets his stories shaped by others?
Epistolary, in-universe documents, outsider POV are all welcome.
About the canon:
Article that highlights interesting facts of Han Yu's life
Wikipedia page
I wrote a post that introduced Han Yu & other poets in the tagset that may be useful
In case you would like to read more of his poems (which's not obligatory), there's a chapter about Han Yu in An Introduction to Chinese Poetry by Michael A. Fuller
Traveller's Tale - Highlander
Requested Characters: Any
My Request:
I love the exploration of the multiverse and the different aliens/humans culture. The setting is wild enough to allow adventure in the wilde universe, horror, secret and intrigue, going on missions, bond building between unlikely people in unlikely situations. Please feel free to throw in any named characters or make up your own. I really want any stories that come from the setting.
One of my favorite aspect is that people in different species, timelines and culture can work together, so I would love to see more of that - first meeting, cultural difference and communication issues, going on missions, or just spend time together.
I'm also interested in exploration of the different departments, factions and secrets of the agency. What kind of secret experiment have gone on again? What's like to negotiate an inner conflict and "fracture a bloody line throughout the organization"? What's it like to work on ascending towards godhoods (and the many debate about the best way way to do it)? A day of life in an agent or any named character's life can be fun.
About the canon:
Traveller's Tale - Highlander is a free futuristic sci-fi setting that your character is a recruit of an intergalactic multidimensional agency with loads of secrets. There are ~60 character options to choose from (eg: post-human construct, a creature of dreams, a river raider from the Xia Dynasty). You can fly around in a spaceship and explore the multiverse, do excavation work in the neuro-hives still crumbling in orbit, slice eldritch beings with a lightsaber then blow up the remains with holy blessed super c4, become a literal god or upload your mind to a computer core that can teleport away if your robotic body is destroyed. Your character can choose to befriend, ally, antagonize, or fall in love with characters from a cast of about ~80 NPCs (including: a sapient machine soul, a bisexual part porcine, part human mediator who can use magic, etc).
It's not necessary to read the whole document. You can skip the skill and equipment section (p.19-76).
The general setting information is in p.142-156.
The following sections are useful, but you can just pick what you like to explore and don't need to read the whole section.
p.4-19: Origin, Nature & Background
p.77-104: Agency information
p.106-p.133: Allies, Acquaintances, Rivals & Friends
p.133-142: Hubworld Deployment
Link to Traveller's Tale 2.0 (including 2 optional free dlc)
The Wanderer's Library
Requested Characters: Any
My Request:
I love libraries. The idea of an infinite library intrigues me. I also love a sense of exploration and wonder. Please feel free to explore the worlds and stories recorded in the library, the library patrons or create characters or stories that explores the infinite possibility of the library collection. If you want to explore the nature of the library itself, it'll be great too.
Prompts:
- What's it like to stumble into this library and find knowledge beyond your imagination? What kind of knowledge may be seeked and what's the consequence? Does the Wanderer's Library has its version of JSTOR? What may the library gossip about? Anything about the library is great.
- I'm really fascinated with the sense of of wonder and unknown in the stories. What's it like to live in the only remaining place in the universe/post-singularity/deep space/fantastic London/etc? What happens thereafter in the stories: eg: Found Across the Sea? Please feel free to explore the different worlds or stories, or make up your own.
About the canon:
"Wanderer's Library is a library with entrances all over the world that contains every book that's ever been written, will be written and will never be written. It's a collection of stories that explore strange and fantastic corners of the world, hidden from ordinary eyes. There are strange things that are not quite of our world. Some are dangerous, some are merely fascinating. They are all extraordinary." The stories mainly set in the multi-universe with the library as a framing device.
The patrons of the library is as varied as the books. Eyeless archivist knows where to find every book. Mouthless humanoids with lanterns for hands enforce the rules and help patrons wandering the shelves. They're also the first line of defense to the library.
Link to the Wanderer's Library
琴師 - 音頻怪物 | A Stringed Instrument Player - Yīnpín Guàiwu (Music Video)
Requested Characters:
- Enemy Country Palace Guard (A Stringed Instrument Player)
- Stringed Instrument Player (A Stringed Instrument Player)
My request:
I really like how the instrument player finds unexpected mercy from the guard, and the angst because they're on borrowed time and have to part eventually.
Anything'll be great! A fanwork set during or after the canon is great, so as to canon divergent AU. I like gen, pre-relationship, first time, established relationship and reunion.
Prompts:
I really like how the instrument player finds unexpected mercy from the guard, who respects him and provides subtle comfort. There're so many angst baked in the pairing: they're from enemy countries. The instrument player is spoil of war. Their can't control their fate or when/if they will be separated. The stolen glances, longing and conflicts gives me a lot of feel.
You can set the story during the player's captivity. What does the player think when he isn't really in a position to say no? The tentative attempt to test when a blow will come (and it never comes); they way they start taking care of each other, and the connection through music... What's happened after the player blow out the candle and embrace the guard? XD
Perhaps they can remain in contact after separation. An emotional reunion in future is great too. eg. The guard may go to the player's country, or the player may visit the guard's country now as part of a diplomatic entourage. These are just suggestions.
Some ideas: Unexpected mercy, character connecting or expressing themselves with music, pining, hurt/comfort, stolen moment of respite and solace, longing touches and glances, desperation, emotional reunion.
If you would like to name the characters, here are some naming resources:
List of common Chinese surnames
Chinese male given name
About the canon:
The music video tells the story of an stringed instrument player brought to an enemy court as a spoil of war. He falls in love with a kind palace guard, but separated when the enemy liege lord releases him to his homeland on Winter solstice. Please feel free to make up names for them. It isn't necessary to set the story in any specific historical period.
link to the video with English sub:
Link to the video with original Chinese lyric
