White Dwarf Rabbit Hole Letter
Jun. 2nd, 2015 10:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aerielpembroke(yes, it wouldn't be summer if I didn't have a case of exchange fever-- this is for the brand new SFF lit exchange)
Hello writer, and anyone else poking around! If we've been matched on one of these books, you clearly have excellent taste, and I shall be delighted to see what you come up with! I've organized my requests alphabetically, and I promise I am enthusiastic about all of them, even if I rambled more about some than others.
Generally speaking, when it comes to dislikes, I'd rather there not be super graphic violence or non-canonical character death. Otherwise, as follows are my requests. If I'm in any way too specific, please don't feel constrained by what I've written!
The Cathood of Maurice- E Nesbit
Lord Hugh Cecil, Maurice Basingstoke
So Maurice learned to be nicer, but was that the only lasting affect Lord Hugh Cecil had on him? Does he ever get persuaded into being a cat again? Does he watch what he says around animals now? Can he understand any other cats? And what other things is Lord Hugh Cecil capable of, anyway?
I've loved Nesbit's short stories since I was a kid, and rediscovering my copy of The Magic World was kind of hilarious in that it turns out to be the origin point of a lot of ideas/lines I had vaguely attributed to other fantasy authors of my childhood or not even realized were based on something I'd read. In any case, Cathood of Maurice! It strikes me that naming a cat Lord Hugh Cecil is just asking for trouble. How on earth did he acquire such an impressive name? As for Maurice, "Please dismiss any fears which you may entertain that after this Maurice became a model boy. He didn't.' I love that, and I want to know more! Does he get into trouble with other boys and girls? Might he and Lord Hugh Cecil ever team up to get back at someone?
Chronicles of Chrestomanci- Diana Wynne Jones
Tonino Montana
Does Tonino ever mind that he can only help others with his power, or does he enjoy not having to do magic alone? After Magicians of Caprona, do he and the other Montana children start playing with the Petrocchis? Does Tonino end up moving to Chrestomanci Castle to help Cat when they're older, or does he prefer to stay with his family and perhaps be brought in on special occasions?
One detail I'm fond of in Magicians of Caprona is that Tonino likes to read fantasy books about worlds without magic. Does he ever get to go with Chrestomanci (Christopher or Cat) to one of those worlds? Is he terribly impressed by Janet, who grew up that way? I think if Janet ever visited Caprona, she'd certainly be impressed! I also wonder what Tonino would make of Joe Pinhoe, who's not quite as outlandish as Angelica but still has an approach to magic that Tonino would be totally unfamiliar with.
Darkangel Trilogy- Meredith Ann Pierce
Irrylath
Irrylath! What are his adventures like in A Gathering of Gargoyles when he's chasing after Aeriel? What is it like to be a little kid and then suddenly an adult with memories of being creepily sexually used by your not-mom? How does he get along with his half-brothers and actual mom?
If you want to write post-canon fic I'm really interested in what kind of a king Irrylath would make. He's a far cry from experienced, but I like to think that he'd care enough about helping the people of Avaric to make a decent go at it. I love fantasy politics, but if you don't, don't worry, I'm not expecting them. If you want to disregard/change the end of Pearl of the Soul of the World, I am totally open to that, too. Though I don't ship it, I'd also be interested to see Irrylath and Sabr's first meeting or them working together either in the adventure way or in the political way. Or Irrylath and Erin having to work together and ending up with begrudging mutual respect. Or Irrylath meeting Roshka.
Eight Days of Luke- Diana Wynne Jones
Astrid Price
Astrid interests me because she really is mean to David with the others at the start, only to gradually admit that she's unhappy that way and is following their example. Is she the sort that is influenced by the general mood (i.e. when everyone else is crabby she's crabby, when everyone else is enthusiastic she's enthusiastic) or did she really used to believe David was a brat? Do she and David make out all right on their own?
I also liked the hints that we saw of Astrid/Thor, and the bittersweetness of Astrid asking David if it was worth it to be really happy for a while, even if you knew you were going to end up sad ever after. It occurs to me that Astrid does have fair-ish hair and so does Sif, but... could be a coincidence. I do wonder if she thinks differently of Luke afterwards the way David thinks he's going to, though Astrid might have figured out who he was much earlier. I'd think it might be difficult having a trickster god hanging around when you're trying to build a new life-- if Luke does linger around David and Astrid, do they ever get exasperated with him? And since she's in the tagset, it seems pretty likely that the red-headed girl that hugs Luke is Sigyn, who might have an interesting perspective to offer Astrid, if you wanted to write them interacting. Purely optional, as is all this, of course.
Kushiel's Legacy- Jacqueline Carey
Raphael Murain no Gentian
We get to see a little of Gentian House through Phedre's eyes in Kushiel's Chosen, but I'm curious about it from an insider perspective. What is different about being raised in Gentian from Cereus? What tales do Gentian adepts tell of Naamah and Elua? How do you test for mystical aptitude, and how do they train? What kinds of patrons do they usually serve?
It's clear that Cereus adepts, by nature of their canon, have a tendency to die young. Gentian doesn't have the same requirements for looks (do they have any requirements for looks?) but it's mentioned that Raphael looks drained after reading Phedre's dreams. Do Gentian adepts ever burn out or have to retire early? What happens if the patron has a really dark past, future or present? Do adepts ever themselves become disturbed by what they see? Do they have resources for retaining their sense of self/not getting too deeply involved? On a more character specific note, Phedre compares Raphael to Alcuin, though presumably he enjoys his work more than Alcuin did. Is Raphael aware at all of this? What does he think of Phedre? (Or any other character you might have visit Gentian)
Leviathan- Scott Westerfeld
Deryn Sharp
So basically, I love Deryn Sharp. I love her determination and her curiosity and that she's dressed as a boy to do her dream job but that doesn't mean she looks down on other women in the slightest. Her passion for airships is just so lovely- and I say this as somebody who is deathly afraid of heights. At first the descriptions of her work gave me sympathetic nausea, but Deryn was having so much fun, it was infectious.
I should add I also love every character that was nominated and would be delighted to see Alek, Lilit, Nora Barlow or Tesla though of course you have no obligation to put any of them in. As for prompts, I was thinking that Alek spends so much time feeling at a disadvantage to Deryn, it would be cute to see more times where Deryn felt lost- like the start of her fencing lessons, or trying to learn new languages, or maybe something before the series with her family. Or else you could write about her work for Dr Barlow after the series, or missing scenes of her settling in on the Leviathan, or pretty much anything that's not relentlessly angsty or depressing. I ship the hell out of Deryn/Alek but you don't have to write about them as a couple specifically, or even include Alek "onscreen" if it isn't a story where it makes sense for him to appear.
Hello writer, and anyone else poking around! If we've been matched on one of these books, you clearly have excellent taste, and I shall be delighted to see what you come up with! I've organized my requests alphabetically, and I promise I am enthusiastic about all of them, even if I rambled more about some than others.
Generally speaking, when it comes to dislikes, I'd rather there not be super graphic violence or non-canonical character death. Otherwise, as follows are my requests. If I'm in any way too specific, please don't feel constrained by what I've written!
The Cathood of Maurice- E Nesbit
Lord Hugh Cecil, Maurice Basingstoke
So Maurice learned to be nicer, but was that the only lasting affect Lord Hugh Cecil had on him? Does he ever get persuaded into being a cat again? Does he watch what he says around animals now? Can he understand any other cats? And what other things is Lord Hugh Cecil capable of, anyway?
I've loved Nesbit's short stories since I was a kid, and rediscovering my copy of The Magic World was kind of hilarious in that it turns out to be the origin point of a lot of ideas/lines I had vaguely attributed to other fantasy authors of my childhood or not even realized were based on something I'd read. In any case, Cathood of Maurice! It strikes me that naming a cat Lord Hugh Cecil is just asking for trouble. How on earth did he acquire such an impressive name? As for Maurice, "Please dismiss any fears which you may entertain that after this Maurice became a model boy. He didn't.' I love that, and I want to know more! Does he get into trouble with other boys and girls? Might he and Lord Hugh Cecil ever team up to get back at someone?
Chronicles of Chrestomanci- Diana Wynne Jones
Tonino Montana
Does Tonino ever mind that he can only help others with his power, or does he enjoy not having to do magic alone? After Magicians of Caprona, do he and the other Montana children start playing with the Petrocchis? Does Tonino end up moving to Chrestomanci Castle to help Cat when they're older, or does he prefer to stay with his family and perhaps be brought in on special occasions?
One detail I'm fond of in Magicians of Caprona is that Tonino likes to read fantasy books about worlds without magic. Does he ever get to go with Chrestomanci (Christopher or Cat) to one of those worlds? Is he terribly impressed by Janet, who grew up that way? I think if Janet ever visited Caprona, she'd certainly be impressed! I also wonder what Tonino would make of Joe Pinhoe, who's not quite as outlandish as Angelica but still has an approach to magic that Tonino would be totally unfamiliar with.
Darkangel Trilogy- Meredith Ann Pierce
Irrylath
Irrylath! What are his adventures like in A Gathering of Gargoyles when he's chasing after Aeriel? What is it like to be a little kid and then suddenly an adult with memories of being creepily sexually used by your not-mom? How does he get along with his half-brothers and actual mom?
If you want to write post-canon fic I'm really interested in what kind of a king Irrylath would make. He's a far cry from experienced, but I like to think that he'd care enough about helping the people of Avaric to make a decent go at it. I love fantasy politics, but if you don't, don't worry, I'm not expecting them. If you want to disregard/change the end of Pearl of the Soul of the World, I am totally open to that, too. Though I don't ship it, I'd also be interested to see Irrylath and Sabr's first meeting or them working together either in the adventure way or in the political way. Or Irrylath and Erin having to work together and ending up with begrudging mutual respect. Or Irrylath meeting Roshka.
Eight Days of Luke- Diana Wynne Jones
Astrid Price
Astrid interests me because she really is mean to David with the others at the start, only to gradually admit that she's unhappy that way and is following their example. Is she the sort that is influenced by the general mood (i.e. when everyone else is crabby she's crabby, when everyone else is enthusiastic she's enthusiastic) or did she really used to believe David was a brat? Do she and David make out all right on their own?
I also liked the hints that we saw of Astrid/Thor, and the bittersweetness of Astrid asking David if it was worth it to be really happy for a while, even if you knew you were going to end up sad ever after. It occurs to me that Astrid does have fair-ish hair and so does Sif, but... could be a coincidence. I do wonder if she thinks differently of Luke afterwards the way David thinks he's going to, though Astrid might have figured out who he was much earlier. I'd think it might be difficult having a trickster god hanging around when you're trying to build a new life-- if Luke does linger around David and Astrid, do they ever get exasperated with him? And since she's in the tagset, it seems pretty likely that the red-headed girl that hugs Luke is Sigyn, who might have an interesting perspective to offer Astrid, if you wanted to write them interacting. Purely optional, as is all this, of course.
Kushiel's Legacy- Jacqueline Carey
Raphael Murain no Gentian
We get to see a little of Gentian House through Phedre's eyes in Kushiel's Chosen, but I'm curious about it from an insider perspective. What is different about being raised in Gentian from Cereus? What tales do Gentian adepts tell of Naamah and Elua? How do you test for mystical aptitude, and how do they train? What kinds of patrons do they usually serve?
It's clear that Cereus adepts, by nature of their canon, have a tendency to die young. Gentian doesn't have the same requirements for looks (do they have any requirements for looks?) but it's mentioned that Raphael looks drained after reading Phedre's dreams. Do Gentian adepts ever burn out or have to retire early? What happens if the patron has a really dark past, future or present? Do adepts ever themselves become disturbed by what they see? Do they have resources for retaining their sense of self/not getting too deeply involved? On a more character specific note, Phedre compares Raphael to Alcuin, though presumably he enjoys his work more than Alcuin did. Is Raphael aware at all of this? What does he think of Phedre? (Or any other character you might have visit Gentian)
Leviathan- Scott Westerfeld
Deryn Sharp
So basically, I love Deryn Sharp. I love her determination and her curiosity and that she's dressed as a boy to do her dream job but that doesn't mean she looks down on other women in the slightest. Her passion for airships is just so lovely- and I say this as somebody who is deathly afraid of heights. At first the descriptions of her work gave me sympathetic nausea, but Deryn was having so much fun, it was infectious.
I should add I also love every character that was nominated and would be delighted to see Alek, Lilit, Nora Barlow or Tesla though of course you have no obligation to put any of them in. As for prompts, I was thinking that Alek spends so much time feeling at a disadvantage to Deryn, it would be cute to see more times where Deryn felt lost- like the start of her fencing lessons, or trying to learn new languages, or maybe something before the series with her family. Or else you could write about her work for Dr Barlow after the series, or missing scenes of her settling in on the Leviathan, or pretty much anything that's not relentlessly angsty or depressing. I ship the hell out of Deryn/Alek but you don't have to write about them as a couple specifically, or even include Alek "onscreen" if it isn't a story where it makes sense for him to appear.
