Dear Worldbuilder
Tuesday, January 23rd, 2018 01:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
florianschildDear Worldbuilder,
Wow, that sounds like an impressive title! I’m pumped for this exchange. It’s my first time participating, but worldbuilding is my favorite part of fandom. I love speculating on the gaps left in canon. All of my requests are canons that I’m totally over-the-moon in love with, and so I’m really looking forward to seeing whatever you come up with. Please just have fun and write something that you enjoy; I’ll be sure to love it.
Here are some things that I generally enjoy seeing in fic:
Angst
Hurt-Comfort
Selflessness
Sacrifice
Stoicism
Good intentions going awry
Awkward/uncomfortable/humiliating situations
Power dynamics in relationships (romantic or otherwise)
Class dynamics
Committed/established relationships that exist independent of the plot
Epistolary and Diary Fic
Bittersweet moments
Do Not Wants:
Crossover
second-person narration
Crackfic
Character bashing
And here is a general disclaimer about triggers: There is basically nothing that “triggers” me in the sense that I wouldn’t be ok with reading a fic that contains it. You can include any content you choose that isn’t explicitly mentioned as a DNW. I think it’s safe to assume, based on my fandom requests, that I can handle dark and intense themes, but it’s worth mentioning.
(If you’re interested. If you’ve got your own thoughts on what you’d like to write then feel free to ignore these!)
The Rifter - Ginn Hale
What is the gray space? What it its relationship to the Great Gate? Why is it so repulsive to the Rifter? What effect does being in the gray space have on ushiri in the long term?
In Kahlil’s timeline he mentions rooms in Rathal’pesha that are closed off from the gray space. I would love to see an exploration of these rooms, and how they are used in training the ushiri’im.
Something that is alluded to but never completely described is that previous Kahlils have brought previous Rifters to Basawar. What was the relationship like between them? Along those lines, I would be morbidly curious to see a take on on what it means to awaken the Rifter. How do the priests do it? It would be fascinating to see this process from either the POV of the Kahlil who protected and watched over the Rifter in Nayeshi, or from the POV of the Rifter themself.
Dragon’s Winter - Elizabeth A. Lynn
The political structure of Ryoka is sketchily drawn in the books. I would love to see a fic explore the court structure, the royal family, or what it means to be a prince. If you want, maybe explore how the Atani family fits into the structure?
There is a lot of history alluded to throughout the story. I’d love to hear about the history of Ryoka, the border wars, the Mage Wars, or previous lords and ladies of Dragon Keep.
The Black Citadel is so mysterious in the novel, so I think there could be a lot to build on here. What was life like for the human servants that lived there? What about the original Black Citadel, was it in the same location or can it appear wherever a sorcerer puts it? It is real, or just a magical illusion? If you want to tie it in to any characters from the tag set I’d love to explore the relationship between Tenjiro and Azil during Azil’s captivity there.
Although I didn’t request fanart, I’d love to see a map of the world and I think that could count as in-universe meta.
Doctrine of Labyrinths - Sarah Monette
The number one itch-that-never-got-scratched from these books, for me, was The Bastion. How do The Bastion, and Eusebian magic in general, relate to the political structure of Kekropia? What does it mean for young people to be tithed to them? Do they only tithe children with magic, or do the annemer children end up conscripted as well? Is the Bastion mainly a military organization, or do they involve themselves with other aspects of life in Kekropia?
For magical schools of thought, I’d like to see the Eusebian concepts of ereimos and anereimos explored. If you wanted to tie these to some Gideon backstory, that would be amazing as well.
In addition to that: perhaps some expanding on the details of Cabaline heresy, and exactly what is considered heresy and why those laws are in place.
For a series that is all about magic, there isn’t much of it shown in the books. In general, I think it would be great to have the mechanics of magic explained in more concrete detail. What are some of the limits of magic, what can it do and what can’t it do, etc? Magic is so vaguely outlined; it’s constantly studied but hardly ever used or demonstrated. I want to see some practical uses of magic!
We know of several Eusebian wizards (Gideon, Thaddeus, Isaac Garamond) who have come to Melusine from the Bastion, either as defectors or some kind of envoy/spy. I’d like to see world-building that explores what they did while they were still there, and perhaps how they escaped and why.
Within the culture of the Bastion, how does the Cult of the White-Eyed Lady operate? How do they maintain anonymity, and why is it so taboo to be a member? Actually, anything that goes into detail on the religious practices and beliefs of the Cult would be fascinating.
Although I didn’t request fanart, I’d love to see a map of the world and I think that could count as in-universe meta.
Halfway Human - Carolyn Ives Gilman
Tedla was originally supposed to be assigned as a Personal in Magnus Convergence with Laki, but we never end up hearing from Laki again. I want to know what happened to Laki, and what is life like for a Personal in Magnus Convergence. I think Mallow could be worked in here too, since they probably ended up taking the spot that Tedla was originally assigned to.
There’s a lot of mystery surrounding Gammadian history. If you want to take a stab at it, two things that stuck out in particular:
Tedla’s life in the Djenga Shana enclave is alluded to, but we never really see much of it. I’d love to see Tedla navigating the seedy underworld and dealing with johns and pimps and drug addiction.
Gossup is another of my favorite characters, and I’d love to see the Vind culture explored further. Basically anything about how their family structure works, how they are educated, why they are known for having such good “poker faces”, or whatever strikes your fancy.
Wow, that sounds like an impressive title! I’m pumped for this exchange. It’s my first time participating, but worldbuilding is my favorite part of fandom. I love speculating on the gaps left in canon. All of my requests are canons that I’m totally over-the-moon in love with, and so I’m really looking forward to seeing whatever you come up with. Please just have fun and write something that you enjoy; I’ll be sure to love it.
Here are some things that I generally enjoy seeing in fic:
Angst
Hurt-Comfort
Selflessness
Sacrifice
Stoicism
Good intentions going awry
Awkward/uncomfortable/humiliating situations
Power dynamics in relationships (romantic or otherwise)
Class dynamics
Committed/established relationships that exist independent of the plot
Epistolary and Diary Fic
Bittersweet moments
Do Not Wants:
Crossover
second-person narration
Crackfic
Character bashing
And here is a general disclaimer about triggers: There is basically nothing that “triggers” me in the sense that I wouldn’t be ok with reading a fic that contains it. You can include any content you choose that isn’t explicitly mentioned as a DNW. I think it’s safe to assume, based on my fandom requests, that I can handle dark and intense themes, but it’s worth mentioning.
Prompts!
(If you’re interested. If you’ve got your own thoughts on what you’d like to write then feel free to ignore these!)
The Rifter - Ginn Hale
What is the gray space? What it its relationship to the Great Gate? Why is it so repulsive to the Rifter? What effect does being in the gray space have on ushiri in the long term?
In Kahlil’s timeline he mentions rooms in Rathal’pesha that are closed off from the gray space. I would love to see an exploration of these rooms, and how they are used in training the ushiri’im.
Something that is alluded to but never completely described is that previous Kahlils have brought previous Rifters to Basawar. What was the relationship like between them? Along those lines, I would be morbidly curious to see a take on on what it means to awaken the Rifter. How do the priests do it? It would be fascinating to see this process from either the POV of the Kahlil who protected and watched over the Rifter in Nayeshi, or from the POV of the Rifter themself.
Dragon’s Winter - Elizabeth A. Lynn
The political structure of Ryoka is sketchily drawn in the books. I would love to see a fic explore the court structure, the royal family, or what it means to be a prince. If you want, maybe explore how the Atani family fits into the structure?
There is a lot of history alluded to throughout the story. I’d love to hear about the history of Ryoka, the border wars, the Mage Wars, or previous lords and ladies of Dragon Keep.
The Black Citadel is so mysterious in the novel, so I think there could be a lot to build on here. What was life like for the human servants that lived there? What about the original Black Citadel, was it in the same location or can it appear wherever a sorcerer puts it? It is real, or just a magical illusion? If you want to tie it in to any characters from the tag set I’d love to explore the relationship between Tenjiro and Azil during Azil’s captivity there.
Although I didn’t request fanart, I’d love to see a map of the world and I think that could count as in-universe meta.
Doctrine of Labyrinths - Sarah Monette
The number one itch-that-never-got-scratched from these books, for me, was The Bastion. How do The Bastion, and Eusebian magic in general, relate to the political structure of Kekropia? What does it mean for young people to be tithed to them? Do they only tithe children with magic, or do the annemer children end up conscripted as well? Is the Bastion mainly a military organization, or do they involve themselves with other aspects of life in Kekropia?
For magical schools of thought, I’d like to see the Eusebian concepts of ereimos and anereimos explored. If you wanted to tie these to some Gideon backstory, that would be amazing as well.
In addition to that: perhaps some expanding on the details of Cabaline heresy, and exactly what is considered heresy and why those laws are in place.
For a series that is all about magic, there isn’t much of it shown in the books. In general, I think it would be great to have the mechanics of magic explained in more concrete detail. What are some of the limits of magic, what can it do and what can’t it do, etc? Magic is so vaguely outlined; it’s constantly studied but hardly ever used or demonstrated. I want to see some practical uses of magic!
We know of several Eusebian wizards (Gideon, Thaddeus, Isaac Garamond) who have come to Melusine from the Bastion, either as defectors or some kind of envoy/spy. I’d like to see world-building that explores what they did while they were still there, and perhaps how they escaped and why.
Within the culture of the Bastion, how does the Cult of the White-Eyed Lady operate? How do they maintain anonymity, and why is it so taboo to be a member? Actually, anything that goes into detail on the religious practices and beliefs of the Cult would be fascinating.
Although I didn’t request fanart, I’d love to see a map of the world and I think that could count as in-universe meta.
Halfway Human - Carolyn Ives Gilman
Tedla was originally supposed to be assigned as a Personal in Magnus Convergence with Laki, but we never end up hearing from Laki again. I want to know what happened to Laki, and what is life like for a Personal in Magnus Convergence. I think Mallow could be worked in here too, since they probably ended up taking the spot that Tedla was originally assigned to.
There’s a lot of mystery surrounding Gammadian history. If you want to take a stab at it, two things that stuck out in particular:
- Why do the Gammadians have no history of earth origin? Is Gammadis actually earth? I think there’s quite a bit of textual evidence for this, but it’s never directly addressed.
- How are there blands living “wild” on the plains? From Tellegen’s description, they are socialized to their culture, so presumably they aren’t raised in creches. How do they get there? Are they able to reproduce? Why are the authorities allowing this?
Tedla’s life in the Djenga Shana enclave is alluded to, but we never really see much of it. I’d love to see Tedla navigating the seedy underworld and dealing with johns and pimps and drug addiction.
Gossup is another of my favorite characters, and I’d love to see the Vind culture explored further. Basically anything about how their family structure works, how they are educated, why they are known for having such good “poker faces”, or whatever strikes your fancy.
