Dear Fandom Growth Exchange Writer

[partypaprika]

Dear Fandom Growth Exchange writer,

Thank you for writing for me! I’ve included some thoughts below on my preferences and fandoms. Please don’t stress too much if you’re inspired to write something else (although I’d prefer if you didn’t delve into my DNWs). I’ve given some specific prompts, but feel to take a general theme from my general likes if that’s more inspiring!

 I'm not active on LJ/Dreamwidth anymore, although you're welcome to poke around here. I'm slightly active on tumblr and you can also check out my pinboard. I'm on ao3 as partypaprika.

For this year, I've requested the following: Kirra Danalustrous/Donnal from the Twelve Houses series by Sharon Shinn, Elisandra Halsing/Roderick from Summers at Castle Auburn by Sharon Shinn, George Camarine/Sophie Mar from the Edge series by Ilona Andrews, Grace Carrow/Akira Matsumoto from The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley, Raoul de Valmy/Linda Martin from Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart and Bryony Asquith/Leo Marsden from Not Quite A Husband (The Marsden Series) by Sherry Thomas.

General likes:

-Hurt/comfort
-Conflict
-Slow burn
-Pining and UST
-Sacrifices, especially if characters are making big sacrifices on behalf of someone that they care deeply about
-Angst (ideally ending in a HEA)
-Having dysfunctional relationships
-Enemies being forced (either directly or by circumstances) to work together
-Enemies to lovers
-Opposites attracting or coming to understand each other
-Marriages of convenience, fake dating, etc.
-People being thrown together in wildly unexpected situations
-Magical realism and magical powers
-Time travel, time loops, time do-overs etc.
-Modern royalty AUs
-Secret identities and identity porn
-Settings that have a sense of mystery: cemeteries, forests, abandoned temples etc.
-Epistolary and non-linear storytelling
-Canon divergence
-Mythology
-Hidden displays of affection

 

DNWs:

-Major character death
-Noncon
-Incest
-Painplay
-Torture
-Humiliation kink
-A/b/o
-Dom/sub
-Mpreg
-Knotting
-Coffee shop AUs
-High school AUs
-Unrequested poly ships

The Twelve Houses
Kirra Danalustrous/Donnal

Canon: A fantasy series set in vaguely medieval world where a minority of a kingdom’s populace has some magical abilities. Unrest has been filtrating through the realm and a small group has been tasked by the King to investigate the unrest. The second book in the series follows a woman who is the daughter of one of the ruling houses that make up the country and also a powerful shifter and her best friend and long-time companion who is also a powerful shifter.

I spent two books waiting desperately for Kirra and Donnal to get together and I get…absolutely nothing from Sharon Shinn to read about them actually being together. Ok, I’m calmer now, but I really want to see Kirra and Donnal actually being together. In any form!

I would love to see the actual discussion (or not-discussion, as it may be) that they have when they finally talk things out or finally get together. I also would love to see them in a quiet moment together or the two of them sneaking around back at home. What happens when Kirra goes home? Do things change or not change with her family now that she and Donnal are together (is her family surprised or completely non-plussed)?

I would also love to dig into how things change on a granular level (or not change) after Kirra puts Romar behind her and she and Donnal travel together immediately following the events of The Thirteenth House.

I would also love to see things from Donnal’s perspective—has he always been in love with Kirra or did he realize it later? What happens when he comes to Kirra when she leaves the royal city at the end of The Thirteenth House?  I absolutely love angst, so feel free to explore some of the angst between them be it during the time of The Thirteenth House or a prior period (or perhaps even after Kirra has realized that she loves Donnal but before they’ve gotten together together).

I’m also very interested in their future—what happens after the civil war for the two of them? Do they continue to be constant travelers? Do they settle down in Danalustrous?

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Summers at Castle Auburn – Sharon Shinn
Elisandra Halsing/Roderick

Canon: A fantasy book that takes place in a vaguely medieval world and follows the life of a young woman, an illegitimate daughter of the noble Halsing house, as she spends every summer at the royal castle. There's political intrigue, an awesome sisterly relationship and a few great romances.

I love Elisandra and Roderick, both individually and as a couple. I love the incredible subtlety of their relationship and just how they manage to keep it so secret. I would love to know more about how they fell in love and what drew them to each other. Did they just keep re-meeting each other or did one of them seek the other out? I'd love a look at the night before Elisandra's wedding—the desperation and comfort that Roderick and Elisandra shared, not knowing what the future held.  Or, a look at what pushed Roderick to decide to stay at the castle even though it made him miserable.

If you wanted to focus on one of the characters, I’d love to see Roderick's perspective: falling in love with Elisandra, sacrificing his happiness because he knew she was miserable or, more happily, what it's like living together with her on Jaxon's estate. I'd also love to see more about Elisandra--we know so little of what she's really thinking or how she's coping for most of the book. How did she keep herself together and moving forward during the events of the book?

I’d love to see more of their future—Roderick and Elisandra tackling their new life together and working through the roughness of adjustment.

I'd also be very interested in a modern AU—for example, I could absolutely see Elisandra and Roderick connecting as a modern day royalty scandal with plenty of intrigue. I also would definitely be into a reincarnation story about them and how they connect throughout different lives.  

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The Edge Series – Ilona Andrews
George Camarine/Sophie Mar

Canon: To fully get all of the George Camarine and Sophie Mar canon, there is the Edge series, which focuses on an area that exists on the edge of our world (the Broken) and another magical world (the Weird), specifically where they overlap. The Edge is weird and a little magical and filled with very interesting people. George and Sophie appear as side characters in the Edge series, but also as adult side characters in another series from Ilona Andrews: The Innkeeper Chronicles, which is about a woman who is an innkeeper for an inn that caters to guests visiting Earth from around the universe (as well as different universes).

I find the outside bits that we, as readers, see of the developing romance between George and Sophie fascinating and I want to know more! When did they first become interested in each other romantically? What has been going on for the two of them between the events of Steel’s Edge and Sweep in Peace?

What was their time like together in school? Who first became interested in the either? Were there overtures made and then rebuffed or did they each keep silent about their feelings?

We also find out that they finally seem to have fully gotten together in Sweep of the Heart—I would love to hear about Sophie conquering a planet to get George and George’s reaction to that. They’re both so competent and brilliant, I’d love to see them being competent and brilliant together (maybe in another arbitration like situation)?

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The Watchmaker of Filigree Street Series – Natasha Pulley
Grace Carrow/Akira Matsumoto

Canon: The first book is about a telegraphist in Victorian England who finds his life changing quite rapidly when he seems to coincidentally come in contact with a Japanese watchmaker and they become close friends. The second book, The Lost Future of Pepperharrow takes place some time after the first and is set in Japan.

My heart completely breaks for Grace in the first book—yes, she makes very bad decisions but she’s also impossibly constrained and just trying to find a way out for herself. I love the glimpses that we get of her in The Lost Future of Pepperharrow, that she’s teaching in Japan and married to Akira. I also liked the bits that we see of Akira—how concerned he is about Grace when she goes missing. How protective he is upon her return!

I would love to see more of them! What happens in between the first and second book? When and how do they officially get together? What is it like when Grace meets Akira’s family? Is Akira super protective in his Akira way when Grace has to interact in Japanese high society?

Do they go on adventures together in Europe or Asia? Do they have any crazy experiences traveling to Japan (feel free to make it as supernatural or fantastical as you like)? What happens after the events of the second book—how do they end up back in England? Does Grace go on to invent some really crazy things due to her imprisoned research (like…a time machine?)?

One of the many things that I liked about their relationship in the first book is how Akira pays attention to all the little things about Grace—he makes sure to drag her out of her laboratory at least once a day (although he mocks her about it), he lets her borrow his clothes all the time, he even checks to make sure that someone’s filled Grace in on the birds and bees prior to her wedding night. He’s very thoughtful and seems to work hard to make it seem like it’s in a very off-hand manner (but it’s not). I would love to see more of Akira watching out and caring for Grace and I would love to see how Grace shows her love for Akira.

I’m also up for some canon divergence! Instead of Akira and Grace presumably getting together soon after the events of the first book, do they go different directions and then reconnect later in life when Akira is a famous ambassador or diplomat and Grace has become famous for her inventions or scientific discoveries? Or maybe their roles reverse from the book and Akira needs help and Grace comes to his rescue. I’m also interested in an exploration of the magical realism in the book—what else could be existing in their world (aside from ether or perhaps as a result of it)?

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Nine Coaches Waiting – Mary Stewart
Raoul de Valmy/Linda Martin

Canon: A young woman is hired as a governess for a young boy who has become the count of a remote French estate after the death of his parents. But all is not as it seems when the young woman arrives and she begins to suspect that things may soon take a darker turn.

The intensity of Raoul and Linda’s relationship blows me away. I love how intense and passionate their feelings towards each other are. I love the angst of Linda finding out that her initial belief was right—that Raoul was always on the right side—in such a devastating manner. I would love any and all of that—their intensity, their passion, the angst between them in the last part of the book, from either Linda’s or Raoul’s side.

And then, of course, their dramatic reunion in the middle of the road in the middle of the night. What are the things that are said between them in the car at the very end (or perhaps immediately after the book ends)? What happens when they arrive at Hippolyte’s house? How do they process the very real and emotional things that they’ve both gone through? How do they work through what happened?

I would also love to see the future for them—how is it when Philippe and Linda go to Raoul’s estate? How does their small family come together? What are things like as Philippe gets older? How does Linda settle into her life with Raoul?

I would absolutely be interested in more drama as well! Does Bernard reappear? Do other characters (not so pleasantly) appear? I’d love to see either Raoul or Linda protect the other from a real or perceived threat. Or both of them protecting Philippe.

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The Marsdens series - Sherry Thomas
Bryony Asquith/Leo Marsden

Canon: Dr. Bryony Asquith is a doctor working in a remote area of India at the turn of the 20^th century. She’s devoted to her work, very much an introvert and also very estranged from her ex-husband, Leo, who she hasn’t seen in a few years. Imagine her surprise when Leo shows up at her family’s request when she’s needed back home.

I love the angst in Leo and Bryony's relationship—how Leo's always had feelings for Bryony (in one form or another, for so long), how Bryony thought that Leo hung the world when they got together initially (and continues to love Leo, even though it's incredibly painful for her). And just how they fell into the many traps that they encountered. They both had baggage that they both brought into the relationship that they weren't able to overcome during their first go of it. I love how incredibly flawed both Bryony and Leo are and how that’s influenced the course of their relationship, including how difficult they’ve found it to communicate with each other.

What happens after the events of Not Quite A Husband? When and how do they get remarried? Do they take a honeymoon (that turns into an adventure)? How goes the process of telling everyone that they are together again (and are there any funny mishaps)?

Now that they can communicate better with each other, how do they continue to grow closer? Do they continue to rock each other’s world in the bedroom?

I would love to see Bryony and Leo working together—are they on a trip when something goes awry and they’re stuck somewhere and have to make their way back? Is one of them implicated in a professional issue and they have to unmask the real culprit?

I would also be interested in a canon-divergent second get together—maybe they meet again later and they’re forced to pretend that they are still married or the government needs them both to do something, so they have to work together. Maybe they both end up as professors somewhere and have to keep interacting with each other.

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