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deep_dark_watersHello! I'm Deepdarkwaters on Ao3 and Tumblr and ambrotypes on Twitter for any recip-stalking needs.
Short version: I'm easy to please and happy to be completely surprised, as long as you don't include the couple of DNWs mentioned below. If you've got something in mind already then do it your way! These are just suggestions - I will honestly love anything about these people. Any rating, any gender pairing if you want to do romance/smut (and if you do, my yes list from the Smut Swap tagset is here if that's helpful).
General fic loves: (probably not applicable to every fandom requested, but I include this in all letters as an overview of some of the things I enjoy reading in whatever combination) worldbuilding/exploration of the canon world; dialogue; description (especially of hair, hands, and clothing); competence; petty arguments; unreliable narrators; misunderstandings; found families; really old comfy friendships; really old comfy friendships that accidentally/unexpectedly become more; clumsy inappropriate humour; backstories; melancholy; loonngg dragged out UST that feels like it'll never end and then ends gloriously; awkward imperfect sex where everyone's still having the best time ever; intense physical fight scenes; huge scale destruction; ridiculous things played completely straight for comedy purposes; kissing; when penetrative sex isn't the only type considered 'real' sex; ghosts; playing with someone's hair.
Please no: noncon or anything to do with hanging.
A few of these requests are repeats from last year:
19th Century CE Danish Literature RPF
Hans Christian Andersen
MY AWKWARD LOVE, Andersen. He's a desperate wretched mess. I love him. I'll flail for nine straight hours about my feelings for him if anyone's willing to listen, but I'll spare you most of it here. Short version: I wish he'd lived in a kinder time that allowed him to be happier, but I'm glad he had at least a few little chances at happiness even though they didn't last. Please write me anything you've got in you to write for him, I will love it. Anything about the autobiographical nature of a lot of his stories. Anything about his dirty diary full of black crosses and his difficult feelings regarding sex. Anything you want.
ODAO extra characters I wanted to nominate but couldn't figure out how to corral into a single sensible fandom name, if any of these relationships appeal:
Harald Scharff: handsome principal ballet dancer with the Royal Danish Theatre. From his Wikipedia page:
In his diary entry for 2 January 1862, Andersen noted that Scharff "bounded up to me; threw himself round my neck and kissed me!" In other entries for January 1862, he described Scharff as "deeply devoted… very intimate… ardent and loving". In February, the poet observed that Scharff was "intimate and communicative" and in March he noted "a visit from Scharff... exchanged with him all the little secrets of the heart; I long for him daily." Later in March he wrote, "Scharff very loving... I gave him my picture." Scharff gave a silver toothbrush engraved with his name and the date to Andersen on his 57th birthday. In the winter of 1861–62, the two men entered a full-blown love affair that brought Andersen "joy, some kind of sexual fulfillment and a temporary end to loneliness." He was not discreet in his conduct with Scharff, and displayed his feelings much too openly. Onlookers regarded the relationship as improper and ridiculous. In his diary for March 1862, Andersen referred to this time in his life as his "erotic period".
Big age difference, affectionate lovers, and a handsome ballet dancer. It is everything I love. Andersen's story The Snowman is supposedly about his pining for Scharff.
Jenny Lind: opera singer Andersen became infatuated with and proposed to. From Wikipedia:
One of his stories, "The Nightingale", was written as an expression of his passion for Jenny Lind and became the inspiration for her nickname, the "Swedish Nightingale". Andersen was often shy around women and had extreme difficulty in proposing to Lind. When Lind was boarding a train to go to an opera concert, Andersen gave Lind a letter of proposal. Her feelings towards him were not the same; she saw him as a brother, writing to him in 1844: "farewell ... God bless and protect my brother is the sincere wish of his affectionate sister, Jenny".
Charles Dickens: Andersen was a big fan of Dickens (after their first meeting he wrote in his diary "I was so happy to see and speak to England's now living writer, whom I love the most") and they became friends, but then OOPS disaster a decade later when Dickens invited Andersen to stay at his home for a short while and Andersen just kind of missed/ignored all the hints that he should leave for five endless weeks. When he finally went home, Dickens totally ghosted him and poor old Andersen couldn't understand why his letters weren't being answered any more. This is my favourite account of that outstayed welcome, but it would be great to see something slightly less flippant. Bonus points for showing Dickens getting really aggravated by it all, because I don't like Dickens :P
DNW: Andersen-bashing of any kind. I know he was often peculiar and annoying and didn't really have a brilliant understanding of when people were done with him getting in their way, but that's really not what I'd like to read about unless it's done with a bit of compassion. (Subjective, I know - anon commenting is allowed on my DW if you've got any questions.)
Ballets Russes RPF
Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Diaghilev, Vaslav Nijinsky
I don't even know where to begin. I would love to read ANYTHING ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING about any of these guys in whatever combination and setting you want.
Something about the Paris riot? The conductor of the premiere, Pierre Monteux, was told by one of his double-bass players that "many a gentleman's shiny top hat or soft fedora was ignominiously pulled down by an opponent over his eyes and ears, and canes were brandished like menacing implements of combat all over the theatre" is just the best and most beautiful report of a riot imaginable. This whole thing is a bit ridiculous and a lot fascinating and weirdly thrilling. Why don't we get riots over ballet and classical music any more? (Note: I know the stories about that night are all exaggerated to hell, but I don't care - go as ott or as realistic as you like. Legend and truth are both as good as each other sometimes.)
Or something more focused on the music and dance with Stravinsky and/or Nijinsky, and the sort of symbiosis of creator/performer needed to make all these glorious things possible. Or the physical difficulties of ballet... I would happily read a 1000 word intricately detailed description of a single leap or turn if that's what you wanted to write. Or something about the changing state of politics and society and fashions at the time they were all working. Diaghilev's background, like his love of music and how he wasn't good enough to make a career of it - how much lingering frustration was there about all that? How did it affect the work he ended up doing later in the theatre, or his relationship with brilliant Stravinsky? Diaghilev and Nijinsky were lovers, how did that come about? They didn't stay happy, but were they happy for a while? Or was their relationship purely physical?
DNW: focus on Nijinsky's deteriorating mental health, if you're writing about him. Of course don't avoid the topic completely if you want to include it, just please don't have that as the main focus and please nothing about his time in asylums. (Recommend The Diary of Vaslav Nijinsky, but it's incredibly upsetting and difficult to read.)
Cottingley Fairies Hoax RPF
Elsie Wright, Frances Griffiths
I don't know why I've never thought of Cottingley Fairies fic before but w o w it's lodged in my head and there's no shifting it now! I've loved this story my entire life. I would love to see anything at all about Elsie and Frances learning about photography, their games, what made them pretend it was all real, how they felt when it all took off and ran away with itself - were they scared about being found out? Just elated that they had such a wonderful secret? Lots of things all at once? Early photography and film is a HUGE passion of mine and I feel a bit silly and reverant about it all, I don't like the tendency to get a bit ha-ha about people being taken in by something that seems so sweetly ridiculous now (even though yes there's absolutely something glorious about a couple of little girls fooling some of the best minds of the era for so long). I'm fascinated by this weird liminal time of people still figuring out this relatively new technology and what to feel about it all. I'm sure I would have been taken in as well. I WANT TO BELIEVE. Anyway - fairy hoax, children's games, young girls fooling smart old men, this sense of inexplicable magic coming to life on glass plates, secrets, I am here for any of it. I didn't add Arthur Conan Doyle to my requests because I'm mostly interested in the girls' stories, but absolutely do include him if you like.
Another angle - what if the pictures actually weren't a hoax? Elsie and Frances find real live fairies at the bottom of their garden and take their pictures... what then? Are they nice Disney type fairies who just want to play? Or are they the kind of fairies who demand payment for anything you take from them? Fairy stories always scared the hell out of me way more than ghosts and monsters so it would be great to read some kind of fairytale-horror take on all of this, especially because the pictures are so incredibly lovely. Turn the whole thing upside down.
Kingsman (Movies) RPF
Any: Channing Tatum, Colin Firth, Halle Berry, Mark Strong, Pedro Pascal, Sofia Boutella, Sophie Cookson, Taron Egerton
I was going to narrow this down to just Mark/Colin, but I've been having so much fun with the Golden Circle press tour interviews and I'm kind of in love with all of them. Some ideas below, but feel free to mix and match anyone from the tagset if you prefer.
Potential pairings, & and / both welcome:
* Mark/Colin is the big one with the most history to mine, but really any combination of Colin & Mark & Taron is GOLD (especially with Mark's comments about Harry, Merlin & Eggsy being a family). Mark and Colin working together so often. That thing Mark said about seeing Colin on stage in Another Country and how it made him want to act. Some kind of conversation between reading the script and shooting about whether Harry/Merlin is a real thing, or teasing about why the hell Colin decided to play Harry with such ridiculous bedroom eyes all the damn time. Colin and Mark and the crossover between mentors and friends to Taron. Taron's mum fancying Mark and Colin getting fake-pissy about it. Colin trying on Elton John's costume and the others taking blackmail photos. Anything from friendship to the most explicit filth, please and thank you.
* Taron/Channing and the sex toys prank war, what was that all about? Was anyone else in on it or a victim of it? I love Channing's excitement about all of this and how open he is about being a huge fanboy of the first film. A big lovefest of "I LOVE KINGSMAN" - "OK BUT I LOVE HAIL CAESAR SO MUCH" - "YEAH BUT YOU'RE ELTON JOHN NOW" - "I KNOW BUT YOU WERE SO GOOD IN FOXCATCHER AND THE EAGLE IS AMAZING AND I MADE COLIN WATCH STEP UP AND HE LOVED IT" - "WOW OK THANKS" mutual fanboying would be beautiful.
* Colin/Channing for absolutely no reason other than the idea of it makes me very happy. Ships have sailed on much less.
* Sophie/Sofia mmmaybe getting salty together about the big Boys' Club/sausage fest these sets must have been (I genuinely love these films, but let's be real)
* Pedro/Halle because they were a total delight in every interview together and hearts came streaming out of my eyes.
* Taron/Colin/Pedro since Taron keeps insisting on talking about that jealousy photo in every single interview.
Or mix it up! I have no real strict (friend)ship affiliation, so if you want to throw your favourites together and see what happens I'll honestly love anything at all. I will be surfing this goodwill wave for years yet, I adore this entire bunch and just really enjoy seeing people's takes on them.
(DNW: wife and girlfriend bashing if there's romance/smut, please just go with happy polyamory.)
Mongol Empire RPF
Khutulun
I only have one real prompt, and this article in Lapham's Quarterly explains it better than I can:
"With her success in battle and in sports, Khutulun refused to marry unless a man could first defeat her in wrestling. Many men came forward to try, but none succeeded. Her parents became anxious for her to marry. According to Marco Polo, a particularly desirable bachelor prince presented himself around 1280. Most opponents wagered ten horses, or at the most a hundred, to compete against her. This unnamed bachelor wagered a thousand horses, and Khutulun's parents pleaded with her to take a fall and let him win.
An excited crowd gathered for the match. In the desire to please her parents Khutulun agreed to let the prince win. In the rush of competitive excitement as she stepped forward to face her rival, however, her filial resolve to please her parents melted. She grabbed her opponent by the arms, and found him to be more formidable than her usual challengers. He struggled against her, and they pushed this way and that, but she could not submit and allow herself to be thrown. The match continued for an agonizing long time with neither able to dominate. Finally, in a great surge of energy Khutlun threw him to the ground. She not only defeated but humiliated him, and he disappeared, leaving behind the additional thousand horses for her herd but having shattered her parents' hopes of marrying her to a worthy suitor."
I just really really want to hear more about this strong brilliant defiant warrior princess and the billion horses she won from all the humiliated suitors she crushed in wrestling matches. This is the greatest thing. I'd love to read more about her in war and her place in her family as well, any kind of story you want because there's not a great deal of information out there and she's endlessly fascinating - but "horse hoarding wrestling champ" is absolutely my favourite part.
Pre-Raphaelite Models RPF
Alexa Wilding, Effie Gray, Elizabeth Siddal, Fanny Cornforth, Fanny Eaton, Jane Morris, Marie Spartali Stillman, Sophy Gray
I remember being so fascinated when I was little by how I could recognise the same faces over and over in different paintings, and it grew into a bit of an obsession with artists' models, particularly the women in so much of the Pre-Raphaelite art. When I started reading up on them it all shifted from the initial "Alexa is the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life omg" to wanting to know everything about them and their wishes and achievements and everything else, rather than only knowing them from the way their lives slotted into the guys'. They're famous worldwide nearly to the point of being mythical (Lizzie's hair growing after death to fill her coffin!) but it's shallow, it's almost entirely because of their beauty. There must be millions of people who could recognise their faces but don't know their names. There's so much more to explore. I would honestly love to read anything about any of them so if you've got a particular favourite and something you want to say about her then please do, but some possible starting off points:
* Marie Spartali Stillman and Lizzie Siddal as artists. The whole act of creation and the drive behind it. Lizzie's much less idealised self-portraits vs other people's portraits of her.
* How completely Jane reinvented herself as soon as she had the means.
* Effie's determination and courage during the mess of her marriage annulment. Her maternal sort of relationship with Sophy.
* I seriously cannot overstate how obsessed I am with long hair. I would be absolutely ok with just a 1000 word description of someone washing or brushing this thigh-length mass of beautiful endless curls. SWOON.
* The strange dichotomy of being a dressmaker or charwoman or whatever but seeing your face in these gloriously beautiful celebrated paintings. How seeing that changes your perspective on everyday life, if it does at all.
* Artist modelling being only half a step up from prostitution. Does that make anyone's decision to do it more difficult, or does it change anything for them outside of the studio? Some of them married famous artists and/or came from higher class families, but Alexa, Fanny C, and Fanny E were all working class women, and Fanny E was Jamaican. How different was it for them vs Marie or the Grays?
* Or go totally off in some other AU direction if that's your thing and include the whole group. Pride & Prejudice & Zombies this up, or put them in the middle of the Martians attack from The War of the Worlds, or make them meet Dracula. Shove them all together in a house and see what happens. Would they be friends? Or something about the characters from the paintings, instead of the women themselves. Anything!
DNW: a primary focus on Rossetti/Millais/etc with the women added in around the edges, I really want the women to be the centre of it in whatever way that is (but absolutely include anyone you like around them). And mentions are fine, but please not a whole thing solely about Sophy's anorexia.
Top: Alexa Wilding, Effie Gray, Elizabeth Siddal, Fanny Cornforth
Bottom: Fanny Eaton, Jane Morris, Marie Spartali Stillman, Sophy Gray
Short version: I'm easy to please and happy to be completely surprised, as long as you don't include the couple of DNWs mentioned below. If you've got something in mind already then do it your way! These are just suggestions - I will honestly love anything about these people. Any rating, any gender pairing if you want to do romance/smut (and if you do, my yes list from the Smut Swap tagset is here if that's helpful).
General fic loves: (probably not applicable to every fandom requested, but I include this in all letters as an overview of some of the things I enjoy reading in whatever combination) worldbuilding/exploration of the canon world; dialogue; description (especially of hair, hands, and clothing); competence; petty arguments; unreliable narrators; misunderstandings; found families; really old comfy friendships; really old comfy friendships that accidentally/unexpectedly become more; clumsy inappropriate humour; backstories; melancholy; loonngg dragged out UST that feels like it'll never end and then ends gloriously; awkward imperfect sex where everyone's still having the best time ever; intense physical fight scenes; huge scale destruction; ridiculous things played completely straight for comedy purposes; kissing; when penetrative sex isn't the only type considered 'real' sex; ghosts; playing with someone's hair.
Please no: noncon or anything to do with hanging.
A few of these requests are repeats from last year:
19th Century CE Danish Literature RPF
Hans Christian Andersen
MY AWKWARD LOVE, Andersen. He's a desperate wretched mess. I love him. I'll flail for nine straight hours about my feelings for him if anyone's willing to listen, but I'll spare you most of it here. Short version: I wish he'd lived in a kinder time that allowed him to be happier, but I'm glad he had at least a few little chances at happiness even though they didn't last. Please write me anything you've got in you to write for him, I will love it. Anything about the autobiographical nature of a lot of his stories. Anything about his dirty diary full of black crosses and his difficult feelings regarding sex. Anything you want.
ODAO extra characters I wanted to nominate but couldn't figure out how to corral into a single sensible fandom name, if any of these relationships appeal:
Harald Scharff: handsome principal ballet dancer with the Royal Danish Theatre. From his Wikipedia page:
In his diary entry for 2 January 1862, Andersen noted that Scharff "bounded up to me; threw himself round my neck and kissed me!" In other entries for January 1862, he described Scharff as "deeply devoted… very intimate… ardent and loving". In February, the poet observed that Scharff was "intimate and communicative" and in March he noted "a visit from Scharff... exchanged with him all the little secrets of the heart; I long for him daily." Later in March he wrote, "Scharff very loving... I gave him my picture." Scharff gave a silver toothbrush engraved with his name and the date to Andersen on his 57th birthday. In the winter of 1861–62, the two men entered a full-blown love affair that brought Andersen "joy, some kind of sexual fulfillment and a temporary end to loneliness." He was not discreet in his conduct with Scharff, and displayed his feelings much too openly. Onlookers regarded the relationship as improper and ridiculous. In his diary for March 1862, Andersen referred to this time in his life as his "erotic period".
Big age difference, affectionate lovers, and a handsome ballet dancer. It is everything I love. Andersen's story The Snowman is supposedly about his pining for Scharff.
Jenny Lind: opera singer Andersen became infatuated with and proposed to. From Wikipedia:
One of his stories, "The Nightingale", was written as an expression of his passion for Jenny Lind and became the inspiration for her nickname, the "Swedish Nightingale". Andersen was often shy around women and had extreme difficulty in proposing to Lind. When Lind was boarding a train to go to an opera concert, Andersen gave Lind a letter of proposal. Her feelings towards him were not the same; she saw him as a brother, writing to him in 1844: "farewell ... God bless and protect my brother is the sincere wish of his affectionate sister, Jenny".
Charles Dickens: Andersen was a big fan of Dickens (after their first meeting he wrote in his diary "I was so happy to see and speak to England's now living writer, whom I love the most") and they became friends, but then OOPS disaster a decade later when Dickens invited Andersen to stay at his home for a short while and Andersen just kind of missed/ignored all the hints that he should leave for five endless weeks. When he finally went home, Dickens totally ghosted him and poor old Andersen couldn't understand why his letters weren't being answered any more. This is my favourite account of that outstayed welcome, but it would be great to see something slightly less flippant. Bonus points for showing Dickens getting really aggravated by it all, because I don't like Dickens :P
DNW: Andersen-bashing of any kind. I know he was often peculiar and annoying and didn't really have a brilliant understanding of when people were done with him getting in their way, but that's really not what I'd like to read about unless it's done with a bit of compassion. (Subjective, I know - anon commenting is allowed on my DW if you've got any questions.)
Ballets Russes RPF
Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Diaghilev, Vaslav Nijinsky
I don't even know where to begin. I would love to read ANYTHING ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING about any of these guys in whatever combination and setting you want.
Something about the Paris riot? The conductor of the premiere, Pierre Monteux, was told by one of his double-bass players that "many a gentleman's shiny top hat or soft fedora was ignominiously pulled down by an opponent over his eyes and ears, and canes were brandished like menacing implements of combat all over the theatre" is just the best and most beautiful report of a riot imaginable. This whole thing is a bit ridiculous and a lot fascinating and weirdly thrilling. Why don't we get riots over ballet and classical music any more? (Note: I know the stories about that night are all exaggerated to hell, but I don't care - go as ott or as realistic as you like. Legend and truth are both as good as each other sometimes.)
Or something more focused on the music and dance with Stravinsky and/or Nijinsky, and the sort of symbiosis of creator/performer needed to make all these glorious things possible. Or the physical difficulties of ballet... I would happily read a 1000 word intricately detailed description of a single leap or turn if that's what you wanted to write. Or something about the changing state of politics and society and fashions at the time they were all working. Diaghilev's background, like his love of music and how he wasn't good enough to make a career of it - how much lingering frustration was there about all that? How did it affect the work he ended up doing later in the theatre, or his relationship with brilliant Stravinsky? Diaghilev and Nijinsky were lovers, how did that come about? They didn't stay happy, but were they happy for a while? Or was their relationship purely physical?
DNW: focus on Nijinsky's deteriorating mental health, if you're writing about him. Of course don't avoid the topic completely if you want to include it, just please don't have that as the main focus and please nothing about his time in asylums. (Recommend The Diary of Vaslav Nijinsky, but it's incredibly upsetting and difficult to read.)
Cottingley Fairies Hoax RPF
Elsie Wright, Frances Griffiths
I don't know why I've never thought of Cottingley Fairies fic before but w o w it's lodged in my head and there's no shifting it now! I've loved this story my entire life. I would love to see anything at all about Elsie and Frances learning about photography, their games, what made them pretend it was all real, how they felt when it all took off and ran away with itself - were they scared about being found out? Just elated that they had such a wonderful secret? Lots of things all at once? Early photography and film is a HUGE passion of mine and I feel a bit silly and reverant about it all, I don't like the tendency to get a bit ha-ha about people being taken in by something that seems so sweetly ridiculous now (even though yes there's absolutely something glorious about a couple of little girls fooling some of the best minds of the era for so long). I'm fascinated by this weird liminal time of people still figuring out this relatively new technology and what to feel about it all. I'm sure I would have been taken in as well. I WANT TO BELIEVE. Anyway - fairy hoax, children's games, young girls fooling smart old men, this sense of inexplicable magic coming to life on glass plates, secrets, I am here for any of it. I didn't add Arthur Conan Doyle to my requests because I'm mostly interested in the girls' stories, but absolutely do include him if you like.
Another angle - what if the pictures actually weren't a hoax? Elsie and Frances find real live fairies at the bottom of their garden and take their pictures... what then? Are they nice Disney type fairies who just want to play? Or are they the kind of fairies who demand payment for anything you take from them? Fairy stories always scared the hell out of me way more than ghosts and monsters so it would be great to read some kind of fairytale-horror take on all of this, especially because the pictures are so incredibly lovely. Turn the whole thing upside down.
Kingsman (Movies) RPF
Any: Channing Tatum, Colin Firth, Halle Berry, Mark Strong, Pedro Pascal, Sofia Boutella, Sophie Cookson, Taron Egerton
I was going to narrow this down to just Mark/Colin, but I've been having so much fun with the Golden Circle press tour interviews and I'm kind of in love with all of them. Some ideas below, but feel free to mix and match anyone from the tagset if you prefer.
Potential pairings, & and / both welcome:
* Mark/Colin is the big one with the most history to mine, but really any combination of Colin & Mark & Taron is GOLD (especially with Mark's comments about Harry, Merlin & Eggsy being a family). Mark and Colin working together so often. That thing Mark said about seeing Colin on stage in Another Country and how it made him want to act. Some kind of conversation between reading the script and shooting about whether Harry/Merlin is a real thing, or teasing about why the hell Colin decided to play Harry with such ridiculous bedroom eyes all the damn time. Colin and Mark and the crossover between mentors and friends to Taron. Taron's mum fancying Mark and Colin getting fake-pissy about it. Colin trying on Elton John's costume and the others taking blackmail photos. Anything from friendship to the most explicit filth, please and thank you.
* Taron/Channing and the sex toys prank war, what was that all about? Was anyone else in on it or a victim of it? I love Channing's excitement about all of this and how open he is about being a huge fanboy of the first film. A big lovefest of "I LOVE KINGSMAN" - "OK BUT I LOVE HAIL CAESAR SO MUCH" - "YEAH BUT YOU'RE ELTON JOHN NOW" - "I KNOW BUT YOU WERE SO GOOD IN FOXCATCHER AND THE EAGLE IS AMAZING AND I MADE COLIN WATCH STEP UP AND HE LOVED IT" - "WOW OK THANKS" mutual fanboying would be beautiful.
* Colin/Channing for absolutely no reason other than the idea of it makes me very happy. Ships have sailed on much less.
* Sophie/Sofia mmmaybe getting salty together about the big Boys' Club/sausage fest these sets must have been (I genuinely love these films, but let's be real)
* Pedro/Halle because they were a total delight in every interview together and hearts came streaming out of my eyes.
* Taron/Colin/Pedro since Taron keeps insisting on talking about that jealousy photo in every single interview.
Or mix it up! I have no real strict (friend)ship affiliation, so if you want to throw your favourites together and see what happens I'll honestly love anything at all. I will be surfing this goodwill wave for years yet, I adore this entire bunch and just really enjoy seeing people's takes on them.
(DNW: wife and girlfriend bashing if there's romance/smut, please just go with happy polyamory.)
Mongol Empire RPF
Khutulun
I only have one real prompt, and this article in Lapham's Quarterly explains it better than I can:
"With her success in battle and in sports, Khutulun refused to marry unless a man could first defeat her in wrestling. Many men came forward to try, but none succeeded. Her parents became anxious for her to marry. According to Marco Polo, a particularly desirable bachelor prince presented himself around 1280. Most opponents wagered ten horses, or at the most a hundred, to compete against her. This unnamed bachelor wagered a thousand horses, and Khutulun's parents pleaded with her to take a fall and let him win.
An excited crowd gathered for the match. In the desire to please her parents Khutulun agreed to let the prince win. In the rush of competitive excitement as she stepped forward to face her rival, however, her filial resolve to please her parents melted. She grabbed her opponent by the arms, and found him to be more formidable than her usual challengers. He struggled against her, and they pushed this way and that, but she could not submit and allow herself to be thrown. The match continued for an agonizing long time with neither able to dominate. Finally, in a great surge of energy Khutlun threw him to the ground. She not only defeated but humiliated him, and he disappeared, leaving behind the additional thousand horses for her herd but having shattered her parents' hopes of marrying her to a worthy suitor."
I just really really want to hear more about this strong brilliant defiant warrior princess and the billion horses she won from all the humiliated suitors she crushed in wrestling matches. This is the greatest thing. I'd love to read more about her in war and her place in her family as well, any kind of story you want because there's not a great deal of information out there and she's endlessly fascinating - but "horse hoarding wrestling champ" is absolutely my favourite part.
Pre-Raphaelite Models RPF
Alexa Wilding, Effie Gray, Elizabeth Siddal, Fanny Cornforth, Fanny Eaton, Jane Morris, Marie Spartali Stillman, Sophy Gray
I remember being so fascinated when I was little by how I could recognise the same faces over and over in different paintings, and it grew into a bit of an obsession with artists' models, particularly the women in so much of the Pre-Raphaelite art. When I started reading up on them it all shifted from the initial "Alexa is the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life omg" to wanting to know everything about them and their wishes and achievements and everything else, rather than only knowing them from the way their lives slotted into the guys'. They're famous worldwide nearly to the point of being mythical (Lizzie's hair growing after death to fill her coffin!) but it's shallow, it's almost entirely because of their beauty. There must be millions of people who could recognise their faces but don't know their names. There's so much more to explore. I would honestly love to read anything about any of them so if you've got a particular favourite and something you want to say about her then please do, but some possible starting off points:
* Marie Spartali Stillman and Lizzie Siddal as artists. The whole act of creation and the drive behind it. Lizzie's much less idealised self-portraits vs other people's portraits of her.
* How completely Jane reinvented herself as soon as she had the means.
* Effie's determination and courage during the mess of her marriage annulment. Her maternal sort of relationship with Sophy.
* I seriously cannot overstate how obsessed I am with long hair. I would be absolutely ok with just a 1000 word description of someone washing or brushing this thigh-length mass of beautiful endless curls. SWOON.
* The strange dichotomy of being a dressmaker or charwoman or whatever but seeing your face in these gloriously beautiful celebrated paintings. How seeing that changes your perspective on everyday life, if it does at all.
* Artist modelling being only half a step up from prostitution. Does that make anyone's decision to do it more difficult, or does it change anything for them outside of the studio? Some of them married famous artists and/or came from higher class families, but Alexa, Fanny C, and Fanny E were all working class women, and Fanny E was Jamaican. How different was it for them vs Marie or the Grays?
* Or go totally off in some other AU direction if that's your thing and include the whole group. Pride & Prejudice & Zombies this up, or put them in the middle of the Martians attack from The War of the Worlds, or make them meet Dracula. Shove them all together in a house and see what happens. Would they be friends? Or something about the characters from the paintings, instead of the women themselves. Anything!
DNW: a primary focus on Rossetti/Millais/etc with the women added in around the edges, I really want the women to be the centre of it in whatever way that is (but absolutely include anyone you like around them). And mentions are fine, but please not a whole thing solely about Sophy's anorexia.
Top: Alexa Wilding, Effie Gray, Elizabeth Siddal, Fanny Cornforth
Bottom: Fanny Eaton, Jane Morris, Marie Spartali Stillman, Sophy Gray
