once_upon_fic | Two Initial Pinch Hits

These pinch hits are due at 11:59pm CDT on May 10 | Countdown. A story that fulfils an assignment must respect the recipient's DNWs and feature one requested tale and at least one character requested for that tale (or one character that was nominated, if Any is selected).

Please either comment here or email the mods to claim, including your AO3 name. Thank you!!

PH #1 - Cupid and Psyche, East of the Sun and West of the Moon, Robin Hood, The Cat Who Became a Queen - CLAIMED
Request 1 by betony
Cupid and Psyche - Apuleius
Psyche (Cupid and Psyche), Cupid (Cupid and Psyche)

Agency for Psyche! An exploration of Eros/Cupid’s motivations. A setting-change or trope-based AU?

More details in my letter.

DNW: E-rated sex/violence/gore (M or milder is fine), consent issues, fics that hinge solely on hurt/comfort or angst/hopelessness

Letter: http://betony.dreamwidth.org/8786.html

Request 2 by betony
Østenfor sol og vestenfor måne | East of the Sun and West of the Moon
Jenta | Girl (Østenfor sol og vestenfor måne), Kvitbjørn | White Bear (Østenfor sol og vestenfor måne)

Love triangle for two shenanigans. More development of the Girl’s side of the romance. A setting-change or trope-based AU?

More details at my letter!

DNW: E-rated sex/violence/gore (M or milder is fine), consent issues, fics that hinge solely on hurt/comfort or angst/hopelessness

Letter: http://betony.dreamwidth.org/8786.html

Request 3 by betony
Robin Hood (Child Ballads)
Maid Marian (Child Ballads), Robin Hood (Traditional Child Ballads)

A new adventure featuring these two. Backstory for their romance. A setting-change or trope-based AU?

More details at my letter!

DNW: E-rated sex/violence/gore (M or milder is fine), consent issues, fics that hinge solely on hurt/comfort or angst/hopelessness

Letter: http://betony.dreamwidth.org/8786.html

Request 4 by betony
The Cat Who Became a Queen (Indian folk tale)
The Cat Who Becomes a Queen (The Cat Who Became A Queen), The Prince (The Cat Who Became a Queen)

Explanations for the cat’s successful masquerade and/or her relationship with her mothers. The Prince’s motivations for agreeing to the marriage. A behind-the-scenes elaborate con to explain the literal deus-ex-machina?

More details at my letter!

DNW: E-rated sex/violence/gore (M or milder is fine), consent issues, fics that hinge solely on hurt/comfort or angst/hopelessness

Letter: http://betony.dreamwidth.org/8786.html

PH #2 - The Twelve Dancing Princesses, Mabinogion, Medea - Euripides, Taliesin - CLAIMED
Request 1 by templemarker
The Twelve Dancing Princesses | The Shoes That Were Danced to Pieces - Brothers Grimm
Any Character

I would love to see a contemporary version of this story -- like a secret warehouse party that's got some characteristics of Faerie, or something like The Magicians where you step through the wards and you're in a hidden part of the city, with magic affecting time and mood.

I love seeing stuff like text messages, tweets, snapchats, etc used in fic set contemporaneously, but please don't feel pressured to do this!

I would be interested to see queer inclusivity in the princesses; transwomen, non-binary characters, wlw relationships -- that'd be my preference, but go where you will if it doesn't work for you as an author.

Letter: http://templemarker.dreamwidth.org/58825.html

Request 2 by templemarker
Mabinogion (Myth)
Any Character

I love the Mabinogion, I've read it several times over the years and still find it fascinating.

I'd be interested to see a contemporaneous take on the Mabinogion, just as a preference, but I'd be more than happy with a story set to the time period.

Mostly I want to see the omniscient POV of these characters -- mythology and legend usually tell you what happened, and how it happened, but I'm always curious about the why. What made the characters do what they do?

Letter: http://templemarker.dreamwidth.org/58825.html

Request 3 by templemarker
Medea - Euripides
Medea (Medea - Euripides)

Medea is such a badass! Ruthless, skilled, and ambitious; unwilling to bow to patriarchal demands, whether of her father or of Jason.

Euripides uses the filicide Medea commits to portray the dark extremities of feminine power; it acts as a reinforcement of social mores, that women (at the time, and moreover throughout history) must be controlled and abrogated to keep society good and right.

But I'm keen to see a re-evaluation of that act -- perhaps she doses her children by Jason with a potion, like Juliet in Romeo & Juliet, that mimics the appearance of death. (Obviously child abuse in today's world, but compared to the harm of murdering them perhaps more restrained in the time of Euripides.)

You're welcome to pick an interesting setting -- space or another planet, the Victorian Era, something Mad Mennish -- if you like, and also welcome to keep it within the period it is already set.

Letter: http://templemarker.dreamwidth.org/58825.html

Request 4 by templemarker
The Tale of Taliesin
Any Character

I love the story of Taliesin -- it's a tale with so many layers, from the surface plot to the metaphor for magical initiation.

One of the things I've always stayed thoughtful about is Ceridwen's role in the story -- she acts as an employer and then an antagonist to Gwion/Taliesin. As a divine being, I wonder about her thoughts on how this went down -- first in the question of whether or not she has foreknowledge of what's to happen; second, the idea that she is so punitive to Gwion despite the clearly accidental nature of his acquisition of the properties of the potion she is brewing; and third, what if anything she ended up doing for Morfran after the failure of the potion.

Morfran shows up again in the Welsh Triads, where is said to remain terrifically unpleasant to look at, though such commentary doesn't seem to stop him from being skilled at fighting.

For this, I think I'd prefer the original setting of the story, but you're welcome to go in whatever direction best works for you as you're writing.

Letter: http://templemarker.dreamwidth.org/58825.html

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