Worldbuildingexchange letter

[raiyana]

Hiya!
Firstly, I promise I'll be super stoked to see whatever it is you end up creating!
My Ao3: raiyana 
MY Tumblr: joyfullynervouscreator 
Getting the icky stuff out of the way: 
DNW

• Character bashing. This is my biggie; the complexity of some of these characters is what draws me to them. (I'm A-OK with one character criticising another's actions, or characters arguing or disliking one another, but please no shoehorning of personal dislikes.
• Perfect Ainur. Well-intentioned but fallible is fine, but I'm not on board with “they can do no wrong."
• Crack fic
• 2^nd person narrator
• MPREG
• Unrequested kinks (including but not limited to BDSM, scat/waterworks, emetophilia)
• A/B/O
• 24/7 D/S
• Incest(parent/child AND sibling/sibling)
• Some ships: Celebrimbor/Annatar, Legolas/Gimli(romantic only - platonic bros is fine), Bagginshield
  

Generally, my tastebuds sing for

• Character complexity and conflicting motivations
• Unusual perspectives, original characters (especially female characters) and textual ghosts
• Unreliable narrators and quirky narrative structures – for example, epistolary, fragmented narratives, stories told through found documents, framing devices, stories told out of chronological order 
• Philosophical musings
• Exploring the outer edges of the map

1.       The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien

Original Character(s), Caranthir, Finrod, Maglor, Original Noldorin Character, Finarfin, Any or No Characters, Feänor

WB: Fashion and fabrics in pre-First Age Aman

• –         Colours, cuts, usage; what type of dyes could be found/created – do they get so far as anodyne dyes, or stick with natural pigments?
• –         Weaving, knitting, embroidery, felting – what is used where – and by whom? Are certain fabrics limited to specific classes?
• –         Hats of Elves – Aside from armoured helmets or cowls, you rarely see any Elf depicted with headgear(not counting crowns), why? Do ceremonial hats exist? Who wears a hat, and why? Who invents hats – and what styles are created? – and why?

WB: The Founding of Cities Towns & Villages In Valinor

• –         Some places seem given – a port/fishing city like Alqualondë, for example – but why do towns and cities get founded where we know them to be now; is the agricultural land especially good in Vanyamar, for example, or is the city placed more accurately for religious reasons?
• –         Do some places get founded for other cultural reasons (a la invention of an amphitheatre -> Town of Thespiens)
• –         Do new villages and towns continue to appear, or do the Eldar stick to their familiar clusters? Hereunder also relations between young adults and their parents; do Elves ‘move out’ at a certain age?

WB: Fashion and fabrics in post-Exile Aman

• –         More of a visual thing, I suppose; do we see armour influences from the Noldor smiths who remained in the daily fashions (such as Cersei’s armour dress from GoT, for example) or is anything that might remind of the Kinslaying entirely out. (I also wonder whether any smiths who remained would have dared to craft weaponry or facsimiles thereof in relation to this)

WB: Jewels and Tools

• –         Valuation of items plays in here, given the jewel-strewn beaches of Alqualondë, but I’m also interested in techniques and inventions related to the topic. Aman, Doriath, Belegost/Novgrod, Nargothrond, Eregion, or possibly Lindon; differences and similarities?

 

2.       The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien

Haleth of the Haladin, Original Noldorin Character, Original Dwarf Character, Lalwen, Thuringwethil, Melian, Original Character(s)

WB: Portals and passageways

• –         I picked this mainly because the tag intrigued me. I saw it and thought of the Halls of Mandos and Mahal(where a Dwarf who dies goes) and whether there was a link between them.
• –         A thought about the Valar’s methods of transportation also occurs; do any/all of them have the ability to walk through the Music to end up in another physical space?
• –         The Girdle of Melian also occurs under this umbrella; it can be crossed, or not, as its ruler wills – how does this work, are there rules, what does it look like at all?

WB: Nature spirits and sentient nature

• –         We have River-daughters and Ents, so there must be some sentient nature around; culture and pov, but also exploring how such beings came to be/continue to be.
• –         Nan Elmoth?

WB: Edain women

• –         Roles and responsibilities, gender roles, power

WB: Women Warriors

• –         Elven, Edian, Dwarven; lady warriors of all kinds and their roles and functions in their societies

 

3.       The Hobbit

Tauriel, Thranduil, Thorin Oakenshield, Thráin II's Wife, Original Character(s), Any or No Characters

WB: Women Warriors

• –         Roles, reactions from family/society, history

WB: Eastern/Southern Dwarf Cultural Differences // WB: Blue Mountains Culture

• –         These seem somewhat interrelated. We see more of the BM influences in the films, of course, but… Take me beyond the scope of the films here and show me the wider Dwarf World 😊

WB: Dwarf Primogeniture

• –         How is the King’s Heir chosen? We see in both book and film that Fíli is Thorin’s Heir unquestioned, despite him being young enough to have children of his own (if he survived the Quest, of course, but also beforehand) Why is he childless, what do the Folk of Durin think of the rule being passed to a sisterson? Feel free to explore gender roles and traditions under this header, too 😊

4.       The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien

Thrór's Spouse, Thráin II, Thorin Oakenshield, Fíli, Dís, Dáin Ironfoot, Dáin Ironfoot's Wife,

WB: Trading Across the World

• –         Who trades with whom, and what goods?

WB: Life in Exile

• –         Diplomacy, war, building a new settlement, the wider consequences of the influx of Exiles; economic waves across the world re: trade routes, flow of goods, etc.
• –         How do they manage – and how do they ensure that the culture(and cultural memories) of Erebor is not lost for the next generations?

WB: Gender roles in dwarf culture // WB: Dwarven Primogeniture and Inheritance

• –         How is the King’s Heir chosen? We see in both book and film that Fíli is Thorin’s Heir unquestioned, despite him being young enough to have children of his own (if he survived the Quest, of course, but also beforehand) Why is he childless, what do the Folk of Durin think of the rule being passed to a sisterson? Who rules the Iron Hills once Dáin is King of Erebor?
• –         We hear very little of the spouses of these kings, who were they and what duties fall under the purview of a King’s Consort?