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I'm also Quillori on AO3.
I really would prefer you to write the best story you can, and one you're happy with, rather than trying to do something that doesn't suit you to fit what I asked for - optional details really are entirely optional here. I'm most interested in what you make of the song. (Gen, m/f, m/m and f/f are all equally welcome. I've only asked for fic this year, although art treats are always welcome. So, as always, is IF.)
Le Roi d’Aquitaine
Kurt Weill
The Enchantment
Sheila Chandra; version of traditional song 'Reynardine'
[A note on the lyrics: they are widely available online, but I suspect they're all copied from the same place, because they all appear to have the same two errors in them: they all have 'rain castle' where Chandra sings 'green castle', and the rather trite 'beyond the mortal life', rather than 'beyond the mortal line'.]
Vèntô Aquilònê - I Trillanti (Song)
The song is about the wind from L'Aquila: as the clouds form above Mt Monna (one of the peaks of the Monti Ernici), it is a sign the wind will soon come, blowing with terrible force for three days. There is nothing to do but take shelter. I love how atmospheric this is: the drawn out waiting, the wind finally beginning to rise, the sound of the crickets and the birds, the dogs beginning to howl, the banging doors... and yet the power of the wind, while terrible, is not entirely bad. What I would love is something dealing with that mounting tension, with that fearful and yet not entirely unwelcome force, with the dangerous beauty of the setting. Something that takes the Aquilone as some sort of elemental power, whether an actual spirit/demi-god of some sort (Aquilo was indeed a minor Roman god), or just an expression of a semi-mystical force of nature.
In General
Apart from that, this is my normal list for all other-people-writing-fanfic-for-me occasions. Things I like (provided only as indicative of my taste, not in any way as particular requirements of your story): established relationships, smart and competent characters, witty banter, slash, political intrigue, moral ambiguity, apparently simple conversations with a great deal going on under the surface, angst if done with restraint, difficult decisions with no right answer (I think I mentioned moral ambiguity?), metaphor, clever use of literary allusions, relationships where each party thinks the other has all the power. Endings can be happy, sad, ambiguous, or anywhere in between. Let's see, what else? Fierce loyalty (the tear the world apart for you variety, not the sit here passively putting up with anything variety), complicated love/hate relationships with lots of backstory, unflappable characters, arrogance if the party concerned has the requisite ability to back it up, committed partnerships between people who see the world at the same angle (even if they aren't always on the same side)...
Things I’d prefer you avoided: I’m not terribly keen on mpreg (or fpreg, come to that) or stories told in the 2nd person, and I do have something of an embarrassment squick. Oh, all right, I also don't tend to like issuefic, but I'm not sure that's something people generally set out to write deliberately - one person's issuefic is another's searingly honest portrayal. I do also generally prefer characters who are adults by the standard of their society, or who are at least functioning as adults owing to their personal circumstances (not on moral grounds, just I find the sort of concerns and stakes in a story about adults more interesting), and I am rarely that interested in college or coffeeshop settings.
I really would prefer you to write the best story you can, and one you're happy with, rather than trying to do something that doesn't suit you to fit what I asked for - optional details really are entirely optional here. I'm most interested in what you make of the song. (Gen, m/f, m/m and f/f are all equally welcome. I've only asked for fic this year, although art treats are always welcome. So, as always, is IF.)
Le Roi d’Aquitaine
Kurt Weill
A grey duck, a blue duck, a white duck...Surely this could be the base for a fascinating fairytale, whether you want to invent a traditional tale, or tell it at an angle: are the ducks enchanted princes, or do the princes share only the colour coding? Will the king put aside the queen for the duck seller, or does he want the duck seller for something else to the detriment of the queen? Perhaps this is only an incident in the story of one of the ducks/princes, or in the relationship of the queen and the duck seller? Or is the duck seller merely idly dreaming?
The grey one walks behind the the blue one ahead.
The white one is the biggest, I'll sell it for twenty francs.
The blue one is quite small, I'll sell it for six francs.
The King of Aquitaine,
if he comes to the market
to serve the queen,
he'll send for me.
The King of Aquitaine
will take my hand.
Too bad for the queen,
tomorrow.
A grey prince, a blue prince, a white prince...
The white one has rubies, and the blue, diamonds.
The grey one has his crown and his sword at his side.
The blue loves me the best, and I love best the white.
The King of Aquitaine,
if he comes to the market
to serve the queen,
he'll send for me.
The King of Aquitaine
will take my hand.
Too bad for the queen,
tomorrow.
The lyrics as sung:
Un canard gris, un canard bleu, un canard blanc...
Le gris marche derrière et le bleu va devant.
C'est le blanc le plus gros, je le vendrai vingt francs.
Le bleu est tout petit, je le vendrai six francs.
Le Roi d'Aquitaine,
s'il vient au marché
pour servir la Reine,
m'enverra chercher.
Le Roi d'Aquitaine
me prendra la main.
Tant pis pour la Reine,
demain.
Un prince gris, un prince bleu, un prince blanc...
Le blanc a des rubis et le bleu des diamants.
Le gris a sa couronne et son épée au flanc.
Le bleu m'aime le mieux et j'aime mieux le blanc.
Le Roi d'Aquitaine,
s'il vient au marché
pour servir la Reine,
m'enverra chercher.
Le Roi d'Aquitaine
me prendra la main.
Tant pis pour la Reine,
demain.
The Enchantment
Sheila Chandra; version of traditional song 'Reynardine'
Sun and dark, sun and dark,Personally, I always tend to prefer an ambiguously supernatural Reynardine, rather than a plain outlaw or a definite monster, and I think this version fits particularly well with that reading. I'd love something that kept the otherworldly tone, but when and where it's set and exactly how supernatural, or how dangerous, the Reynardine figure is I leave to you.
Sun and dark she followed him
Over the mountains high
Sun and dark she followed him
For his eyes so bright did shine
And he led her over the mountain
Beyond the mortal line.
[A note on the lyrics: they are widely available online, but I suspect they're all copied from the same place, because they all appear to have the same two errors in them: they all have 'rain castle' where Chandra sings 'green castle', and the rather trite 'beyond the mortal life', rather than 'beyond the mortal line'.]
The lyrics as actually sung:
He said my pretty fair maid
I'm glad to meet you here
For it's on this lonely mountain
Your beauty, your beauty shines
Your beauty shines so
Your beauty shines so clear
And if perchance you ask for me
Perhaps you'll not me find
But I'll be in my green castle
All on the mountains high
He said my pretty fair maid
I'm glad to meet you
But I'll be in my green castle
Your beauty shines so clear
Your beauty shines so clear
Sun and dark, sun and dark
Sun and dark she followed him
Over the mountains high
Sun and dark she followed him
For his eyes so bright did shine
And he led her over the mountain
Beyond the mortal line
If perchance you ask for me
You'll not me find, you'll never me find
And she followed him
For his eyes so bright did shine
And he led her over the mountain
Beyond the mortal line.
Vèntô Aquilònê - I Trillanti (Song)
The song is about the wind from L'Aquila: as the clouds form above Mt Monna (one of the peaks of the Monti Ernici), it is a sign the wind will soon come, blowing with terrible force for three days. There is nothing to do but take shelter. I love how atmospheric this is: the drawn out waiting, the wind finally beginning to rise, the sound of the crickets and the birds, the dogs beginning to howl, the banging doors... and yet the power of the wind, while terrible, is not entirely bad. What I would love is something dealing with that mounting tension, with that fearful and yet not entirely unwelcome force, with the dangerous beauty of the setting. Something that takes the Aquilone as some sort of elemental power, whether an actual spirit/demi-god of some sort (Aquilo was indeed a minor Roman god), or just an expression of a semi-mystical force of nature.
The lyrics as sung:
…Ahh! Èssêgl’ è!
‘Ncima alla Mónna gli trawê è fattô, sê nê fréga,
tê ariwa ‘mpéttô, quasi a fattêlô a dêspéttô.
‘Ncima, attèra, ammóntê abbàllê,
zóffia fòrtê gli Signórê,
sê séntê ‘mpò padrónê dê ‘sta wallàta nóstra.
San Sistô méi, fa chê nê sia teremòtô:
gli uttrô méi che tèta annasci, senza tittô sê rêtròwa!
Déntrô a‘na casa fagli annàsci,
cu nô lêttucci bégli
i ‘nô guardiànô agli cancégli!
Cantênô i rigli assiémi agli cégli,
abbàinô i cani, sbàttênô gli usci,
è pulita l’acqua déntrô ai cuncónê:
…è ariwàtô gli Wéntô Aquilónê!
In General
Apart from that, this is my normal list for all other-people-writing-fanfic-for-me occasions. Things I like (provided only as indicative of my taste, not in any way as particular requirements of your story): established relationships, smart and competent characters, witty banter, slash, political intrigue, moral ambiguity, apparently simple conversations with a great deal going on under the surface, angst if done with restraint, difficult decisions with no right answer (I think I mentioned moral ambiguity?), metaphor, clever use of literary allusions, relationships where each party thinks the other has all the power. Endings can be happy, sad, ambiguous, or anywhere in between. Let's see, what else? Fierce loyalty (the tear the world apart for you variety, not the sit here passively putting up with anything variety), complicated love/hate relationships with lots of backstory, unflappable characters, arrogance if the party concerned has the requisite ability to back it up, committed partnerships between people who see the world at the same angle (even if they aren't always on the same side)...
Things I’d prefer you avoided: I’m not terribly keen on mpreg (or fpreg, come to that) or stories told in the 2nd person, and I do have something of an embarrassment squick. Oh, all right, I also don't tend to like issuefic, but I'm not sure that's something people generally set out to write deliberately - one person's issuefic is another's searingly honest portrayal. I do also generally prefer characters who are adults by the standard of their society, or who are at least functioning as adults owing to their personal circumstances (not on moral grounds, just I find the sort of concerns and stakes in a story about adults more interesting), and I am rarely that interested in college or coffeeshop settings.
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