Histories Ficathon the Fifth: Once More Unto the Fic

It's the MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE (FANNISH) YEAR...

ANNOUNCING THE FIFTH ANNUAL [livejournal.com profile] thisengland HISTORIES FICATHON AND LOVEFEST

There are a couple of slight rule changes this year, so be sure to look closely even if you're a longtime ficathon veteran!

A few clarifications and ground rules:

1. "Histories," for ficathon purposes, means "stuff categorized as histories in the 1623 Folio," which means "medieval and early Renaissance English histories." Which means the two tetralogies (Richard II/Henry IV/Henry V and Henry VI/Richard III), King John, and Henry VIII. Please be advised that Macbeth, King Lear, and Cymbeline don't count for this ficathon, nor do the Roman histories (they've got [livejournal.com profile] ides_of_april!). The Merry Wives of Windsor is attached closely enough to the second tetralogy that if you want fic about it, that's fine. Also, the possibly-partly-Shakespearean Edward III and Sir Thomas More have enough claim to being Shakespeare that they count (if anyone wants fic about them). Crossovers with other early modern texts are permissible, but not other crossovers (for instance, with media properties such as Doctor Who or Harry Potter -- I'd happily read either one, but please don't request or submit them for the ficathon). Incorporating historical knowledge of the play's time period is perfectly valid and does not make the fic a crossover. Requests for radical AUs are, as always, also permissible (and really, if you are in this ficathon you probably know that this fandom LOVES them). NEW FOR 2012: Early modern history plays by other authors that engage with the same events/characters as Shakespeare's histories are also permitted. If you're not clear whether something is acceptable, please ask. However, all signups MUST include at least one prompt from the ten "canonical" Shakespeare histories (i.e., the ones listed as histories in the Folio), in order to facilitate matchups.

2. NEW FOR 2012: While rule #1 permits requests for AU fic, we'd like to ask participants not to request fic in pre-existing AUs. Fic taking place in pre-existing AUs may be written for Histories Ficathon Madness, but not for the main ficathon. If you wish to write in an AU not your own, please contact the mods so that we can ask the original creator(s)!

3. As always, this is a fic exchange. Assignments will go out as soon after the deadline as possible, once I (along with my lovely co-mod [livejournal.com profile] lareinenoire) have had a chance to look over the entries.

4. We're open to pretty much whatever genre -- gen, het, slash, femslash, giant hilarious orgies, whatever, so feel free to request whatever you like.

5. All ficathon administrative posts will appear here at [livejournal.com profile] thisengland.

6. Word limit for fics is 1000 minimum, as in [livejournal.com profile] yuletide.

Things to let us know when you sign up:

1. What you want (be as specific or not as you want. Please give at least three prompts, to make matchups easier and to give your writer a bit of a choice). All signups must include ONE prompt from the ten canonical histories.

2. What you are most comfortable writing.

3. What you would rather not write. Please be sure to specify genres (e.g. deathfic, romantic comedy) as well as kinks; the former is generally more helpful for the purposes of assignments (we get very few requests for kink in this ficathon).

4. Whether you're willing to pinch-hit

Email all of this info to me at strangebrooch AT gmail DOT com, and/or to [livejournal.com profile] lareinenoire at lareinenoire AT gmail DOT com, by MIDNIGHT CDT on FRIDAY, JUNE 22 (well, actually Friday/Saturday, rather than Thursday/Friday). Don't forget to include your lj handle if it's not clear from your email and/or I don't know who you are. The final deadline for fics is tentatively set at WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22. (This is negotiable if it's a bad time for participants.) Once I've received everyone's assignments, I will post all unwritten prompts at [livejournal.com profile] thisengland for anyone to write fic of any length (even if you weren't originally part of the exchange) -- much like Yuletide Madness, in other words. All fics will then be posted on SATURDAY, AUGUST 25.

[identity profile] highfantastical.livejournal.com 2012-06-05 01:14 am (UTC)(link)
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

my day/night just got 100000000x better.

[identity profile] erstwhiletexan.livejournal.com 2012-06-05 01:20 am (UTC)(link)
yesssssssssssssssssssssss more amazing stories for me to read :D

[identity profile] lareinenoire.livejournal.com 2012-06-05 01:35 pm (UTC)(link)
Heeeee, love your icon.

Also, I am writing fic about Kat Swynford right now.

[identity profile] erstwhiletexan.livejournal.com 2012-06-05 03:15 pm (UTC)(link)
:D :D :D :D :D omg share when finished plz

Also: thank you :D Credit for the idea goes to [livejournal.com profile] angevin2.
Edited 2012-06-05 15:16 (UTC)

[identity profile] lareinenoire.livejournal.com 2012-06-05 04:47 pm (UTC)(link)
It's for [livejournal.com profile] au_bigbang and basically recasts the entire mess as Charlotte Brontë pastiche. I have no idea if it's going to work but it occurred to me that the only thing missing from actual Gaunt/Katherine was a nice dose of Victorian repression...;)
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[identity profile] lareinenoire.livejournal.com 2012-06-06 12:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Please note -- I don't know if it's any good. ;)

But it had a governess/employer relationship. What else am I supposed to do? Although Katherine's childhood is considerably less traumatic than Jane's and I get to wrangle with all the illegitimate kids. Poor everyone.

[identity profile] kerrypolka.livejournal.com 2012-06-05 08:29 am (UTC)(link)
this is exactly what is needed right now!

[identity profile] the-alchemist.livejournal.com 2012-06-05 10:17 pm (UTC)(link)
1) Hurrah!

2) I'm a bit unclear on what counts as "early modern history plays by other authors that engage with the same events/characters as Shakespeare's histories". Is Edward II in or out? (Clearly 'out' in the 'of the closet' sense, but in the 'of the ficathon' sense?) There's an obvious overlap with Edward III, but that's not canonical in the First Folio sense. It does sort of engage with the events of the First Folio canon, because Edward III, my Lords, had seven sons.

3) Does anyone know when The Hollow Crown (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00s90hz) is going to be on telly yet? All I'm getting is 'June', but it's June already. Because something that might happen when it does is that more people get interested in our tiny little fandom, and 22 June doesn't seem to be a date that either includes them or doesn't include them, but is rather a date that might include them depending on the BBC and whether or not they're the sort of people who sit down and google "Shakespeare Richard II history plays fanfiction" the moment the credits of the first episode start rolling. Which is also a perfectly good choice, but is it deliberate?

4) More hurrah. The histories ficathon is one of the highlights of my year.

[identity profile] fuunsaiki.livejournal.com 2012-06-05 11:36 pm (UTC)(link)
I've been informed that Richard II is on June 30th (but I wouldn't 100% guarantee that). The British Museum are doing an outdoor screening of Henry V on August 24th (but I've no idea if it's a pre-screening or just a fun thing for them). If we're likely to acquire people as a result of the BBC's sterling work, perhaps we could consider tailoring the Ficathon Madness aspect to their possible presence, so they can still totally get involved, but we don't have to hang around waiting for them (just in case they never show up). :3
Edited 2012-06-05 23:37 (UTC)
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[identity profile] lareinenoire.livejournal.com 2012-06-06 12:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Here is a list from last year. (http://thisengland.livejournal.com/34751.html#cutid2)

Also, DOOO EEEEET!! ;)
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[identity profile] lareinenoire.livejournal.com 2012-06-11 01:47 pm (UTC)(link)
Okay, that is really, really weird. Both of your earlier comments showed up in my inbox perfectly fine!
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[identity profile] lareinenoire.livejournal.com 2012-06-11 01:52 pm (UTC)(link)
I have despammed them so hopefully that will take care of the problem. No clue what LJ is smoking these days...