Whispers

So I was extremely blessed this exchange. I wanted fic for the firebird and got to both write fic about firebird stories and read two stories gifted to me about the firebird. I loved, loved, loved this exchange, even if I was whining via email about trying to write what I did.

I initially started off with a fandom-only prompt, so brainstormed a little with hiddencait who suggested a crossover based on something in another prompt, then asked for a little more detail through a mod, and got back a few more ideas. Which almost all got chucked fairly immediately.

What I ended up writing was a fusion between three different stories that all felt similar to me, so "The Firebird and the Horse of Power and the Princess Vasilissa" (a variation on "The Firebird and the Princess Vasilisa"), "Tsarevitch Ivan and the Fire Bird and the Gray Wolf" (which always read to me like a variation of...), and "The Golden Bird" by Grimmm's.

I grew up on Grimm's (hardcover book from my dad), and the first story occupies a horse-story anthology I spent my own money on when I was still just a kid, and that middle story has names, wonderful names, and so of course, I had to fuse them all together and decide that things went wrong in the first story and the Tsar in "The Firebird and the Horse of Power and the Princess Vasilissa" would be one of Tsarevitch Ivan's older brothers/the gallows meat older brothers from "The Golden Bird" because he said he'd been waiting for a long time to marry Vasilissa, which implies history. As for Vasilissa not aging, she lives in the Land of Never (Neverland from Peter Pan anyone?) and the firebird's supposed to be hers in a way, so yeah.

I went wild, folded in a little "Story of the Phoenix," snuck in some princess of the golden palace/castle/dwelling references from "Faithful John," and dumped the entire story on my unsuspecting first reader, hiddencait who gave me a thumbs up.

I'm glad to have written it, though it doesn't read quite as original/standalone as I'd initially hoped to make it. Fanfic it is. But it's good fanfic, and I hope you like.



Ears to Hear (2607 words) by scribblemyname
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Slavic Mythology & Folklore, The Story of the Phoenix (Myth), Tsarevitch Ivan and the Fire Bird and the Gray Wolf (Fairy Tale), The Golden Bird (Grimm's Fairy Tales), The Firebird and the Horse of Power and the Princess Vasilissa (Fairy Tale)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: The Young Archer/Princess Vasilisa, previous Tsarevitch Ivan/Princess Vasilisa, The Golden Horse & the Princess of the Golden Castle, The Horse of Power & the Young Archer
Characters: The Firebird (Slavic Mythology & Folklore), Tsarevitch Dimitri (Tsarevitch Ivan and the Fire Bird and the Gray Wolf), Tsarevitch Ivan (Tsarevitch Ivan and the Fire Bird and the Gray Wolf), The Fox (The Golden Bird) | The Gray Wolf (Tsarevitch Ivan and the Fire Bird and the Gray Wolf), The Young Archer (The Firebird and the Horse of Power and the Princess Vasilissa), The Princess of the Golden Castle (The Golden Bird) | Princess Vasilissa, The Golden Horse (The Golden Bird) | Horse of Power (The Firebird and the Princess Vasilissa)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Friendship, Reunion, Fairy Tale Retellings, Backstory, First Meetings
Summary:

If only Tsarevitch Ivan had been able to listen. Then Ivan would be Tsar instead of his brother, and Vasilissa would be ruling over the land now, her brother the King of the Golden Castle, and the firebird singing every dawn to the sun over the horse of power's head.

Bird once led to horse and horse to princess. The story had changed, but the story was the same.

---

Gifts I received (and love to pieces, go read!):

How the Phoenix Ignited a Match (4780 words) by Jaiden_S
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Legend of the Phoenix
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Tati/Bourne
Characters: The Phoenix, Tati, Bourne - Character
Additional Tags: Legend of the Phoenix - Freeform, Fairy Tale Retellings, Fairy Tale Style, Fluff, Romance
Summary:

The Phoenix is not known for his kind and caring heart, but when he befriends a young girl, he can't help himself.

Phosphene (825 words) by cirque
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Story of the Phoenix (Myth), Ancient Egyptian Religion
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: The Phoenix, The Sun
Additional Tags: Anthropomorphic, Phoenixes, Rebirth, Modern Era, Bad space jokes, Complicated Relationships
Summary:

In New York, New York, 1947, he tells his story to a street pigeon with whom he shares a statue.

"Every five hundred years I fly to the same mountain, and build the same nest, and get reborn. And the kicker is - I just end up doing it all over again."

Dear Once Upon a Fic Writer,

First, let me say I love you for writing for me and I will love whatever you write, pretty much guaranteed. I grew up loving folktales, myths, and fairytales, especially Slavic Folklore, Greek myth, and the original Grimm's. I love crossovers, expansions, inspired by's, interrogating the original in fic, symbols, or fusions. I love figuring out the common thread between multiple mythologies.

That said, please don't write for me: embarrassment, rape, incest, dub-con, body-related humor, graphic violence or gore, or profanity. Also, please no witches.

Things I love: 5 times fic, soulmates/soulbonds/soulmarks, gen, romance, family, chosen family, deep friendships, actual fae, competent characters, worldbuilding, character studies, backstories, established relationships, slow build, etc.

For more about what I like to read, I'm on AO3 as scribblemyname with a lot of fic and bookmarks.

( The Fandoms )

Again, thank you so much for anything you write me! This letter is just to help give you something to work with.