The 12 Character Fanfic Meme: Opera Edition

There's a meme going around the Livejournal community, particularly the sizeble segment that read and write fanfiction. I found it in the Harry Potter community, but it probably has spread to the other large fandoms - Buffy, LoTR, Star Wars etc.

I thought I'd do something a little different and use characters from the world of opera. Yes, there is such a thing as opera fanfiction (I haven't read any yet, but I have seen it *shudders*).

The Meme:
First, write down the names of 12 characters. Then read and answer the questions.You can't look at the questions (or click on the cut) until you write down the 12 characters you're going to use.

My 12 characters from the world of opera (I have tried to spread it around a little, but ended up with two Pucinnian heroines. Perhaps I should drop Tosca for Aida? Naah, I like 'em wenches who murder for love).

1. Flora Tosca (Tosca)
2. Melisande (Pelleas et Melisande)
3. Siegfried (Wagner's Ring Cycle)
4. Porgy (Porgy and Bess)
5. The With (Hansel and Gretel)
6. Otello (Otello)
7. Lucia (Lucia di Lamermoor)
8. Turandot (Turandot)
9. Don Juan (Don Juan)
10. Oktavian (Der Rosenkavalier)
11. Cinderella (La Cerenatola)
12. Canio (Pagliacci)


Questions have been adapted. I don't maintain a friend list here, so those questions have been changed slightly. And opera fanfic isn't something I want to get my mind around, so I have dropped a couple of questions on who might read and write this stuff.



Have you ever read a Six/Eleven (Otello/Cinderella) fic? Do you want to?
Heh. Jealous general and innocent princess-to-be. It's not a stretch. Desdemona could well have been a Cinderella type before marrying Otello. Obviously, I haven't read any fic with this pairing, nor does it probably exist. But I could get behind this, if I am bored enough.


Do you think Four (Porgy) is hot? How hot?
When he sings "Bess, you is my woman now", he's hotter than Jude Law and Colin Firth put together. But that might have something to do with the drop-dead-gorgeous Gershwin music, rather than poor old Porgy himself.

What would happen if Twelve (Canio) got Eight (Turandot) pregnant?
"Off with the clown's head"!! I don't know if he could ever get close enough to her to get her pregnant, though.

Can you rec any fic(s) about Nine (Don Juan)?
Don Juan the opera character, no. Don Juan the literary character, probably a few. He's popular with the ladies, this one.

Would Two (Melisande) and Six (Otello) make a good couple?
Wow, I am getting het couplings so far (but probably spoke too soon! Watching out for disturbing slash to come, I am sure). Well, they both die at the end of their respective operas, and Melisande does have a vaguely Desdemona like vibe, so yes, I can see this couple happening.

Five/Nine (The Witch/Don Juan) or Five/Ten (The Witch/ Oktavian)? Why?
This is cracking me up. I am still managing to get het couplings, but only just. Oktavian, after all, is sung by a mezzo-soprano. Choice between Don Juan and Oktavian? Don Juan, hands down. Oktavian ain't man enough for The Witch!


What would happen if Seven (Lucia) walked in on Two (Melisande) and Twelve (Canio) having sex?
5 minutes of impassioned coloratura expressing shock and a dismayed realisation of being just the slightest bit intrigued. Melisande would be serene and inscrutable. Canio would be guilt-ridden. (Hahaha, still getting the het coupling!)

Make up a summary for a Three (Siegfried)/Ten (Oktavian) fic.
Siegfried finally gets squicked about having an affair with his own aunt and leaves a broken-hearted but brave Brunhilde. He travels the world (well, western Europe, I suppose) in search of his destiny. In Austria, he meets a newly-divorced Oktavian, whose ex-wife Sophie has left him when his voice refused to crack even after 5 years of marriage. Together, Siegfried and Oktavian nitpick the plotholes of their operatic past and form an unlikely alliance to preserve the right of composers to write lush scores requiring over-sized orchestras. (Hey, first slash couple, but like I said before, Oktavian is dodgy anyway).

Is there such a thing as One (Tosca)/Eight (Turandot) fluff?
Haha, femmeslash with my two Puccinian heroines!! Turandot and fluff? The mind cannot compute such a possibility.

Suggest a title for a Seven (Lucia)/Twelve (Canio) hurt/comfort fic.
Oh, this is practically "canon", isn't it? Or would be, if the two were in the same opera. I am not sure who would be comforting who more, since they are both great figura tragedia. I can hear the duet now - a violent clash of coloratura and anguished verismo. And the title? "Madness shared is madness doubled". Or maybe "Caterwauler and Clown: A Meditation on Crying, Craziness and Cluelessness." (Still with the het pairing!)

What kind of plot device would you use if you wanted Four (Porgy) to deflower One (Tosca)?
A good old fashioned courtship. Porgy, in my books, is essentially a good-hearted romantic, if a little inclined towards jealousy, as is Tosca. Heck, he just needs to sing "You is my woman now" and she'll fall into his arms (such a great, great, great operatic duet). (The het continues!)

Does anyone you know read Seven (Lucia) slash?
Is there such a thing as Lucia slash? Don't want to know, really. Who would you slash Lucia with? Don't want to know that either.

Does anyone you know read Three (Siegfried) het?
If there is Siegfried/Brunhilde het, yes, there are people who would probably read it, if they could get past the semi-incest angle.

What might Ten (Oktavian) scream at a moment of great passion?
"Marie Therese!" (well, that's the opening line of that wonderful trio in Der Rosenkavalier which builds rather orgasmically)

If you wrote a song-fic about Eight (Turandot), which song would you choose?
Well, I could cheat and say "In questa Reggia" which Turandot herself sings. For something a little more contemporary, "Fever". Or "I Can't Make You Love Me" - told from the Calaf's Point of View, of course.

If you wrote a One (Tosca)/Six (Otello)/Twelve (Canio) fic, what would the warnings be?
Murder, suicide, extreme morbidity, all major characters dead by end of story. Boy, this is what you get when you put three Italian operas together! (As threesomes go, this isn't a bad combination!)

What might be a good pick-up line for Two (Melisande) to use on Ten (Oktavian)? "What's your Symbolism?" Really, I can't imagine Melisande using a pick-up line on anyone, not even Pelleas! Oktavian might try something on Melisande, though. (Het-ing on!)

When was the last time you read a fic about Five (The Witch)?
Well, not ever, really.

What is Six (Otello)'s super-sekrit kink?
Bondage with hankies!

Would Eleven (Cinderella) shag Nine (Don Juan)? Drunk or sober?
Yes! Drunk AND sober. He's Don Juan, after all. I think that Cinderella could be quite the lusty wench. Nobody pulls of her coloratura fireworks without having a bit of fire in her. (Oooh, the het pairings continue ... what did I do right, or wrong?)

If Three (Siegfried) and Seven (Lucia) get together, who tops?
Lucia. Siegfried is too naive for tops. (And onward het couplings!)

One (Tosca) and Nine (Don Juan) are in a happy relationship until Nine (Don Juan) suddenly runs off with Four (Porgy). One (Tosca), broken-hearted, has a hot one-night stand with Eleven (Cinderella) and a brief unhappy affair with Twelve (Canio), then follows the wise advice of Five (The Witch) and finds true love with Three (Siegfried). What title would you give this fic?
Hehehe, I LOVE this. I would title this "The Fairy Tale of Flora Tosca: How I dated a slut but learnt to love a virgin". (Starts and ends with a het pairing!).

How would you feel if Seven (Lucia)/Eight (Turandot) was canon?
Okay, for this to be "canon" someone would need to write an opera pairing Lucia with Turandot. Nothing off-putting about this combination, but they are an extremely unlikely pair. Over the top Lucia and ice queen Turandot. I think I might actually find it rather boring! Now, Lucia/Tosca would have been more like it! (Okay, it ends on a femmeslash note!)