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Entry tags:
once_upon_a_fic letter
Dear Creator,
Sorry it took me so long to get the letter up! If you have any questions or need clarification, please feel free to reach me through the mods!
If none of my ideas/prompts catch your attention, I'm totally fine with mixing and matching some of my tropes/likes/freeforms/etc. to come up with a story! I also may not have prompts for every pairing/fandom. If you need some ideas, feel free to reach out to me through the mods.
Sorry it took me so long to get the letter up! If you have any questions or need clarification, please feel free to reach me through the mods!
If none of my ideas/prompts catch your attention, I'm totally fine with mixing and matching some of my tropes/likes/freeforms/etc. to come up with a story! I also may not have prompts for every pairing/fandom. If you need some ideas, feel free to reach out to me through the mods.
Table of Contents
- What I Love
- DNWs
- Stuff I Like
- Beauty and the Beast - Joseph Jacobs
- Cendrillon ou La petite Pantoufle de Verre | Cinderella - Charles Perrault
- Den lille Havfrue | The Little Mermaid - Hans Christian Andersen
- Hänsel und Gretel | Hansel and Gretel (Fairy Tale)
- La Barbe bleue | Bluebeard - Charles Perrault
- Phantom Passenger That Wants A Ride Home (Urban Legend)
- Prinsessen i kisten | The Princess in the Coffin
- Room for One More (Urban Legend)
- Tam Lin (Traditional Ballad)
- 장화홍련전 | Janghwa Hongryeon Jeon | The Story of Rose Flower and Red Lotus
What I Love: I'm currently really into gothic romance/gothic horror/horror of any stripe really. I adore difficult/complicated relationships, and questions with no easy answers. I also love ambiguous/happy for now/sad endings. I love things that make me think, and are not necessarily tied up with a neat pretty bow. But that's not to say I don't enjoy a happy ending! This is mostly just meant to reassure you, the writer, that if you don't think a HEA is workable I'm totally fine with that.
My main DNWs are listed below. Exceptions will be noted:
DNWs:
• underage (*ok w/non-graphic/SFW ft. 15+; NSFW for 18+ only)
• domestic violence/abuse
• violence against animals/animal death
• A/B/O, BDSM, and kneeling 'verses (I don't mind if you include these kinks in fic but I'm not interested in universes structured around them, if that makes sense i.e. "kneeling is a common occurrence in Regency England")
• mpreg
• watersports/scat
• mundane AUs
• vampire and werewolf AUs
Stuff I Like:
• gothic/gothic romance/horror/ghost stories!!!
• space gothic (i.e. Event Horizon and the Alien series)
• cosmic horror
• body horror
• monsters!!! sentient monsters!!! monsters that just wanna eat things!!! i love monsters!!!
• bodyswap
• time travel/time loops/time fuckery
• pining
• mind-games/manipulation
• ghosts/hauntings/etc.
• miscommunication (within reason)
• poly/poly-v relationships
• enemies to lovers
• enemies to friends to lovers
• unhealthy/codependent relationships
• relationships with a power imbalance (i.e. mentor/pupil, priest/parishioner, older partner/younger partner, queen/subject, etc.)
• power imbalances/power dynamics/power dynamics inverted (i.e. the pupil turns the tables, the younger partner has/takes the power in the relationship, etc.)
• characters facing/dealing with mortality (of their lives, their livelihoods, careers, etc.)
• amnesiafic
• epistolary/social media pastiche
• future fic
• casefic
• ensemble fic
• complicated relationships
• professional/career-related jealousy
• small town AUs (small town in the suburban gothic sense, not cute, quaint villages and whatnot)
Fic and fan art for all fandoms! I prefer to leave all art details/styles/decisions/etc. up to the artist and you're welcome to utilize the prompts if you want! If you'd like some guidance, more prompts/scenarios/ideas, or have questions, please send a message through the mod and I'll get back to you ASAP.
Beauty and the Beast - Joseph Jacobs
Beauty's Father (Beauty and the Beast - Joseph Jacobs)
Beauty (Beauty and the Beast - Joseph Jacobs)
Beast (Beauty and the Beast - Joseph Jacobs)
I welcome any and all AU takes on Beauty and the Beast, from sci-fi/fantasy to horror to modern to dystopia to erotica to cyberpunk and everything in between. Especially gothic romance/horror.
What if, instead of a beast, the Beast is an eldritch horror~! I'm kidding. Unless...?
I'd really love a deeper exploration of the characters/themes...while set in space. But if that doesn't float your boat, I'll take literally anything about these characters and story. I love it and love all the many versions out there.
Focus on Beauty's father, and/or her sisters if you want. What do they think of everything, as it transpires? Or how do they feel after? How do they feel about the Beast/prince?
Beauty had fallen in love with the Beast; is loving the prince much of an adjustment? Does Beauty ever find herself missing the beast?
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Cendrillon ou La petite Pantoufle de Verre | Cinderella - Charles Perrault
Cendrillon | Cinderella
Prince (Cendrillion | Cinderella)
Belle-Mère | Stepmother (Cendrillon | Cinderella)
Fée Marraine | Fairy Godmother (Cendrillion | Cinderella)
Again, I love gothic romance/horror and straight-up horror, I love modern and space/sci-fi/urban fantasy/etc. takes. I'm also a fan of queering the narrative; this includes F/F, M/M ace/aro and trans interpretations.
Give me something between Cinderella and her stepsisters after the storybook closes. Are the sisters serious in winning Cinderella's forgiveness? Do they ever lapse back into jealousy/pettiness? Or have they turned over a new leaf?
What about other versions of the story... What if the characters of Perrault's version encounter the characters of Grimm, or end up in Grimm's tale desperate to escape a darker fate? Something metafictional might be fun.
What about something focusing on Cinderella's relationships with her fairy godmother and her stepmother?
Or give me something set in the future, that looks at Cinderella's life with the prince! Do they have a family? Are they happy? Maybe the fairy godmother drops in from time to time...
If you wanted to focus on horror elements, I'd be more than happy with a loose interpretation... Maybe Cinderella is a rich family's overworked housekeeper. Maybe she's a poor college student struggling to work off loans. Maybe she's an orphan adopted by a rich family with secrets...what happens next?
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Hänsel und Gretel | Hansel and Gretel (Fairy Tale)
Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel)
Hänsel (Hänsel und Gretel)
Zauberin | Witch (Hänsel und Gretel)
Stepmother (Hänsel und Gretel)
You could write something about the original fairy tale, or one of the many adaptations that's been made, including the most recent version. Or you could put Hansel and Gretel in an AU scenario.
Just throwing out some ideas... Maybe the witch and the stepmother are both witches in league together.
Or put the characters in a modern setting. Maybe Hansel and Gretel have to spend time with their grandmother...who seems to be fattening them up for some reason.
Or do something more like Hänsel and Gretel: Witch Hunters! Have fun with this one!
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Den lille Havfrue | The Little Mermaid - Hans Christian Andersen
Den lille Havfrue | The Little Mermaid
Prins | Prince (Den lille Havfrue | The Little Mermaid)
Prinsesse | Princess (Den lille Havfrue | The Little Mermaid)
Havdronning | Sea Queen (Den lille Havfrue | The Little Mermaid)
I'd love a happier ending for the titular mermaid, either in the arms of the prince or with her sisters. If you're open to it, I'd also be happy with Mermaid/Prince/Princess.
On the flipside, I'm always down for some dark, manipulative Mermaid/Sea Witch. Perhaps the sea witch seduces the Mermaid into giving up more than she originally meant to. Or maybe the Mermaid finally turns the tables, getting the sea witch under her thumb. Perhaps the sea witch targets the prince, as she did in the Disney movie, but has more tricks up her sleeve.
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La Barbe bleue | Bluebeard - Charles Perrault
La Barbe bleue | Bluebeard
La dernière femme de la Barbe bleue | Bluebeard's Last Wife
Bluebeard's Previous Wife (Not First)
I adore any and all interpretations of this story, from the original tale to movies like Crimson Peak, Elizabeth Harvest, and Ex Machina.
I would love if you reinterpreted the tale in space. Maybe Bluebeard's a sentient space ship intent on devouring the last inhabitant, rather than a man. Or perhaps he and his wife are space travellers trapped in space together. Maybe they're aliens!
Or take a look at it with modern eyes. Maybe, rather than a new husband and wife, they're a businessman and a new employee, or professor and student.
Or! Or sexswap them, with Bluebeard an older woman. Maybe the new spouse is a younger man or woman, or not even a spouse but a new employee or cowowrker. How do these changes alter the story?
I will honestly be happy with anything as long as it doesn't hit my DNWs. The ideas are just that, ideas. Feel free to use some or all or none of them!
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Phantom Passenger That Wants A Ride Home (Urban Legend)
Driver (Phantom Passenger That Wants A Ride Home)
Dead Girl (Phantom Passenger That Wants A Ride Home)
Dead Girl's Mother (Phantom Passenger That Wants A Ride Home)
We often get the POV of the driver, but what about the dead girl, or her mother? Maybe the girl, her mother, and/or the driver are stuck in a groundhog's day-like time loop. Or maybe change the setting to outer space, or set it well into the future. How does a new setting change things?
I'd adore a fresh take on a familiar, oft-told legend. Interpret the story, its characters and themes as loosely as you wish. Or come up with a different angle on the characters. Whatever you want to do, I'm interested in reading it! I love when old tales are twisted in new and creative ways, and have no specific requirements for things I'd like to see.
If none of that strikes you, perhaps an AU! Fantasy, horror, and future/space AUs are favorites of mine and I'd love a version of this story set in space, or in the distant future. Maybe the girl is an alien trying to hitch a ride across the galaxy. Perhaps her mother is a necromancer trying to bring her dead daughter back and the driver is a ferryman. Whatever the case, have fun with it!
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Prinsessen i kisten | The Princess in the Coffin
Christian (Prinsessen i kisten | The Princess in the Coffin)
Princess (Prinsessen i kisten | The Princess in the Coffin)
I'd love a genuine horror take on this tale (ghost, zombie, even werewolf), or something that looks at the underpinnings of gender and sexuality. We often look at the princess in the glass coffin as an object, trapped. But the princess in the wooden chest is able to leave the confinement of the coffin and is suspected of eating the sentinel which stands guard!
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Room for One More (Urban Legend)
Young Woman (Room for One More)
Strange Man (Room for One More)
I've always loved this story, ever since reading a version of it in the Alan Schwartz book as a kid. Those illustrations still haunt me to this day.
You can write a story centered around completely original characters, or you can go with the characters from the original tale.
Breathe new life into an old story! Or rewrite the old story for a modern audience. Set it in outer space or the wild west! Transport the characters to Medieval France or ancient Rome! Maybe instead of a mysterious man, the portent of doom is an old radio or a haunted twitter account. Run with a true crime/podcast/21st century take on it. Knock yourself out!
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Tam Lin (Traditional Ballad)
Tam Lin
Janet (Tam Lin)
The Queen (Tam Lin)
I'd love a Gothic take on this story, with the story and characters transported to a crumbling castle. Or, if you like, a suburban gothic take with an eerily pristine suburb/garden standing in for the forest. Or, how about a modern AU? Or a space/dystopia/urban fantasy/steampunk AU? An erotic take on the fairy tale?
I'm really just interested in seeing the characters and story in a new setting, and seeing how they'd respond to the differences!
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장화홍련전 | Janghwa Hongryeon Jeon | The Story of Rose Flower and Red Lotus
Rose Flower (The Story of Rose Flower and Red Lotus)
Red Lotus (The Story of Rose Flower and Red Lotus)
Stepmother (The Story of Rose Flower and Red Lotus)
The First Son (The Story of Rose Flower and Red Lotus)
There have been a few modern adaptations of this story, including A Tale of Two Sisters and the American remake, The Uninvited. You can mine those for story/plot/etc., or you can stick to the original tale. You can also retell it with original characters of your own!
Throw the characters into a modern AU, or set it in the future. Maybe put them in outer space, a dystopian post-apocalypse, or even put them in another fairy tale. I love this story so much and will be happy with anything you write about these characters.
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Once again, I'd like to stress that my prompts/ideas are only suggestions! Don't feel constrained by them! Mix and match as you please, or come up with something completely on your own without my input. They're just meant as a guide.
You can check out my other dear author letters here and here for a better idea of the kind of tropes I like! If you need any clarification please contact the mods (or reach out to me, if permitted).