badritual | Dear candyhearts creator

1-25-2023: Edited to fix broken HTML.

Dear Creator,

I have used parts of previous letters to compose the body of this letter. 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 specific prompts for every pairing/fandom I've requested. If anything is confusing, or you have any questions or need clarification, you can reach me through the mods!

A lot of these fandoms and prompts/ideas are repeat requests, including fandoms I've already received amazing fic for. I really just love the fandom/idea to be requesting it again; it's not meant to be a slight against the authors or fic I've received in the past!

I'm open to treats!

What I Love
DNWs
Stuff I Like
Avenue 5 (TV)
Ghostbusters (2016)
Knives Out (2019)
Literary RPF
Original Work
Ready or Not (2019)
Scream (Movies) - Roman & Sid
Scream (Movies) - The Carpenters
Star Trek: Discovery
Star Wars Sequel Trilogy

What I Love: I'm currently really into gothic romance/gothic horror/horror of any stripe really. I also adore romcoms, enemies-to-lovers, difficult/complicated relationships, and questions with no easy answers. I love ambiguous/happy for now/sad endings, things that make me think, and are not necessarily tied up with a neat pretty bow.

My main DNWs are listed below. Exceptions will be noted:

DNWs:
• domestic violence/abuse
• violence against animals/animal death
• A/B/O, BDSM, and kneeling 'verses (fine with these tropes appearing as "one offs", not interested in universes structured around them)
• mpreg
• watersports/omorashi/scat
• mundane AUs (i.e. coffee shop, flower shop, cafe, high school/college, etc)
• vampire/werewolf AUs for non-supernatural fandoms/fandoms where they don't appear or exist (canon vampires/werewolves in supernatural-based fandoms are fine!)
• horror that centers on mental institutions/hospitals/etc.
• inclusion of current real world events (i.e. war in Ukraine, US politics/Trump, SCOTUS decisions, covid, etc.)

Stuff I Like:
• gothic/gothic romance/horror/ghost stories!!!
• southern gothic/midwestern gothic/suburban gothic/urban gothic/regional gothic in general
• space gothic (think Event Horizon and the Alien series)
• cosmic horror
• body horror
• monsters!!! sentient monsters!!! monsters that just wanna eat things!!!
• eldritch architecture/houses/houses that want to eat you
• eldritch nature/nature that wants to eat you
• eldritch spaceships/planets/etc. (that want to eat you)
• bodyswap
• gray morality/shady ethics/etc.
• forced/close proximity
• time travel/time loops/time fuckery
• pining
• ghosts/hauntings/etc.
• miscommunication (within reason)
• poly/poly-v relationships
• enemies to lovers
• friends to lovers to enemies to lovers
• friends to enemies to lovers
• unhealthy/codependent relationships
• obsession/obsessive relationships
• relationships with a power imbalance (i.e. mentor/pupil, priest/parishioner, older partner/younger partner, queen/subject, etc.)
• power imbalances/power dynamics inverted (i.e. the student in the professor/student relationship has/gains the power, parishioner has/gains power over the priest, subject controls the queen, etc.)
• manipulation/mindgames (especially mutual manipulation/mindgames)
• characters facing/dealing with mortality (of their lives, their livelihoods, careers, etc.)
• age gap
• platonic soulmates
• amnesiafic
• epistolary/social media pastiche
• future fic
• casefic
• ensemble fic
• found family/families of choice
• complicated relationships
• professional/career-related jealousy
• ritual sex/resurrection rituals
• public consummation of marriage
• witchcraft/witches
• scary/creepy/spooky interpretations of fairytales/mythology/folklore/etc.
• deals gone wrong (supernatural demon deals/deals with the devil literally or figuratively... not talking like business deals that fall through, although if that was a metaphor for something...)
• small town AUs (small town in the suburban gothic sense rather than cute, quaint villages and whatnot)

Avenue 5 (TV)

Pairings:
Ryan Clark/Billie McEvoy
Rav Mulcair/Matt Spencer
Rav Mulcair & Matt Spencer
Ryan Clark & Billie McEvoy & Matt Spencer
Herman Judd/Mads
Herman Judd & Mads

Prompts/ideas:
Ryan Clark/Billie McEvoy
I like the idea of Ryan and Billie just being done with everyone and either holing up with some alcohol or barricading themselves in a conference room for a moment of respite, and that leading to stress/frustration relief in some way. Or, you could go in a different direction with Ryan or Billie saving the other's life and/or getting them out of a sticky situation.

Rav Mulcair/Matt Spencer / Rav Mulcair & Matt Spencer
Their friendship totally took me by surprise and I ended up really liking them together. I love the idea that Matt the cheerful nihilist is trying to help the awkward Rav do "human," and I imagine a friendship or relationship would be mutually beneficial, with both acting as grounding influences on the other. Maybe they work together and are instrumental in getting Avenue 5 back to earth? Or, disaster strikes and they spend their final moments together? I don't know, I'm not picky about where you take them, and what their relationship looks like, as long as they're together.

Ryan Clark & Billie McEvoy & Matt Spencer
Ryan, Billie, and Matt get separated from the rest of the ship and stranded together. Do they make it back? Do they survive? Do they turn on each other?

Herman Judd/Mads / Herman Judd & Mads
I'm not really even sure why, but I kind of like the idea of Herman trying to help Mads co-co-parent Mia's baby, and things going as badly as you'd expect them to.

Additional notes: I'm not really interested in Karen, Frank, Doug, or Mia.

I tend to leave art specifics up to the individual artist. The only thing I'm not really into is chibi art, but other than that anything goes.
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Ghostbusters (2016)

Pairings:
Kevin Beckman & Erin Gilbert & Jillian Holtzmann & Patty Tolan & Abby Yates
Erin Gilbert/Abby Yates
Erin Gilbert & Abby Yates
Kevin Beckman/Erin Gilbert/Patty Tolan/Abby Yates
Kevin Beckman/Garrett
Jillian Holtzmann/Patty Tolan

Prompts/ideas:
Ensemble fic is a big favorite of mine and Kevin is a joy, so I'd really love post-canon casefic with the ladies + Kevin. I'd also love to see Kevin/Garrett where Garrett is a ghost whom the ghostbusters encounter and either Kevin doesn't realize it and develops feelings, Garrett doesn't realize he's a ghost and develops feelings, or Kevin does realize it and falls for him anyway. Kevin and the ghostbusters navigating his relationship with a ghost (albeit harmless) could be fun.

Of the Ghostbusters, I ship Erin/Abby and Jillian/Patty so anything involving those ships would be fun!

If you want you can even bring in the original Ghostbusters as background characters/cameos.

Additional notes: Holtzmann can be involved with the Kevin/Erin/Patty/Abby pairing, I just don't wanted her and Kevin interacting sexually together.

I tend to leave art specifics up to the individual artist. The only thing I'm not really into is chibi art, but other than that anything goes.
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Knives Out (2019)

Pairings:
Andi Brand/Miles Bron
Helen Brand/Miles Bron
Marta Cabrera/Ransom Drysdale
Benoit Blanc & Helen Brand
Benoit Blanc & Helen Brand & Marta Cabrera
Helen Brand & Marta Cabrera

Prompts/ideas:
Andi/Miles and Helen/Miles
I share a lot of the thoughts here with the OP and anon. I'm really drawn to the parallels between Andi/Helen and the Mona Lisa (and the fact Helen ruins Miles' reputation, which to someone like Miles is his most important asset).

Miles and Helen's interactions were emotionally charged and I found myself intrigued, and in need of more. Miles and Andi seemed to be somewhat close before Miles' ambitions came between them. Dive in to their pre-canon history, or maybe even imagine what their relationship(s) might look like post-canon. What happens to Miles after the events of the movie? I wouldn't mind something where Miles, his reputation in tatters and his life all but ruined, seeks Helen out for some reason.

Marta Cabrera/Ransom Drysdale
For this pairing I'm interested in post-canon fic where Ransom gets out of jail and seeks out Marta for some reason. Could it be for revenge, or is he fully rehabilitated and looking for her help?

Benoit Blanc & Helen Brand
I'd love any pre-canon, post-canon, or missing scenes/deleted scenes between Benoit and Helen. Maybe after they leave Miles' island they go out for drinks and recover from the case. Maybe Benoit takes Helen on as his partner, and they solve a crime together?

Benoit Blanc & Helen Brand & Marta Cabrera
Benoit brings Helen and Marta on as his partners at his new P.I. firm. How do they pick what case to take on? Do they have disagreements, or is everything pretty harmonious?

Helen Brand & Marta Cabrera
Post-canon, Helen and Marta meet on a cruise and solve a case together, using what they've learned from working with Benoit.

Additional notes: I'm fine with background Benoit/Phillip!

I tend to leave art specifics up to the individual artist. The only thing I'm not really into is chibi art, but other than that anything goes.
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Literary RPF

Pairings:
Herman Melville/Nathaniel Hawthorne

Prompts/ideas:
5 Reasons to Believe Herman Melville Loved Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville’s Passionate, Beautiful, Heartbreaking Love Letters to Nathaniel Hawthorne, Melville's Letters to Hawthorne

So, it seems Melville had a pretty massive (literary?) crush on Nathaniel Hawthorne, and then they eventually fell out and stopped corresponding. What happened between them to lead to the break? Did Hawthorne reciprocate, or was Melville's love completely one-sided?

Honestly, I'll be happy with whatever you want to do with this. Epistolary? Dark/gothic romance? Ghost story? Time travel? I'm here for it.

Additional notes: You can include their respective wives/families if you want.

I tend to leave art specifics up to the individual artist. The only thing I'm not really into is chibi art, but other than that anything goes.
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Original Work

Pairings:
Female Social Media Influencer/Obsessed Male Stalker
Lonely Young Woman Looking For A Place To Belong/Manipulative Older Male Cult Leader
Female Hockey Player/Male Hockey Player
Female Hockey Player/Female Figure Skater
Gothic Heroine/Brooding Master of the House (F/M)
Final Girl/Serial Killer (F/M)
Mad Scientist's Fiancee/The Creature The Mad Scientist Cobbled Together From Corpses (F/M)
Jaded Older Male Actor/Impressionable Younger Female Ingenue (M/F)
Female Captive/Male Captor Who Claims her to Protect her from the Rest of the Men
Female Captive/Male Captive Forced to Fuck her Due to their Captor's Demands

Prompts/ideas:
Feel free to mix and match freeforms/tags/likes/etc to come up with something. Basically you have free rein as long as you avoid my DNWs! I really like power differences/imbalances in the conventional sense as well as being inverted (like the final girl outsmarting the serial killer, the student turning the tables on the lecherous professor, etc). And you really can't go wrong with the gothic romance/horror genres. The spookier the better. I'm also really into rivals-to-lovers and enemies-to-lovers, pining, miscommunication (within reason), didn't realize we were dating/accidentally dating, fake marriage, and fake dating, undercover as dating.

Female Hockey Player/Male Hockey Player
◊ The female and male hockey players, who were teammates as children, run into each other in [x city] during the Olympics. They played together until the female hockey player left for a women's team and the male hockey player eventually made the NHL, and haven't spoken since. Soon after they reconnect, they discover buried feelings coming to the surface... Can they make it work?
◊ The Male Hockey Player and Female Hockey Player get picked for a Married At First Sight type show for professional athletes.
◊ The female hockey player joins the male hockey player to coach a summer youth camp, and they soon find themselves falling for the other.
◊ After another in a long string of scandals, the Male Hockey Player finds himself in danger of losing his spot on his team if he doesn't shape up. His handler decides the solution is a fake relationship with the Female Hockey Player, famous for her squeaky clean image. They resolve to break up after a certain amount of time, after the Male Hockey Player's scandal fades from the front pages, but soon realize they actually have feelings for each other. What do they do?
◊ The female hockey player is tired of her squeaky clean good-girl image and eager to shed it. The bad boy Hockey Player is more than happy to help out. But what happens when their fake relationship starts feeling more real?

Female Hockey Player/Female Figure Skater
◊ After a serious injury, the Female Hockey Player is forced to take time away from the game. At the wellness center she's been ushered off to, she meets the Figure Skater, who is recovering from her own injury. The two soon develop feelings, but keep it to themselves because they think the other doesn't reciprocate. Are they able to get their heads out of their asses?
◊ The wildly incompatible Female Hockey Player and Female Figure Skater got impulsively married years ago but never bothered to annul it. Now, the Figure Skater is on the Hockey Player's doorstep asking for a separation because she intends to marry someone else. But the Hockey Player realizes she still has lingering feelings for the Figure Skater. Can the Hockey Player change the Figure Skater's mind?

Additional notes: No teens under 16 in NSFW situations please.

I tend to leave art specifics up to the individual artist. The only thing I'm not really into is chibi art, but other than that anything goes.
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Ready or Not (2019)

Pairings:
Daniel Le Domas/Grace Le Domas
Daniel Le Domas & Grace Le Domas

Prompt/ideas:
◊ Grace and Daniel survive, but something follows them.
◊ The Le Domas family comes back (as zombies or ghosts?) and Grace has to destroy them all over again, but can she save Daniel this time?
◊ Post-canon AU. After the events of the movie Grace realizes she didn't survive and she's trapped in hell with the Le Domases, but she's given a chance by Mr. Le Bail to save herself--and Daniel.
◊ AU. After the events of the movie, Grace wakes up in the house she lived in with Alex, and believes everything was just a wedding-jitters nightmare. But she soon realizes things aren't as they seem. And what's Daniel's role in everything?

Additional notes: Nothing I can think of.

I tend to leave art specifics up to the individual artist. The only thing I'm not really into is chibi art, but other than that anything goes.
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Scream (Movies) - Roman & Sid

Pairings:
Roman Bridger/Sidney Prescott
Roman Bridger & Sidney Prescott

Prompts/ideas:
I'd love fic where Roman haunts Sid after Scream 3 or never died, and he seeks her out or she seeks him out. Some topes I like include forced proximity, relationship of convenience, road trips, one stalking the other (or both stalking each other), unhealthy sibling dynamics, obsessive sibling relationship, kidnapping/captivity, canon shift AUs, and more.

What if Roman wasn't rejected by Maureen? What if Sid and Roman grew up together, and their relationship was just as messed up? What if Roman's presence in Sid's life influenced her in unforeseen ways? I also love the franchise's metahumor, so playing on that is a plus.

I do ship them, but I also like messed up sibling dynamics.

Additional notes: I don't mind if you handwave the Scream 3 plot twist where Roman orchestrated the murders in the original Scream.

I tend to leave art specifics up to the individual artist. The only thing I'm not really into is chibi art, but other than that anything goes.
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Scream (Movies) - The Carpenters

Pairings:
Sam Carpenter & Tara Carpenter
Sam Carpenter/Richie Kirsch
Sam Carpenter & Billy Loomis

Prompts/ideas:
Sam and Tara
◊ After the movie, Sam and Tara attempt to rebuild their lives, but some ghosts (metaphorical or literal) refuse to stay buried.
◊ Sam and Tara leave Woodsboro, but something follows them. Something deadly.
◊ Post-Scream (2022). Tara reveals to Sam that she sees hallucinations of Billy too. What if it turns out Billy is a ghost that's been haunting both the Carpenter sisters?

Sam Carpenter and Billy Loomis
I'd love something where Sam continues to see Billy after the events of the movie, and is uncertain whether or not he's a ghost or a hallucination. (Ambiguity as to which one he is would be *chef's kiss*)

Sam Carpenter/Richie Kirsch
I'd enjoy a pre-canon look at Sam/Richie (5+1 things fic? or a look at the early days of their relationship?), or Richie haunting Sam post-movie.

Additional notes: Not interested in Sam/Tara, Sam/Billy, Tara/Amber, or Richie with anyone but Sam.

I tend to leave art specifics up to the individual artist. The only thing I'm not really into is chibi art, but other than that anything goes.
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Star Trek: Discovery

Pairings:
Michael Burnham/Original Universe Gabriel Lorca
Michael Burnham/Gabriel Lorca | Mirror Gabriel Lorca
Mirror Michael Burnham/Gabriel Lorca | Mirror Gabriel Lorca
Michael Burnham/Christopher Pike
Mirror Philippa Georgiou & Christopher Pike

Prompts/ideas:
Michael/Lorcas
Seasons 1 and 2 are my personal favorites from Discovery so all my prompts will focus on that era of the show. (Also it's safe to assume I prefer to pretend Mirror Lorca didn't die or comes back/is resurrected in some way.)

So, I'm going through a Disco resurgence and I'm freshly obsessed with any and all combination of Michael Burnham and Gabriel Lorca. Prime Lorca, Mirror Lorca, some other type of AU Lorca, whatever, throw him in with a Michael Burnham and I'll be satisfied.

I'm especially interested in a post-s1 AU where Prime Lorca finds his way onboard Discovery (Pike optional, but it would be kind of fun to see a prickly, traumatized, guilt-ridden Prime Lorca, freshly saved from the hellish mirror universe, having to interact with Chris "the jewel of Starfleet" Pike who had to sit out the war). How is Prime Lorca received on Discovery? Is Michael reluctant to trust him or does she power through her discomfort/grief/etc. because it's "illogical" to blame Prime Lorca for Mirror Lorca's actions? Does Prime Lorca feel displaced back in the prime universe? etc etc etc, so on and so forth. I really just want to see how these two grieving, emotionally wounded people might be able to come together despite the havoc Lorca's mirror self wreaked on Discovery and Michael in particular.

I also like the idea of Prime Lorca being rescued or turning up on Discovery, either in the future or an AU where Disco didn't jump 900+ years in the future. Are things awkward? Do he and Michael bond or do they initially dislike/distrust each other? How different is Prime Lorca from Mirror Lorca, if he's different at all...? It seems like one of the reasons Mirror Lorca was able to fool so many people who knew his prime counterpart is that they might not have been that different in temperament; if prime Lorca makes his way to the Discovery and the crew discover he's not that different, personality-wise, how would having him on board affect them given that this is supposedly the "good" one?

I could also see Lorca being put off by the age gap but still wanting Michael... and being stubbornly unwilling to pursue her due to propriety (while she grows increasingly frustrated at his inability to make a move). Does Michael have expectations of Prime Lorca based on the Mirror version that he shatters or lives up to?

As for Prime Burnham and Mirror Lorca, they have some Hades/Persephone vibes going on that I subconsciously latched onto while watching the show (and adore) so leaning into the gothic romance tropes with these two is always appreciated. Maybe she does actually intend to stay with him instead of trying to trick him. How does that go for her? How does that go for Mirror Lorca? Does staying with him change Michael (for better or worse), or does it change Mirror Lorca?

I also got the strong sense that Mirror Georgiou was manipulating Michael to get her onto her side/turn her against Mirror Lorca... So that's my baseline for Michael/Mirror Lorca. What if Michael eventually finds out Georgiou lied to her about Lorca/his relationship with Mirror Michael? Does that change things?

With Burnham and Mirror Lorca, specifically, I don't want a redemption story where he learns how to be a good person and/or how to better himself. I would actually love to see a story where perhaps he works some of Michael's/the Federation's sunnier, kinder, more optimistic worldview into his own while remaining true to "himself." I'd love to see him struggle with having his worldview changed the more he's around prime Michael, and how he copes with that. (Or doesn't.)

(Nuanced/complicated takes on Mirrorverse are like catnip to me also, fwiw.)

Michael/Christopher Pike
On the flipside, I really enjoyed Michael and Captain Pike, and how respectful and appreciative they were of each other. They just seemed to click together, not even from a romantic perspective, and it's fun to imagine what could have happened if canon had gotten nudged a little to the left. (If you want you can set it as a deleted/missing scene from the show; if you do that I'd be interested, especially, in something set after New Eden and/or The Red Angel, and the characters dealing with the fallout from the events in either of those eps.)

Or... Maybe Michael finds a way to save Pike without breaking canon, or she DOES break canon and they have to deal with the ramifications...

If you want to write something non-sexual/non-romantic, I'll happily take any of my proposed scenarios with a platonic bent. Something with a focus on their mutual admiration for one another/each other's different skills and attributes would be great.

Christopher Pike and Mirror Georgiou
I headcanon that Pike and Prime Georgiou knew each other/rubbed elbows at official events/etc., and I'm fascinated by the idea that he was kept in the dark about Mirror Georgiou for so long. I'd love something where they end up together for some reason (a mission? stress relief? bonding over their fondness for Michael?). Does Pike find himself comparing the woman he knew with this new Georgiou?

Or maybe an AU where Prime Pike ends up in the Mirror Universe at the mercy of the Emperor... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Additional notes: Nothing at the moment.

I tend to leave art specifics up to the individual artist. The only thing I'm not really into is chibi art, but other than that anything goes.
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Star Wars Sequel Trilogy

Pairings:
Armitage Hux/Rose Tico

Prompts/ideas:
◊ Post-TROS AU. Rose thinks she's being haunted by Hux. But that's impossible. Isn't it?
◊ TROS AU. After revealing himself as the spy, Hux leaves with the Resistance. But he's far from a good person, as Rose suspects...and soon finds out from first-hand experience.
◊ TROS AU. When he died, Hux's consciousness somehow ended up in Rose's head.
◊ TROS AU. Rather than demand Finn shoot him, Hux demands Finn take him along as he plans to defect to the Resistance. Once safely on the base, Hux runs into the feisty Resistance mechanic who confronted (and bit!) him on the Supremacy. Intrigued, Hux attempts to get closer to her.
◊ TROS AU. After defecting to the Resistance, Hux is sent with Rose on a mission. Hux pines miserably, certain Rose could never be interested in him. And he's right, mostly. Rose is still getting over Finn and doesn't quite trust Hux. Until her close proximity to Hux causes her to see him in a different light. (Redeemed Hux? Why not.)

I'd really love anything where Hux survives or gets to do more with his spying for the Resistance. The spy reveal felt like it was solely there to be played off for laughs; I'd love if he actually was helpful and something developed between Hux and Rose. Maybe she's his handler or something.

Alternately, you could bring Hux back as a ghost and have him haunt the resistance base and Rose, or have him become emperor and choose Rose to be his consort.

Additional notes: Not interested in background/past Kylux, Reylo, or Finnrose. I'm fine with background Finnrey and/or Finnpoe.

I tend to leave art specifics up to the individual artist. The only thing I'm not really into is chibi art, but other than that anything goes.
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Once again, I'd like to stress that my prompts/ideas are only suggestions! Please don't feel constrained by them! Mix and match my likes/prompts/ideas/etc. as you please, or come up with something completely on your own without my input. They're just meant as a guide if you need it.

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 me through the mods and I'll get back to you ASAP.

Dear candyhearts creator

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