once_upon_fic 2019

[badritual]

Dear Creator,

Hi! This is my second time doing this challenge and I'm really excited about it! (I'll probably be copying and pasting some stuff from previous letters here. You can find past letters here and here if you're interested.)

You can find links to sources here!

Table of Contents

1. What I Love
   
2. DNWs
   
3. Stuff I Like
   
4. La Barbe bleue | Bluebeard - Charles Perrault
   
5. Jorinde und Joringel | Jorinde and Joringel (Fairy Tale)
   
6. Room for One More (Urban Legend)
   
7. Phantom Passenger That Wants A Ride Home (Urban Legend)
   
8. The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs (Urban Legend)
   
9. The Heavenly Maiden and the Wood Cutter - Zong Dog-Bong
   
10. The Herd Boy and the Weaving Maiden - Dr. R. Wilhelm
    
11. Hänsel und Gretel | Hansel and Gretel (Fairy Tale)
    
12. 장화홍련전 | Janghwa Hongryeon Jeon | The Story of Rose Flower and Red Lotus
    
13. Belle au bois dormant | Sleeping Beauty - Charles Perrault


What I Love: I love ambiguous/happy for now/sad endings (though I am not opposed to happy endings in the slightest). I love things that make me think, and are not necessarily tied up with a neat pretty bow.

I love characters dealing with mortality (of their careers or their lives). I also dig found family/families of choice, pining, minor miscommunication, undercover as married, mistaken for dating, pretend dating, enemies to lovers, enemies to friends to lovers, friends to lovers, poly/poly-v relationships, popular clichéd tropes inverted (i.e. gay for you, married in Vegas, A/B/O, soulmates/soulmate marks, etc), meet-cutes/meet-uglies, and epistolary/use of social media pastiche (use of fake texts, tweets, facebook posts, emails, and more. This is a good example of what I mean here. So is this, this, this, this, and this). I also love feminist and lgbtq takes on fairy tales too.

My main DNWs are listed below (exceptions will be noted):

DNWs:
• noncon
• underage
• violence against women (domestic violence or abuse, mostly)
• violence against animals/animal death
• A/B/O, BDSM, and kneeling 'verses (basically 'verses where the "switch" is always set to on)
• mpreg
• watersports/scat
• mundane AUs (especially mundane AUs of fantasy/sci-fi/supernatural/etc. universes)
• vampire and werewolf AUs

Stuff I Like:
• gothic/gothic romance/horror/ghost stories!!!
• time travel/time loops/time fuckery
• pining
• miscommunication (within reason)
• poly/poly-v relationshps
• found family/families of choice
• undercover as married/pretend dating/accidental dating/fake marriage
• enemies to lovers
• enemies to friends to lovers
• popular clichéd tropes inverted
• amnesiafic
• epistolary/social media pastiche
• future fic
• casefic
• ensemble fic
• long-distance relationships
• complicated relationships
• power imbalances/power dynamics/power dynamics inverted
• professional/career jealousy
• small town AUs (small town in the suburban gothic sense, not cute, quaint villages and whatnot)

You don't have to include all the characters if you don't want!

Fic only for all fandoms.

La Barbe bleue | Bluebeard - Charles Perrault —

La Barbe bleue | Bluebeard
Bluebeard's Previous Wife
La dernière femme de la Barbe bleue | Bluebeard's Last Wife

I adore any and all interpretations of this story, from the original tale to movies like Crimson Peak and Ex Machina.

I would love if you reinterpreted the tale in space. Maybe Bluebeard's a sentient space ship 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 an 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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Jorinde und Joringel | Jorinde and Joringel (Fairy Tale) —

Joringel (Jorinde und Joringel)
Jorinde (Jorinde und Joringel)
Captive bird-maidens (Jorinde und Joringel)
The Witch (Jorinde und Joringel)

I've always been fascinated by the bird maidens. What about a story from their POV, as the events of the Jorinde and Joringel story plays out?

Or give some insight into the witch! Why does she do what she does? How long has she been doing it? Does she ever have regrets?

Or perhaps give me a story that depicts Jorinde and Joringel's life together after the events of the story?

Of course, you can always mix and match my preferred tropes, and I'll be happy!
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Room for One More (Urban Legend) —

Any Characters

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, lol.

I'm more interested in character archetypes/types than characters from the original story. You can write a story centered around completely original characters, or transpose characters from other media (Sam and Dean Winchester, Eleanor and Chidi, Luke Skywalker, etc.) to the setting of the urban legend. 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. Maybe instead of a mysterious man, the portent of doom is an old radio or a haunted twitter account. Who knows! Have fun with it!
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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?

Honestly, just have fun with it. I know I'll enjoy it!
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The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs (Urban Legend) —

Man Upstairs (Babysitter and the Man Upstairs)
Babysitter (Babysitter and the Man Upstairs)

Hmm. Maybe give me a version of the story where the babysitter turns the tables on the man upstairs. Or, as always, set it in outer space! Claustrophobic space gothic for the win! Go meta with it and give me the social media pastiche... Or maybe mash up this urban legend with a modern horror movie setting/scenario, like Happy Death Day, Halloween, or A Quiet Place, for example.

I'm really not picky! Have fun with it!
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The Heavenly Maiden and the Wood Cutter - Zong Dog-Bong —

The Heavenly Maiden (The Heavenly Maiden and the Wood Cutter)
The Wood Cutter (The Heavenly Maiden and the Wood Cutter)
The Wood Cutter's Mother (The Heavenly Maiden and the Wood Cutter)
The Heavenly King (The Heavenly Maiden and the Wood Cutter)

I grew up with the Korean version of this fairy tale and it has a special place in my heart. Maybe update it to the modern day, or set it in the future, or in outer space! Rather than a heavenly maiden, maybe she's a space princess and the wood cutter is a space pirate. Or perhaps she's now a pop star and the wood cutter is an admirer!

Again, I will be happy with anything as long as you avoid my DNWs!
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The Herd Boy and the Weaving Maiden - Dr. R. Wilhelm —

The Weaving Maiden (The Herd Boy and the Weaving Maiden - Wilhelm)
The Herd Boy (The Herd Boy and the Weaving Maiden - Wilhelm)
The Ruler of Heaven (The Herd Boy and the Weaving Maiden - Wilhelm)
The Yellow Cow (The Herd Boy and the Weaving Maiden - Wilhelm)

I also grew up with the Korean version of this tale, too. Fairy tales just seem well-suited to space AUs, and I know I suggest space AUs a lot, but I think this one would really work as one.

Or you could stick with the fairy tale and write a moment where the Weaving Maiden and the Herd Boy are able to have some time together after the events of the fairy tale.

Or what about a modern AU? How would you update the fairy tale to the modern age?

Knock yourself out!
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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)

Incest between Hänsel and Gretel is acceptable for this fandom.

You could write something about the original fairy tale, or one of the adaptations that's been made. Or you could put them 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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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 Uninvited. You can mine those for story/plot/etc., or you can stick with the original tale. You can also retell it with original characters!

Throw them into a modern AU, or a future fic. Maybe put them in outer space, or even put them in another fairy tale. I love this story so much and will be happy with anything you write about this story.
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Belle au bois dormant | Sleeping Beauty - Charles Perrault —

Princesse | Princess (La Belle au Bois Dormant | Sleeping Beauty)
Prince (La Belle au Bois Dormant | Sleeping Beauty)
The Queen Mother (La Belle au bois dormant | Sleeping Beauty)
The Old Fairy (La Belle au bois dormant | Sleeping Beauty)

I'd love a modern interpretation of the fairy tale, or an AU: space, gothic/horror, even erotic (like Anne Rice's take on the story). Or you can explore aspects of the tale, perhaps envision it from a different perspective, or write a what-if AU. Throw them into a time loop, sexswap them (sleeping prince instead of princess?), turn them into puppies, whatever grabs you.

Have fun with it!
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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.

Check out my other dear author letters here for a better idea of the kind of tropes I like! If you have further questions, feel free to reach out to the mods and I'll try to respond ASAP. :)