Prompt Masterlist
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junetideThis is a list of ALL prompts, organised into two groups: prompts from participants who are willing to receive either art or writing, and prompts from participants who would prefer to receive only writing.
If you would prefer to look at the SHORT lists, here it is.
ART OR WRITING
1.
~ Western-style dragons, being western style dragons.
You know all the tropes, guarding treasure in caves, fighting knights, dragonriders etc...
Feel free to subvert these tropes if you find it too generic.
~ Girls riding/owning/working on motorcycles. And looking cool/comfortable with it.
Preferably with safety gear on. Without it just makes me think of road rash.
~ Superheroine: The Wolverina (not just a female Logan).
Preferably with awesome hair.
~ Pretty male superheros. Looking pretty preferably with their assets being flattered by their costumes. Ripping on comic book tropes here is encouraged!
(Note: NO underage people please).
2.
~ A family is unusually long-lived and wealthy, and people think they're vampires or have sold their soul to the devil, but actually they give their firstborn to the faeries.
~ Steampunk. Lady mechanic. Airship engines and sexy boots.
~ Historical fiction/fantasy, about women primarily, set in medieval Japan or China.
3.
~ Something to do with the Wild Hunt. The Hunt coming through present day, an encounter with the Hunt. Anything you feel like doing.
~ "To die would be an awfully big adventure."
What does this mean? Do they have a hell of a good time in Heaven or hell? Is there something else they need to go through. Expand on this idea and run with it.
~ "What we talk about when we talk about love."
I just want this conversation. I want the couple, or friends, or even the person on their own, talking about love.
~ "So I shot him in the head and apologized for the noise."
The person who would do this, who they were shooting. Anything at all.
4.
~ pandas and robots and dragons, oh my. silliness is a plus. Oh! And jellyfish.
~ pointy things! tribal pointy things! from northern mountain tribes! with mountain ponies! With or without killer ducks.
~ bad penny, good penny
~ Chinese guys who are actually robot assassins
5.
~ A lesbian romance set during the suffragette movement in Great Britain.
~ A couple is set up to get married on a reality TV show - do they get along? Will it work? What disasters happen in the lead up to the wedding?
~ A romance carried out over twitter.
~ A time-traveler going to your favourite period in history.
6.
~ A spy mission gone horribly, terribly, comedically wrong. Not necessarily a realistic spy mission, can be fantasy/sci-fi/just plain ridiculous.
~ A conversation between two rubber ducks.
~ Horribly purple prose, but not between people/animals - can be any non-living thing , like toothbrushes, skeins of yarn/crochet hooks/knitting needles, bottles of water, etc. Comedically, seriously over-the-top purple.
~ The 'perfect' murder... or is it?
7.
~ Setting: Modern or near future. There's a group of secret government agents who investigate and hunt monsters to keep the society safe, but what's the price they're willing to pay?
Genre: Action/adventure or action horror.
Character type: competent characters with suitable skills to be employed
~ Steampunk! I would like to see a group of colourful revolutionary trying to fight against the omnipresent government. It would be cool to have team bonding, crazy plans which come through at the last minute.
Genre: Fantasy
Character type: Airship pirates! Mad scientists! Bomb throwing anarchists! The wilder the merrier.
~ In a society that mutants/super powered individuals/supernaturals are a known minority mostly integrated, it brings a different dimension to the crimes to be solved.
Genre: Detective/thriller: Police procedural, thriller, noir, hard boiled PI, go wild.
Do not want: I would prefer no sex crimes and child abuse.
~ She's a vampire cybernetics engineer. Another she is a cyborg soldier. Together they fight crime/fall in love/save the world.
9.
~ A group of gossips seek to dig up dirt on a rival and discover more than they bargained for. Suggested genres: steampunk, cyberpunk, or urban fantasy. Bonus points for giving the gossips well-rounded personalities and not falling into the obvious stereotypes. The rival can turn out to be anything from a megalomaniacal villain to a time traveling stamp collector who gets sexually aroused by the Gronchi Rosa. Tone: anything from satirical/humorous to dark/serious.
~ Fantasy setting. The protagonist (through thaumaturgy/psychic power/whatever) has discovered a gamma ray burst, black hole, asteroid collision or other threat that will devastate the planet. Protagonist uses astrological sympathetic magic to combat this threat while trying to convince others that they should be very, very, afraid.
~ Nuclear winter in a unique setting (i.e., not urban America).
~ The fallout of a prophesied "Chosen One" who failed to defeat the foe or complete the appointed task. The protagonist’s failure should be due to incompetence or be the direct result of personal flaws, NOT bad luck or godly intervention. Is the protagonist now stuck serving the enemy or living in solitude/exile? Strong characterization is a must, as is the development of a relationship with either a former ally or enemy (romance optional).
11.
~ Cross dressing women with swords bringing down the patriarchy: Female (and otherwise oppressed) characters in solidarity both working within and subverting an oppressive system to take it down from the inside. Preferably with swords. And maybe magic and dragons :D
A moderately happy ending please. I am all in favour of lesbian subtext/text. I would prefer no sex unless it's necessary for plot/characterisation. Violence is fine.
~ A giant cloud tree, with a trunk and branches and a cumulous cloud instead of the usual fluffy green mass of leaves.
~ I have no other specific prompts, but if you are inspired to come up with something different based on my general tastes I'm sure I will love it.
12.
Okay, character driven will be in ALL my prompts. I love and need me some interesting characters that I can feel for, relate to or loathe because they BREATHE on the page and they change and become based on their relationship with others.
~ So, my first prompt is character driven road trip story.
~ A character driven epistolary story where all we know of the characters are in their letters to each other, what they choose to talk about, what they choose to avoid. Could be long distance lovers, penpals, parent and child...perfect strangers that just happened to find each other. Whatever.
~ Something steeped in locale (whatever locale you're comfortable and knowledgeable about) I'd like it to read like two local barflies at your corner pub telling tales, maybe even with flashbacks and whatnot. I want to FEEL the location, SEE the patrons, the rings on the bar from years of glasses' condensation seeping in-- all of it.
~ None of those float your boat? How about something funny--and character driven of course. Some sort of mix up, some bit of absurdity and out of the realm of possibility shenanigans?
13.
~ Fantasy genre - snarky male vampire who doesn't particularly care for people and a cranky part-fae boy and together they fight crime! Possible bad guys: secret sorcerer mafia, evil vampires or fae or create bad guys of your own. Am open to either having the two guys fighting crime together as just being friends or lovers. That's up to you and how comfortable you are with it. Not particularly looking for any sex happening if you choose them to have them as lovers. Kissing and cuddling is okay however.
~ Historical Fantasy genre - British WWI officer who can see the future and does not have happy fun times with what he sees because he knows who in his unit will die and it kinda messes with his head far more than he'd like.
16.
Romance and mature themes are okay, but please no sex or abuse (emotional/verbal/physical/hurting animals). LGBT themes are a bonus, but I'd prefer not to have yaoi/yuri.
~ Seasons (fall/winter/spring/summer). What expresses the mood of a particular season, or the changing of the seasons? How are seasons different in various geographic regions? Is there a particular item that symbolizes a season to you that might be different from what most people think of as "seasonally appropriate"?
~ Yorkshire - an English county, the land of James Herriot, the Brontë sisters, abandoned coal mines, the moors, lots of limestone, sheep, delicious cheese, and strange accents. More information can be found on Wikipedia than I can list here. This might be difficult if you know nothing about Yorkshire, but it could also be a bit of a challenge. A story set in Yorkshire would be awesome; I love historical fiction, steampunk, and nature. Artwork (based on photographs or personal experience) would also be cool.
~ Artwork of mermaids. What do you think they would look like? How would they live? Do you think they lure sailors to their deaths with seductive themes?
Please no romance, mature themes, sex, or abuse. I don't want to have to hide my desktop when people come into the room! ^_^
17.
~ M/M romance/erotica: a young man flees from an oppressive school his family forced him to attend & finds peace (and sex) in the arms of an older man.
Optional details are optional (I hesitate to mention any of these because I don't want to be restrictive. Feel free to change or ignore):
* Ages - 15-21, and 35-50.
* Setting - modern big city or cities.
* Tone - more angsty than romantic, with age worries & UST.Prefer happy ending, though.
~ Urban fantasy: the rebirth of earth-based religions and new-age spiritual activity has awakened the the fey who guard the lands. Some of them are now tied to cities like dryads are tied to forests.
Optional details:
* Physical - Wings. (I like faerie wings.) Odd-colored skin & hair. Extra joints in fingers. Prehensile toes. Big eyes with nictitating membranes.
* Setting - I'm thinking San Francisco, but probably just because I know it.
* Story idea 1 - One of the fey adopts a small group of homeless children.
* Story idea 2 - An historic building is scheduled to be torn down; the fey won't allow it.
* Story idea 3 - One of the fey is working with drug sellers (voluntarily or not) to distribute magically-enhanced drugs.
~ High Fantasy: A woman whose family is killed & home destroyed by her own kingdom's soldiers becomes a skilled thief and rebel. Her name is feared by the highest courts in the land.
Optional details:
* Magic - While I'm open to anything from "magic is rumoured to exist somewhere" to "talented bodyguards work in dragon rodeos," I'm thinking Valdemar-esque magic--a few magic items, a few magic creatures, but the story is focused on people mostly without those resources.
* Romance - Include or not, but I'd like to see an awesome female protagonist, not someone who gets rescued by her awesome male sidekick.
* No "magic negro" - She doesn't learn survival, thieving, etc. from an exotic outsider. Maybe she adapts existing skills to new purposes (if she was a merchant, she knows a lot about theft). Or she falls in with people who teach her, but not a lone member of an oppressed/special class who has amazing talents, then vanishes as soon as they're handed off.
~ Science Fiction: A human colony on a distant planet is having problems with reproduction. Something is either preventing pregnancies or births, or many of the births are abnormal in some way.
Optional details:
* Characters - Prefer focus on either one of the women trying to have a [normal] baby, or scientist/s helping her.
* Aliens - optional; could be human-only universe. Maybe the planet is inhabited by other sentients and the babies are coming out part-alien.
* Social dynamics - could be standard sci-fi quasi-utopia, or the colony could be a group of dissidents who picked a less-than-ideal place to get away from oppression.
* Tech level - Prefer something between Babylon 5 and Firefly; Star Trek with the replicators & teleporters might make the technical problems either too easy or unbelievable.
18.
~ Something about an ambassador/liason between humans and sea-dwelling "people": merfolk, selkies, aliens, were-dolphins, etc. Any genre but horror, as long as it contains some kind of nonhuman being(s) who live in an ocean.
~ Instead of manifesting differently in different cultures, magical power and its effects manifest differently based on the landscape someone was raised or trained in. Given this setting, something about cooperation between magic users from different places.
~ Merchant-Adventurers of the Spiral Arm
~ A non-neurotypical character in a setting where this is an advantage. I would prefer something from this character's point of view.
19.
Something about family - about the merging of the family you're born with and the one you make yourself and trying to bring the pieces together.
~ Something about what goes on when you're not paying attention - when you realize you've walked a block and can't remember it, or spent an hour just looking out the window. Where have you been?
~ Something about a parliament of owls, and what happens afterward.
~ Something that starts with a person walking down a road, carrying a book.
20.
~ A boy and a girl in high school are "mortal enemies" because she's a geek and he's a jock, but it turns out they're reincarnations of elves. He was Drow, she was Sidhe. Their past catches up with their present in a love story of Romeo-and-Juliet-Proportions. Preferably with a happy ending, though. Mature themes okay, romance is awesome, sex doesn't need to happen in the present but can be referred to in the past.
~ There's a subversive gang of Grammar Nazi's that go around a city with red pens and "graffiti tag" incorrectly spelled or incorrectly worded public signs.
~ A mythological character (norse/irish/greek/other) re-imagined as
a modern-day character.
~ Ravens.
21.
~ Zombie airship pirates! Whatever time period or "world" you want, just centered around airship pirates who are also airship pirates.
~ Something based off of Scheherazade by Richard Siken. Link: http://www.fishousepoems.org/archives/richard_siken/scheherazade.shtml
~ Werewolves looking for treasure. Do they go on a road trip? Do they dig random holes in other people's yards? Do they have an actual plan for these untold riches and fortune?
~ There is something under the local cathedral, and it crawls out to say howdy.
22.
I am perfectly willing to read or look at porn, gen, fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction, adventure, space opera... just not horror.
~ There are several races/species who are working to form an alliance. Each has sent a delegation to a neutral site. The night before the convention is to begin, each member of each delegation becomes aware of the thoughts, feelings, and motivations of several other delegates, in some combination of ones of hir own and ones not of hir own delegation. This changes the game entirely.
I don't want horror. Up to you whether the delegates learn this is a deliberate act of someone known or unknown, or whether it's a natural occurrence.
~ A woman wakes up and looks in the mirror, and thinks this isn't her own face she is seeing.
Not horror. Up to you whether she is delusional (in which case I would hope you would treat respectfully the topic of mental illness if that's why) or whether something has happened that has made her perception true.
~ A man walks into a bar...of chocolate. Or a bar of soap. I don't want horror.
~ When Rapunzel leaves her tower (or similar--person who is raised in an extremely restrictive environment and then gets out into the wider world), it leaves an imbalance such that someone else has to take her place. Who does, and how does zie adjust?
23.
~ A villainous nakama (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Nakama). Revenge at any cost, the end justifies the means, deal with a devil, etc. type of thing. How much are they willing to give up -- or take -- in their quest for vengeance?
Spec fic. No romance please, but plenty of friendship and mateship.
~ Spec fic set in an Australian-inspired land. Weredingoes, marsupial elves, opal and gumtree magic, venomous everythings.
~ Cecaelia! (octopus women, like Ursula from The Little Mermaid)
~ A woman turning herself into or becoming a god. Gender dysphoria and shapeshifting. The library of staircase biographies. The machinist who stole one soul too many. What fairy tales/folklore would created things, like golems or clockwork beasts or robots, tell each other?
[Any/all. ;)]
25.
~ Fun and interesting space opera! In the vein of Firefly and Cowboy Bebop. A nakama have to do a job because they're broke, hijinks ensue. (Writing)
~ A fox-tailed woman sells bones and other curios in the desert. To whom? The only thing I'll say about art style is that I adore attention to details. (Art - although it could work as a story too!)
26.
~ A fantasy or sci-fi or any spec-fic genre story about different sapient species (not races) living together, where they are very different from each other but also have a lot of variation within themselves. Meaning, not one nation/culture with monolithic values, but a society with various factions social and political. If there's interspecies romance I'd like it if the species are biologically incompatible.
~ After the superhero registration law, being a superhero became a bit like having a private security company. Supers kept their covers, but they had to have someone who would vouch for them in court, who knew their real identity. Soon, there were lawyers who specialized in representing secret identities in court.
~ The angst and drama of the world of competitive horticulture, as seen from the outside by a world-famous horticulturist's estranged teenage daughter. Also were-unicorns or something.
~ Annals and letters of a social climber with a knack for politics who ends up pulling the strings behind the scenes in a dynasty that rules by divine right, whilst also cultivating the world's first lineage of domesticated flying pygmy wildcats. No smokers please.
29.
~ You know that fantasy novel trope, where the thief character who has been travelling with the group for a while suddenly throws off their cloak and they're someone Of Importance? And they have to go home, and everyone in the group is confused to see them wearing expensive clothes and knowing what fork to use, and it's awesome. I am a totally sucker for this, and will drop everything to read it, but I don't think I've ever seen it used with a female character, unless that character is a princess of some sort who needs protection and is only really valued for their bloodline. I'd love to see a female character – one who lives a fairy gritty life – throw off their cloak and be, say, the exiled general of the Queen's army. Or the court poisoner on the run. Or something like that. Fantasy is great, but any genre would fine. In space! Or the boardroom!
~ I like the gritty, nuts and bolts kind of space travel that we see in Firefly or in Star Wars: star drives that grind and complain and need a good thump to get them going again. I'd love to see how a society grows up in this environment, what it's like to be a kid or a family or a business owner. I think what I really wanted to do with Firefly (and with other science fiction shows like the Star Treks) was to see what it's like to get dinner on the table or work or deal with the ordinary life stuff in a space setting. Or dealing with strangers moving in, or a murder in a tight space-faring community or a crisis that needs to be dealt with by everyone pulling together. Rather than the pirates and the political conspiracies, I'd like to see the farmers and the mechanics of the world. And it would be great to see a community made up of many cultures and a range of sexualities, and for this to be completely normal.
~ I would love to see how crime is investigated in a magical system – X-Files with wizards, Harry Potter/CSI. I like magic systems with large bureaucracies – the Ministry for Magic was always a favourite part of Harry Potter for me – so maybe a contemporary world where magic is an everyday thing, and government agents use it to solve crimes.
~ When I write fanfic, I often choose the advisor/mentor characters (Giles from Buffy, Cuddy from House, Remus and Sirius from Harry Potter, Professor Xavier from the X-Men franchise, Walter Skinner from the X-Files.) I'd love to see a story from a mentor character's point of view. Can they have their own storyline that doesn't exist to teach the hero a lesson? Any genre, but give me an older character with some life experience, and let them be the centre of the story.
30.
~ A set of cursed brushes makes something strange happens with the paintings when it's used.
~ A hypercompetent assistant has to deal with the... eccentricities of his boss. Doesn't help that they are very tsundere for each other.
~ A cave makes people inside have marvelous visions and hallucinations, so much that everyone that enters it ends up dying inside, hypnotized by what they see.
~ A golem is convinced it is human, and befriends a young orphan. Make it heartwarming fluff or heartbreaking sadness, if you want to write it.
31.
~ Crime drama! From the theives's or the law enforcement perspective, I'm good with both. This can be real-world (modern or historical) or some kind of speculative fiction world (sci-fi, fantasy, steampunk, etc). Whether thief or law enforcement, please have a moral main character. I appreciate cleverness but not excessive gore. Would prefer a witty tone to angsty noir.
~ Steampunk in the nonWestern world. All of the Victorian era is open to you, as long as it's set somewhere other than North America or Western Europe. I'd love a strong female main character and a lot of whacky gadgets.
~ Science fiction with aliens who have completely different concepts of gender, and how this complicates their interaction with humans. Cross-species romantic attempts would be lovely. If this is a story, it doesn't have to revolve around this concept, but it should be a factor.
~ Urban fantasy/modern fantasy: A group that hunts evil things that go bump in the night. Their size and level of organization (as well as whether or not they're human) is up to you. I'd love to see internal politics/relationships and/or the arc of a hunt. Sparkly vampires need not apply.
32.
~ Queen Guinevere, armed and armoured as a warrior-queen, making ready to lead the forces of Camelot at Camlann, the final battle of Arthur.
~ A Papess, calling for an army of queens and crusaders (female) to make war upon her enemy, the Byzantine Empress.
~ The Labours of Herakles, undertaken by the Gorgon Eurydice, and her faithful woman-at-arms Ariadne, aided by the capricious goddess Persephone; with the ultimate goal of katabasis rather than apotheosis.
~ A suprising encounter with a famed poisoner in a church leads Violante Corombona, famed airship captain, and her motley crew of misfits, into the strange heart of the Venetian underworld.
33.
~ Dragons don't need to breathe. Somehow, humans are able to use them for space travel.
~ They are the first male couple to be married after the National Free Marriage Act is passed.
ONLY WRITING
8.
~ I love themes of identity and place, particularly heritage that's unusual, or has to be reclaimed or negotiated in some way. Coming of age stories are great, but so are other rites of passage - think cronings and retirements, making a new home or, mastering a new skill. I would rather it was not romance, but urban fantasy, magic realism or slipstream would be good. Contemporary settings preferred, or well-researched and sensitive historical settings are also fine
~ I love fables, folklore and mythology. If you could write a story that draws on these powerful tales, that would be wonderful. It could be a modern interpretation of Hecate's affinty for crossroads, mooncakes for Mid Autumn festival, or a meeting with a goddess in disguise. Think quests, unusual ones. I would prefer a female protagonist. Mature themes are fine (both in terms of violence and sex), but I don't want romance or straight up erotica. Both contemporary and well-researched historical settings are fine.
10.
Melancholy/angst/drama, literary fiction (style is encouraged, 2nd person welcome, long windy sentences and parentheses loved). Happy ending not necessary, character death not desired. Prefer female lead, gen or femslash. Any rating.
~ Established relationship bumps: moving, children, jobs. Even a simple moment cooking dinner.
~ Lycanthropy as metaphor.
~ Roller derby. Any situation.
~ Taboo attraction. No non-con. Something deemed by society or self to be taboo. Unwelcome desire or pursuant against society's mores.
14.
~ Drunken guy and girl shamelessly flirt, in the end it turns out they are... .
~ The secret life of a librarian.
~ A guy who decided to end his life finds a genie bottle.
~ A girl finds out that her guy has four twin brothers.
15.
~ A young lady watching a wuxia drama on TV suddenly finds herself transported into the drama she is watching.
~ Steampunk-ish story involving the discovery of a group of human beings who can fly.
24.
~ AIs are taking over the world. Surprisingly, it's not the end of the world - yet. A captured human resistance fighter and an AI combine forces to prevent further escalation.
~ An adventure story set in a magical desert, with two rivals forced to rely on each other.
~ Fantasy based on Keats's "La Belle Dame Sans Merci", wherein the knight gets a second chance with the lady.
~ In the far future, Earth is one of many worlds within a huge alien empire. A human rises through the ranks on the alien homeworld. Colonisation, assimilation, conflicting loyalties.
27.
~ People build villages by the water for a reason. But the reason is darker than we think. Spec fic.
~ Two sisters grow apart as they age but remain tangled at the root.
As weird or conventional as you want to make it.
~ She keeps a pantry stocked with mason jars, packed with seeds and dried leaves and each for a purpose.
A slightly earlier-in-history mood; does not have to be spec fic necessarily, though it might fit nicely.
28.
~ The Important Thing: Noir. Make it dark, gritty and something Humphrey Bogart would have starred in. A backdrop of seedy dives, dangerous dames and criminal undergrounds. Reality with a fine patina of dirt, some black and white film, a bit of old (slightly purple) prose, cynicism and shades of grey. Nobody is a hero, nobody is a villain, they just all have their reasons that play out into the weird and wacky world.
Other Points: Add a dash of Slash with Forbidden Romance (a detective in love with a hitman, how could it ever be? (example only;) ) and a giant heaping, helping plot and I am one happy fangirl. You can also never go wrong with bonus sides of action/adventure. Set anywhere you like, though I have a soft spot for Chicago, the important thing with setting is to do it well. I'm a major history geek, so research is always noticed and appreciated.
Bonus Points: werewolves, zombies, angst, UST, snark, gunplay, bloodplay, breaking the fourth wall, alternating POV, rain, car-snogging (extra bonus points for drive ins!), England-that-isn't-London, xantos gambits, Dick Tracey references, Twilight Zone references, snowglobes as an angst device.
Rating wise: I'm thinking at least an R.
~ The Important Thing: Political drama/comedy. Think Yes, Minister, House of Cards and The West Wing. Smart, snappy humor with political inside jokes and allusions. Mocking the system in all of its' little foibles.
Other points: Looking more for a behind-the-scenes kind of thing. I tend to like the british sense of political humor better, but set it wherever you feel most technically capable. Liberal bias (in the american sense) is shamelessly encouraged. Political intrigue is always fun. Evil Masterminds, snappy dressers, snark, political crisis, tiny stuffed cthulu stress toys and staffer shenanigans are awesome.
Bonus points: Slash! Some inter-office romance between hectic deadlines and shouting staffers. Kittens. Footnotes. Bloodthirsty chiefs of staff. Yes, Minister references.
Rating wise: Anything PG-13 and up is fine with me.
~ The Important Thing: The Villain Wins. *Not* played for laughs. Being sympathetic is part of this, as is following most of the Evil Overlords List, but the main point is that despite this, they are still definitely a villain. You decide whether this is a good thing for the world, or a depressing, angsty ending.
Other points: Some sort of superhero or supernatural setting would be cool, but not necessary. Plot, lots and lots of nommy plot. Slash, Villain/Minion is cool, Villain/Superhero-converted-to-Villainy is even cooler, Villain/Superhero is full of angst and also cool. Badass normals, snark, evil cackles, hitmen, minions-with-brains, ruling the world/universe/multi-verse, chess, lots of black and evil!pets.
Bonus points: FoeYay, steampunk, riding crops, bloodplay, cowboys, the mafia, and Vincent Price references.
Rating wise: Again thinking R and up.
34.
~ The family next door turns out to have traveled in time from the 1950s. They're eager to fit in, but need a little help.
~ Ben Franklin undertakes a secret mission to Mars to recruit underground space squids to the revolutionary cause.
If you would prefer to look at the SHORT lists, here it is.
ART OR WRITING
1.
~ Western-style dragons, being western style dragons.
You know all the tropes, guarding treasure in caves, fighting knights, dragonriders etc...
Feel free to subvert these tropes if you find it too generic.
~ Girls riding/owning/working on motorcycles. And looking cool/comfortable with it.
Preferably with safety gear on. Without it just makes me think of road rash.
~ Superheroine: The Wolverina (not just a female Logan).
Preferably with awesome hair.
~ Pretty male superheros. Looking pretty preferably with their assets being flattered by their costumes. Ripping on comic book tropes here is encouraged!
(Note: NO underage people please).
2.
~ A family is unusually long-lived and wealthy, and people think they're vampires or have sold their soul to the devil, but actually they give their firstborn to the faeries.
~ Steampunk. Lady mechanic. Airship engines and sexy boots.
~ Historical fiction/fantasy, about women primarily, set in medieval Japan or China.
3.
~ Something to do with the Wild Hunt. The Hunt coming through present day, an encounter with the Hunt. Anything you feel like doing.
~ "To die would be an awfully big adventure."
What does this mean? Do they have a hell of a good time in Heaven or hell? Is there something else they need to go through. Expand on this idea and run with it.
~ "What we talk about when we talk about love."
I just want this conversation. I want the couple, or friends, or even the person on their own, talking about love.
~ "So I shot him in the head and apologized for the noise."
The person who would do this, who they were shooting. Anything at all.
4.
~ pandas and robots and dragons, oh my. silliness is a plus. Oh! And jellyfish.
~ pointy things! tribal pointy things! from northern mountain tribes! with mountain ponies! With or without killer ducks.
~ bad penny, good penny
~ Chinese guys who are actually robot assassins
5.
~ A lesbian romance set during the suffragette movement in Great Britain.
~ A couple is set up to get married on a reality TV show - do they get along? Will it work? What disasters happen in the lead up to the wedding?
~ A romance carried out over twitter.
~ A time-traveler going to your favourite period in history.
6.
~ A spy mission gone horribly, terribly, comedically wrong. Not necessarily a realistic spy mission, can be fantasy/sci-fi/just plain ridiculous.
~ A conversation between two rubber ducks.
~ Horribly purple prose, but not between people/animals - can be any non-living thing , like toothbrushes, skeins of yarn/crochet hooks/knitting needles, bottles of water, etc. Comedically, seriously over-the-top purple.
~ The 'perfect' murder... or is it?
7.
~ Setting: Modern or near future. There's a group of secret government agents who investigate and hunt monsters to keep the society safe, but what's the price they're willing to pay?
Genre: Action/adventure or action horror.
Character type: competent characters with suitable skills to be employed
~ Steampunk! I would like to see a group of colourful revolutionary trying to fight against the omnipresent government. It would be cool to have team bonding, crazy plans which come through at the last minute.
Genre: Fantasy
Character type: Airship pirates! Mad scientists! Bomb throwing anarchists! The wilder the merrier.
~ In a society that mutants/super powered individuals/supernaturals are a known minority mostly integrated, it brings a different dimension to the crimes to be solved.
Genre: Detective/thriller: Police procedural, thriller, noir, hard boiled PI, go wild.
Do not want: I would prefer no sex crimes and child abuse.
~ She's a vampire cybernetics engineer. Another she is a cyborg soldier. Together they fight crime/fall in love/save the world.
9.
~ A group of gossips seek to dig up dirt on a rival and discover more than they bargained for. Suggested genres: steampunk, cyberpunk, or urban fantasy. Bonus points for giving the gossips well-rounded personalities and not falling into the obvious stereotypes. The rival can turn out to be anything from a megalomaniacal villain to a time traveling stamp collector who gets sexually aroused by the Gronchi Rosa. Tone: anything from satirical/humorous to dark/serious.
~ Fantasy setting. The protagonist (through thaumaturgy/psychic power/whatever) has discovered a gamma ray burst, black hole, asteroid collision or other threat that will devastate the planet. Protagonist uses astrological sympathetic magic to combat this threat while trying to convince others that they should be very, very, afraid.
~ Nuclear winter in a unique setting (i.e., not urban America).
~ The fallout of a prophesied "Chosen One" who failed to defeat the foe or complete the appointed task. The protagonist’s failure should be due to incompetence or be the direct result of personal flaws, NOT bad luck or godly intervention. Is the protagonist now stuck serving the enemy or living in solitude/exile? Strong characterization is a must, as is the development of a relationship with either a former ally or enemy (romance optional).
11.
~ Cross dressing women with swords bringing down the patriarchy: Female (and otherwise oppressed) characters in solidarity both working within and subverting an oppressive system to take it down from the inside. Preferably with swords. And maybe magic and dragons :D
A moderately happy ending please. I am all in favour of lesbian subtext/text. I would prefer no sex unless it's necessary for plot/characterisation. Violence is fine.
~ A giant cloud tree, with a trunk and branches and a cumulous cloud instead of the usual fluffy green mass of leaves.
~ I have no other specific prompts, but if you are inspired to come up with something different based on my general tastes I'm sure I will love it.
12.
Okay, character driven will be in ALL my prompts. I love and need me some interesting characters that I can feel for, relate to or loathe because they BREATHE on the page and they change and become based on their relationship with others.
~ So, my first prompt is character driven road trip story.
~ A character driven epistolary story where all we know of the characters are in their letters to each other, what they choose to talk about, what they choose to avoid. Could be long distance lovers, penpals, parent and child...perfect strangers that just happened to find each other. Whatever.
~ Something steeped in locale (whatever locale you're comfortable and knowledgeable about) I'd like it to read like two local barflies at your corner pub telling tales, maybe even with flashbacks and whatnot. I want to FEEL the location, SEE the patrons, the rings on the bar from years of glasses' condensation seeping in-- all of it.
~ None of those float your boat? How about something funny--and character driven of course. Some sort of mix up, some bit of absurdity and out of the realm of possibility shenanigans?
13.
~ Fantasy genre - snarky male vampire who doesn't particularly care for people and a cranky part-fae boy and together they fight crime! Possible bad guys: secret sorcerer mafia, evil vampires or fae or create bad guys of your own. Am open to either having the two guys fighting crime together as just being friends or lovers. That's up to you and how comfortable you are with it. Not particularly looking for any sex happening if you choose them to have them as lovers. Kissing and cuddling is okay however.
~ Historical Fantasy genre - British WWI officer who can see the future and does not have happy fun times with what he sees because he knows who in his unit will die and it kinda messes with his head far more than he'd like.
16.
Romance and mature themes are okay, but please no sex or abuse (emotional/verbal/physical/hurting animals). LGBT themes are a bonus, but I'd prefer not to have yaoi/yuri.
~ Seasons (fall/winter/spring/summer). What expresses the mood of a particular season, or the changing of the seasons? How are seasons different in various geographic regions? Is there a particular item that symbolizes a season to you that might be different from what most people think of as "seasonally appropriate"?
~ Yorkshire - an English county, the land of James Herriot, the Brontë sisters, abandoned coal mines, the moors, lots of limestone, sheep, delicious cheese, and strange accents. More information can be found on Wikipedia than I can list here. This might be difficult if you know nothing about Yorkshire, but it could also be a bit of a challenge. A story set in Yorkshire would be awesome; I love historical fiction, steampunk, and nature. Artwork (based on photographs or personal experience) would also be cool.
~ Artwork of mermaids. What do you think they would look like? How would they live? Do you think they lure sailors to their deaths with seductive themes?
Please no romance, mature themes, sex, or abuse. I don't want to have to hide my desktop when people come into the room! ^_^
17.
~ M/M romance/erotica: a young man flees from an oppressive school his family forced him to attend & finds peace (and sex) in the arms of an older man.
Optional details are optional (I hesitate to mention any of these because I don't want to be restrictive. Feel free to change or ignore):
* Ages - 15-21, and 35-50.
* Setting - modern big city or cities.
* Tone - more angsty than romantic, with age worries & UST.Prefer happy ending, though.
~ Urban fantasy: the rebirth of earth-based religions and new-age spiritual activity has awakened the the fey who guard the lands. Some of them are now tied to cities like dryads are tied to forests.
Optional details:
* Physical - Wings. (I like faerie wings.) Odd-colored skin & hair. Extra joints in fingers. Prehensile toes. Big eyes with nictitating membranes.
* Setting - I'm thinking San Francisco, but probably just because I know it.
* Story idea 1 - One of the fey adopts a small group of homeless children.
* Story idea 2 - An historic building is scheduled to be torn down; the fey won't allow it.
* Story idea 3 - One of the fey is working with drug sellers (voluntarily or not) to distribute magically-enhanced drugs.
~ High Fantasy: A woman whose family is killed & home destroyed by her own kingdom's soldiers becomes a skilled thief and rebel. Her name is feared by the highest courts in the land.
Optional details:
* Magic - While I'm open to anything from "magic is rumoured to exist somewhere" to "talented bodyguards work in dragon rodeos," I'm thinking Valdemar-esque magic--a few magic items, a few magic creatures, but the story is focused on people mostly without those resources.
* Romance - Include or not, but I'd like to see an awesome female protagonist, not someone who gets rescued by her awesome male sidekick.
* No "magic negro" - She doesn't learn survival, thieving, etc. from an exotic outsider. Maybe she adapts existing skills to new purposes (if she was a merchant, she knows a lot about theft). Or she falls in with people who teach her, but not a lone member of an oppressed/special class who has amazing talents, then vanishes as soon as they're handed off.
~ Science Fiction: A human colony on a distant planet is having problems with reproduction. Something is either preventing pregnancies or births, or many of the births are abnormal in some way.
Optional details:
* Characters - Prefer focus on either one of the women trying to have a [normal] baby, or scientist/s helping her.
* Aliens - optional; could be human-only universe. Maybe the planet is inhabited by other sentients and the babies are coming out part-alien.
* Social dynamics - could be standard sci-fi quasi-utopia, or the colony could be a group of dissidents who picked a less-than-ideal place to get away from oppression.
* Tech level - Prefer something between Babylon 5 and Firefly; Star Trek with the replicators & teleporters might make the technical problems either too easy or unbelievable.
18.
~ Something about an ambassador/liason between humans and sea-dwelling "people": merfolk, selkies, aliens, were-dolphins, etc. Any genre but horror, as long as it contains some kind of nonhuman being(s) who live in an ocean.
~ Instead of manifesting differently in different cultures, magical power and its effects manifest differently based on the landscape someone was raised or trained in. Given this setting, something about cooperation between magic users from different places.
~ Merchant-Adventurers of the Spiral Arm
~ A non-neurotypical character in a setting where this is an advantage. I would prefer something from this character's point of view.
19.
Something about family - about the merging of the family you're born with and the one you make yourself and trying to bring the pieces together.
~ Something about what goes on when you're not paying attention - when you realize you've walked a block and can't remember it, or spent an hour just looking out the window. Where have you been?
~ Something about a parliament of owls, and what happens afterward.
~ Something that starts with a person walking down a road, carrying a book.
20.
~ A boy and a girl in high school are "mortal enemies" because she's a geek and he's a jock, but it turns out they're reincarnations of elves. He was Drow, she was Sidhe. Their past catches up with their present in a love story of Romeo-and-Juliet-Proportions. Preferably with a happy ending, though. Mature themes okay, romance is awesome, sex doesn't need to happen in the present but can be referred to in the past.
~ There's a subversive gang of Grammar Nazi's that go around a city with red pens and "graffiti tag" incorrectly spelled or incorrectly worded public signs.
~ A mythological character (norse/irish/greek/other) re-imagined as
a modern-day character.
~ Ravens.
21.
~ Zombie airship pirates! Whatever time period or "world" you want, just centered around airship pirates who are also airship pirates.
~ Something based off of Scheherazade by Richard Siken. Link: http://www.fishousepoems.org/archives/richard_siken/scheherazade.shtml
~ Werewolves looking for treasure. Do they go on a road trip? Do they dig random holes in other people's yards? Do they have an actual plan for these untold riches and fortune?
~ There is something under the local cathedral, and it crawls out to say howdy.
22.
I am perfectly willing to read or look at porn, gen, fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction, adventure, space opera... just not horror.
~ There are several races/species who are working to form an alliance. Each has sent a delegation to a neutral site. The night before the convention is to begin, each member of each delegation becomes aware of the thoughts, feelings, and motivations of several other delegates, in some combination of ones of hir own and ones not of hir own delegation. This changes the game entirely.
I don't want horror. Up to you whether the delegates learn this is a deliberate act of someone known or unknown, or whether it's a natural occurrence.
~ A woman wakes up and looks in the mirror, and thinks this isn't her own face she is seeing.
Not horror. Up to you whether she is delusional (in which case I would hope you would treat respectfully the topic of mental illness if that's why) or whether something has happened that has made her perception true.
~ A man walks into a bar...of chocolate. Or a bar of soap. I don't want horror.
~ When Rapunzel leaves her tower (or similar--person who is raised in an extremely restrictive environment and then gets out into the wider world), it leaves an imbalance such that someone else has to take her place. Who does, and how does zie adjust?
23.
~ A villainous nakama (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Nakama). Revenge at any cost, the end justifies the means, deal with a devil, etc. type of thing. How much are they willing to give up -- or take -- in their quest for vengeance?
Spec fic. No romance please, but plenty of friendship and mateship.
~ Spec fic set in an Australian-inspired land. Weredingoes, marsupial elves, opal and gumtree magic, venomous everythings.
~ Cecaelia! (octopus women, like Ursula from The Little Mermaid)
~ A woman turning herself into or becoming a god. Gender dysphoria and shapeshifting. The library of staircase biographies. The machinist who stole one soul too many. What fairy tales/folklore would created things, like golems or clockwork beasts or robots, tell each other?
[Any/all. ;)]
25.
~ Fun and interesting space opera! In the vein of Firefly and Cowboy Bebop. A nakama have to do a job because they're broke, hijinks ensue. (Writing)
~ A fox-tailed woman sells bones and other curios in the desert. To whom? The only thing I'll say about art style is that I adore attention to details. (Art - although it could work as a story too!)
26.
~ A fantasy or sci-fi or any spec-fic genre story about different sapient species (not races) living together, where they are very different from each other but also have a lot of variation within themselves. Meaning, not one nation/culture with monolithic values, but a society with various factions social and political. If there's interspecies romance I'd like it if the species are biologically incompatible.
~ After the superhero registration law, being a superhero became a bit like having a private security company. Supers kept their covers, but they had to have someone who would vouch for them in court, who knew their real identity. Soon, there were lawyers who specialized in representing secret identities in court.
~ The angst and drama of the world of competitive horticulture, as seen from the outside by a world-famous horticulturist's estranged teenage daughter. Also were-unicorns or something.
~ Annals and letters of a social climber with a knack for politics who ends up pulling the strings behind the scenes in a dynasty that rules by divine right, whilst also cultivating the world's first lineage of domesticated flying pygmy wildcats. No smokers please.
29.
~ You know that fantasy novel trope, where the thief character who has been travelling with the group for a while suddenly throws off their cloak and they're someone Of Importance? And they have to go home, and everyone in the group is confused to see them wearing expensive clothes and knowing what fork to use, and it's awesome. I am a totally sucker for this, and will drop everything to read it, but I don't think I've ever seen it used with a female character, unless that character is a princess of some sort who needs protection and is only really valued for their bloodline. I'd love to see a female character – one who lives a fairy gritty life – throw off their cloak and be, say, the exiled general of the Queen's army. Or the court poisoner on the run. Or something like that. Fantasy is great, but any genre would fine. In space! Or the boardroom!
~ I like the gritty, nuts and bolts kind of space travel that we see in Firefly or in Star Wars: star drives that grind and complain and need a good thump to get them going again. I'd love to see how a society grows up in this environment, what it's like to be a kid or a family or a business owner. I think what I really wanted to do with Firefly (and with other science fiction shows like the Star Treks) was to see what it's like to get dinner on the table or work or deal with the ordinary life stuff in a space setting. Or dealing with strangers moving in, or a murder in a tight space-faring community or a crisis that needs to be dealt with by everyone pulling together. Rather than the pirates and the political conspiracies, I'd like to see the farmers and the mechanics of the world. And it would be great to see a community made up of many cultures and a range of sexualities, and for this to be completely normal.
~ I would love to see how crime is investigated in a magical system – X-Files with wizards, Harry Potter/CSI. I like magic systems with large bureaucracies – the Ministry for Magic was always a favourite part of Harry Potter for me – so maybe a contemporary world where magic is an everyday thing, and government agents use it to solve crimes.
~ When I write fanfic, I often choose the advisor/mentor characters (Giles from Buffy, Cuddy from House, Remus and Sirius from Harry Potter, Professor Xavier from the X-Men franchise, Walter Skinner from the X-Files.) I'd love to see a story from a mentor character's point of view. Can they have their own storyline that doesn't exist to teach the hero a lesson? Any genre, but give me an older character with some life experience, and let them be the centre of the story.
30.
~ A set of cursed brushes makes something strange happens with the paintings when it's used.
~ A hypercompetent assistant has to deal with the... eccentricities of his boss. Doesn't help that they are very tsundere for each other.
~ A cave makes people inside have marvelous visions and hallucinations, so much that everyone that enters it ends up dying inside, hypnotized by what they see.
~ A golem is convinced it is human, and befriends a young orphan. Make it heartwarming fluff or heartbreaking sadness, if you want to write it.
31.
~ Crime drama! From the theives's or the law enforcement perspective, I'm good with both. This can be real-world (modern or historical) or some kind of speculative fiction world (sci-fi, fantasy, steampunk, etc). Whether thief or law enforcement, please have a moral main character. I appreciate cleverness but not excessive gore. Would prefer a witty tone to angsty noir.
~ Steampunk in the nonWestern world. All of the Victorian era is open to you, as long as it's set somewhere other than North America or Western Europe. I'd love a strong female main character and a lot of whacky gadgets.
~ Science fiction with aliens who have completely different concepts of gender, and how this complicates their interaction with humans. Cross-species romantic attempts would be lovely. If this is a story, it doesn't have to revolve around this concept, but it should be a factor.
~ Urban fantasy/modern fantasy: A group that hunts evil things that go bump in the night. Their size and level of organization (as well as whether or not they're human) is up to you. I'd love to see internal politics/relationships and/or the arc of a hunt. Sparkly vampires need not apply.
32.
~ Queen Guinevere, armed and armoured as a warrior-queen, making ready to lead the forces of Camelot at Camlann, the final battle of Arthur.
~ A Papess, calling for an army of queens and crusaders (female) to make war upon her enemy, the Byzantine Empress.
~ The Labours of Herakles, undertaken by the Gorgon Eurydice, and her faithful woman-at-arms Ariadne, aided by the capricious goddess Persephone; with the ultimate goal of katabasis rather than apotheosis.
~ A suprising encounter with a famed poisoner in a church leads Violante Corombona, famed airship captain, and her motley crew of misfits, into the strange heart of the Venetian underworld.
33.
~ Dragons don't need to breathe. Somehow, humans are able to use them for space travel.
~ They are the first male couple to be married after the National Free Marriage Act is passed.
ONLY WRITING
8.
~ I love themes of identity and place, particularly heritage that's unusual, or has to be reclaimed or negotiated in some way. Coming of age stories are great, but so are other rites of passage - think cronings and retirements, making a new home or, mastering a new skill. I would rather it was not romance, but urban fantasy, magic realism or slipstream would be good. Contemporary settings preferred, or well-researched and sensitive historical settings are also fine
~ I love fables, folklore and mythology. If you could write a story that draws on these powerful tales, that would be wonderful. It could be a modern interpretation of Hecate's affinty for crossroads, mooncakes for Mid Autumn festival, or a meeting with a goddess in disguise. Think quests, unusual ones. I would prefer a female protagonist. Mature themes are fine (both in terms of violence and sex), but I don't want romance or straight up erotica. Both contemporary and well-researched historical settings are fine.
10.
Melancholy/angst/drama, literary fiction (style is encouraged, 2nd person welcome, long windy sentences and parentheses loved). Happy ending not necessary, character death not desired. Prefer female lead, gen or femslash. Any rating.
~ Established relationship bumps: moving, children, jobs. Even a simple moment cooking dinner.
~ Lycanthropy as metaphor.
~ Roller derby. Any situation.
~ Taboo attraction. No non-con. Something deemed by society or self to be taboo. Unwelcome desire or pursuant against society's mores.
14.
~ Drunken guy and girl shamelessly flirt, in the end it turns out they are... .
~ The secret life of a librarian.
~ A guy who decided to end his life finds a genie bottle.
~ A girl finds out that her guy has four twin brothers.
15.
~ A young lady watching a wuxia drama on TV suddenly finds herself transported into the drama she is watching.
~ Steampunk-ish story involving the discovery of a group of human beings who can fly.
24.
~ AIs are taking over the world. Surprisingly, it's not the end of the world - yet. A captured human resistance fighter and an AI combine forces to prevent further escalation.
~ An adventure story set in a magical desert, with two rivals forced to rely on each other.
~ Fantasy based on Keats's "La Belle Dame Sans Merci", wherein the knight gets a second chance with the lady.
~ In the far future, Earth is one of many worlds within a huge alien empire. A human rises through the ranks on the alien homeworld. Colonisation, assimilation, conflicting loyalties.
27.
~ People build villages by the water for a reason. But the reason is darker than we think. Spec fic.
~ Two sisters grow apart as they age but remain tangled at the root.
As weird or conventional as you want to make it.
~ She keeps a pantry stocked with mason jars, packed with seeds and dried leaves and each for a purpose.
A slightly earlier-in-history mood; does not have to be spec fic necessarily, though it might fit nicely.
28.
~ The Important Thing: Noir. Make it dark, gritty and something Humphrey Bogart would have starred in. A backdrop of seedy dives, dangerous dames and criminal undergrounds. Reality with a fine patina of dirt, some black and white film, a bit of old (slightly purple) prose, cynicism and shades of grey. Nobody is a hero, nobody is a villain, they just all have their reasons that play out into the weird and wacky world.
Other Points: Add a dash of Slash with Forbidden Romance (a detective in love with a hitman, how could it ever be? (example only;) ) and a giant heaping, helping plot and I am one happy fangirl. You can also never go wrong with bonus sides of action/adventure. Set anywhere you like, though I have a soft spot for Chicago, the important thing with setting is to do it well. I'm a major history geek, so research is always noticed and appreciated.
Bonus Points: werewolves, zombies, angst, UST, snark, gunplay, bloodplay, breaking the fourth wall, alternating POV, rain, car-snogging (extra bonus points for drive ins!), England-that-isn't-London, xantos gambits, Dick Tracey references, Twilight Zone references, snowglobes as an angst device.
Rating wise: I'm thinking at least an R.
~ The Important Thing: Political drama/comedy. Think Yes, Minister, House of Cards and The West Wing. Smart, snappy humor with political inside jokes and allusions. Mocking the system in all of its' little foibles.
Other points: Looking more for a behind-the-scenes kind of thing. I tend to like the british sense of political humor better, but set it wherever you feel most technically capable. Liberal bias (in the american sense) is shamelessly encouraged. Political intrigue is always fun. Evil Masterminds, snappy dressers, snark, political crisis, tiny stuffed cthulu stress toys and staffer shenanigans are awesome.
Bonus points: Slash! Some inter-office romance between hectic deadlines and shouting staffers. Kittens. Footnotes. Bloodthirsty chiefs of staff. Yes, Minister references.
Rating wise: Anything PG-13 and up is fine with me.
~ The Important Thing: The Villain Wins. *Not* played for laughs. Being sympathetic is part of this, as is following most of the Evil Overlords List, but the main point is that despite this, they are still definitely a villain. You decide whether this is a good thing for the world, or a depressing, angsty ending.
Other points: Some sort of superhero or supernatural setting would be cool, but not necessary. Plot, lots and lots of nommy plot. Slash, Villain/Minion is cool, Villain/Superhero-converted-to-Villainy is even cooler, Villain/Superhero is full of angst and also cool. Badass normals, snark, evil cackles, hitmen, minions-with-brains, ruling the world/universe/multi-verse, chess, lots of black and evil!pets.
Bonus points: FoeYay, steampunk, riding crops, bloodplay, cowboys, the mafia, and Vincent Price references.
Rating wise: Again thinking R and up.
34.
~ The family next door turns out to have traveled in time from the 1950s. They're eager to fit in, but need a little help.
~ Ben Franklin undertakes a secret mission to Mars to recruit underground space squids to the revolutionary cause.
no subject
Date: 2011-03-30 08:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-30 08:37 pm (UTC)