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narya_flame“I'm not signing up for Trick Or Treat,” she said. “No more exchanges. Not until next year. That's flat.”
DNWs
Yes, Please!
Since the minimum requirements for this exchange are small, I'm not going to go into a huge detailed list of everything I like to see in every possible type of fanwork; however, please rest assured that I am very easy to please and will definitely love what you make. I enjoy fanworks of all genres and ratings - short, introspective character pieces; poetry; in-world meta; high adventure; smut; fluff; angst; horror; portraits; landscapes; comics; sketches; pastels; digital art; it's all good. Gen and shippy content are both equally fine (I have no preference in terms of f/f, f/m, m/m, poly, etc.). I am open to unrequested ships unless they contradict a stated DNW.
The Father Christmas Letters
Ilbereth
Trick
Is Ilbereth a survivor of First Age Beleriand, and if he is, what kinds of memories might he keep locked carefully away?
Treat
Ilbereth writing to a child and developing an unexpected friendship, or being fondly exasperated with the bears and bear cubs.
Father Christmas; Grandfather Yule; The Green Brother
Trick
What did the land at the North Pole look like before Christmas as we know it? Was it once a darker, scarier place? What about the goblins, and the history there? What stories are written in the art on the walls of the caves?
Treat
Maybe something nice and cosy about the history of Christmas, and/or how life at the North Pole has changed over time? Who is Grandfather Yule, and what does he do these days? Is the Green Brother an “older” version of Father Christmas – the version we see dressed in green robes and crowned with holly, before Clement Clarke Moore clad him in red?
Alternatively, anything to do with making and/or delivering presents would be lovely.
DNW for this canon: smut.
The Hobbit
The Stone Giants; The Were-worms
Trick
A dark and scary in-world folk tale or legend, told to frighten naughty children.
Treat
An origin story, or a bold explorer encountering one of these rare beings, and finding that the monster of their bedtime stories is not so scary after all.
Took Fairy Ancestor
Trick
The Fairy Ancestor is a fey nature spirit of some kind - like Goldberry, with an even darker streak.
Treat
A sweet romance in which an unwitting Hobbit is swept away to Faery.
The Lord of the Rings
Queen Berúthiel's Cats
Trick
The cats are sinister spies with uncanny abilities - perhaps they're related to Tevildo?
Treat
The cats are just smart, spiky bundles of fun, roaming around Middle-earth and having adventures.
Scatha
(I am partial to a female Scatha so have used "her", but other genders are fine!)
Trick
Scary dragon in chomp-mode.
Treat
Some unsuspecting resident of Middle-earth finds baby Scatha and takes care of her, not realising that this is more than just a funny-looking lizard. (Or maybe they do realise, and they don't care.)
The Withywindle
Trick
The river loves you and wants to drown you slowly, then eat the flesh from your bones.
Treat
The river reflects peacefully on the things she's seen through the years.
The Watcher in the Water
Trick
The Watcher's malevolent musings, perhaps eyeing up the tasty treats that roam its shores.
Treat
The Watcher is sick of being a scary tentacled guard dog, and decides to serve the cause of good instead.
The Silmarillion
Celegorm
Trick
Wild, feral Celegorm, maddened by grief and his Oath; Huan turning on his once-beloved master; Celegorm's death in Doriath.
Treat
Family times in Aman, before Melkor's lies took hold; bonding with baby Huan; winter celebrations in Aglon; "Fëanorions Win!" AU.
Houseless Elf
Trick
A character is haunted by a vengeful spirit from their past, and eventually meets a grisly fate; in-world folk tale or meta about malevolent ghosts; a hunter of Cuiviénen is slain in the forests and is too afraid to heed the call of Mandos, so tethers themselves to Middle-earth forever.
Treat
Himring, Nargothrond, or other location of your choice has a helpful, friendly ghost.
Maglor
Trick
The burning of the boats; making impossible decisions in the face of Morgoth's forces; following Maedhros to the bitter end, against his own judgement; a sad, reflective moment in a later Age; encountering the ghost of someone he once knew.
Treat
Brotherly bonding; composing music, or crafting a musical instrument; spending time in the Shire in the Third or Fourth Age; somehow being reunited with a member (or members) of his family; a joyful moment from his travels through history.
Original Character from the Guild of Venturers
Trick
Battling a storm; encountering a ghost ship; being stalked by a terror of the deep.
Treat
A quiet moment on board (maybe some friendship or romance); seeing Middle-earth for the first time; reuniting with a loved one after a voyage.
Emily Is Away
Emily; Female Player Character
Trick
A look at one of the darker, sadder moments of Emily's relationship with the player-character; post-canon mutual self-destruction; if you want to go supernatural, their relationship feels suited to some Stephen King-esque shenanigans, e.g. investigating a haunting or a malevolent cosmic presence.
Treat
Emily and the player-character manage to work things out; their first kiss; they don't end up together but reach a healthy place in their relationship where they're happy to go their separate ways.
RUMINATE (SimCity - Essay by Neil Gaiman)
Detroit; London; Moscow; Paris; San Francisco; Vienna
Trick
The city by night, watching, waiting, preying on the unwary and drawing them into its dark, forgotten places.
Treat
The city by day, bathing in sunlight, loving its inhabitants and visitors and dreaming of days gone by.
But then, one dark and misty autumn night while her husband was away...
Yes, I went and did the thing. Hi, hello, and welcome to my very rushed Trick Or Treat letter.
The year is slowly waning, and the time approaches for things that go bump in the night! This letter is full of monsters and mysteries, shadows and hauntings, and, I hope, a little comfort and warmth. I am very excited to see or read whatever you are inspired to make, so please don't read anything into the length of the prompts, or whether I've requested these canons or characters before. In true trick-or-treat style I'm happy to be surprised, so although I've made some suggestions by character and/or fandom, please don't feel you have to write to any of my prompts – I don't want this to be stressful, just pick a character and have some fun!
DNWs
- Crack.
- Focus on bodily functions and fluids (exception: blood from injuries)
- Focus on pregnancy or childbirth.
- Unrequested kink.
- Unrequested AU that significantly changes the canon setting, e.g. A/B/O, mermaid AU (canon divergence is fine, as is post-canon exploration.)
Yes, Please!
- Fanworks that hurt me, and make me laugh, and make me think, and make me believe in the world they're set in.
- Objects and places with special significance – a “sense of history.”
- Hauntings (literal and metaphorical).
- Setting as character - literally, if you like. Sentient nature and living cities are very welcome.
- The juxtaposition of the everyday with the wondrous and magical.
- Fusions of science and magic.
- Myth, folklore and fairy-tale.
- Shining a light into places canon doesn't show us, or barely touches on – going off the edge of the map.
- Complex character dynamics, conflicting motivations, and multifaceted relationships that don't sit neatly in a box.
- Groups of disparate people finding their way to each other, working together, learning to care about each other - even (especially) if it's in strange, complicated ways.
- Quiet moments between people who care about each other, especially during or after huge events shaking their world.
- Unusual perspectives, minor characters, original characters and textual ghosts.
- Suggestion and implication, whether this is hints of backstory, references to things happening “offstage”, a figure hiding in the shadows, or a slightly ambiguous ending – I love it when my imagination can get to work filling in the gaps.
- Hurt/comfort.
- Grief; tragedy; reconciliation; redemption; hope.
Since the minimum requirements for this exchange are small, I'm not going to go into a huge detailed list of everything I like to see in every possible type of fanwork; however, please rest assured that I am very easy to please and will definitely love what you make. I enjoy fanworks of all genres and ratings - short, introspective character pieces; poetry; in-world meta; high adventure; smut; fluff; angst; horror; portraits; landscapes; comics; sketches; pastels; digital art; it's all good. Gen and shippy content are both equally fine (I have no preference in terms of f/f, f/m, m/m, poly, etc.). I am open to unrequested ships unless they contradict a stated DNW.
The Father Christmas Letters
Ilbereth
Trick
Is Ilbereth a survivor of First Age Beleriand, and if he is, what kinds of memories might he keep locked carefully away?
Treat
Ilbereth writing to a child and developing an unexpected friendship, or being fondly exasperated with the bears and bear cubs.
Father Christmas; Grandfather Yule; The Green Brother
Trick
What did the land at the North Pole look like before Christmas as we know it? Was it once a darker, scarier place? What about the goblins, and the history there? What stories are written in the art on the walls of the caves?
Treat
Maybe something nice and cosy about the history of Christmas, and/or how life at the North Pole has changed over time? Who is Grandfather Yule, and what does he do these days? Is the Green Brother an “older” version of Father Christmas – the version we see dressed in green robes and crowned with holly, before Clement Clarke Moore clad him in red?
Alternatively, anything to do with making and/or delivering presents would be lovely.
DNW for this canon: smut.
The Hobbit
The Stone Giants; The Were-worms
Trick
A dark and scary in-world folk tale or legend, told to frighten naughty children.
Treat
An origin story, or a bold explorer encountering one of these rare beings, and finding that the monster of their bedtime stories is not so scary after all.
Took Fairy Ancestor
Trick
The Fairy Ancestor is a fey nature spirit of some kind - like Goldberry, with an even darker streak.
Treat
A sweet romance in which an unwitting Hobbit is swept away to Faery.
The Lord of the Rings
Queen Berúthiel's Cats
Trick
The cats are sinister spies with uncanny abilities - perhaps they're related to Tevildo?
Treat
The cats are just smart, spiky bundles of fun, roaming around Middle-earth and having adventures.
Scatha
(I am partial to a female Scatha so have used "her", but other genders are fine!)
Trick
Scary dragon in chomp-mode.
Treat
Some unsuspecting resident of Middle-earth finds baby Scatha and takes care of her, not realising that this is more than just a funny-looking lizard. (Or maybe they do realise, and they don't care.)
The Withywindle
Trick
The river loves you and wants to drown you slowly, then eat the flesh from your bones.
Treat
The river reflects peacefully on the things she's seen through the years.
The Watcher in the Water
Trick
The Watcher's malevolent musings, perhaps eyeing up the tasty treats that roam its shores.
Treat
The Watcher is sick of being a scary tentacled guard dog, and decides to serve the cause of good instead.
The Silmarillion
Celegorm
Trick
Wild, feral Celegorm, maddened by grief and his Oath; Huan turning on his once-beloved master; Celegorm's death in Doriath.
Treat
Family times in Aman, before Melkor's lies took hold; bonding with baby Huan; winter celebrations in Aglon; "Fëanorions Win!" AU.
Houseless Elf
Trick
A character is haunted by a vengeful spirit from their past, and eventually meets a grisly fate; in-world folk tale or meta about malevolent ghosts; a hunter of Cuiviénen is slain in the forests and is too afraid to heed the call of Mandos, so tethers themselves to Middle-earth forever.
Treat
Himring, Nargothrond, or other location of your choice has a helpful, friendly ghost.
Maglor
Trick
The burning of the boats; making impossible decisions in the face of Morgoth's forces; following Maedhros to the bitter end, against his own judgement; a sad, reflective moment in a later Age; encountering the ghost of someone he once knew.
Treat
Brotherly bonding; composing music, or crafting a musical instrument; spending time in the Shire in the Third or Fourth Age; somehow being reunited with a member (or members) of his family; a joyful moment from his travels through history.
Original Character from the Guild of Venturers
Trick
Battling a storm; encountering a ghost ship; being stalked by a terror of the deep.
Treat
A quiet moment on board (maybe some friendship or romance); seeing Middle-earth for the first time; reuniting with a loved one after a voyage.
Emily Is Away
Emily; Female Player Character
Trick
A look at one of the darker, sadder moments of Emily's relationship with the player-character; post-canon mutual self-destruction; if you want to go supernatural, their relationship feels suited to some Stephen King-esque shenanigans, e.g. investigating a haunting or a malevolent cosmic presence.
Treat
Emily and the player-character manage to work things out; their first kiss; they don't end up together but reach a healthy place in their relationship where they're happy to go their separate ways.
RUMINATE (SimCity - Essay by Neil Gaiman)
Detroit; London; Moscow; Paris; San Francisco; Vienna
Trick
The city by night, watching, waiting, preying on the unwary and drawing them into its dark, forgotten places.
Treat
The city by day, bathing in sunlight, loving its inhabitants and visitors and dreaming of days gone by.
