Darkest Night 2021

I know I will enjoy whatever you write!

My general preferences are here.

My DNW: nominated character death (unless noted otherwise), cruelty to animals/children (can be mentioned if needed for story, but do not dwell on it in loving detail), graphic/explicit/sexual violence

I love a story that makes me think twice about climbing the stairs without turning ALL the lights on first.  I'm also into shiny veneers that hide dark secrets.  I like "skeletons in the closet".  I'm also down for characters dealing with things using black humor.

I am a huge fan of "seemingly unrelated group of people trapped somewhere and discover they a) have something in common and b) can't just leave" - see Clue, see And Then There Were None. Even if this is not the fandom we're matched on, I'm always down for a scenario that plays out like one of these movies/books.

Please feel free to get soap opera-ish! Half-siblings no one knew about! Illegitimate siblings you thought were just family friends! Psycho-half-siblings who want to kill you and take your life over! Convenient accidents! Crazy wills and marriages of convenience!  Year-long showers and cracked out "why not" seasons!  (Yes, I'm a huge Dallas fan.)

 I love urban legends - the vanishing hitchhiker in particular, but also "the call is coming from inside the house", "room for one more", and the psycho college killer one.  Return to Glennascaul scenarios are also good. 

 I also have a fascination for unsolved crimes/mysteries, people who've disappeared, and bodies with no names.  Yes, I loved Unsolved Mysteries.

To avoid a ridiculous letter, I’m going to talk about the freeforms up front:

Aftermath - Survivor Guilt: Love this for the should have done better/decided better feels!

Alternate Universe - Hunger Games Setting – More the competition, less the setting of Panem.

Alternate Universe - Mirror Universe: Think like the TOS mirror universe.  I didn’t care for the take on it they did in DS9 where it was like a BDSM extravaganza.

Castaways in Time – So I really loved Island in the Sea of Time, and am down for more of that.

Death - Going out Fighting – I don’t want them to actually die, but feel like they will right up to the part where they don’t.  Fairy Tail has a great scene of this with Gajeel/Levy. 

Dreams - Dreams bleeding into reality – Can the character tell that they’re dreaming/not?  I love the feeling of not being able to tell what is what.

Dreams – Nightmares – What if nightmares or what was nightmares are all good.

Magic: Sex to Power Magic – What it sounds like on the tin. 

Murder - Murder Mystery – You can play this one a little lighter or more comic, or go dark and atmospheric.  I love Clue, I love And Then There Were None.

One of Us is a Killer – For this one, I love the suspicion of everyone.  I definitely like if its either the obvious person or the least obvious person.

Plot - Dimension Hopping To Find A Timeline That Isn't Doomed – I’d prefer they find one, or at least have the hope of finding one.

Ruined Castles and Fortresses: Creepy and atmospheric go!  Works nicely with trapped together.

Trapped - Trapped with a Killer – Kind of like One of Us, but the killer doesn’t have to be a trusted member of the group.

Trapped - Trapped Together – Stuck together.  Will they be rescued? 

Urban Legend - Vanishing Hitchhiker – You know the story.  If you want to riff off one of my Phantom Passenger Wants a Ride Home stories, go for it.

Hurt/Comfort & Grief/Mourning – So these two are basically my safe tags for each fandom.  If nothing else is working for you, give one of them a spin.  Pretty much every fandom has something that would make one or both work.

Magic - Losing Control Over Magic/Powers – The loss of control, the fear that they will harm someone they care about, go.

Ghosts – Whether they’re real or imagined, I enjoy them.

Urban Legend - Room For One More – The elevator operator and the man with the coffin are the same.  Also “Twenty Two” if you’re a Twilight Zone fan. 

Vehicles - Broken down car in the middle of nowhere – This is basically a gateway to any number of creepy atmospheric stories, add some danger if you like

Vehicles - Car Accidents – Same as above.

Skeletons In The Closet – Metaphorical or real or both, these always interest me.

Alternate Universe - Characters are the Bad Guys – Flipping the canon on its head is always fun.

Effect - Character who dies in canon lives making everything worse – Doesn’t have to be catastrophe, but if you’ve ever read Q-Squared, you know what I’m after.

Murder - Victim Murders Perpetrators – A little dark justice.

Plot - discovering parent is the villain – I love the feelings of suspicion and betrayal here.

Urban Legend - Psycho Killer at College – You know, the killer in the hall, or it was on Sally Jessy Raphael that a college campus beginning with M would be attacked…. I’d prefer to have characters outwit the killer but be scared out of their minds up until then.

Blackmail – Goes right along with skeletons in the closet.

Effect - Be Careful What You Wish For – Pretty much what it says.

Trapped - Trapped in a Dream World – I like them to know they’re in the dream world, and figure out that they’re trapped.

Characters Cut Off From Home Planet – I think this could be very interesting.

Trapped - Trapped With Someone in Need of Medical Care – I like the helplessness aspect on this one.

Also just a last note, some fandoms I just have more thoughts about.  I'd love something for all of them.

 

 

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