desertvixen | OWO 2023 (Reply)

Apologies for lateness, and I know I’ll love whatever you write!

OPEN TO TREATS

Gen (Single Characters or Groups Without Ships)

Blackmailer Hostess & Guests They Are Blackmailing (Gen)

Passengers of a Luxury Ship & Ghosts who Pretend to be the Ships' Crew (Any&Any)

Real Hitchhiker & Phantom Driver who Picks them Up (Gen)

Solo: Vanishing Hitchhiker

Ruling Queens & Ruling King(s) Who Have Not Met Since Childhood (Gen)

Young Runaway Heiress Hunted By Murderous Family & Girl Sleuth (Gen)

Blackmailer Hostess & Guests They Are Blackmailing (Gen): Think Clue. I'd be interested in gathering them all together, or maybe reflection on how/why she is blackmailing them. Yes, I love Clue, and getting the tables turned. Would be open to the hostess having a relationship with one of the male guests. Maybe they have already joined forces? How does a woman blackmailer change the vibe? Preparing/planning? I prefer for her to retain the upper hand.

Passengers of a Luxury Ship & Ghosts who Pretend to be the Ships' Crew (Any&Any): For this one, I sort of see the ghosts as having BEEN crew in their mortal states. I like the idea that they were crew (maybe on another ship) and are just sticking to what they know. Do they try to warn people of a disaster? Does anyone ever notice that they’re ghosts? Perhaps an older guest finds them a little too familiar.

Real Hitchhiker & Phantom Driver who Picks them Up (Gen): If you're familiar with the song The Ride, bingo. They don't need to be a musician but the ghost car intrigues me. Telly Savalas claimed to have had one of these encounters. Details vary, but here is one of the accounts and it’s the vibe I’m looking for:

It was late when he began his drive home from a friends house at Long Island to his own home in New York. He was also out of gas, but the lights from an all night cafe lit up the darkness. He managed to pull in, and having a coffee, asked the way to the nearest garage. He was told to take a path through the wood at the back of the cafe until he reached the freeway. Just about to set off on the daunting walk, a voice called out, asking if he wanted a lift. It was gratefully received and Telly got into the Cadilac of this good Samaritan.

It wasn't until he got to the gas station that he realised his wallet was missing and the man kindly gave him some money with Telly insisting on having his name and phone number. Harry Agannis wrote his name on a scrap of paper and Telly thanked him for all he had done.

When it came to contacting the man he spoke to his wife who told him the sad news that he had died. Telling her what had happened and how her husband had helped him, she said that was impossible as his death was not recent. He had been dead three years. The star was shocked, and then intrigued. He described the car which she agreed was the same as her husband's. The clothes, which she said he was buried in. Then there was the voice which was unusually high pitched. That could have accounted for the fact that Harry Agannis had taken his own life, shooting himself in the throat. Telly eventually met the widow and showed her the piece of paper on which the man had written. She was more than sure that it was her husband's handwriting. It was certainly an experience that Telly Savalas never forgot, and earned him a new friend in Mrs Agannis

I love places that aren’t always there and phantom cars that are solid for a much needed ride, and ghosts who help people out.

Solo: Vanishing Hitchhiker: Exactly what it sounds like. I love vanishing hitchhikers and the people they interact with, so have at it. I love the Twilight Zone episode The Hitchhiker, I love Resurrection Mary, I love the Phantom Passenger that Needs a Ride Home. Go for it! I’m also on board for reverse vanishing hitchhikers (the car/driver aren’t real) or the prophetic vanishing hitchhiker. I love the interactions and the revealing of the mystery to the driver.

I prefer all hitchhikers to be female, but feel free to swap out genders for drivers/parents.

Ruling Queens & Ruling King(s) Who Have Not Met Since Childhood (Gen): I have the romance one on this as well, so feel to do either. Why are they seeing each other again? I'm envisioning some sort of diplomatic thing, or peace talks (a ball would be lovely) where the reunion happens. Feel free to combine with the / prompt on this one. Maybe no one intends it to be romantic but it gets romantic fast? Dancing at a ball? Rival nations with a history? Why has it been so long since they saw each other? Was one of them not always a royal? Are any of them related? People on different sides of a conflict finding some common ground? Conspiracies? I am here for all of it. Feel free to combine with the romantic one, but I like to give the option.

Young Runaway Heiress Hunted By Murderous Family & Girl Sleuth (Gen): Paging Nancy Drew... Yes! Secret passages and hidden treasure and a plucky girl sleuth who helps the heiress defeat the murderous relatives! Picturing a Nancy Drew-esque character and setting but a little more at stake. Yes! Secret passages and hidden treasure and a plucky girl sleuth who helps the heiress defeat the murderous relatives! I’m a big fan of ND #3. Possibly with a little help from her lawyer parent OR a tall dark and handsome male sleuth? Sort of channeling ND #3-#5 here (especially 3 with the heiress), but I would prefer that the heiress not be someone the sleuth knows, but someone she encounters (possibly on vacation or at a hotel) and decides to help.

Mixed Gender Ships

Bluestocking Spinster/Notorious Rake who was her sister's former fiance (F/M)

Clever Goldigger in Arranged Marriage/Apparently Dumb Husband With Dark Secret (F/M)

Desert Nomad/Oasis Spirit (M/F)

Recently Divorced Mom/Widowed Father of one of her Daughter's Friends (F/M)

Ruling Queen/Prince from Another Nation She Hasn't Seen since Childhood (F/M)

Bluestocking Spinster/Notorious Rake who was her sister's former fiance (F/M): If you've read Amanda Quick Regencies, you know my jam. Spinster who lives for history? Notorious rake who secretly loves history? And why is he the sister’s former fiancé? Did she elope to Gretna Green with someone else? Jilt him? Prefer sister to be alive and happily married. Dark brooding hero with a secret and quirky but cute heroine? Does she want him to show her a good time or does he rescue her at a boring ball?

Clever Goldigger in Arranged Marriage/Apparently Dumb Husband With Dark Secret (F/M): Is she the one getting played? I am totally here for her thinking she’s getting one over on him and discovering he’s not as dumb as he looks/acts.

Desert Nomad/Oasis Spirit (M/F): Is she trying to assist the nomad? I like the idea that the nomad must be worthy of finding the oasis. Maybe only worthy travelers can find the oasis? Maybe there is a price... Prefer nomad be male, oasis spirit female. Not much to add, but I’m definitely interested in the aspect where the oasis spirit controls who finds it. Can only someone who is worthy find it? Does it provide a refuge? I’m a desert person, so I appreciate descriptions and bringing out the beauty – maybe the oasis has a superbloom going on?

Recently Divorced Mom/Widowed Father of one of her Daughter's Friends (F/M): I'm a BSC fan, and I've been thinking this vibe would be nice. So this is sort of Babysitter’s Club inspired but I like the two different kinds of lonely. And while I don’t want focus on the daughters, feel free to have them engineering the setup – or having the parents’ friends engineering it. I also like the idea that both of them are a little awkward at this. Feel free to let her take the lead!

Ruling Queen/Prince from Another Nation She Hasn't Seen since Childhood (F/M): Goes along with the gen req - why haven't they seen each other, and why are they seeing each other NOW? I think this would be fun and romantic – Maybe no one intends it to be romantic but it gets romantic fast? Dancing at a ball? Rival nations with a history? Why has it been so long since they saw each other? Was one of them not always a royal?

Mixed Gender Ships

Female Librarian/Frequent patron (F/M)

Harvest Goddess/King/Queen (F/M/F)

Teenage Girl Home For Summer Break/Neighbor With a Pool (F/M)

Explorer/Member of Rival Exploration Party (M/F)Fic

This is my steamy requests (okay with the other category getting steamy, but DEFINITELY want to turn up the steam in here)!

Female Librarian/Frequent patron (F/M): Flirting and more thru books. Book recommendations. Leaving his number in the book he returns “late” and in-person because he does not want a fine. Wink wink nudge nudge. Meet cute with books. Librarian taking her hair down and him wearing glasses gets bonus points. And yes, I am totally open to more than meeting cute.

Harvest Goddess/King/Queen (F/M/F): Does the goddess like the look of the king and come down? For the royalty and Harvest Goddess, I want all the lush details and wonder. I want something dealing with the whole ritual sex between king and queen as stand-in for harvest goddess to ensure a good harvest. It’s supposed to be symbolic, but what if the harvest goddess did actually come down? Whether or not anyone except the king and queen realizes that she is present is optional. I like the idea of the goddess actually coming down – perhaps she likes the look of the king or he reminds her of someone else? I’d prefer she be attracted to the king – perhaps a reminder of her own consort.

Teenage Girl Home For Summer Break/Neighbor With a Pool (F/M): On this one, I'm good with the neighbor being a teen or older (if you want to play with power dynamics or a predatory edge here, go for it). Flirting at the pool? Or maybe a little darker? So I’m good with the neighbor being the son and light-hearted teen flirting … or the neighbor being the good-looking dad/older brother’s friend and the possibility of a darker, more predatory tinge. A tinge of dubcon is okay, but I am also here for a scenario where she had had her eye on the neighbor for some time and decides to make her move. Get him girl.

Explorer/Member of Rival Exploration Party (M/F): Tensions flare? Trapped together? Sniping endlessly at each other until someone locks them in a room? If you’ve seen the Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew TV show then you know the vibe – a pair of competent competitive interesting people who need to get a room, but it’s never so easy. I really like the rival explorers idea because it locks them into a somewhat closed society where they can’t get away from each other. Meanwhile, their fellow party members wish they would get a Clue (and a room. With only one bed.). Bonus points if someone does lock them in a room/trap them in a secret passage so the rest of them can have some peace and quiet.