Cerulean Blue

Here we are again! Something about Stephen King and summer, y'all....

I probably seem awfully boring, because I really have two SK loves and all others don't quite move me to want all the fanfics. But honestly, I think the worldbuilding and character activity possibilities are *endless* in these two worlds, and that's why I keep coming back to them. I have ideas but would love to see what you come up with!

Some things about my likes/DNWs: I prefer angst over fluff, I like happy endings that come after struggle or discord as much as I love angsty cliffhangers that keep the work grounded in the fandom's reality. I love character studies and backstories and worldbuilding. I love minor characters. Not into pregnancy AU, high school or university AU, or modern AU. BUT I love canon-divergence or AUs within the given universe (a different meet-cute, or a different ending, for example). While I love angst, I don't love trauma, especially of the sexual variety. Not really into a lot of kink or graphic sex. Love friendship, team-building, friends-to-lovers, unrequited pining, requited pining that's more complicated than those involved want. Absolutely DNW rape/dub-con, sexual violence of any kind, body horror, A/B/O, or underage sex; because this is Stephen King, I feel the need to add that while I accept these are horror stories, my personal preference is for creepy over horrific. I think even horror is best when it's about what's creeping under the bed versus having whatever it is chew up its victim in graphic detail.

And now....

( Prompts )

Sorry about the delay - it's been a time, y'all. I hope, dear writer, that you still get this!

I am THRILLED about this exchange. Stephen King is an old love, and while my fandoms here may seem fairly confined and my choices a little prosaic, I assure you, what I love about Stephen King fanfiction is the world-building possibilities, the chance we have to take his worlds and mess around in them. I hope you see the possibilities I do even in these rather mainstream preferences.

Some things about my likes/DNWs: I prefer angst over fluff, I like happy endings that come after struggle or discord as much as I love angsty cliffhangers that keep the work grounded in the fandom's reality. I love character studies and backstories. I love minor characters in fic, the chance to flesh out what we don't see on the page or screen. Not into pregnancy AU, high school or university AU, or modern AU. BUT I love canon-divergence or AUs within the given universe (a different meet-cute, or a different ending, for example). While I love angst, I don't love trauma, especially of the sexual variety. Not really into a lot of kink or graphic sex. Love friendship, team-building, friends-to-lovers, unrequited pining, requited pining that's more complicated than those involved want. Absolutely DNW non-canonical character death, rape/dub-con, sexual violence of any kind, body horror, A/B/O, or underage sex; because this is Stephen King, I feel the need to add that while I accept these are horror stories, my personal preference is for creepy over horrific. I think even horror is best when it's about what's creeping under the bed versus having whatever it is chew up its victim in graphic detail.

Without further ado, some prompts (which you are totally free to ignore if you already had an idea!), etc:

The Stand - Stephen King

I'm ironclad in shipping Stu and Frannie, but I like stories that explore Stu's pre-canon life including his ill-fated marriage. So go there if you want! In the Stu/Frannie realm, anything that explores falling in love, staying in love after the events of the novel, etc. would be cool. For Larry and Lucy, all the ways Larry chooses Lucy, over and over, are the best thing about them for me. From their first time until Larry leaves, or bring Larry home and let it keep going. Lucy's reasons for choosing Larry, too.

From a friendship/platonic standpoint, Fran and Lucy interest me greatly. They don't truly interact in the novel - I'd like to see how they deal with being left behind, especially how they support one another and build on their very tentative connection. How does Fran, in particular, lead in Boulder from that point on? Does Lucy take Larry's place at all in the community? What would it look like if they're in charge?

I think that covers the 'ships. For any of the individual characters, I like seeing them pre-canon, in ways not revealed in the novel. What choices in their lives set them up to be in Boulder and not Vegas? What choices could they have made before that could send them on a different path? Do any of them cross paths with Flagg before they understand what he is? I would love to see Lucy Swann fleshed out considerably in this way.

As far as world-building, any and all plague stories are welcome, as are post-plague stories about characters we never meet. Are there communities of any kind that form outside of the Vegas/Boulder realm? What do they look like? Is there perhaps a community of kids somewhere - say, in the 11-13 age range - surviving despite the odds? The book tells us that Boulder continues to grow into winter. Who are the stragglers, and why are they so late to the game exactly? I'd be interested to know if anyone involved in the development of Captain Trips, or in deploying it to other countries, ends up in Vegas or Boulder. Also, what does the plague look like in other countries - is the devastation as total, and are there similar battles for the souls of survivors elsewhere? Link to other King stories or not at will.

IT - Stephen King

Probably no secret if you're familiar with my own work, but I do love stories about the Losers as teenagers, as they forget and move away. I like Beverly paired with Richie, during this time period or even later on as adults, while they don't remember or even after they do. High school stories for any of the Losers, with the imprint of It still evident in their lives, totally up my alley. I'd like to see Richie, Stan, and Bill hanging out - more Stan, period, before fear takes him. I feel like the Losers wouldn't lose touch altogether overnight, but would group together for a time before leaving Derry in various combinations. What does that one look like?

AUs that meld IT with other King works are fun, by the way, and I'm always interested in seeing what the Losers, survivors of a pretty terrible evil, do when faced with Randall Flagg.

So to that point.....

Crossover Fandoms

Two things that caught my attention: Larry Underwood and Richie Tozier, or Bev Marsh and Dayna Jurgens.

Let's say up-and-coming rock sensation Larry Underwood is on Richie Tozier's radio show one day. What happens? How does it harken back to Richie's experiences, or foreshadow Larry's? Maybe they meet later on, and Richie's the person who actually connects post-Captain Trips Larry with rock star Larry. Or, Richie is at Larry's party in L.A., and maybe has an encounter with It while high.

For Bev and Dayna, why not have a very uncertain Beverly arrive in Boulder and be taken under Dayna's wing? I don't think I'd 'ship them, but I could see a friendship develop over similar pasts. Or, pre-The Stand, Dayna Jurgens is an intern at Bev's company, or their paths cross another way. Dayna as a little girl in Derry who encounters It before the Losers come back, survives, and has a connection of some kind with Mike Hanlon that leads to her inclusion in the big fight, and Bev later "adopts" her. I'm game for pretty much anything here, though - let them flirt with the dark side, or share an aversion to it, you pick. One more idea - play with the timelines so Bev and Dayna are in college together, and someone has an Ouija board in the style of Nadine's dorm mates. What happens?