hernameinthesky

I’m happy for you to write about any of the characters in any combination for these songs, nominated or not. You can call the “August narrator” anything you like, I’ve called her August here for convenience. I’d really love if James was a girl, but I’m happy with a boy if you prefer. 

These three song are definitely my most played from folklore. I love that it’s a story from three perspectives, none able to give the full story, and I’d love something that explores that further. I’m also interested in the characters as individuals, so if you want to focus on one (or more) of them outside of the problems in the songs, that’s fine.

cardigan - It gives the impression Betty and James have known each other a really long time, so something set before the trouble would be interesting. Were they childhood sweethearts? Friends to lovers? Or did they meet recently, but connected really quickly? The line “leaving like a father” always leaves me wanting to know more about Betty’s background, why is James the only one who makes her feel worth something? Does this influence whether she takes James back? 

august - Intense, heady summer love! “Never have I ever before” - Is this James or August speaking? Why do they trust the other with it? What is August’s relationship to Betty? If she doesn’t know about Betty, could she and Betty bond over being hurt by James? (I’m definitely not against the two of them getting together!) It’s implied she doesn’t go to the same school and the “when you’re back at school” could suggest she’s older than the other two, which is an interesting angle. 

betty - James definitely seems the most childish of the bunch, but it changes a little if she’s a she. Betty dancing with a boy and having “stupid friends” takes on a different meaning. Boy or girl, is James aware of how much they hurt August? Does Betty take them back at the party?

What’s Inez’ role in all this. I don’t think she’s supposed to be the narrator of ‘august’, but could she be? Or is she an outsider and so the only one who knows the whole story?

I love that this song is about a loving, powerful sibling relationship. I don’t care about the age of the siblings, whether they’re birth siblings or adoptive siblings, whether they’re brother and sister or the same gender or a group of siblings, if the focus is on their relationship I will be thrilled!

The music video is awesome and magical, so if you want to expand on that world - the magic, who the kids are and why they’re being held captive, why the world seems to have been destroyed - that’d be really cool. Or a completely different fantasy world, maybe about a king or queen and their sibling the knight. Or modern AU where it’s metaphorical, and the kids are going through something. I don’t want RPF, but if you want to write a story about siblings being separated as the song is based on, that’s also great.

Hannah/Baker ticks so many boxes for me - friends-to-lovers, reckless loyalty, forgiveness, acceptance, puns! I’ll be thrilled with anything about their relationship, pre-book friendship, post-book established relationship, Baker’s perspective of things. Canon feels very complete to me though, so a complete AU would be fun. Historical AU, space AU, magical realism, fairytale AU, whatever you want!

Religion is obviously a huge part of the story, so I’m happy with that being included but I’d rather it not be the focus.

Moana
Characters: Maui
Specific DNWs for this fandom: A romantic relationship between Maui and Moana.

I love the mix of comedy and sentiment in this movie, and Maui’s story was so sad and sweet. All through the movie I expected his ending to be about accepting himself without his hook and maybe going on to live a normal human life, so I was disappointed when he was given his hook back, and would really like something that looks at the alternative. Does he go back with Moana? How does he cope without the ability to shape shift? I really like his friendship with Moana, so more of that would be awesome, whether hurt/comfort conversations about their struggles, or hijinks and adventures they go on. 

Alternatively, something about one of Maui’s adventures before the movie would also be cool. Stealing fire, lassoing the sun, all the other fun stuff talked about in ‘You’re Welcome’.

If you prefer AUs, I think celebrity AU would be great for Maui. Maybe he’s a a rockstar passed his prime and struggling because not many people remember him anymore, or he’s at the height of his career so why is he so lonely? Enter Moana, definitely not a fan, and an unlikely friendship blossoms.

folklore - Taylor Swift (Album)

Specific DNWs for this fandom: Fics based on ‘epiphany’ or ‘my tears ricochet’.

Folklore is my absolute favourite TS album. I love the themes throughout the album of loneliness and hope and always trying your best, as well as all the small character and location details woven through the songs. I’ve done prompts for each song because that seemed the easiest way, but I’d love crossovers between any of the songs. I don’t mind whether you write about named characters in the album or original characters inspired by the songs. If you write romance f/f is my preference, but I’m also happy with m/f and m/m.

the 1 - There are so many directions to go in with a whole song about ‘what ifs?’ and I’m really excited to see what you make of it.   

“You know the greatest films of all time were never made” “You know the greatest loves of all time are over now” - These lines intrigue me, what does the narrator mean by them? What does the “greatest loves” being over mean for her relationships now? After all she’s “having adventures on [her] own”. Or is it more literal, are the characters in the film industry and there was a particular film that wasn’t made?

“I persist and resist the temptation to ask you/If one thing had been different/would everything be different today?” - What one thing could have changed everything? If you’re into supernatural/fantasy, could the narrator actually find out with some kind of time travel or wish? 

cardigan - ‘cardigan’ gives the impression Betty and James have known each other a really long time, so something set before the trouble would be interesting. Were they childhood sweethearts? Friends to lovers? Or did they meet recently, but connected really quickly? The line “leaving like a father” always leaves me wanting to know more about Betty’s background, why is James the only one who makes her feel worth something? Does this influence whether she takes James back? 

TLGAD - I’d love something exploring the character of Rebekah. She seems so fun and loud, but probably unhappy - “Pacing the rocks, staring out at the midnight sea”. Does she regret her marriage? Is she lonely? Anything about her life, growing up or her relationship with Bill would be great. Bill dying is obviously a part of the song, but please don’t make that the focus. 

The narrator is also an interesting in the way she’s drawing parallels between herself and Rebekah. Why is she having a marvellous time ruining everything?   

exile - This is a gorgeous song and paints such a vivid picture of an on-again, off-again relationship. The narrators seem to be talking to each other after bumping into each other at an event, possibly for the first time since they broke up, so what happens next? Do they get back together or move on? Or something set before that while they’re together exploring why they break up.

“You’re not my homeland anymore” “You were my town” - Is this a metaphor for how close they were or are they from the same town and one or both of them have moved away? In the second chorus the woman changes “town” to “crown” and says she’s “not [his] problem anymore”, why the changes? Why was she a problem? It could link nicely to TLGAD, with the man being from a different social class. 

mirrorball - Mirrorball is a beautiful song, but without the clear storyline of some of the other songs, so really just go wherever you like with it. I really like the circus imagery and the focus of “when no one is around” the narrator is still trying hard to please people, like she can’t relax or, for a more positive spin, keeps trying even after she fails. 

seven - Child abuse or at least an unhappy childhood is implied here, but please don’t make that graphic. seven is just begging for a childhood sweetheart/friends-to-lovers fic. Maybe the narrator really does think the house is haunted, or maybe it actually is haunted. Or maybe the narrator is back in town as an adult and runs into their childhood friend, and they rekindle their old relationship. The “hiding in the closet” line really makes me want f/f for this song (or m/m if you prefer that), maybe the relationship didn’t work out when they were young because one or both weren’t ready to deal with their sexuality, but now they’re older they can work it out. The narrator seems to have issues too “I hit my peak at seven” and “I used to scream ferociously”, are they going back home to find closure? 

august - You can call the ‘august’ narrator anything you like, I’ve called her August here for convenience. I’d really love if James was a girl, but I’m happy with a boy if you prefer.  Intense, heady summer love! “Never have I ever before” - Is this James or August speaking? Why do they trust the other with it? What is August’s relationship to Betty? If she doesn’t know about Betty, could she and Betty bond over being hurt by James (I’m not against the two of them getting together!). It’s implied August doesn’t go to the same school, and “when you’re back at school” could suggest she’s older than the other two, which is an interesting angle.

this is me trying - I love the narrator in this song, who’s accepts that she’s messed up and is determined to make it right. I’m interested in the way the first verse ends “I’m here in your doorway” but by the second verse she’s “pouring out [her] heart to a stranger”. Does that mean she wasn’t forgiven?

TIMT links nicely with ‘seven’ or ‘mirrorball’ or even TLGAD.

illicit affairs - I’m really into the messy, complicated relationship of illicit affairs. Is it a case of cheating, or is there another reason for it to be kept secret? The line “Don’t call me “kid”, don’t call me “baby”” seem to suggest a relationship with someone older, and I really like that angle, but the narrator says they’re the one who will be ruined by it. Is that just emotional? Or is the narrator the one wanting to keep it a secret? Can the relationship survive once it goes public? Does the narrator even want it to or do they just want to move on? I don’t really mind the scenario, I just want conflicted characters making hard decisions! 

invisible string - My first thought on listening to this was soulmates AU! I really like fics that explore how soulmates could actually work in real life, as it’s unlikely that everyone would happen to meet their soulmate early in life or that everyone would have a romantic soulmate. Or a fic that doesn’t take it so literally and is more about finally accepting the bad in life because it’s brought you the good, which links nicely with pretty much every other song.

mad woman - The imagery in this song! Scorpion stings, claws coming out, breathing flames! I’d love something that takes that literally. Maybe she’s a witch or some kind of mythical creature, or cursed in some way to be a monster. In the bridge she talks about taking her time and her nemesis’ (ex-lover or something else?) wife, where does that go, is she waiting for the wife to go mad too? I’d still like at least a hopeful end for a fic based on this song, so maybe it can be combined with another like ‘invisible string’ which is more about moving on.

betty - James definitely seems the most childish character of the trio, but it changes a little if she’s a girl. Betty dancing with a boy and having “stupid friends” takes on a different meaning. Is James aware of how much August likes them? Does Betty take them back at the party? What’s Inez’ role in all this. I don’t think she’s supposed to be August, but could she be? Or is she an outsider and so the only one who knows the whole story?

peace - Everything about ‘peace’ makes me want high fantasy AU - “Your integrity makes me seem small/You paint dreamscapes on the wall/I talk shit with my friends, it's like I'm wasting your honor”. A King/Queen and their knight? Or if set in the modern day, his/her lover could be a painter? I like the idea of painting on the wall being literal. My favourite type of relationship is when each individual is inspired by the other to become a better person - braver, more honourable, finally going after their dreams - which fits exactly with ‘peace’, so anything that focuses on that will make me happy!

hoax - ‘hoax’ is one of my favourite songs from the album for all the beautiful metaphors, and there’s so many ways to go with it. Literally - Why has the narrator been pulled apart? Is she an android? Or is it some kind of magic? “My barren land” “My kingdom come undone” makes me think high fantasy again. The relationship described is interesting because the narrator has clearly been deeply hurt, but doesn’t seem to have left the other (yet?) - Don’t want no other shade of blue but you”. What happened and does the narrator forgive them? Why the emphasis on the colour blue, their lover’s eyes or something else?

the lakes - “I'm not cut out for all these cynical clones/These hunters with cell phones” this makes me desperately want sci-fi where the clones are real. Maybe a robot wants to experience nature that isn’t present in the techy society - “A red rose grew up out of ice frozen ground/With no one around to tweet it”. Does their “muse” agree to come with them?