Summer of Horror Exchange 2022

[mayfic]

Hi author/artist! Thanks for creating something for me. Hopefully this letter will be helpful to you. I'll give you some prompts and tell you some stuff about what I like about my fandoms and also some various horror tropes I like. Starting with general stuff: Also, I am very much open to treats if I'm not your recip and you find any of my requests interesting. C:

Likes:

Hurt/comfort
Missing scenes
Xeno
Lore
Cold weather trappings like sharp, cold air, rain, fog, wind, clouds and snow
Rain in general, including storms. Also, the sea.
Sensory detail
Atmosphere
Fashion porn
Animals
Food porn
Scenery porn
Casefic
Mysteries

DNW:

Scat
Watersports
Babies
Pokemon harm or death

• 1. Pokemon Anime
  
  Characters/Pairings: Ash, Goh, Dawn, Chloe, Ash & Goh, Ash & Dawn, Ash & Pikachu, Chloe & Dawn, Jessie & James, Meowth & Bonnie
  
  Supernatural Horror, Folk Horror, Comedy Horror, Cosmic Horror
  
  General Likes: Pokemon has a bunch of potential for spookiness and mystery, whether you go for actual pokemon (ghost type pokemon are a clear choice, here, although there are other pokemon that can be quite spooky, too) or you opt for real ghosts, which do exist all across the pokemon world, including in the anime. There's also a kind of spirit world that has fully been opened up at least twice. For pokemon, there's a lot of creepy pokedex entries that might provide some inspiration, Bulbapedia and Serebii both have them for all pokemon. For Pokemon in general, I love the friendships and the lore and, of course, the pokemon themselves. There's also at least a couple of spooky episodes per season. My favourites are Ghoul Daze (Sinnoh), Scary Hospitality (Kalos), Scare at the Litwick Mansion (Unova) and A Haunted House for Everyone (Alola).
  
  Ash, Goh, Dawn, Chloe, Ash & Goh, Ash & Dawn, Ash & Pikachu, Chloe & Dawn:
  
  Supernatural Horror:
  
  • For these kids, I'd like to see any combination of them in a haunted locale of some kind. I'm big fan of haunted houses and of ghost stories in general. Maybe they can be in a house, but maybe it's some ruins or a forest or something. Don't feel limited to Kanto or Sinnoh, feel free to go to any region you like. Make up your own haunted space if you like!
  • For ghost stories, I really like a slow build-up of creepiness, things appearing in the corner of the eye, weird noises and the like. For art, this could be a sense of atmosphere with shadows and things lurking in the darkness, ghostly hands on shoulders and stuff.
  • It can just be a ghost pokemon who wants to make friends or it can be an actual ghost who wants to take our heroes to the spirit world. Or vice versa.
  • Or they can actually get sucked into the spirit world and everything can be weird and creepy and kinda dreamy and maybe it tries to con them into thinking it's the real world or it summons up their worst nightmares or something.
  • Possession is great, too. Ash has been possessed at least twice, so maybe he can be possessed again!
  • I picked these characters because I would like to see the combination of the more reticent Goh and Chloe combined with the more gung-ho Ash and Dawn.
  • I chose my favourite ships above if you feel like being shippy (except Ash & Pikachu, that I chose because if Ash is there, Pikachu will be there, too) although any combination of these four is great.
  Folk Horror:
  
  • I feel like there's a lot of room for this in Pokemon lore; perhaps there's a local legend to do with either a pokemon or a ghost. I also think that some of the non-deity legendary Pokemon would make for interesting folklore for some places.
  • Maybe they end up in a creepy town and come face to face with a local myth. Perhaps there's a degree of worship afforded to this thing plus some rituals or something. Maybe even an attempted sacrifice?
  Cosmic Horror:
  
  • There are a whole bunch of more deific pokemon, so perhaps something on how unknowable they really are. Perhaps the Arceus that we see in the games and the anime isn't quite its regular form and what it really looks like is so alien and incomprehensible, it can't be managed by normal human minds?
  • Something is giving one or more of the kids weird, weird dreams. What if Ash (because it would be Ash, lbr) becomes a target for this thing and it impacts him physically and mentally somehow?
  • Maybe they find something while out exploring, and wake something up.
  • There are portals to other universes in the Pokemon world, plus the void in between.
  • What if Chloe decides her goal is actually to research things Man Was Not Meant To Know and she finds out about those things. What if this leads to Eevee having some kind of weird evolution that can only be accessed by a trainer communing with elder Gods?
  
  Jessie & James:
  
   Supernatural Horror, Folk Horror, Cosmic Horror
  
  • Pretty much the same prompts as above! I think those things can go for these two as well.
  • The Unova episode I referenced above has their energy drained by Litwick, so something like that would be fun to see again.
  • Of course I ship them if you would like to do that.
  
  Meowth & Bonnie:
  
  Comedy Horror:
  
  • I really enjoy the episode ('So You're Having A Bad Day') where Meowth and Bonnie get tied together with some vines and are forced to work together in order to separate themselves. Their interactions are really funny. I also really love how much Bonnie loves ghosts and all things spooky, so it would be really fun if the two of them get trapped together in a haunted place and have to work together to get out. Bonnie would love all of the ghosts, whereas Meowth would be terrified and trying to pretend he's not.
  
  Fandom Specific DNWs: Romantic Ash/Pikachu or Meowth/Bonnie.
  
  
  2. The Cat Lady
  
  Characters/Pairings: Susan Ashworth, Mitzy Hunt, Queen of Maggots, Susan & Mitzy, Susan & the Queen of Maggots.
  
  Horror Genres: Psychological Horror, Killer Horror, Supernatural Horror, Cosmic Horror
  
  General Notes: This is one of my favourite horror games. It's got a lot of atmosphere and I love Susan's journey as she goes from being a suicidal depressive to being able to live her life. I love the main friendship between Mitzy and Susan, and whatever is going on with the Queen of Maggots. Each of the places Susan ends up in is so creepy and atmospheric in different ways and I loved replaying the game so that I could explore them over and over again. Susan's journey is also very emotional, especially as we find out more about her past.
  • I'd love to see something set midgame after Mitzy has moved into Susan's flat. Perhaps something to do with the contrast between how lonely Susan's life was before and how it is with somebody living with her, now. One aspect of horror I often like to see that I feel is quite relevant with this game is the idea of small areas of comfort in a horrifying world. There are so many things in the shadows outside of their friendship, waiting to get them.
  • I'd love to see Susan and/or Mitzy dealing with some scary thing that's edged into their lives, again. Perhaps it's another parasite, perhaps it's something all the more supernatural.
  • In terms of endings or anything, either the true ending (Susan lives, Mitzy dies) or the golden ending (both Susan and Mitzy live) is fine, but I'd like Susan to survive.
  • Something to do with the Queen of Maggots would be cool; she says she's dead, not god or death, but what is she, exactly? She's clearly some kind of psychopomp but, beyond that, the game is vague. Perhaps she is just somebody who took up the mantel when she died, or maybe she's some kind of cosmic nightmare that takes a human form to greet the recently deceased.
  • Shipping either of the above pairings is fine (I'd be interested to see what you can do with Susan and the Queen of Maggots), but gen is good for this, too.
  • For art, one thing I like about the game is the way that colour is used. There's a lot of black and white when Susan is alone and scared, except for bright red, especially in the chapter with the pest control man. There's more colour later on as Susan is working through her depression, but the overall colour pallet is quite subdued.
  Fandom Specific DNWs: Please no permanent killing off of Susan, and no reference to the Downfall remake or Loralei, as I haven't played those yet.
  
  
  3. Stardew Valley
  
  Characters/Pairings: Abigail, Sebastian, Leah
  
  Supernatural Horror, Cosmic Horror, Folk Horror
  
  General Notes: Stardew Valley is a cute game but there's this whole underground of weird caverns full of strange creatures, plus a witch and a wizard and void chickens. I feel like there's some room for horror here in this sweet little town.
  
  Supernatural Horror: 
  
  • Perhaps there's something haunting the mines. Maybe a lot of people have gone down there and haven't come back up again.
  • Or maybe it's a house. The farm was previously empty and overrun, after all. And more people might have lived there before the player's Grandfather.
  • For haunted stuff, I like a creeping horror, things not being quite right, strange presences and the like.
  Cosmic Horror:
  
  • There is something deeply, deeply wrong deep in those mines. Perhaps something gets uncovered, perhaps something gets woken up. Abigail does love her gems, after all. Maybe she gets a little too overzealous in her adventuring. Maybe there's a reason that Skull Cavern doesn't have lifts.
  • Somebody goes down into the mines and...brings something back with them. Inside them. Something vast and unknowable. Maybe this involves some body horror?
  • Maybe one of the characters gets super obsessed with a weird book or some old statues they dug up or something.
  Folk Horror:
  
  • Pelican Town seems quite ripe for this. It's a small, insular town in the countryside, there's a bunch of yearly customs (maybe even some the player doesn't know about? Some that take place between 2 am and 6 am maybe). What if they're trying to placate something? What if they fail to one year and things go a little more wrong than the occasional void chicken.

Okay, I hope you've found something inspiring there and I hope you have a ton of fun making something for me. Thanks!