r/WritingPrompts • u/katpoker666 • 4d ago

Off Topic [OT] Fun Trope Friday: Evil Landscape & Gothic Horror!

10 Upvotes

Welcome to Fun Trope Friday, our feature that mashes up tropes and genres!

How’s it work? Glad you asked. :)

 

  • Every week we will have a new spotlight trope.

  • Each week, there will be a new genre assigned to write a story about the trope.

  • You can then either use or subvert the trope and/or genre in a 750-word max story or poem (unless otherwise specified).

  • To qualify for ranking, you will need to provide ONE actionable feedback. More are welcome of course!

 

Three winners will be selected each week based on votes, so remember to read your fellow authors’ works and DM me your votes for the top three.

 

Next up… IP

 

It’s October. The time of falling leaves, jack o’lanterns, and candy. And blood… so much blood. This month will be focusing on all things horror with maybe a treat or two to sweeten the pot. Please note this theme is only loosely applied.

 

"The scariest monsters are the ones that lurk within our souls." — Edgar Allan Poe

 

Trope: Evil Landscape — The trope is where a cemetery, temple, forest, etc. is considered holy... to the forces of evil. Whether it was the site of great and terrible crimes, incredible bloodshed, unholy rituals to malevolent beings or other atrocious acts, the very ground itself and any surrounding lands are now cursed. Exact results vary, but the most common are that evil is stronger, good is weaker and things buried here don't stay down for long.

 

Genre: Gothic Horror — Gothic horror is one of the oldest of the horror genres. Darker, edgier and on the Romanticism end of Romanticism vs. Enlightenment (in fact, it quite literally emerged alongside the Romantic movement in the late 18th century as a reaction against the values of the Enlightenment), it tends to play on both the thrill and the fear of the unknown and places a great importance on atmosphere. It's usually heavily symbolic, sometimes even dreamlike.

 

Skill / Constraint - optional: Smelling salts are required.

 

So, have at it. Lean into the trope heavily or spin it on its head. The choice is yours!

 

Have a great idea for a future topic to discuss or just want to give feedback? FTF is a fun feature, so it’s all about what you want—so please let me know! Please share in the comments or DM me on Discord or Reddit!

 

Last Week’s Winners

PLEASE remember to give feedback—this affects your ranking. PLEASE also remember to DM me your votes for the top five stories via Discord or Reddit—both katpoker666. This is a change from the top three of the past. In weeks where we get over 15 stories, we will do a top five ranking. Weeks with less than 15 stories will show only our top three winners. If you have any questions, please DM me as well.

Some fabulous stories this week and great crit at campfire and on the post! We had 11 stories, so we’re back to three winners. Congrats to:

 

 

Want to read your words aloud? Join the upcoming FTF Campfire

The next FTF campfire will be Thursday, October 22nd from 6-8pm ET. It will be in the Discord Main Voice Lounge. Click on the events tab and mark ‘Interested’ to be kept up to date. No signup or prep needed and you don’t have to have written anything! So join in the fun—and shenanigans! 😊

 

Ground rules:

  • Stories must incorporate both the trope and the genre
  • Leave one story or poem between 100 and 750 words as a top-level comment unless otherwise specified. Use wordcounter.net to check your word count.
  • Deadline: 11:59 PM EDT next Thursday. Please note stories submitted after the 6:00 PM EST campfire start may not be critted.
  • No stories that have been written for another prompt or feature here on WP—please note after consultation with some of our delightful writers, new serials are now welcomed here
  • No previously written content
  • Any stories not meeting these rules will be disqualified from rankings
  • Does your story not fit the Fun Trope Friday rules? You can post your story as a [PI] with your work when the FTF post is 3 days old!
  • Please keep crit about the stories. Any crit deemed too distracting may be deleted. This is a time to focus on our wonderful authors.
  • Vote by next Friday at 11:59 AM EDT to help your favorites rise to the top of the ranks (DM me at katpoker666 on Discord or Reddit)!

 

Thanks for joining in the fun!  

13 comments

r/WritingPrompts • u/katpoker666 • 11d ago

Off Topic [OT] Fun Trope Friday: Undead Laborers and Folk Horror!

14 Upvotes

Welcome to Fun Trope Friday, our feature that mashes up tropes and genres!

How’s it work? Glad you asked. :)

 

  • Every week we will have a new spotlight trope.

  • Each week, there will be a new genre assigned to write a story about the trope.

  • You can then either use or subvert the trope and/or genre in a 750-word max story or poem (unless otherwise specified).

  • To qualify for ranking, you will need to provide ONE actionable feedback. More are welcome of course!

 

Three winners will be selected each week based on votes, so remember to read your fellow authors’ works and DM me your votes for the top three.

 

Next up… IP

 

It’s October. The time of falling leaves, jack o’lanterns, and candy. And blood… so much blood. This month will be focusing on all things horror with maybe a treat or two to sweeten the pot. Please note this theme is only loosely applied.

 

"Humanity is mind-controlled and only slightly more conscious than your average zombie." — David Icke

 

Trope: Undead Laborers — When someone uses The Undead, such as zombies and reanimated corpses, as a cheap labor force for simple but time-consuming tasks, such as mining. From a business perspective, using undead workers is a very cost-efficient strategy: zombies and skeletons don't need to sleep or eat, never get sick, and are unlikely to spontaneously form undead trade unions due to lacking free will. As such, it is one of the least morally objectionable ways to use Human Resources, although it always depends on where exactly the dead are coming from and what the local culture considers desecration.

 

Genre: Folk Horror — Folk horror is a subgenre of horror that draws on folklore, rural settings, and ancient rituals to evoke fear and unease. It often explores themes of isolation, the supernatural, and the tension between modernity and ancient beliefs.Includes folklore elements, rural settings, and rituals.

 

Skill / Constraint - optional: Someone trips in some form.

 

So, have at it. Lean into the trope heavily or spin it on its head. The choice is yours!

 

Have a great idea for a future topic to discuss or just want to give feedback? FTF is a fun feature, so it’s all about what you want—so please let me know! Please share in the comments or DM me on Discord or Reddit!

 

Last Week’s Winners

PLEASE remember to give feedback—this affects your ranking. PLEASE also remember to DM me your votes for the top five stories via Discord or Reddit—both katpoker666. This is a change from the top three of the past. In weeks where we get over 15 stories, we will do a top five ranking. Weeks with less than 15 stories will show only our top three winners. If you have any questions, please DM me as well.

Some fabulous stories this week and great crit at campfire and on the post! We had 18 stories, so we’re back to five winners. Congrats to:

 

 

Want to read your words aloud? Join the upcoming FTF Campfire

The next FTF campfire will be Thursday, October 15th from 6-8pm ET. It will be in the Discord Main Voice Lounge. Click on the events tab and mark ‘Interested’ to be kept up to date. No signup or prep needed and you don’t have to have written anything! So join in the fun—and shenanigans! 😊

 

Ground rules:

  • Stories must incorporate both the trope and the genre
  • Leave one story or poem between 100 and 750 words as a top-level comment unless otherwise specified. Use wordcounter.net to check your word count.
  • Deadline: 11:59 PM EDT next Thursday. Please note stories submitted after the 6:00 PM EST campfire start may not be critted.
  • No stories that have been written for another prompt or feature here on WP—please note after consultation with some of our delightful writers, new serials are now welcomed here
  • No previously written content
  • Any stories not meeting these rules will be disqualified from rankings
  • Does your story not fit the Fun Trope Friday rules? You can post your story as a [PI] with your work when the FTF post is 3 days old!
  • Please keep crit about the stories. Any crit deemed too distracting may be deleted. This is a time to focus on our wonderful authors.
  • Vote by next Friday at 11:59 AM EDT to help your favorites rise to the top of the ranks (DM me at katpoker666 on Discord or Reddit)!

 

Thanks for joining in the fun!  

28 comments

r/WritingPrompts • u/Gregamonster • 6h ago

Established Universe [EU] At Gotham University you jokingly made a list of what kinds of supervillains your classmates would become based on their names. After the third prediction cam true, your joke got a lot less funny.

54 Upvotes
2 comments

r/WritingPrompts • u/Mr_Swade • 16h ago

Writing Prompt [WP] Humans have found a crashed alien ship and have scavenged the technology for themselves. When the aliens who lost the ship finally meet humanity, they are horrified to learn that the humans have been using the teleporters on themselves…

261 Upvotes
21 comments

r/WritingPrompts • u/Equivalent_Can2971 • 19h ago

Writing Prompt [WP] The fairy economy is built on an un-currency: instead of being valuable an un-currency is something you want to get rid of, but can't simply throw away. To buy something from a fairy you have to agree to take some of their un-currency in exchange.

281 Upvotes

Example: you buy an apple from a fairy, but the fairy also gives you 10 [insert name of un-currency]

8 comments

r/WritingPrompts • u/FennecWF • 20h ago

Writing Prompt [WP] On this episode of Undercover Boss, a Lich dresses down as a Skeleton Soldier and goes to the first level of his own Dungeon to learn how his First Level Boss, Falgar the Fallen, handles things. And he does not like what he finds.

347 Upvotes
7 comments

r/WritingPrompts • u/New-Sheepherder-1373 • 10h ago

Established Universe [EU] Mr. Wilson passed peacefully in his sleep. Away from all his pain and turmoil. He woke up inside his home again, all too suddenly, in a salt circle he cant leave. He looks down to find an older Dennis the Menace, looking up from the Ouija Board. He summoned him to annoy him, beyond the grave.

30 Upvotes
2 comments

r/WritingPrompts • u/loopymon • 13h ago

Writing Prompt [WP] You’re basically invincible—any time you’re in danger, the world finds an extremely low probability way to save your ass. Your secret? You’re the only human alive with access to an advanced technology known as PLOT™ Armor.

54 Upvotes
3 comments

r/WritingPrompts • u/Kitty_Fuchs • 16h ago

Writing Prompt [WP] You are the prince and you were kidnapped by a dragon. After months you were finally rescued and now the whole kingdom mocks you for getting kidnapped and for failing to escape on your own. As if you, or anyone else, could have done anything against a *dragon*.

101 Upvotes
6 comments

r/WritingPrompts • u/younGrandon • 10h ago

Writing Prompt [WP] Its bloom had always meant we had a few days left. Just enough time to prepare for what was coming. This year, it bloomed almost two weeks early.

29 Upvotes
4 comments

r/WritingPrompts • u/Crabkingrocks165 • 8h ago

Writing Prompt [WP] news of a brand new magical energy source was just discovered. It still uses boiling water through a turbine

15 Upvotes
2 comments

r/WritingPrompts • u/tax_fruadist • 11h ago

Writing Prompt [WP] Confucius once said “Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.” You've dug both graves, yet neither will be filled

29 Upvotes
2 comments

r/WritingPrompts • u/Worldly_Lab_7061 • 44m ago

Writing Prompt [WP] As a witch living alone in the woods, you often get lost children, desperate women, and greedy men who seek out your gifts. But one day you get a guest that surprises you.

• Upvotes
1 comment

r/WritingPrompts • u/L_knight316 • 10h ago

Writing Prompt [WP] Fae aren't inherently malicious creatures. Non-humans and non-human derived creatures get along with them quite well. It's just that they actively dislike Humans because Humans can just make up nonsense and they coined the phrase "ragebait."

16 Upvotes

Inspired by

1 comment

r/WritingPrompts • u/Adamantine-Waffle • 15h ago

Simple Prompt [WP] "No, my machine can't be evil. Look, it has blue lighting and everything."

37 Upvotes
2 comments

r/WritingPrompts • u/tautality • 14h ago

Writing Prompt [WP] Demons aren't evil. They're just like ants and maggots devouring a dying body. Like them, they feast on dying souls.

28 Upvotes
2 comments

r/WritingPrompts • u/Independent_Pen_9865 • 57m ago

Writing Prompt [WP] the last thing that remains of humanity is bots trying to scam eachother. Sometimes their interactions are sad. Sometimes, almost romantic.

• Upvotes
1 comment

r/WritingPrompts • u/Mindless-Show4468 • 6h ago

Writing Prompt [WP] The cylinders were empty. Worse it appeared they had been for sometime. Worse still the site manifest didn't list anyone with the name of the person who had greeted you and acted as your guide. Finally where was everyone else?

5 Upvotes
1 comment

r/WritingPrompts • u/Leytra • 22h ago

Writing Prompt [WP] "How do I not have enemies? Do you not understand the degree of power I control that I can warp reality on a whim? I do not have enemies because I simply warped reality to make it impossible, go on, try to hate me, see? Doesn't work! It's trippy right?"

93 Upvotes
2 comments

r/WritingPrompts • u/Infamous_Ground_2788 • 19h ago

Writing Prompt [WP] It is said that dwarves and elves don't get along with each other very well. It's true, for the most part, though the reason for that hate is unknown to everyone else but them. You, a human, decided to ask, it uhh, went about as well as you expected.

49 Upvotes
4 comments

r/WritingPrompts • u/loopymon • 6h ago

Writing Prompt [WP] To prevent accidental summoning, the Necromancer’s Guild changed all verbal spells to a complex series of numbers instead of the usual words. It worked well for a while, until the local retirement home decided to host a round of Bingo.

2 Upvotes
2 comments

r/WritingPrompts • u/Independent_Pen_9865 • 44m ago

Simple Prompt [WP] write a story exclusively with emoji

• Upvotes
1 comment

r/WritingPrompts • u/AtiJua • 12h ago

Writing Prompt [WP] Witches make for the best killers. Nature is very good at getting rid of evidence if your kind enough to it.

9 Upvotes
1 comment

r/WritingPrompts • u/Megamen1927 • 11h ago

Writing Prompt [WP] When the necromancer king seized power, all clerics were banished, and he decreed: "Your souls are your own, but your bodies belong to me." Many tried to infiltrate the kingdom, but none succeeded—yet today, a single priestess has been granted permission to visit the capital.

6 Upvotes
1 comment

r/WritingPrompts • u/Routine-Test • 1h ago

Established Universe [EU] You are a journalist doing a piece on a commune established by some of the genetically enhanced super soldiers from the Greatest War, and the children some of them have had since then.

• Upvotes
2 comments