The Flashfic Hub

That's it! Time to smash the ESP pendants, turn off the subetheric resonator and stuff the Pride bunting back in the drawer. We're all done with the Spectrum Challenge. Thank you to all those who played.

You can find the stories by clicking the challenge:spectrum tag. New challenge coming right up.

Challenge 4: Idfic

The definition of idfic is a slippery thing; it's all about pressing our buttons and channeling our dreams. Sometimes it's not even connected to a particular 'theme' or plot device, but just the way a story is able to tap into the reader's hindbrain and make all their secret fantasies come true!

As seasoned readers, we reckon there are a handful of buttons the Torchwood fandom seems to like to push in particular, and we've had a go at listing them below. In other fandoms, you might interpret some of these as 'crack' prompts or cliches, but in Torchwood I think we're all in agreement that just about anything goes. We potentially have all of time and space to play with after all, thanks to the Rift, the TARDIS and Jack's wriststrap.

And remember, idfic does not have to equal badfic. Cliches are cliches for a reason -- there's something about them that speaks to us and makes us yearn.

Our list of possible idfic prompts should give you at least one thing to sink your teeth into, but what you do with it beyond that is up to you -- whether you write a clever cliche parody, an utterly serious and compelling idfic, or bring something new to the table by turning the trope on its head.

• secret past


• unexpected separation


• genderswap / bodily transformation / de-ageing


• curtainfic / domesticity


• vampires, werewolves & angels, oh my!


• accidentally in love / marriage of convenience


• pon farr / aliens made them do it / sex pollen


• eternity / immortality / best friends forever


• romantic misunderstandings / clueless


• proposal / marriage / weddingfic


• kidfic / 'preg


• unrequited love


• gossip / overheard


• heartfelt declarations


• public displays of affection / caught in the act


• trapped in an inescapable situation (desert island, cave, prison, etc)

Got any more? Leave a comment and we'll add them.

You have two weeks to exorcise all your idfic longings -- this challenge will close Sunday 5th July. So get writing!

Please drop by and give us more prompt suggestions for future challenges. You can comment over on the prompt post.