once_upon_fic | TAKEN Pinch Hit #4

Hey, everyone, it's Pinch Hit #4!

Comment with your username to claim, responses are screened

This one is another unique request for anyone who wants to try their hands at American Tall Tales!

Fandoms:

Stingy Jack | Origin of the Jack-o'-Lantern
John Henry
Pecos Bill and Slue-Foot Sue
Paul Bunyan

ALL SOURCES FOUND ON THIS SPREADSHEET

Requests:

Request 1 by lalalalalawhy
Fandom:Stingy Jack | Origin of the Jack-o'-Lantern (Folklore)

Tags:

Stingy Jack | Jack of the Lantern (Stingy Jack | Origin of the Jack-o'-Lantern) Devil (Stingy Jack | Origin of the Jack-o'-Lantern)
Summary

Holy cow, this story! What audacity, to drink with the devil, then trick him several times? What kind of a man (or person) would do that? Tell me more about Jack, and about his dealings and relationship with the devil. Did they know each other personally? Or were they two strangers, one of whom happened to be the devil? Is there a love story there, or a story of playing cards and cheating, or something else? Tell me about Jack after death and what it's like to find your own hell, or whatever comes next.

URL: http://lalalalalawhy.livejournal.com/1565.html

Request 2 by lalalalalawhy
Fandom:John Henry (American Tall Tale)

Tags:

John Henry (John Henry)

Summary:

This is such an amazing story, and there's so much heart in the telling.

How about a straight up retelling with more of a focus on the characters? Could John Henry and the salesman have crossed paths before? Maybe everyone only thinks John Henry died... did he fake his own death to move west with his love and live out his days in peace and quiet on his own farm? What was his life like before the contest?

Or, hear me out: Modern man vs machine AU. Does John Henry work in auto manufacturing? Is he the best programmer in the world? Does he come up against an AI in an epic game of Go? John Henry, Hacktivist?

Rosie the Riveter didn't make it in this year's tag set, so this is obviously optional, but... John Henry/Rosie the Riveter crossover. Could she do battle with an immortal John Henry? Is Rosie really a reincarnation/descendent of John Henry?

URL: http://lalalalalawhy.livejournal.com/1565.html

Request 3 by lalalalalawhy
Fandom:Pecos Bill and Slue Foot Sue (American Tall Tale)

Tags:

Slue Foot Sue (Pecos Bill and Slue Foot Sue) Pecos Bill (Pecos Bill and Slue Foot Sue)
Summary

I love this story (they're my Tall Tale OTP), but I've been disappointed with so many retellings. Sue just gets such a lame ending! Plus, how much do we really know about Sue and Pecos Bill? Not much. Can you flesh that out for me? Pecos Bill can ride a tornado, Slue-foot Sue can ride a catfish in the Rio Grande. They've got to have an amazing courtship.

Plus, check it out: cowboys were largely black and latino in real life, and Sue was riding in the Rio Grande, literally the border to Mexico. If you could inject some diversity into this story, I would love you forever.

URL: http://lalalalalawhy.livejournal.com/1565.html

Request 4 by lalalalalawhy
Fandom:Paul Bunyan (American Tall Tale)

Tags:

Any Character

Summary:

They say Paul Bunyan was tall, or was he a giant? He had a blue ox that he named Babe.

So, tell me a Paul Bunyan story. It doesn't matter when it happens, and it doesn't matter if you adapt an existing one (flapjacks? the winter of the blue snow?) or if you make up a totally new one. Did he fall in love once, perhaps with a giant person? Or a regular sized person? Or Big Joe Mufferaw? Or maybe he ran away with John Henry and they live together and are very happy?

Is... is he fighting climate change somehow? Is he in space? Go nuts!

URL: http://lalalalalawhy.livejournal.com/1565.html