This is Rachel. I’ve been getting lots of asks recently about updating/accepting new members for this blog. I’ve been really busy and really behind, so don’t take it personally! I’ll get on adding all the new people asap and I may be closing applications for awhile until I get caught up. ❤️ Thanks!
So I know I already made a post about this a while ago, but just letting everyone know again! Right now, our members page looks something like this. I don’t know why, but lots of icons have disappeared. Check the member page out here and see whether you are satisfied with your icon/description/url. Submit any changes you want made. Thank you :)x
Hey everyone! Hope you have all heard of the DPS Freestyle Swim, a fandom fanwork challenge that’s being held right now! If you’ve missed the information, don’t worry, it’s right here!
After you fill out the participant survey, you can create some prompts! Prompts can take any form you want, here are some ideas!
traditional text prompts
AU ideas
picture prompts
lyrics that could inspire fanwork
half of a story that someone can finish
a story that someone to create a playlist for
literally whatever you think could potentially inspire fanwork
look for prompts in the #dps freestyle swim tag, or in the masterpost here :) The masterpost has been updated to the best of my ability, but if you posted your prompts without tagging them with #dps freestyle swim or #dead poets society, I probably missed them. If you can’t find your prompts on the masterpost, feel free to let me know by sending me a link to your prompt(s)!
☼ A Collaborative and Flexible Dead Poets Society Fanworks Challenge ☼
Find challenge details here, and look for prompts below the cut. I will try to keep this post updated as often as possible!
Prompt by thehcandersen
Dance party!
Any/all pairings platonic or romantic are welcome.
I want to leave this pretty open, but here are a couple suggestions if that is helpful to anyone:
1) One of the poets needs some cheering up, and a dance party is an attempt to make that happen. (Could or could not work)
2) Steven and Gerard, after having their own dance party when they get their radio working, get the rest of the poets in on it as well.
3) Any and everything else you could possibly come up with.
Prompt by thehcandersen
Fairy Tale AU!
Any/every fairy tale! (Although, as my url suggests, I am quite partial to Hans Chrisitan Andersen fairy tales. That’s just me though. Go with whatever your heart desires.)
As with my previous prompt, I’m not going to specify a pairing.
Prompt by dontchasethesheep
Any/all/no pairings. AU. Based on Will Ferrell movie of the same name.
The main plot follows Neil Perry, who begins hearing a disembodied voice narrating his life as it happens. Unfortunately, this omniscient voice states that he will soon die, leading to his frantic search to find the writer and prevent that ending.
*feel free to switch up the characters if you use this prompt. Neil doesn’t have to be the main character, I just thought it worked well :)
Prompt by pansexualarchie
Honestly, this prompt just hit me like a ton of bricks.
Seeing as the fourth of July is coming up soon, I’d really like to see our favorite poets’ misadventures using fireworks.
Something also to think about: our favorite poets’ misadventures using illegalfireworks.
(Use or don’t use whatever characters and whatever pairings you want! Also, whatever AUs you want to tack onto this are fine, seeing as there’s little to no chance of this happening in canon, haha.)
Prompt by dontchasethesheep
So this is something I actually heard a real person say completely unironically: “I’m into dubstuff: dub step without the step. And the deep part of deep house. Like… deep heart.” Do with that as you will.
Prompt by dontchasethesheep
Something to do with middle names. We only have middle initials in canon, and only for some characters. Let’s talk about stories behind the name, embarrassing names, names that are wildly out of character, or anything else you can think of!
Prompt by dontchasethesheep
And of course, because I always prompt this: cuddling!!!!!! Platonic or not I’m partial to platonic cuddling… Hugs, hand holding, hair stroking, forehead kisses, kisses everywhere… Celebratory cuddling, comfort cuddling, sleepy cuddling, movie cuddling…
Prompt by always-emrys
Deadly disease AU
Any and all characters/ships welcome :)
In a most likely modern or post modern setting, there’s an airborne, lethal contagion plaguing wherever the boys are living. How do they survive? Do they die? Do they quarantine with each other? Is there frightened cuddles? Have fun dps nerds
Prompt by pansexualarchie
Who’s ready for a really self-indulgent prompt? Me! (mostly because I’m the one doing the self-indulging)
How about some snapshots into the dead poets’ younger years? Like, pre-movie.
I’m kind of hoping for some non au stuff, but if you wanna write some au stuff with this prompt that’s totally fine too.
Some stuff that ties in with the movie would be cool too, like, how exactly did Cameron initially gain the reputation of being “born with his foot in his mouth”? Or, in what ways previous to what we see in the movie has Mr. Perry made efforts at controlling Neil’s life? (Those two things are just suggestions, I’m really looking forward to what you guys will think up!)
(I’m also kind of hoping for some middle school aged Charlie and Steven with cute crushes on each other to be honest)
Prompt by soccer-has-dominated-my-life
AU where Ginny can’t get any sleep because one of her neighbors keeps mowing their lawn at 2am so she figures out who it is and then conflicts them a couple weeks later when she becomes too sleep deprived to function. She goes off full steam on the tall stranger and all Pitts can say is, “I’m just trying to be eco-friendly.”
Prompt by soccer-has-dominated-my-life
AU where Todd is a tutor at Welton for literature/english that loves to read when he doesn’t have anyone to help. Then he starts doing sessions with soccer star Neil Perry, who is actually excellent at english but wants an excuse to get close with the quiet kid in his class. (they celebrate over ‘improved’ scores and maybe Neil shares his poetry with Todd?)
Prompt by soccer-has-dominated-my-life
DPS college AU featuring tropes like:
Being in the same orientation group and becoming friends later on
My roommate is kind of hot?
I think my RA is a bit too into floor bonding.
I honestly can’t stand my roommate’s sleeping habits. Who does homework at 4am?
The person I hooked up with last night is actually in my favorite class and sits right in front of me omg.
Are you using this book because I didn’t bother buying a 90 dollar one through the bookstore.
Prompt by soccer-has-dominated-my-life
AU where Chris Noel moves during the summer to a little suburban one-story house after she graduates college and is surprised by the heat wave that accompanies her move. Still, she’s not going to let that deter her from sprucing up her house so she ends up doing a lot of her housework/gardening in a bathing suit and her new neighbor Ginny can’t help but take notice
Prompt by thehcandersen
Summer camp!
The Poets as campers or counselors! Sleepaway camp or day camp! Whatever camp scenario you want!
Any/all characters and pairings welcome!
Prompt by phonecallfromgod
Gerard Pitts is New York’s most sought after wedding planner and the mega-rich Dalton’s and Anderson’s get intense competing for dream weddings on the same weekend.
Prompt by phonecallfromgod
Todd Anderson Vs. The World (aka the Scott Pilgrim AU everyone has been dying for)
Prompt by phonecallfromgod
The 7 Poets as the 7 Deadly Sins and/or 7 Virtues
Prompt by becketbabes
give me a story about swim star charlie dalton who thinks he’s all that until this ridiculous guy with ridiculous hair that barely fits under his swim cap (steven meeks, y’all) starts challenging him to, like, swim duels, idk, just give me dead poets on swim team honestly
Prompt by becketbabes
i just want to know all about the dps kids getting their first apartment/s and rooming together and the adventures therein, platonic, romantic, i don’t care, just give me cute shenanigans
Prompt by thehcandersen
Live theater!
Play or musical or ballet!
Some/any/all characters performing in/doing behind the scenes work for said live theater event!
Any characters and or pairings!
I’d just really love to see any/all ballet AUs that people come up with (especially if Todd is prominent or heavily involved), but I want to leave this open to other kinds of live theater as well!
Prompt by soccer-has-dominated-my-life
AU where Neil and Charlie are in the hospital getting glass removed and some stitches because they both got in bar fights. While they’re trading stories about how they got their asses handed to them, Cameron is just in the corner of the room going, “It’s not that impressive, Dalton.”
Prompt by soccer-has-dominated-my-life
AU where Charlie crashes Gerard and Ginny’s wedding because he has nothing better to do on a Saturday night and Pitts’s best friend/best man Meeks is super suspicious, following him around and getting on his ass a bit about how he knows the bride/groom. But Charlie gets him a drink at the open bar and they end up (dirty) dancing all night
Prompt by soccer-has-dominated-my-life
Outsiders type AU where Neil, Cameron, Charlie, and Knox are Socs
Neil’s father is overbearing and Neil just goes to class and gets good grades and does his best to ignore the overwhelming pressure his family puts on him. All the while he’s trying to deal with his sexuality and how blatantly rude some of his friends can be to the poorer kids in his school (which he can empathize with because his family can barely afford their luxurious lifestyle)
Charlie’s parents don’t care much for him and let him stay out till all hours and go wherever he pleases. Their only request is that he doesn’t get any blood on the carpet when he comes back home after fights (which he used to do to try to get their attention). His parents want him to be a banker when he’s older and he avoids conversations about it or his reality by doing hardcore drugs (hallucinogenics, cocaine, etc.) in the school bathroom and the evening.
Knox is content enough to become a lawyer one day, especially since he thinks that it’ll help win over the perfect Chris Noel. Too bad she’s a little out of his league and a lot not into him.
Cameron is a dick with a heart of gold. He relentlessly picks on the greasers, pointing out their ridiculous hair styles (since his is crafted to perfection each morning) and the holes in their clothing, whether to his friends or just the air around him. One of his favorite pastimes is running student council and hosting charity events with his parents.
Gerard, Meeks, Ginny, Hopkins, and his blond pal Lester are Greasers
Gerard is the tall, lanky kid that looks like he doesn’t get enough to eat at home. He’s smart and has a lot of potential but his teachers don’t showcase him a lot because he’s quiet and sits towards the back in class. He likes working on stuff in his garage like old radios and cars. He wants to become a mechanic one day or a radio announcer.
Meeks is from a famiy that used to be made of old money before his father blew it on gambling. His mother adopted a drinking habit so he spends most of his time at Gerard’s house in order to avoid conflict and getting beaten. They share similar interest and Meeks helps bring out the sarcastic asshole in Gerard. Sometimes they’ll go out and make fun of Socs at the nearby gas station or drive-in.
Ginny is a shit-talking, all-in Greaser. She’s tough as nails and likes to dye her hair different colors every other weekend. She wants to be one of the guys (think Anybodys from West Side Story) and it will get her in a tight spot sometimes. She has a lot of emotional trauma and uses her image to mask it. Spends lots of nights unable to sleep.
Matt Hopkins [the cat sat on the mat] is a rough and tumble guy that participates in the school track and field team. He has the charm and authority to be a Soc, but his stubbornness and general disdainful attitude towards his more affluent classmates leaves him too prideful to befriend them. So he starts fights in his spare time and has been taken to jail and the ER more times than he can count.
Lester [blond-ish guy behind Matt in class] is in between the status of a Soc and a Greaser, but stands by his best friend Matt because they’ve known each other since they were in elementary school and loyalty runs deep. He enjoys the adrenaline of getting into fights and has broken a number of noses in his time. Lester also likes talking to Meeks and Pitts and bounces ideas about philosophy and the world off of them. Kind of a floater/dreamer.
And then there’s Todd
Todd is the new kid that comes in during the end of the school year. He has to adapt to the school system and learn how to fit into the school’s hierarchy. He doesn’t have a distinct feel to him, but Neil takes an interest in him and wants to recruit him into his group. This seems to be a slight problem because Todd has already bonded with the Greasers with the unfortunate last names in his trig class.
Prompt by pansexualarchie
I’m gonna go the really cheesy route and ask for some ander.perry in that one au where you can’t see in color until you first see/first meet your soulmate
I also recognize the potential for this prompt to be REALLY SAD and like…if you wanna break my heart go ahead
Prompt by dontchasethesheep
“So you’re a ghost.”
“Well, yes. But I would appreciate it greatly if you refrained from using that word. Too many negative connotations.”
“Um, okay. But you’re the transparent reincarnation of someone who died over fifty years ago. What do you call that?”
A pause, then: “I’m fond of ‘non-threatening apparition’.”
*again, use any/all/no pairings, and whatever characters you want :)
Prompt by soccer-has-dominated-my-life
AU where Ginny and Chris work at a summer camp together. Their cabins work well together since their campers are within a year apart and they end up getting paired up for a majority of their activities. Things get a little messy when Chris decides to initiate a glitter fight during one of the arts and crafts activities
Prompt by willshakesqueers
DPS Harry Potter AU: you decide what houses the boys are in. Keating is the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and his new ways of teaching are something Hogwarts has never seen.
Prompt by soccer-has-dominated-my-life
A playlist for the first annual boy/girl mixer Welton is holding with their sister school;
Prompt by willshakesqueers
A mix for Neil Perry, a not-quite-boy, not-yet-man, who is just trying to find himself.
Prompt by thehcandersen
Study Abroad AU!
Any time period, any/all characters, any pairings (if any), any location!
Prompt by asexualjemwalker
Anything about Steven Meeks. Literally anything. A fic, a fanmix, whatever. The world needs more Steven Meeks.
Prompt by asexualjemwalker
Write/draw/etc. about a society meeting in the cave that we didn’t get to see.
Prompt by asexualjemwalker
The dead poets go on a road trip together. Chaos ensues.
Prompt by astroglam
the poets rent a super small beach house in cape cod for the summer before they go off to college
Prompt by astroglam
the poets sneak out to go to a concert and accidentally end up meeting whoever they go to see (elvis, buddy holly, chuck berry, your choice really) and are kinda on cloud nine until they get back to welton and realize there’s no way they can get back in without getting caught
Prompt by astroglam
a ‘ferris bueller’s day off’ au would be really interesting
Prompt by astroglam
au where the poets, ginny, and chris go to comic con
Prompt by astroglam
au where neil is the cute pizza boy and todd “somehow” always orderswhenever neil’s working so neil starts doodling and writing notes on the inside of the box and todd does the same but on a piece of paper that he hands neil with his tip
Prompt by astroglam
au where meeks works at an apple store and charlie goes in every week with something that’s wrong with his iphone or macbook and pitts (who also works at the apple store) is just like “no one under the age of thirty is that clueless when it comes to this stuff. he just comes in to flirt with you” and meeks just kinda blushes and tell him to shut up
Prompt by astroglam
the poets, ginny, and chris go to a yankees vs. red sox game and things get intense when it turns out that todd, charlie, chris, and cameron are yankees fans and neil, meeks, knox, and ginny are red sox fans. pitts doesn’t really care and kinda disappears at the top of the second only to return at the bottom of the ninth with a ball he caught while sitting with some european tourists and a ton of merch from both teams that he won for being the 1000th person in the souvenir line that day
Prompt by dontchasethesheep
Gerard and Ginny are huge music nerds and like to share music with each other so…. playlist for the two of them! If you’re feeling particularly ambitious, maybe you can make two: a playlist from Gerard to Ginny and another from Ginny to Gerard :)
Prompt by confuundo
give me an anderperry fic written in the style of “five times this thing happened and one time it didn’t”, starting with the gang stuck in study group one afternoon (todd accidentally keeps dropping his pencil and neil finds himself staring at todd a lot). over the coming weeks the other guys start to pick up on some of neil’s weird behaviours around todd and turn it into a game of “get neil to stop being so dramatic and confront his goddamn feelings” - bonus points if meeks or charlie keep dropping hints but neither todd or neil pay close enough attention to them. note: this can either be set during the same timeframe as the film or not, whatever suits your fancy :D
Prompt by chariiedalton
♪ from day to night ♪
write/draw/make an edit where Neil and Todd go on an overnight roadtrip, based on this mix i made!! If you’re on the computer, you can see that in the annotations i put what time it was when they listened to the song and what they were doing. You can follow that story line if you’d like but by no means should you feel like you have to! Have fun :)
Prompt by phonecallfromgod
Charlie and Ginny are new step-siblings who can't stand each other and have been forced to spend the summer together.
Prompt by phonecallfromgod
AU: Dead Poets Society in set in 1989, cheesy soundtrack, late 80s fashion and all.
Prompt by soccer-has-dominated-my-life
Todd/Meeks: Todd is Mr. Meeks's prize and most attentive pupil. He makes conversation with him in class and it gets slightly awkward when Todd accidentally reveals his affinity for his teacher. Especially when it seems as though he returns it. *Also, you can rearrange the pairings however you want. I was just trying to apply some AU type situations to the DPS cast.
Prompt by
soccer-has-dominated-my-life
Ginny/Cameron: Dyring a party Ginny Danbury gets hit on relentlessly by this kid who can't hold his liquor. Now she is stuck with his flushed face and mucky shoes. If only she didn't find gingers so attractive. *Also, you can rearrange the pairings however you want. I was just trying to apply some AU type situations to the DPS cast.
Prompt by
soccer-has-dominated-my-life
Pitts/Meeks: Keating thinks it's hilarious to pair up the two boys with the most unfortunate names for anything and everything. So, when they do a dramatic reading in class, they decided to go ham on the romantic scene they are assigned. *Also, you can rearrange the pairings however you want. I was just trying to apply some AU type situations to the DPS cast.
Prompt by
soccer-has-dominated-my-life
Neil/Charlie: Set before Christmas sessions at Welton where Charlie and Neil sneak out to the soccer fields in order to smoke unnoticed. They get to talking and end up having an angsty hook-up (make-out, sex, whatever) to blow off steam. Basically, Charlie takes his family frustrations out on Neil and Neil is only too happy to oblige. Maybe one day they'll be boyfriends. *Also, you can rearrange the pairings however you want. I was just trying to apply some AU type situations to the DPS cast.
Prompt by thomasismynewt
AU where Neil takes Todd to a drive in movie
Prompt by challengedbyreality
so meeks says he helps charlie w work and i just wanna like... see how that goes. like a good one-on-one meeks/charlie tutor session where charlie is like the worst student ever
Prompt by challengedbyreality
what happened to keating?? we always talk about the boys, but keating got screwed over too
Prompt by
challengedbyreality
give me anything that involves todd. literally, that's so broad but honestly I love that boy like I love peanut butter (that is to say, a lot)
Prompt by ineffably-lost
I’m fulfilling my own thirsty need for a Vietnam War AU.
The story: Ten years after the Dead Poets Society began their junior year of high school, the Draft Lottery is held for the ongoing war in Vietnam. Lo and behold, the Poets, long since separated, find themselves thrown across the wild chess board of war. Todd was the first drafted, and was taken as a POW. Neil, now a doctor, is serving in an evac hospital. When Todd is recovered, guess whose hospital they ship him to? Knox is stateside, his hand one of those selecting the fates of those to be drafted. Gerard enlisted before any of the others and was wounded severely, and was honorably discharged with a Purple Heart, later using his combat nightmares to protest against the war in hopes to put an end to it. Cameron works in military intelligence. Meeks is the tech wiz of a small battalion in Cambodia. Charlie’s works as a disc jockey for Armed Forces Radio, under his old alias ‘Nuwanda.’ Mr. Keating, feeling the need to support his former students, does all he can as a USO performer, entertaining the troops just as he entertained his students. Some cross paths and others never see each other again,
Prompt by nonbinarycharliedalton
imagine a Charlie/Steven “I can’t tell whether this is a date because you asked to see a movie but I’m still not sure you’re queer, and I’m toeing the line because maybe you’re just trying to make friends” AU tho
Prompt by anderperry
Meeks running a study group and Charlie getting super jealous when he realizes that someone in the group likes Meeks (also added points for pining aka Meeks and Charlie aren’t together yet)
Prompt by anderperry
Todd waking up on someone’s couch after a party and Neil walking past him shirtless like “oh hey you’re up” and realizing all of his friends are no longer there
Prompt by anderperry
trans boy Todd starting school at Welton and Neil falling head over heels for him
Prompt by anderperry
a school dance where Neil’s military school merges with Welton and he sees Todd and has to catch his breath and they exchange really sad and gay letters before meeting again on the night of Neil’s play
Hello everybody! I just changed our blog theme and noticed that most of the images on the members page were gone! It would be awesome if you went HERE and looked around for your name! If you don’t have an image with your name/want a new one, feel free to submit an image (300px x 300px or larger would probably work best!) Also, if your url has changed or you want a different description, definitely let us know! The description can be as long or short as you want.
hey everybody! just a little reminder that you can feel free to tag selfies/posts about your life/edits/headcanons/anything you want with #dps fandom network and we will reblog it to the blog! I do try to reblog some stuff from the dead poets society tag but it would be brilliant to see more stuff in the network tag :))
also we are suuuuuuper close to our first hundred followers which is p amazing, thank you!!
