Epic 80s

Whoa! It's our annual decades challenge and we're vegging out in the most tubular, bad to the bone decade for a month of rad fanworks. So spray up your hair, don your denim jacket, and tie on your skates to hang ten back to the 1980s!

For the Epic 80s challenge, you will choose from hella 80s-themed prompts to create a fanwork. Your fanwork totally does not have to take place in the 1980s. You can use these prompts however you want! It's most definitely legit to keep it chill with just a title from a prompt, or you can book it in a more bodacious way by using lines, lyrics, album covers, movie posters, plot points—like whatever floats your boat! Of course, crossovers are the bomb if that's how you want to step off. We encourage gnarly interpretations and use of prompts, including mad loopholing!

Thank you to Aneréa for this month's banner and stamps!

This challenge opened in June 2026 .

Prompts

Choose your prompt from the collection below.

View Prompts

Literature

Fiction

• Unfinished Tales, JRR Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien ed.
• The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Douglas Adams
• A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole
• The Clan of the Cave Bear, Jean M. Auel
• Il nome della rose, Umberto Eco
• Cel mai iubit dintre pământeni, Marin Preda
• The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett
• Arabian Nights and Days (ليالي ألف ليلة), Naguib Mahfouz
• Midnight’s Children, Salman Rushdie
• An Ice-Cream War, William Boyd
• Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, August Wilson
• Memorial do Convento, Jose Saramago
• The Color Purple, Alice Walker
• Se non ora, quando? Primo Levi
• Las casa de los espíritus, Isabel Allende
• The Belgariad, David Eddings
• Dragon on a Pedestal, Piers Anthony
• The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
• 1985, Dalos György
• A Tiger for Malgudi, RK Narayan
• Glengarry Glen Ross, David Mamet
• Pet Sematary, Stephen King
• The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
• The Hunt for Red October, Tom Clancy
• L'Enchanteur, René Barjavel
• രണ്ടാമൂഴം/ Randamoozham (Second Turn), MT Vasudevan Nair
• Sanaaq, Mitiarjuk Nappaaluk
• Indian Nocturne, Antonio Tabucchi
• Хазарски речник, Hazarski rečnik, Milorad Pavic
• Yajnaseni: the story of Draupadi, Pratibha Ray
• The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood
• El amor en los tiempos del cólera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
• Parfum, Patrick Süskind
• Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card
• The Cider House Rules, John Irving
• Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry
• Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit, Jeanette Winterson
• Beloved, Toni Morrison
• The Shaping of Middle-earth, JRR Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien, ed
• Driving Miss Daisy (play), Alfred Uhry
• A Perfect Spy, John le Carre
• The Satanic Verses, Salman Rushdie
• Il pendolo di Foucault, Umberto Eco
• O Alquimista, Paulo Coelho
• The Silence of the Lambs, Thomas Harris
• The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro
• The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett
• رحلة غاندي الصغير Rihlat Ghandi al-saghir, The Journey of Little Gandhi, Elias Khoury
• The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan
• The Great Indian Novel, Shashi Tharoor
• Guards! Guards! Terry Pratchett

Poetry

• Collected Poems, Sylvia Plath (posth.)
• I is a long-memoried woman, Grace Nichols
• The Dead and the Living, Sharon Olds
• Standing Female Nude, Carol Ann Duffy
• Chants de brumes, Kama Sywor Kamanda
• El imperio de los sueños, Giannina Baschi

Nonfiction

• Cosmos, Carl Sagan
• Ain’t I a Woman? Black Women and Feminism, bell hooks
• Among the Believers: An Islamic Journey, VS Naipaul
• Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media, Noam Chomsky
• A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking
• The Rough Guide to Greece, Mark Ellingham (ed) (first Rough Guide)
• How I Became a Hindu, Sita Ram Goel
• Mi Cocina, Armando Scannone
• Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches, Audre Lorde
• Kriminalgeschichte des Christentums, Karlheinz Deschner
• Feminism and Nationalism in the Third World, Kumari Jayawardena
• Kaffir Boy, Mark Mathabane
• Cadillac Desert, Marc Reisner
• Maus: A Survivor's Tale (I: My Father Bleeds History), Art Spiegelman
• And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic, Randy Shilts
• Touching the Void, Joe Simpson

Children's Literature

• The Brave Little Toaster, Thomas M. Disch
• The Paper Bag Princess, Robert Munsch
• Ramona Quimby, Age 8, Beverly Cleary
• The BFG, Roald Dahl
• War Horse, Michael Morpurgo
• The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros
• Angelina Ballerina, Katharine Hollabird
• The Polar Express, Chris Van Allburg
• If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, Laura Numeroff
• Sarah, Plain and Tall, Patricia MacLachlan
• Redwall, Brian Jacques
• Howl’s Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones
• Where’s Wally?/Where's Waldo? Martin Handford
• Matilda, Roald Dahl

Music

• "Born In the USA," Bruce Springsteen (video | (lyrics)
• "We Didn’t Start The Fire," Billy Joel (video | (lyrics)
• "Billie Jean," Michael Jackson (video | (lyrics)
• "She Works Hard For the Money," Donna Summer (video | (lyrics)
• "Like a Prayer," Madonna (video | (lyrics)
• "Saving All My Love For You," Whitney Houston (video | (lyrics)
• "The Way That You Love Me," Paula Abdul (video | (lyrics)
• "Darling Nikki," Prince (video | (lyrics)
• "Physical," Olivia Newton-John (video | (lyrics)
• "Dancing on the Ceiling," Lionel Ritchie (video | (lyrics)
• "You Got It (The Right Stuff)," New Kids On The Block (video | (lyrics)
• "Manic Monday," The Bangles (video | (lyrics)
• "Don’t Stop Believin’," Journey (video | (lyrics)
• "Faithfully," Journey (video | (lyrics)
• "Can’t Fight This Feeling," REO Speedwagon (video | (lyrics)
• "I Want To Know What Love Is," Foreigner (video | (lyrics)
• "Lost In Your Eyes," Debbie Gibson (video | (lyrics)
• "I Think We’re Alone Now," Tiffany (video | (lyrics)
• "Endless Love," Lionel Richie & Diana Ross (video | (lyrics)
• "Up Where We Belong," Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes (video | (lyrics)
• "What’s Love Got To Do With It," Tina Turner (video | (lyrics)
• "Total Eclipse of the Heart," Bonnie Tyler (video | (lyrics)
• "The Power of Love," Huey Lewis & the News (video | (lyrics)
• "I Just Called To Say I Love You," Stevie Wonder (video | (lyrics)
• "Against All Odds (Take a Look At Me Now)," Phil Collins (video | (lyrics)
• "Jack & Diane," John Cougar Mellencamp (video | (lyrics)
• "Livin’ on A Prayer," Bon Jovi (video | (lyrics)
• "Dude (Looks Like A Lady)," Aerosmith (video | (lyrics)
• "Summer of ‘69," Bryan Adams (video | (lyrics)
• "Eye of the Tiger," Survivor (video | (lyrics)
• "Karma Chameleon," Culture Club (video | (lyrics)
• "Jump," Van Halen (video | (lyrics)
• "Free Fallin’," Tom Petty (video | (lyrics)
• "We Built This City," Starship (video | (lyrics)
• "Invisible Touch," Genesis (video | (lyrics)
• "Kiss on My List," Hall & Oates (video | (lyrics)
• "Time After Time," Cyndi Lauper (video | (lyrics)
• "Pour Some Sugar On Me," Def Leppard (video | (lyrics)
• "Dancing With Myself," Billy Idol (video | (lyrics)
• "I Want Your Sex," George Michael (video | (lyrics)
• "You Better You Bet," The Who (video | (lyrics)
• "The Reflex," Duran Duran (video | (lyrics)
• "Hells Bells," AC/DC (video | (lyrics)
• "Crazy Train," Ozzy Osbourne (video | (lyrics)
• "Here I Go Again," Whitesnake (video | (lyrics)
• "Cum On Feel The Noize," Quiet Riot (video | (lyrics)
• "Sweet Child o' Mine," Guns N Roses (video | (lyrics)
• "Tom Sawyer," Rush (video | (lyrics)
• "Everybody Wants To Rule The World," Tears for Fears (video | (lyrics)
• "Mr. Roboto," Styx (video | (lyrics)
• "It’s a Sin," Pet Shop Boys (video | (lyrics)
• "Blister in the Sun," Violent Femmes (video | (lyrics)
• "Jane Says," Jane’s Addiction (video | (lyrics)
• "It’s The End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)," R.E.M. (video | (lyrics)
• "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go," Wham! (video | (lyrics)
• "Take On Me," a-ha (video | (lyrics)
• "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me," Culture Club (video | (lyrics)
• "Never Tear Us Apart," INXS (video | (lyrics)
• "Locomotion," Kylie Minogue (video | (lyrics)
• "Running Up That Hill," Kate Bush (video | (lyrics)
• "I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For," U2 (video | (lyrics)
• "Anything for You," Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine (video | (lyrics)
• "Venus," Bananarama (video | (lyrics)
• "America," Neil Diamond (video | (lyrics)
• "Never Gonna Give You Up," Rick Astley (video | (lyrics)
• "Love Shack," the B-52s (video | (lyrics)
• "Holding Out For A Hero," Bonnie Tyler (video | (lyrics)
• "Here Comes The Rain Again," Eurythmics (video | (lyrics)
• "Relax," Frankie Goes To Hollywood (video | (lyrics)
• "These Dreams," Heart (video | (lyrics)
• "People Are People," Depeche Mode (video | (lyrics)
• "The Safety Dance," Men Without Hats,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM4okRvCg2g (video | (lyrics)
• "She Drives Me Crazy," Fine Young Cannibals (video | (lyrics)
• "I Want Candy," Bow Wow Wow (video | (lyrics)
• "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)," Dead or Alive (video | (lyrics)
• "Fast Car," Tracy Chapman (video | (lyrics)
• "Talking ‘bout a Revolution," Tracy Chapman (video | (lyrics)
• "Rhythm Nation," Janet Jackson (video | (lyrics)
• "Push It," Salt-N-Pepa (video | (lyrics)
• "Smooth Operator," Sade (video | (lyrics)
• "The Message," Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five (video | (lyrics)
• "Beats to the Rhyme," Run DMC (video | (lyrics)
• "Fuck tha Police," NWA (video | (lyrics)
• "You Gotta Fight For Your Right (To Party)," Beastie Boys (video | (lyrics)
• "I’m That Type of Guy," LL Cool J (video | (lyrics)
• "Let’s Get It Started," MC Hammer (video | (lyrics)
• "Rollin’ with Kid n Play," Kid N Play (video | (lyrics)
• "Fight The Power," Public Enemy (video | (lyrics)
• "Chariots of Fire," Vangelis (video)
• "Ghostbusters," Ray Parker Jr. (video | (lyrics)
• "The Raiders March," John Williams (video)

Movies

• The Princess Bride
• The Neverending Story
• Labyrinth
• E.T.
• Clue
• The Great Muppet Caper
• The Goonies
• Honey I Shrunk The Kids
• Stand By Me
• The Karate Kid
• Dirty Dancing
• Blade Runner
• Raiders of the Lost Ark
• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
• The Return of the Jedi
• Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
• Airplane!
• Naked Gun
• Coming To America
• The Gods Must Be Crazy
• Beverly Hills Cop
• Crocodile Dundee
• Good Morning Vietnam
• Tootsie
• A Fish Called Wanda
• Raging Bull
• The Untouchables
• Chariots of Fire
• The Color Purple
• Rain Man
• Gandhi
• The Color Purple
• Out of Africa
• Dead Poets Society
• Fatal Attraction
• Excalibur
• The Breakfast Club
• Top Gun
• The Big Chill
• Flashdance
• The Man From Snowy River
• Urban Cowboy
• Cinema Parediso
• The Last Metro
• The Big Blue
• Das Boot
• Der Himmel über Berlin
• Au revoir, les enfants
• Fanny och Alexander
• Conan the Destroyer
• Red Sonja
• Terminator
• Die Hard
• Full Metal Jacket
• Kagemusha
• Ran
• The Silk Road
• The Adventures of Milo and Otis
• My Neighbor Totoro
• Kiki’s Delivery Service
• Grave of the Fireflies
• Akira
• The Last Unicorn
• Secret of NIMH
• An American Tail
• Land Before Time
• All Dogs Go To Heaven
• The Black Cauldron
• The Little Mermaid
• The Thing
• Nightmare on Elm St
• Friday the 13th
• Aliens
• Gremlins
• Ghostbusters
• Child’s Play
• Beetlejuice

TV

• Full House
• Cheers
• The Golden Girls
• Dallas
• Dynasty
• Lindenstraße
• Berlin Alexanderplatz
• Yes Minister
• Only Fools and Horses
• Juliet Bravo
• The Day of the Triffids
• An Audience with…
• Sherlock Holmes (Granada)
• The Cosby Show
• Murder, She Wrote
• Miami Vice
• The A-Team
• Magnum PI
• Play Your Cards Right
• The Clothes Show
• The Chart Show
• After Dark
• A Kick Up the Eighties
• Gay Life
• ALF
• Knight Rider
• Diff’rent Strokes
• Postman Pat
• Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends
• Punky Brewster
• Fraggle Rock
• Pee-wee’s Playhouse
• He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
• She-Ra Princess of Power
• Jem and the Holograms
• Rainbow Brite
• GI Joe
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
• Transformers
• Smurfs
• Inspector Gadget
• Thundercats
• DuckTales
• Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers
• Muppet Babies
• Reading Rainbow
• Square One
• 3-2-1 Contact
• Löwenzahn
• Wetten, dass..?
• MTV
• Nickelodeon
• HBO
• CNN
• ESPN
• Channel 4

Historic Events

• Assassination of John Lennon
• Eruption of Mt. St. Helens
• Gwangju Uprising
• First space shuttle launch
• UK Miners’ Strike
• Assassination of Indira Gandhi
• Bhopal disaster
• Live Aid
• Mexico City earthquake
• Challenger disaster
• Chernobyl accident
• June Democratic Struggle
• War on Drugs/Just Say No
• First Intifada
• Assassination of Thomas Sankara
• AIDS epidemic
• Glasnost & perestroika
• Lockerbie bombing
• Revolutions of 1989: Solidarity wins elections in Poland, Velvet Revolution, Fall of the Berlin Wall, Romanian Revolution
• Tiananmen Square protests and massacre
• Independence for: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Vanuatu, Kiribati, Palau, Zimbabwe, Antigua & Barbuda, Belize, Saint Kitts & Nevis, and Brunei
• Loma Prieta earthquake

Science & Technology

• First personal computer
• USEnet
• Macintosh
• GM crops
• Surrogate pregnancy
• CD
• Smartmodem
• Portable phones
• MS-DOS
• Windows
• MATLAB
• HTTP
• TCP/IP
• GNU Project
• Free Software Foundation
• Halley’s Comet
• Mir
• Polaroid cameras

Fashion, Style, and Pop Culture

• Big hair
• Perms
• Mullets
• Jheri curls
• Hi-top fade
• Ripped jeans
• Acid-washed jeans
• Jean jackets
• Denim mini-skirts
• Neon clothing
• Shoulder pads
• Power dressing
• Leather pants
• Jumpsuits
• Headbands
• Spandex
• Members-Only jackets
• Lacoste
• Leggings
• Leg warmers
• Off the shoulder shirts
• Ray-Bans
• Swatch watches
• Bangles
• Jelly shoes
• Keds
• Doc Martens
• Crucifix jewelry
• Parachute/Hammer pants
• Punk
• Valley Girls
• Aerobics
• Jazzercise
• Thigh Master
• The Moonwalk
• Shopping malls

Toys and Games

• Atari
• Coleco
• NES
• GameBoy
• Donkey Kong
• Super Mario Bros.
• Duck Hunt
• The Legend of Zelda
• Final Fantasy
• Frogger
• Galaga
• Pac-Man
• The Hobbit (video game)
• Rubik’s Cube
• Speak & Spell
• Teddy Ruxpin
• Walkman
• Boomboxes
• Garbage Pail Kids
• Cabbage Patch Kids
• Puffalumps
• Pound Puppies
• American Girl
• Strawberry Shortcake
• My Little Pony
• Slap bracelets
• Koosh balls
• Nerf blasters
• Inline skates