Chocolate Box Letter 2019

Hello Chocolatier! Thank you so much for creating something for me - I’m always thrilled to receive anything that someone has created for me, so don’t worry, I’ll be happy with whatever you come up with. This is always such a fun exchange and I'm looking forward to participating in it again. All of my prompts are just possible prompts, and if you have your own idea or plot bunny, you are welcome to chase it.

Elder Scrolls: Skyrim;  Gattaca;  Lawrence of Arabia;  Original Work;  She-Ra and the Princesses of Power;  Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

General likes:

• mutual pining-happy ending narratives
• stories that play with form and narrative: epistolary, poetry, time loops, etc
• character studies
• angst - break my heart, author/artist
• equal power dynamics
• characters who are competent and unapologetic about who they are
• relationships based in communication - talking, challenging and testing one another, wordy declarations of love
• unreliable narrators
• found families
• bittersweet endings
• canon-divergence AUs
• tropes I am weak for (in no particular order): declarations of love; subtle gestures of love; banter and bickering; gift giving; one person suddenly realising they’re in love with the other person; hurt/comfort; there’s only one bed; ‘holy shit they’re hot in that outfit’; fake dating; poetry

Art likes: Honestly, if you’re drawing me something I will probably backflip out the window, because I have no artistic talent and am constantly in awe of what other people produce. I am fond of non-sexual intimacy between characters, and mundane, slice-of-life moments, and I love colours and interesting line work. I am terrible at art prompts, sorry, artist friend. 

Dislikes:

• nothing too smutty because I am tame, and no PWP
• no A/B/O dynamics or mpreg
• no pairings with a major power imbalance (i.e. student/teacher, etc).
• characters suddenly being OOC weak/over-emotional
• no non-con or dub-con
• no character bashing
• no non-canon compliant levels of homophobia, racism, sexism, transphobia, and no internalised prejudice as the main theme
• no abuse (physical or emotion) 
• no kidfic
• no character de-aging (e.g. high school AUs

Onto the specific requests!

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Delvin & Glover Mallory 

Whoever nominated this, I salute you. I am ride or die Thieves Guild and I lost my mind when I realised that Glover was Delvin's brother, and with a tragic backstory as well! I'd love to see anything exploring what I suspect is a complicated, if deep, relationship between these two brothers. Possible prompts:

• The two of them working a job together - maybe it goes horribly wrong, maybe they're competing with one another for who can hit the most marks
• Various letters exchanged between Raven Rock and Riften over the years
• A reunion after the end of the game (and the Dragonborn DLC)

Gattaca

I adore the central trio in Gattaca - I love their combination of Vincent’s idealism, Irene’s restraint and caution, and Jerome’s anger. I’ve requested a number of configurations here, so feel free to choose whatever takes your fancy. As my requests suggest, I’m particularly fond of Jerome: his deep sense of self-loathing masked behind wit and carefully performed apathy. 

 

Vincent Freeman & Jerome Eugene Morrow; Vincent Freeman/Jerome Eugene Morrow

 

Their dynamic is one of my absolute favourites: two people with very opposing set of ideals and worldviews who end up learning a lot and being changed for the better. I’m happy for this to be as shippy or as gen as you’d like.
Possible prompts:

• We hardly see Vincent’s reaction to Jerome’s final letter. How does he grieve? And how does he honour Jerome’s memory in the stars? (break my heart, author/artist)
• “Want to go dancing?” And they do.
• A fix-it where Jerome doesn’t die is also welcome here 

Irene Cassini & Jerome Eugene Morrow; Irene Cassini/Vincent Freeman/Jerome Eugene Morrow

For these pairings, I’d be particularly interested in a “Jerome doesn’t die” AU - how do Irene and Jerome bond while waiting for Vincent to return from the stars, and what happens when he does?

 

DNWs: No PWP, no rape or dubcon, no character bashing, no a/b/o or mpreg, no non-canon compliant levels of homophobia or other prejudice, no internalised homophobia as the central theme, no kidfic, no character de-aging (e.g. high school AUs); no pairings with a major power imbalance (i.e. student/teacher, etc); no abuse.

Lawrence of Arabia

Ali ibn el Kharish/T. E. Lawrence

This is one of my very favourite films and I will never get over the sublime tragedy of the relationship between Ali and Lawrence. Ali is my favourite character and I adore his devotion and grace towards Lawrence (who is kind of insufferable, if delightfully so). I’m particularly interested in the deep sense of intimacy between the two of them: show me a tender scene between the two of them. I’m happy with this relationship as romantic/sexual or an intense friendship, and feel free to go for angst - it’s not really a happy story.

Possible prompts:

• A declaration of love 
• A moment alone in the desert (under the stars!)
• Flesh out the Aqaba scene for me: what would have happened if they hadn’t been distracted? 
• If you’re so inclined, I am always up for a fix-it, and if you’re interested in the history, I find the Paris Peace Conference endlessly fascinating

Original Work

This is my first time requesting original work in a fanworks exchange, and I’m really excited about it. Author/artist, feel free to go where your imagination takes you with these. As you can tell from the pairings I’ve chosen, I’m particularly fond of the old enemies to lovers tropes, or people with very opposing backgrounds/character traits (straight man vs the absolute disaster). I’ve offered a few ideas, but really, the pairing titles say it all, and I’m interested to see your take on these tropes. For the pairings that aren't explicitly gendered, I'm happy with any gender configuration, although I would prefer F/F or M/M.

 

Female Historical or Fantasy World Assassin-Spy/Her Female Patron

 

I am always here for assassin hijinks, and I particularly like my assassins professional and competent. There’s lots of avenues here: a patron who hires a new assassin and gets more than she bargained for; a glimpse into an established relationship; a regular but rare meeting (i.e. the patron hires the assassin once a year). Bonus points for a masquerade ball.

 

Impulsive Male Trade Union Leader/Recently Widowed Young Duke

 

This one just took my fancy. A clash of ideals and politics that lead to feelings? Sign me up. I’d be particularly interested in the union leader radicalising the duke, but I’m okay with something a little more ambiguous. Any setting from fantasy to history to contemporary to science fiction is fine, but I’d prefer to have relatively equivalent ages here.

 

Pirate Captain/Naval Captain Tasked With Capturing Them

 

Oh, I am WEAK for this particular trope. I’m particularly fond of two opposites who kind of resent the fact that they’re in love with one another. There’s a classic dynamic here - rakish pirate versus very serious and self-righteous captain - but feel free to mix things up if that takes your fancy. Any tone from humour to pining to angst is fine here, as is any setting. Pirates in the 18th century Caribbean? Contemporary pirates? Fantasy pirates? Space pirates? I will love it. 

 

Time Traveller/Someone Stuck In Groundhog Day

 

I am absolutely in love with this trope. A time traveller who is sent to retrieve someone from a time loop and ends up falling in love? Maybe they’re both time travellers and one gets stuck in the loop, either accidentally or deliberately? Go wild, author/artist.

 

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

She-Ra was one of the best surprises of 2018: I adored every single character, I loved its soft optimism, and of course, how delightfully queer it is. I particularly liked how it balanced emotional weight with humour and lightheartedness, so as with all my requests, feel free to go for whatever emotional tone you’d like.

Bow/Sea Hawk; Mermista/Sea Hawk

 

Sea Hawk is trash and I am trash and there can never, ever be enough. Arrogant, incompetent fools with their hearts in the right place are my weakness, and I will honestly take anything with Sea Hawk being his delightful self.

 

I ADORE his dynamic with Mermista (sarcastic and cynical versus exuberant is the BEST dynamic). I’d particularly like to see some (if brief) genuine affection on the part of Mermista. Possible prompts for Mermista/Sea Hawk:

• Mermista hints at two incredible stories: getting kicked out of the Dolphin Social because Sea Hawk challenged the doorman to a duel, and the Tunnel of Love. I NEED DETAILS.
• Before, during, and/or after the prom
• Sea Hawk decides to try and help out with the short-staffing situation in Mermista’s kingdom. Hijinks ensue.
• Sea Hawk jumping into Mermista arms, always 
• *whispers* fake dating

And for Bow and Sea Hawk, I just love them both so much individually (particularly Bow’s beautiful non-toxic masculinity) that I’m happy to see them together. It can be as shippy or as gen as you’d like.

Possible prompts for Bow/Sea Hawk: 

• Sea Hawk can sing, Bow can play violin: maybe they take their show on the road? Or start trying to woo one another through outrageous love songs (potentially as a joke initially)? 
• A daring rescue of some description
• *shouts from the rooftops* fake dating 

Adora/Catra

 

I love the complexity in their relationship - Catra’s insecurities and Adora’s single-minded focus, a clash of ideals that belies their shared search for meaning and belonging. I’m particularly interested in their relationship just before/at the time of/after the series, rather than when they were children. Possible prompts:

• dealing with a first recurring event/celebration away from one another (e.g. a birthday)
• Adora’s powers as She-Ra extend to dreamwalking/visiting Catra's dreams

Adora & Bow & Glimmer; Catra & Entrapta & Scorpia

 

The two best friends squads! I love how both of these trios come together as a meeting of individual strengths and competencies, in which everyone is valued and loved for who they are, and how that’s central to their bonds of companionship.

 

Possible prompts for Adora & Bow & Glimmer

• We’ve seen Glimmer’s family - what about Bow’s? What happens when they all go to visit Bow’s family?
• A sleepover in Glimmer’s room (you know these three would have the best sleepovers)
• One of the three goes missing and the other two have to work to find them again  

Possible prompts for Catra & Entrapta & Scorpia

• Scorpia organises some kind of team bonding/relaxation outing 
• Catra tries to subject Scorpia and Entrapta to the Horde’s training regime
• All three of them pay a visit to Entrapta's castle

 

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

May Parker/Olivia Octavius; May Parker & Olivia Octavius

I loved everything about this film, but particularly Olivia Octavius, who delighted me so much I let out a tiny scream in the cinema when she was revealed. I also loved May, which means that when we reached the iconic "Liv" line, my soul left my body. I will take anything that explores their relationship in more detail. I am happy for this to be as gen or as shippy as you'd prefer. Possible prompts:

• What if the two were friends for years without knowing one another's super identities? What happens when they finally discover each other (maybe in the field?) I kind of imagine that May might be Peter's Q, or guy in the chair, and I'd love to see something with this.
• On a similar note, May helping Liv create something in the lab. What if May helped Liv create her tentacles, if for a more noble purpose than villainy (e.g. improving mobility). How does she react when Liv turns to the dark?
• May's exasperation at Liv destroying her house suggests that this must have happened multiple times before - show me one of them!