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Dear Chocolatier ('19)
Jan. 7th, 2019 07:40 pm Dear Chocolatier,
I was pretty restrained on my requests, so you've matched to me on a really narrow range. I love that you find some of the same things interesting that I do, and I wish you all the best.
Some general preferences
Yes, please – extra/missing scenes which fit the gaps of canon; unbreakable friendships; teamwork; standing battered but triumphant; character introspection; a touch of the bittersweet; any other characters you want to add that I haven’t already discussed or nominated.
No, thank you – In general, a lot of the common plug-and-play AUs which significantly alter the background of the setting (e.g. ABO, D/s, vampires/werewolves, Hogwarts/school, daemons, total de-powering rather than just backgrounding supernatural elements) – I like a lot of these series not just for their characters but also for their worlds and the effect those worlds then have on their characters. If you’re hit really hard by a generic modern AU, that’s something I can take though. Character bashing: a villainous story role is fine; it’s when the author is clearly frustrated with a character and taking it out on them that I tune out. What I understand specifically by 'futa' or 'G!P' - that is, sticking a penis on a cis woman for the sake of making sure there's dick involved in sex - is not my kink, though actual trans women are fine.
Rating – from General to Explicit, it's fine. Whatever feels right for your inspiration and story. Serious gore or fetishes (vore, scat, et al.) are a turn off, but I can handle most of what you’re throwing at me. My prompts generally don't stray too far toward the sexy side of things but, if you’re going unprompted or just feel like it fits your story, I can definitively say I have no objection to smut.
I'm![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
Seika on AO3, and I have my works and some of my bookmarks public, often with notes on them, so you can glance through those if you're inclined to keep researching my bad taste.
Obviously, by the terms of the exchange, everything here is optional. I'm very happy for you to remember that, and to take advantage of it: please don't strain anything trying to fit your writing into my ideas. I'm trying to help spark off some thoughts if you aren't immediately seized by one, not to confine you. That's why my prompts often throw out a scattershot of questions and instances at you, even contradictory ones - you're free to pick up as many or as few threads as you'd like. If a single phrase inspires you, I'll be content.
This is all the more true for the Chocolate Box challenge, which has a lower word limit and is meant to be less pressurised than some other exchanges. Please do stay relaxed, and pick and choose as selectively as you like, rather than trying to deal with everything I've thrown out there for some of these fandoms.
Tortall
Jon/Thom -
'Thom wanted everything he could get from his magic, but he disliked people. He listened to Maude only because he thought she had something left to teach him; he hated Coram—the other adult who looked after the twins—because Coram made him feel stupid. The only person in the world Thom loved, beside himself, was Alanna.'
The First Test, Chapter 1
'Alanna frowned, worried. "You're going to be very lonely," she said frankly.
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
Fate/Nanoha - I'm requesting this mostly on the grounds of nostalgia for a show and pairing whose heyday has long since passed. But they've been adorable ever since the two of them exchanged ribbons and blushed at the end of S1, through Fate's determined defence of Nanoha when Vita was beating her down, and into their one-bed apartment and mutual adoption of a child. Really, I'd be happy with 'fic based on any of these stages of their relationship: an innocent and sweet pair of puppy-crushes, which all the adults are probably cooing over; realising exactly what they mean to each other as they begin to grow up; and that apparently very domestic and settled partnership while they're still surprisingly young adults, even as their professional lives involve vast amounts of danger, and even more vast laser beams. (If you chose the last one, perhaps you might write about what new dynamics the sudden introduction of Vivio brings to their relationship, and how they deal with it).
I'm not familiar with the sound stages, Force/Vivid, or the games, so while you're welcome to use details from them, a certain amount will end up being lost on me.
Greek & Roman Mythology
To quickly get some unpleasant business out of the way, I have some issues with Miller's The Song of Achilles, and with the ideas it's spread through certain circles about what the actual Classical traditions (and especially the specific Iliadic traditions) were in various regards. (A longer and more sourced post on the particular matter of Akhilleus and Patroklos' relationship is here, if you want to understand my mindset in a bit more detail). Therefore, a specific DNW for this fandom, which I'm borrowing from what I saw in another request, is the use of TSOA as a basis in characters' personalities or basic relationships.
Akhilleus/Briseis(/Patroklos) - Writing out Briseis frustrates me a lot, so I'd really like to see her brought out here. Is she really Akhilleus' "heart's beloved", or is that mostly a strategem of rhetoric and offended pride he's using against Agamemnon? Does she reciprocate in any way (she needn't - I have no requirement for this relationship to be two-sided), or does she really just hate this guy for all he'd done? Does she find him attractive despite her loathing? Does she hate the fact that he seems to think his being attractive should be good enough for her? Does she gradually warm up to him as she gets to know him and he seems serious about taking her as a wife rather than a slave? Does the argument with Agamemnon and Akhilleus' actions in its wake precipitate a change in Briseis' feelings towards him? Or does it strengthen something that was already there? Or does it actually check the development of their relationship because she thinks his actions are dishonourable and cruel even in spite of the fact he's doing it for her?
If you include Patroklos, what do you make of the fact that Briseis is one of the chief mourners at his funeral? What about the fact that she's going to do very much the same at Akhilleus' funeral, according to the Posthomerica tradition in the previous link, and the idea that Briseis ends up as an (apparently?) very sincere mourner for both of these men who were once her captors? If you'd prefer to stick with the Iliad and disregard the Posthomerica/the rest of the Cyclic poems, do you read Briseis' speech about Patroklos as maybe indicating a fondness for him? Do we get a kind of weird romantic set up where Akhilleus is in love with Briseis but she's in love with his subordinate and cousin? Does that get resolved or is there only pining until they die? Do both Akhilleus and Patroklos desire Briseis, but not each other (or not each other until this point?) Are they just a happy poly family? (And do they get a happy poly family ending, or is that still interrupted by the brutalities of war?
Helen & Aphrodite - Woooow, I love their meeting in Book 3. Helen essentially tells the goddess Aphrodite, "Go fuck Paris and go fuck yourself." Aphrodite tells Helen that she really does still love and care for her - but she can withdraw that love, and it will be a cruel and dangerous thing for her. Helen is terrified by the goddess she just stood up to and submits; but then she verbally flays Paris instead when she finds him.
So what does this all mean? Has Helen always resented Aphrodite and her blessing of beauty? Would she, like the Akhilleus of the Odyssey, prefer a humble and peaceful life to glory that comes paired with suffering? Or is this conflict more recent? Did it develop while Paris was eloping with her (or kidnapping her, if you'd prefer that relationship to have been unwilling from the start)? Did it come later into the War? How often does Aphrodite do this kind of thing to Helen? Is their shared assumption that the Trojan women would turn on Helen with Aphrodite's favour and beauty on her correct, or could they see further than that? What about the Trojan men, and the Greeks come to give her back to her husband?
As some of the prompts among this chaotic and disparate array might have suggested to you, I'm quite happy for you to drop my "bittersweet" preference for this fandom, and go right into full tragedy if that's where the muse takes you.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Willow/Buffy - The two girls who were with each other right from the beginning to the very end. Through the laughter and the tears, through life and death (and pulling one of them back "against all the laws of nature" from death to life), through love and conflict and even bitter emnity. And "I kind of love you".
This is a pairing for which I also have great nostalgic adoration, so I'm going to be pretty happy with whatever I get. (I'll express a preference for something relatively positive, but that's not an absolute).
If however, you would prefer prompts, then a quick array includes: Willow developing an innocent kind of crush on Buffy over S1-2 and dealing with feelings she doesn't quite understand yet; Willow getting (even more) jealous of Faith's flirting with Buffy in S3 (optionally, Faith just starts flirting with Willow too); Willow starts to explore her sexuality with Buffy in S4 rather than Tara (and Buffy has to work her own sexuality out too); trying to rebuild together - as established lovers or while falling in love- post S7. (You might just ignore Kennedy's S7 existence instead of spending time and space on writing her out: use a bit of fanfic fiat there).
I haven't kept up with any post-show material (barring Angel S5), so the comics and so forth won't really ring a bell with me. You're welcome to draw on them, if you'd really like, but it's not likely to land particularly effectively.
I was pretty restrained on my requests, so you've matched to me on a really narrow range. I love that you find some of the same things interesting that I do, and I wish you all the best.
Some general preferences
Yes, please – extra/missing scenes which fit the gaps of canon; unbreakable friendships; teamwork; standing battered but triumphant; character introspection; a touch of the bittersweet; any other characters you want to add that I haven’t already discussed or nominated.
No, thank you – In general, a lot of the common plug-and-play AUs which significantly alter the background of the setting (e.g. ABO, D/s, vampires/werewolves, Hogwarts/school, daemons, total de-powering rather than just backgrounding supernatural elements) – I like a lot of these series not just for their characters but also for their worlds and the effect those worlds then have on their characters. If you’re hit really hard by a generic modern AU, that’s something I can take though. Character bashing: a villainous story role is fine; it’s when the author is clearly frustrated with a character and taking it out on them that I tune out. What I understand specifically by 'futa' or 'G!P' - that is, sticking a penis on a cis woman for the sake of making sure there's dick involved in sex - is not my kink, though actual trans women are fine.
Rating – from General to Explicit, it's fine. Whatever feels right for your inspiration and story. Serious gore or fetishes (vore, scat, et al.) are a turn off, but I can handle most of what you’re throwing at me. My prompts generally don't stray too far toward the sexy side of things but, if you’re going unprompted or just feel like it fits your story, I can definitively say I have no objection to smut.
I'm
Obviously, by the terms of the exchange, everything here is optional. I'm very happy for you to remember that, and to take advantage of it: please don't strain anything trying to fit your writing into my ideas. I'm trying to help spark off some thoughts if you aren't immediately seized by one, not to confine you. That's why my prompts often throw out a scattershot of questions and instances at you, even contradictory ones - you're free to pick up as many or as few threads as you'd like. If a single phrase inspires you, I'll be content.
This is all the more true for the Chocolate Box challenge, which has a lower word limit and is meant to be less pressurised than some other exchanges. Please do stay relaxed, and pick and choose as selectively as you like, rather than trying to deal with everything I've thrown out there for some of these fandoms.
Tortall
Jon/Thom -
'Thom wanted everything he could get from his magic, but he disliked people. He listened to Maude only because he thought she had something left to teach him; he hated Coram—the other adult who looked after the twins—because Coram made him feel stupid. The only person in the world Thom loved, beside himself, was Alanna.'
The First Test, Chapter 1
'Alanna frowned, worried. "You're going to be very lonely," she said frankly.
Thom laughed. "I have the Gift. That's enough for me."
"I wonder. It doesn't seem as if it would be enough." She remembered what the Goddess had said about learning to love. Thom would have a lonely life without love or friendship. She at least had friends. Was it possible she had learned to love, as well?'
In the Hand of the Goddess, Chapter 8
Poor Thom. He was arrogant and reckless and sometimes cold, yes, but he was also clever and brave, and did so much for Alanna without which she couldn't have made it through. I'd love to see him get a bit of a happier ending, and his time with Jon seems like a good place to start.
You might begin it early, right at the end of ItHotG, when he comes to court to protect Jon magically, and how he adapts to being in the midst of things with his Mastery instead of the cold reception he had at the Mithran cloisters. You might have him deal with Jon when he comes back from breaking up with Alanna in the desert, and helping Jon be less of an idiot about it than he was in canon.
Or you might take it later, with a relationship already somewhat established. Maybe during Lioness Rampant, when he's more secure having a relationship with Jon, and therefore is less goaded by Delia, and so events run more toward trying to stop Roger's circle instead of worrying about the man himself. Or maybe he still falls for it, but remembers his lover and builds up a safeguard, or else Jon himself sees the signs more quickly and is able to help Thom. Perhaps you write even later, about Jon as King and Thom as his very crabby but beloved adviser. How public is that relationship? Perhaps you'd also consider Thayet in this scenario. Did she still marry Jon? Does she know about Thom? Do she and Jon perhaps serve as each other's beards, Thayet maybe being in a relationship with Alanna or Buri?
In the Hand of the Goddess, Chapter 8
Poor Thom. He was arrogant and reckless and sometimes cold, yes, but he was also clever and brave, and did so much for Alanna without which she couldn't have made it through. I'd love to see him get a bit of a happier ending, and his time with Jon seems like a good place to start.
You might begin it early, right at the end of ItHotG, when he comes to court to protect Jon magically, and how he adapts to being in the midst of things with his Mastery instead of the cold reception he had at the Mithran cloisters. You might have him deal with Jon when he comes back from breaking up with Alanna in the desert, and helping Jon be less of an idiot about it than he was in canon.
Or you might take it later, with a relationship already somewhat established. Maybe during Lioness Rampant, when he's more secure having a relationship with Jon, and therefore is less goaded by Delia, and so events run more toward trying to stop Roger's circle instead of worrying about the man himself. Or maybe he still falls for it, but remembers his lover and builds up a safeguard, or else Jon himself sees the signs more quickly and is able to help Thom. Perhaps you write even later, about Jon as King and Thom as his very crabby but beloved adviser. How public is that relationship? Perhaps you'd also consider Thayet in this scenario. Did she still marry Jon? Does she know about Thom? Do she and Jon perhaps serve as each other's beards, Thayet maybe being in a relationship with Alanna or Buri?
Mass Effect
Female Shepard/Tali - I felt this ship surprisingly hard when my first game of ME2 rolled around and was honestly surprised it didn't go all the way, given both how much of the male romance was left in their interactions and even what replaced the more overt romantic scenes. I'd like something probably more in that timeframe then.
Tali in ME2 has a lot to deal with when it comes to Shepard. Shepard in ME1 was a saviour, mentor, superior, leader, hero, friend, perhaps crush. In ME2, she adds to that powerful mix a dose of bizarre resurrection - but at the hands of Cerberus, and just as Tali's starting to stand on her own as a leader herself.
I'd like to see Tali trying to cope with this odd cocktail, perhaps working up her confidence over time, both as she continues to grow herself and as she starts getting to know Shepard more completely. Going from a a kind of distant, unattainable crush, to a closer and more genuine emotional connexion.
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
Fate/Nanoha - I'm requesting this mostly on the grounds of nostalgia for a show and pairing whose heyday has long since passed. But they've been adorable ever since the two of them exchanged ribbons and blushed at the end of S1, through Fate's determined defence of Nanoha when Vita was beating her down, and into their one-bed apartment and mutual adoption of a child. Really, I'd be happy with 'fic based on any of these stages of their relationship: an innocent and sweet pair of puppy-crushes, which all the adults are probably cooing over; realising exactly what they mean to each other as they begin to grow up; and that apparently very domestic and settled partnership while they're still surprisingly young adults, even as their professional lives involve vast amounts of danger, and even more vast laser beams. (If you chose the last one, perhaps you might write about what new dynamics the sudden introduction of Vivio brings to their relationship, and how they deal with it).
I'm not familiar with the sound stages, Force/Vivid, or the games, so while you're welcome to use details from them, a certain amount will end up being lost on me.
Greek & Roman Mythology
To quickly get some unpleasant business out of the way, I have some issues with Miller's The Song of Achilles, and with the ideas it's spread through certain circles about what the actual Classical traditions (and especially the specific Iliadic traditions) were in various regards. (A longer and more sourced post on the particular matter of Akhilleus and Patroklos' relationship is here, if you want to understand my mindset in a bit more detail). Therefore, a specific DNW for this fandom, which I'm borrowing from what I saw in another request, is the use of TSOA as a basis in characters' personalities or basic relationships.
Akhilleus/Briseis(/Patroklos) - Writing out Briseis frustrates me a lot, so I'd really like to see her brought out here. Is she really Akhilleus' "heart's beloved", or is that mostly a strategem of rhetoric and offended pride he's using against Agamemnon? Does she reciprocate in any way (she needn't - I have no requirement for this relationship to be two-sided), or does she really just hate this guy for all he'd done? Does she find him attractive despite her loathing? Does she hate the fact that he seems to think his being attractive should be good enough for her? Does she gradually warm up to him as she gets to know him and he seems serious about taking her as a wife rather than a slave? Does the argument with Agamemnon and Akhilleus' actions in its wake precipitate a change in Briseis' feelings towards him? Or does it strengthen something that was already there? Or does it actually check the development of their relationship because she thinks his actions are dishonourable and cruel even in spite of the fact he's doing it for her?
If you include Patroklos, what do you make of the fact that Briseis is one of the chief mourners at his funeral? What about the fact that she's going to do very much the same at Akhilleus' funeral, according to the Posthomerica tradition in the previous link, and the idea that Briseis ends up as an (apparently?) very sincere mourner for both of these men who were once her captors? If you'd prefer to stick with the Iliad and disregard the Posthomerica/the rest of the Cyclic poems, do you read Briseis' speech about Patroklos as maybe indicating a fondness for him? Do we get a kind of weird romantic set up where Akhilleus is in love with Briseis but she's in love with his subordinate and cousin? Does that get resolved or is there only pining until they die? Do both Akhilleus and Patroklos desire Briseis, but not each other (or not each other until this point?) Are they just a happy poly family? (And do they get a happy poly family ending, or is that still interrupted by the brutalities of war?
Helen & Aphrodite - Woooow, I love their meeting in Book 3. Helen essentially tells the goddess Aphrodite, "Go fuck Paris and go fuck yourself." Aphrodite tells Helen that she really does still love and care for her - but she can withdraw that love, and it will be a cruel and dangerous thing for her. Helen is terrified by the goddess she just stood up to and submits; but then she verbally flays Paris instead when she finds him.
So what does this all mean? Has Helen always resented Aphrodite and her blessing of beauty? Would she, like the Akhilleus of the Odyssey, prefer a humble and peaceful life to glory that comes paired with suffering? Or is this conflict more recent? Did it develop while Paris was eloping with her (or kidnapping her, if you'd prefer that relationship to have been unwilling from the start)? Did it come later into the War? How often does Aphrodite do this kind of thing to Helen? Is their shared assumption that the Trojan women would turn on Helen with Aphrodite's favour and beauty on her correct, or could they see further than that? What about the Trojan men, and the Greeks come to give her back to her husband?
As some of the prompts among this chaotic and disparate array might have suggested to you, I'm quite happy for you to drop my "bittersweet" preference for this fandom, and go right into full tragedy if that's where the muse takes you.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Willow/Buffy - The two girls who were with each other right from the beginning to the very end. Through the laughter and the tears, through life and death (and pulling one of them back "against all the laws of nature" from death to life), through love and conflict and even bitter emnity. And "I kind of love you".
This is a pairing for which I also have great nostalgic adoration, so I'm going to be pretty happy with whatever I get. (I'll express a preference for something relatively positive, but that's not an absolute).
If however, you would prefer prompts, then a quick array includes: Willow developing an innocent kind of crush on Buffy over S1-2 and dealing with feelings she doesn't quite understand yet; Willow getting (even more) jealous of Faith's flirting with Buffy in S3 (optionally, Faith just starts flirting with Willow too); Willow starts to explore her sexuality with Buffy in S4 rather than Tara (and Buffy has to work her own sexuality out too); trying to rebuild together - as established lovers or while falling in love- post S7. (You might just ignore Kennedy's S7 existence instead of spending time and space on writing her out: use a bit of fanfic fiat there).
I haven't kept up with any post-show material (barring Angel S5), so the comics and so forth won't really ring a bell with me. You're welcome to draw on them, if you'd really like, but it's not likely to land particularly effectively.
