Chocobox Letter 2021

Dear Chocolatier,

Welcome to my letter, I hope this will be useful to you (if not, feel free to ignore it, as always). You will find here a list of my General Likes, what I enjoy when it comes to ships or sex scenes. I try to provide prompts, but if they do nothing for you, feel free to ignore them or pick something in my Likes if they inspire you. Chocobox is a very fun exchange, so go and have fun!

By the way, I’m Beatrice_Sank on AO3.

PS: I’m requesting a lot of things this year, most of them very niche, so if I seem less wordy in some parts of this letter, don’t conclude anything from it, I’m equally happy about all my requests. It’s just that...writing...letter...takes...so much time when you’ve been eager and tried to grab all the cake/ the whole chocolate box too. Guess I’ll never learn, but that’s Fine.

 

General likes

Themes, atmosphere and tropes

Witty banter (you can never go wrong with that), sensory notations, future fics, fix-it, AU of the “what if” kind, backstory, plottiness, world-building, character study, competent female characters, experimental writing, alternative story-telling forms (letters, found manuscripts or records if it works with the fandom, outsider point of view…), found intimacy, intimate body language, found families, minority-related themes, conflicting world-views and people having their reasons, lush descriptions of things (also known as __!porn, e.g. architectural porn, landscape porn, whatever), literary allusions, elaboration on what the characters like to read/listen to/watch.

Ships-wise: romantic and sexual tension (resolved or unresolved), pinning, slow burn, people falling in love While Trying Not To, things changing gradually so it’s hard to put it into words or name it, friends/enemies to lovers, fake/pretend relationships, angst, accidental proximity, little touches and physical reactions, focusing on characters’ hands, sensual things going on at a slow pace, first kiss/getting together (not a fan of established relationships).

I’m opting in for sex scenes only for the following fandoms: Crossover Fandom, Ladies of Grace Adieu, Mame, Sleuth, Twin Peaks. I’ll add an “If sex” section to those. It’s just a list of things I generally enjoy (sometimes adapted to the particular pairing), but feel free to go elsewhere, as long as you do not hit my DNW.

DNW (and an explanation of the terms I used in the sign-up):

- Major character death: here I mean that I don’t want any of the requested characters to die irremediably in the fic; resurrection plots (e.g. in the context of a time loop) are fine. It also doesn’t apply to the undead (e.g.: Margolotta in my Discworld request)

- Non-con: when one of the character isn’t described as wanting the sex to happen, explicitly says no and/or isn’t showing any sign of desire for the other character. By contrast, I’m fine with dubcon: i.e. when the characters are ambiguous about whether they want the sex to happen (for various reasons like internalized homophobia, or conflicted feelings) or the sex happens in the context of an imbalanced power dynamic, or when the characters are possibly roleplaying but it’s not explicitly said. To me dubcon implies at least physical signs of desire and no explicit absence of consent (otherwise it falls under non-con).

- Underage: I don’t want any character under 18 to have sexual interaction with an adult; and I don’t want children under 15 to have sexual interactions together. Non-genital sexual acts like kissing or touching (other parts than genitals) between characters in their teens (by which I mean from 15 to 18) is fine.

- Gore: detailed description of body harm and blood. Short mentions of blood, like characters cutting themselves superficially, or using blood to perform a ritual, is fine.

- Sickfic: I don’t want the plot of the fic to revolve around any character falling sick or suffering from any kind of disease (again, it doesn’t apply to the undead, or to characters that are canonically ill).

- Established relationship when the relationship in question isn’t canon: some of my prompts are request for ships that are not canon. What I don’t want is those relationships being presented as already established in the fic without telling first how they got together.

- Non-canonical children and pregnancy: by that I mean I don’t want the characters to get pregnant or have children during the course of the fic. If they canonically have children it’s fine to mention them. It’s also fine to talk about the characters’ childhood.

- Watersports

- Unrequested crossovers (doesn’t apply to my Crossover Fandom Requests, obviously).

- A/B/O, soulmates and that brand of AU where you change the setting (coffee shop, space, vampires, etc.): canon divergences are fine (doesn’t apply to my Crossover Fandom requests).

 

Crossover Fandom

 

Jane Marple/Minerva McGonagall

Great ladies, great minds, both rationalists in their own way, I expect. I’m sure Jane likes cats, and that McGonagall can enjoy a good mystery too.

Prompt ideas

- a Crime is committed at Hogwarts (I would prefer it not too gruesome, but if you’re in the mood for a bloody murder, no sweat), and McGonagall wants to bring in that famous detective she’s read so much about…

- Miss Marple finds a way to contact McGonagall because she’s faced with a murder that seems impossible, and she very politely ask for her magical expertise… Minerva is entirely puzzled, but charmed.

- Miss Marple is actually a witch (it would explain so much), but her sleuthing abilities seem to desert her when it comes to dating… Minerva decides to leave actual clues for her in the Muggle world, deciding that she’s been waiting for Jane to realize she likes her long enough.

If sex: praise, alternate power dynamics, teasing, sex in semi-public places, voyeurism and mirrors, oral sex, magic, tenderness.

 

Mary Poppins/Twelfth Doctor

What if Missy only dressed this way to mock Twelfth’s crush on the magical nanny? Is Mary Poppins an alien in her own right, an actual Timelady, or an entity even the Doctor cannot make sense of? I like the idea that she would remain this mysterious presence that would intrigue him.

Prompt ideas

- the Doctor picks up a strange signal in 1910’s England and ends up undercover in a household where Mary is taking care of the children, trying hard to decide if she’s a menace or a blessing.

- the Tardis collides with Mary’s umbrella in the sky, and she would like to ask for compensation, since this is an outrageous violation of celestial navigation code. I like to think Mary would be as unfazed by the Doctor as she is by everything else.

 

If sex: praise, alternate power dynamics, teasing, sex in semi-public places, clothed sex.

Carolyn Martens/Minerva McGonagall

Two women of power, both very much in charge. Although Carolyn is more elusive and morally grey than Minerva will probably ever be.

- Minerva is on a spying mission, but Carolyn figures out something about that cat isn’t right.

- A game of wizard’s chess between the two. Maybe the end isn’t their real focus there, and they probably are sore losers, too.

- Carolyn gets in trouble with magical laws for disposing of a wizard. Minerva is sent t help, or perhaps as legal consulting, and she honestly tries, but Carolyn is both infuriating and distracting...

If sex: praise, alternate power dynamics, teasing, sex in semi-public places, voyeurism and mirrors, competitive sex, oral sex, kissing various body parts.

 

Discworld

Vetinari/Lady Margolotta

I’m fascinated by the power dynamic here, and especially interested in how it plays out now that they’re both older and that maintaining control and order in their part of the world is taking up so much of their time they rarely see each other. My kink here is very much: two middle-aged (well, it’s a bit more complicated for Margolotta but she seems so eager to play the part) geniuses, each with their own particular form of intelligence (and style), very much into each other, and very much into politics and power too.

Prompt Ideas

- Say they get to meet in person maybe every year or two years (for diplomatic meetings? Or an anniversary they scrupulously honour? Or both at the same time – I mean that would be in-character too). What do those briefs meetings look like? Do they change over the years?

- Any correspondence between them (epistolary fic welcome as always). Here I’m also curious about any code they might be using for discussing both political issues and very personal issues (bonus point if the code in question leaves a lot to the imagination).

- Anything that mixes their attraction for each other and the (probably different) way they understand political power, and their own political responsibilities. I would be interested in anything related to Margolotta’s need for blood, and how her relationship with Vetinari transformed that dimension, and also in the ways Vetinari might have changed too in return.

- I doubt those will ever retire, but what if they did? What would they do together? Or maybe they sometimes fantasize about retiring together, knowing full well it will probably never happen.

 

Engrenages | Spiral

François Roban/Marianne Ledoux

Look. Look. I know there is zero chance in hell that anyone out there has seen that series and is feeling as frustrated as me about those two, but if you exist, know that I’m up for literally anything you’re willing to write. To summarize how I feel about Marianne’s arc and the whole situation: Roban is canonically an idiot when it comes to relationships, especially romantic ones, but I feel like they went too far with that one. They had such a good relationship, and it was layered and not okay in some ways (clearly Marianne deserves better than to be used as a moral compass), and in short I’d like for Roban to get his shit together for once. But honestly, I’ll also happily read something where he doesn’t, as long as it’s just more content for those two, so go where your heart takes you.

Prompt ideas

- Roban has an Epiphany about a) Marianne’s feelings for him and b) his own (unclear?) feelings for her. Maybe another character helps him figure it out (every member of the cast welcome here), maybe it’s all silent and private. Does he do anything about it?

- Marianne shows up on Roban’s last day of work before retirement. Since they don’t work together anymore, maybe something will come out of it this time?

- any professional scene that escalates into something less than professional, either because they’re angry, frustrated with other other, or just because it happens, without any warning sign (although I personally think they had it coming).

 

Fleabag

Godmother & Therapist

I love this show, I find it brilliant, the writing and the acting alike, I like how weird and cruel and funny those people are and I really wish the whole family would have gone to therapy. Hence this nom: I adore both Fiona Shaw and , and I wanted their characters to interact so badly. Godmother is… well, she clearly has Issues of her own, and the Therapist is both perceptive and perhaps a bit distracted (detached at the very least). I would love to read something in which Godmother stays her very unlikable self, but reveals some chinks in her armour (for example, I’m sure there is a lot to be said about her relationship to Fleabag’s mother, or Fleabag herself), and the Therapist… analyses? Maybe? But nobody can be sure what she really things.

Prompt Ideas

- Godmother goes to therapy for whatever reason (because it’s hype? Because it also was a gift? Beacause she’s nagged by something but can’t realize it has to do with the awful way she behaves?). I don’t expect her to be devastated over anything, at least at first glance, but as I said I would love something funny and cruel in the way the show can be. Feel free to have her talk of her relationships with whoever you want in the cast!

- Or maybe they meet at an art show or posh cocktail or dinner in town, and Godmother talks while the Therapist can’t help but being professionally horrified, while trying very hard not to comment.

 

Ladies of Grace Adieu

Cassandra Parbringer/Jane Tobias/Mrs Field

I love all things Susanna Clarke, and I’m very interested in her female characters, especially when there’s magic involved. I love the ‘secret history’ aspect of the short-stories, and the mentions of everything that get erased by ‘official (male) History of magic’. It explores the idea of marginalized people and minorities in such a delicate, allusive way, and I like that the reader gets to do most of the critical work. And in this story in particular, the relationships between these three women was so intriguing because of the way solidarity and intimacy mixes with magic and the way they practice it (and probably study it, at least in Jane’s case). And I really got the feeling that there was something there, not necessarily easy to define, but something complex and deep, a bond between them that has to do with empowerment (in the strongest sense of the term) and a secret sense of understanding.

Prompt ideas:

- anything that explores the strong bond between those three, no matter how you want to interpret it (platonic love, actual throuple, something less defined, something more conflicted, etc.) and moments when they do magic together: how does that dynamic translates in the practice of their art?

- literal dancing-on-the-moor scene could be very nice too. Something slightly gothic and disheveled, those three women extracting themselves from society to form their own conven.

- after Mr Hart’s (perhaps untimely?) death, I imagine they might want to live together. Give me some domestic fluff with a strange magical twist. Maybe Cassandra knows stories about female magicians of the ancient times who happened to love each other, that she tells in specific circumstances, maybe Jane likes to give her two cents about Catherine of Winchester’s life, etc.

- epistolary fic is, as always, welcome too if you want to go that way. If they ever get separated, how do they deal with the distance? Maybe the letters themselves could be a tad magic in their own way?

If sex: praise, alternate power dynamics, teasing, sex in semi-public places, voyeurism and mirrors, oral sex, magic, tenderness.

La Locandiera – Carlo Goldoni

Mirandolina/ Baron Ripafratta

Look, I never expected to develop frustrations about an 18th century Italian play, but here we are I guess. So I love La Locandiera, and especially Mirandolina as a heroine: I love her wits, how independent she is, and how her final marriage feels like another trick to frustrate everyone. And Ripafratta is obviously a jerk in a lot of ways, but I’ll admit I’m a victim of my favourite tropes here, I’d love to see an AU where she accidentally get caught up in the game so much that she develops actual feelings for him. Or at least goes too far and gets confused by it. I’m okay if everything is murky and at least partially faked, but I’d prefer if there was at

But if you’re not inspired by that dynamic, I’d be honestly interested in whatever that pairing inspires you (as long as the violence stays rather mild: no blood or something more violent than a slap; that being said, the situation is rather violent psychologically speaking, so feel free to explore that if you want, no restriction for me on that front).

Prompt ideas

- Ripafratta confronts Mirandolina about her lies, but Something betrays that she isn’t really indifferent to him, changing the dynamic of the scene (bonus point if Mirandolina does everything she can to hide that ‘weakness’/still tries to win the fight)

- future fic: they meet by chance a few years later and reconsider what happened. Maybe they feel a bit different now?

- An epistolary narrative could be interesting too: maybe they wrote notes to each other when Ripafratta was staying at the inn, or/and maybe they wrote letters after he left (because they still needed to insult each other, and maybe things evolve?)

Sidenote: I’m French and so I’ve only experienced the play in French and I know a bit of the original Italian because of adaptations, but I have no idea if they changed the characters’ names or titles in English translations. Feel free to use whatever denomination you’re familiar with, I’m sure I’ll be okay with it.

Mame

Mame Dennis/Vera Charles

So I know I’m really trying my luck this year, but I blame Yuletide for making me too bold. If by any chance you love Mame as much as I do (and honestly I love both the non-musical movie and the musical with Lansbury, I don’t really mind what version of canon you use), and if you like the idea of Mame/Vera, well I’m already grateful. So consider that I’ll be happy with whatever you may want to read, because that’s the truth. This canon has such a queer vibe you can probably see it from the moon, and best friends/nemesis throwing shades while drunk/in extravagant costumes is just the right configuration for a great ‘frenemies to lovers’ story, if you ask me.

Feel free to explore gender and identity issues here, if you find the idea interesting: Jerry Herman and Bea Arthur will be proud of you.

Prompt ideas

- building on sexual tensions while in rehearsal for Vera’s play would be great. “The Man in the Moon” is a very interesting song to exploit in that sense: that lady in the moon sure sounds lovely, according to Vera…

- Mame defending Vera, or the other way around, and being caught at it: feelings ensue. I’m very much for the slap-slap-kiss trope here, and all the love-hate relationships tropes, really.

- a drunk confession from Vera

- Mame and Vera competing for a man and realizing they’re more interested in the competition and ultimately in each other.
 

If sex: praise, alternate power dynamics, teasing, sex in semi-public places, voyeurism and mirrors, competitive sex, oral sex, kissing various body parts.

The Remains of the Day

Miss Kenton/Mr Steven

I like the way the tragic and failed romance blends with social themes like service in England from the 30s to 60s, and the whole idea of sacrificing one’s autonomy in one way or another, be it to your job or your family (Miss Kenton’s marriage doesn’t seem to be a very happy one, and yet she cannot really brings herself to leave).

I love how restrained the characters and the whole narrative is, even if it drives me completely mad with frustration. So yes, the Pining. Any resolution of that unresolved tension is fine by me.

Prompt ideas

- A scene where Stevens turns the tables on Miss Kenton and becomes sort of flirty – but maybe not to the point of totally levaing his professional duties behind, it can be discrete but persistent (I’m curious to see how she would react, especially if she has more or less given up on him ever showing visible interest).

- fake/pretend relationship”/forced proximity! They could have to pretend to be married for something like a day or two (or longer if you feel like it): maybe their new employer only wants married staff, or they have to pretend for an event, or Reasons (get wild).

- she jumps off the damned bus in the damned bus scene (it’s more of a movie reference maybe, but more broadly, any scene where she reconsiders her decision to leave Stevens behind without taking a chance at what they still could have. Any exploration of “lost time” and if that notion really means something or not, and of what remains now, is welcome here if you feel like it.

- and if you feel up for something a bit more tangled: what if she did come back after he offered her the job at the end? How does one go back to being a servant and live in the same house and maybe rekindle an old romance in the 60s after all this time and everything that happened? Especially when both parts are aware that your return has something to do with it but no one dares mention it at first?

 

Sleuth

Andrew Wyke/ Milo Tindle

I haven’t fully recovered from how twisted, dark, fascinating (and weirdly erotic) that movie is. On the one hand, there are concrete reasons for the animosity and resentment between the characters: sentimental rivalry, social contempt (it sure isn’t a “classless society”, to quote Andrew), money issues… But, on the other hand, why so deeply personal? Why brag about sexual feats, why the constant physical humiliation? Honestly, it feels like women end up being very incidental to their relationship. And in the end, wouldn’t they keep playing those games forever if they could?

So I’m here for even more mind games, but what interests me is that if they were stuck together in some way they also would be forced to talk or at least think a bit more about what they’re doing and why they’re doing it. In other words I want more of that relationships because it seems so layered with possibilities and complex twists and we only get a glimpse of it during the movie. Elaborate on the hatred, tell me if and how they could see get to see each other as equals, what they get from torturing the other, what they understand of each other.

Also, boy do I need slash for this. Everything's there, especially the costume scene where they flirt, but even the fact they stand in Marguerite’s room together, or when Milo pretends to have slept with Thea... There’s all this play around triangular desire and how the games seem to excite them in a much deeper way than when they talk their actual lovers. I’m not saying it could be this big, fluffy romance, oh no, but… it could be something. Hot and messy and angry, sure.

Prompt ideas

- The costume scene, or a later occurrence of the costume scene, except the ambiguity escalates in some way.

- They get stuck together in the castle, no phone, no police. What happens when they repeatedly fail to kill each other/to beat the other in any significant way (could be a darker type of 5 times +1 too!)? It doesn’t have to be completely resolved, I’d just like them to achieve some state of balance. - If you want to throw a time loop or something of the kind in there, I’m game too (I’d like to see them try to figure that one out, potentially after killing each other multiple times, and realizing that maybe they’d rather shag each other).

- any scene where one of them forces the other to solves some puzzles for his own enjoyment. I’m interested in the potential voyeuristic aspect of watching someone trying to figure you out, since they’re all about intellectualization, but also on how that scenario could turn into something more physical (like, being forced to solve puzzles in a sexual situation, for example).

If sex: dirty talk, humiliation, shifting power dynamic, clothed sex, frottage, competing for sex, orgasm denial, light bondage, anything involving Margaret’s room. Dubcon is fine (no non-con please, see DNW).

 

Twin Peaks
 

Albert & Constance

The ultimate duo. I wish Albert was given more time to make a friend. It looked like they did each other a world of good. So any scene where they might explore that potentiality and get a bit real too between two jokes.

Prompt ideas

- Albert taking Constance out only to find out she hates jazz.

- A disastrous picnic, wherever your heart desires (honestly I’m really into Disaster Outings for them, especially if hilarity/weirdness ensues).

- Albert going back to Buckhorn after the finale to check if anything has changed there too (and if the weirdness is spreading), but mostly to check on Constance.

Constance/Diane

The ship no one expected, they barely have a scene together but you know what? I still think it works so well. Does Constance remind Diane of how her life used to be, before it all went south? What does Constance understand of Diane’s traumas? I like the idea that they would impress each other, for different reasons. Sharp women, different edges. And of course, the banter.

Prompt ideas

- They end up on what they gradually discover to be a date, because Albert set them up (reluctant matchmaking Albert, perhaps? Who knows?)

- Post-canon: how could they meet again after this whole mess? Perhaps Diane needs a couch to crash on after she mysteriously reappears in Buckhorn (imagine Constance’s face). Perhaps Buckorn’s station suddenly has a new secretary.

- Diane keeps visiting Constance in dreams, and it gets...strangely…heated (or strangely moving, if you would prefer, although it could also be both).

If sex: I would prefer nothing higher than M-rated here, but it means I will be absolutely fine with anything you come up with within that rating.

 

Diane & Naido

I like the idea that they are both the same and quite different, and that they get to exist separately, but the idea of bringing them together, of them being allowed to make contact, seems very important to me. They both has been through a lot, and I like to think that Naido doesn’t just “disappear” when red-haired Diane appears, especially given what happens to her next.

Prompt ideas

- if that inspires you, here’s an artwork featuring those two that I really like: https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/017/704/998/large/maja-ljunggren-dido.jpg?1557044176. Specifically, I’m really moved by the way they hold hands, like it’s the most natural thing in the world but also vital to them. I guess I’d really enjoy them simply watching weird TV together, or even regular TV if you can find deeper meaning somewhere in the scene. Raw, existential domestic fluff, or something of the kind.

- I would enjoy a quiet dancing scene between them, something like Audrey’s dance, but as a duet. What could it mean and how would that work?

- Does Naido comes back for Diane/Linda after the finale? Is it a different Naido altogether? Or maybe she’s just the same, which is precious in times like those, and I suppose realizing your traumas still have the same face could help you find yourself again...

 

Laura & Monica Belluci

I’m not entirely sure Gordon deserves a Monica Belluci in his dreams, but Laura certainly does. And I believe that presence would mean entirely different things to Laura. After all, what does Laura Palmer dreams about? Would Monica be a loving presence, a Dido of the dreamworld, or something else entirely, even a trickster spirit of some sort? Feel free to keep it very ambiguous, I’m also here for the mystery of it all, here.

Prompt ideas

- Laura has entered Gordon’s dream somehow, and it seems that Monica has been waiting for her. Perhaps they walk together through different dreamscapes (or different characters’ dreams?) for a while. The company could be nice, or disturbing.

- Unfortunately, Monica Belluci’s filmography begins in the early 90s. But I mean, what is time anyway? So perhaps Laura finds herself watching strange films featuring an unknown Italian actress, or perhaps that actress finds her way into everything Laura is watching, inexplicably.