Chocolate Box Exchange 2020
Dec. 31st, 2019 11:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
maplemoodDear Chocolatier,
Hi, and thank you so much for writing for me! We’ve already matched on some wonderful fandoms, so I know I’ll love whatever story you come up with, and please don’t feel like you need to follow my prompts to the letter—or at all, if none of them inspire you. I’d much rather you create the story of your heart, so feel free to mix, match, or completely ignore as you see fit. As long as you don’t ignore my DNWs (which aren’t exactly extensive), you’re golden.
DNWs:
· PWP (I love a good sex scene, but I’d prefer it weren’t the one and only focus of the story)
· Character Bashing
· Unrequested non-canon ships
Hard Sells:
· Setting-change-AUs, especially mundane AUs. (Usually, the setting and worldbuilding are a big part of why I love the story. That being said, I won’t say no to an interesting setting change, especially if it’s a bit more unusual than, say, coffee shop or high school.)
Likes:
· Missing Scenes
· Canon Divergence
· Complicated family and relationship dynamics
· Hurt/comfort
· Found Family
· Kid Fic (Non-canon kids, canon kids, or canon adult characters as kids—I especially love fics focused on characters’ pre-canon childhoods.)
· Loyalty
· A messed up (but interesting!) power dynamic
· Mentors and mentees
· Moral ambiguity
· Age Gaps
· Worldbuilding
· Happy Endings
· Sad Endings
· Bittersweet Endings
· Unhappy marriages or good relationships gone bad (Especially if there’s a glimmer of hope at the end, or the characters actively start working towards making their relationship better, but straight-up angst is good, too!)
· “Good is not Nice”-type characters; characters who are kind without necessarily being merciful, or characters who are merciful without necessarily being kind
· Banter
· Period-accurate details
· Mythology; fairy tales and folktales; ghost stories
· Storytelling
· Siblings
· Genderswap; Always-a-Girl!AUs
· Female Friendship
Earthsea - Ursula K. Le Guin
I’ve loved this series for years; beyond the magic and beautiful worldbuilding I love how compassionate it is, how even the heroes can be deeply imperfect but still redeemable. My two favorites in the series are definitely The Tombs of Atuan and Tehanu, but I’ve read and enjoyed them all, so feel free to pull your inspiration from any book.
Ged/Tenar
My childhood OTP! I’m fine with either pre-relationship stories where their attraction to each other is mostly subtext or stories where they’re very much together. A missing scene from Ged’s time in the Undertomb or from their voyage to Havnor would be amazing. I also adore the found family they build together in Tehanu, and if you’d like to include Therru/Tehanu as a character (on her own or with any of Tenar’s biological children), I’d be over the moon.
Penthe & Tenar
I’ve always loved Penthe and the way her stolid, cheerful practicality contrasts with Tenar/Arha’s...everything. I have a special soft spot for AUs that have Penthe escape the Tombs in some way, either with Ged and Tenar or on her own. On the other hand, an AU where she and Tenar stay on and become powerful priestesses in their own right could be interesting, or an AU where Penthe escapes and Arha stays….Missing scenes during their growing-up years would also be wonderful.
His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
Oh, gosh. I’m the process of rereading this series and being blown away all over again by its scope, its worldbuilding, and its characters. The worldbuilding especially is a huge draw for me; adding to it in any way would be fascinating.
Serafina Pekkala & Witches
I love the witches of this series, and I’m especially interested in their culture--their daily lives, their politics, their coming-of-age rituals. A story featuring Serafina Pekkala as teenager finding her way in the world, or a new queen finding out how to lead her clan, would be lovely. I’d also love to see her interacting with any of the other witch characters from the series--Lena Feldt, Juta Kamainen, Ruta Skadi. OC witches would also be great.
28 Days Later (2002)
The found family bits are by far and away my favorites in this movie, though I also love the bleakness and desperation of the post-zombie-apocalypse world, how the characters fight on despite that bleakness, and how, in the end, they aren’t left without hope.
Jim & Selena & Hannah
Again: found family! I love these guys together; a missing scene from the movie or a post-canon fic would be equally appreciated. None of them really get the chance to fully process their losses and trauma (there just isn’t time), and I love Selena’s insistence that she wants Hannah--and by extension Jim and herself--to do more than just cope. So: is that possible? And if it is, how do they manage it?
Ondine (2009)
Such a lovely, wistful, hopeful movie. Though I don’t mind that the magic is more or less explained away at the end, I also wouldn’t mind an AU where it isn’t.
Ondine & Syracuse & Annie
Annie and Ondine’s swimming lessons! Post-canon fics where they build their new life together! Further down the road--do Ondine and Syracuse ever have a baby together? What does Annie do after high school, or after college? Maybe she becomes a folklorist, or a writer. Was Ondine the only bit of magic in their lives, or just the beginning?
Ondine/Syracuse
They’re both so lost, and I love that they find company and understanding in each other. Anything exploring that dynamic would be wonderful.