Dear Chocolatier 2018

[elegantstupidity]

First, hi! I’m elegantstupidity on the AO3, megaphonemonday here, and Kate basically everywhere else. 

Second, I know this is kind of long (and could possibly get longer by the time sign ups are over), but I’m terrible at self-editing and hopefully more info is better than less? That’s what I’m telling myself, at least. 

I am very easy to please when it comes to gifts; I’m sure I’ll love whatever you create and can’t wait to see the finished product! If you came into this with an idea for something, absolutely go with your muse. If you need a little inspiration, though, hopefully there’s something in this jumble that helps! Feel free to mix and match—take the broad prompts from one to use for another—between fandoms, too. Basically, use this letter as much or as little as you like, I’m happy to come along for the ride.

Anyway, thank you in advance and see you in February!

elegantstupidity/megaphonemonday/Kate

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Navigation

Yes, Please!, No, Thanks!, Requests, Pitch, Selfie, Tortall Series

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Yes, please!

• character- and/or relationship-driven plots
• missing scenes 
• x + 1 times 
• AUs, in almost any form
  • especially if they’re a little weird but canon-adjacent (ie: body swaps, unexpected telepathic connections, time loops, etc.)
  • exceptions are omegaverse and slave/master AUs. I’m not into those. Also, I’m kinda meh on soulmate and high school AUs
• slow burns and UST
  • especially combined with mutual pining and Reasons™ for not being together
• [enemies to] friends to lovers
  • I’m all about snarky antagonism/teasing as flirting
• all the ridiculous, over the top, romantic tropes
  • ie: friends with benefits turning to something more; sharing a bed; secret relationships; weird enforced proximity (ie handcuffed together, locked in a closet); everyone thinks we’re dating and we’re not. what are we missing?; meddling friends; secret identities (à la You’ve Got Mail)
    • actually, if Nora Ephron wrote about it, I love it
• found families and/or family feels and/or complex family situations
• team bonding/team dynamics
  • ie: road trips, pranks, inside jokes, friendship building, nights out, games/game nights, betting pools, roughhousing/physical affection, celebrations/parties, etc.
• mutual admiration societies/positive partnerships
  • I still love snark and teasing and even outright antagonism, they just have to end up liking each other—even grudgingly
• HEA or HFN
• smut is excellent; I 100% do not expect it
  • some likes: resolving UST, transparently thin reasons to bang it out, sexual awakenings, teasing/foreplay, rough sex, banter/dirty talk, enthusiastic oral, enthusiasm in general, trying new things, laughing together, …having a nice time? I don’t know, my tastes run pretty vanilla reading- (and writing-)wise.
  • alternatively, I can definitely get behind some hate/grudge sex, but I do like when it eventually evolves into something more

Art-specific likes

• A thing you should know: I am not picky at all. 
  • Color, style, medium. They are all equally baffling because I can't Art™ for the life of me. So: Go wild and you will have a suitably awestruck recipient. 
• If you can cannibalize anything from the above likes, that’s incredible, how did you do that?
• Scenery and landscapes are fun, but portraits are equally great. 
  • ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ idk, it’s really up to you because I don’t know how to be helpful on this front.

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No, Thanks!

• pregnancy!fic, baby!fic, and kid!fic
  • kids that already exist in canon are fine to include
• infidelity
• general grimdark stuff (extra-canonical character death, graphic violence, gore, abuse, etc.)
  • I’m good with angst and guilt and drama, but I need a light at the end of the tunnel, please.
• non- or dubcon
• underage

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Requests

As I said above, don’t feel tied to any of these prompts. Writers, if you like the art prompt and want to write a fic for it, more power to you. Artists, don’t feel like those are the only ones you should work with. Side note: if you want to illustrate something from one of my fics—probably for Pitch if this is your main assignment since that’s the only fandom I’ve written in that I’m also requesting—that would be amazing!)

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Pitch
relationships: Ginny/Mike, Ginny/Livan/Mike, Ginny & Evelyn, Ginny & Blip, Ginny & Livan, Ginny/Livan
unrequested relationships: So long as (at least) one of my requested pairs is the focus, I’m fine with the inclusion of Blip/Ev or mentions of past canon relationships, as well as any other characters from the show.

I love Ginny Baker. I love her mind. I love her shoes. Nikes, naturally. It feels like she was the character I waited my entire life for. (So of course Fox had to go and cancel the show, but that’s an issue for another time.) Now that she only lives on in fic, I cannot get enough of her. Anything that has a healthy dose of Ginny Baker—her grit and vulnerability, her humor and drive—is going to be right up my alley.

That said, I’m very interested in Ginny’s enduring happiness and fulfillment, but Ginny/Mike is my primary ship. I talk about it a lot. A lot a lot. I don’t think I’ve come across a dynamic of theirs that doesn’t work for me: mentor/mentee, teammates, the slow burn, the forbidden-ness of it all! It’s all perfect. I also have a soft spot a mile wide for Ginny(/ or &)Livan and Ginny/Livan/Mike. What can I say? Pitchers and catchers, there’s just something about ‘em. Then, of course, the Sanderses—and their friendship with Ginny—are absolute treasures. I need to believe they’re okay because if they’re not, then love and marriage mean nothing.

prompt ideas

• Drunk dialing! Mostly, I’m interested in Ginny being the drunk dialer/tipsy texter, but go with your instincts. Or, Mike or Livan’s reactions when they realize she’s drunk dialing (both of?) them. 
• Superstitions! Baseball is full of them. Who has them? Who doesn’t? Who thinks they’re absolutely ridiculous, but the last time the said so, were frozen out by the team for a week? 
• The Sanders clan! How/when/why Evelyn and/or Blip decided they were going to adopt Ginny into their family. Was she a little resistant at first? 
• Bawson! Basically anything Ginny/Mike-related. Do they finally go golfing? How about dancing? 
  • More interrupted kisses, doublespeak, and otherwise unresolved tension, please.
• Cold weather! How do these California kids deal with anything below 50ºF? Bundled up in the dugout as an early snow falls, ice skating (or trying their hardest to ice skate), impromptu snowball fights, the possibilities are endless.
• Body swap! I am still holding out hope some angel will come along and write me the Mike-and-Livan-somehow-switch-bodies-while-Ginny-tries-to-figure-out-what-the-hell-happened fic of my dreams, but I realize that’s a tough job in 300 words. Still, I’m putting it out there, like the Secret.
• Art prompt!  If you did a sketch of any/all of Ginny or Mike or Livan or Blip’s baseball card, that would be amazing! 
  • Or maybe a rookie card? Younger Ginny with Mike’s, maybe? Perhaps Mike giving Ginny hers? 

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Selfie
relationships: Eliza & Charmonique, Eliza & Henry, Eliza/Henry
unrequested relationships: So long as (at least) one of my requested pairs is the focus, I’m fine with the inclusion of any other characters from the show.

I don’t know what it says about me that I fall so hard for TV shows that are ultimately doomed, but I was a lost cause for Selfie from the beginning. Between being an updated rendition of a classic and casting John Cho as the male lead, there was no way I wasn’t going to fall in love. Tack on its charm, wit, and Karen Gillan’s poor, (unintentionally) hilarious wig, and I was a goner. 

I am firmly in Camp Eliza Needs More Female Friends and Charmonique would be such a good one. They had such a fun dynamic on the show, I’d love to see how it grows and develops over time. As for Eliza and Henry, theirs was a slow burn for the ages, and I love a good slow burn. Their banter and teasing was such a delight, too, especially since it could morph so quickly into something more serious. That scene in Henry’s home office, where he tugged her in by the waist? That’s shipping heaven for me!

prompt ideas

• Future! Could be a little slice of life fic from where everyone is now or more lunch dates over the garbage can or what eventually pushes Eliza and Henry over the edge, I’d love to see it. 
• Firsts! Kiss, real date, visit to a trade show together, time locked in the office after hours, win on the company softball team, etc. etc. 
• Girl’s night! In or out for Eliza and Charmonique. Maybe Henry crashes, maybe he doesn’t. 
  • I’d be more than okay with Kevin also making an appearance if you like.
• Bed sharing! Either platonic or not. I’m mostly intrigued by another character witnessing Eliza’s nighttime beauty regimen first hand. 
  • Is she aghast Henry uses bar soap to wash his face? Does he get a little hot under the collar at her sleepwear? Which of them is a sleep cuddler? Who steals all the pillows? Inquiring minds need to know!
• Shopping! Eliza thinks Henry needs to impress a potential new client, so she takes him out to update his wardrobe. Or Henry takes Eliza to look at personal planners because her phone’s calendar is clogged with notifications for sales and her instagram upload schedule or something.
• Art prompt! Something from a selfie angle? That seems fitting, at least.
  • Eliza has roped a reluctant (or so he seems) Henry into her selfie.  

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Tortall Series - Tamora Pierce
relationships: Dom/Kel, Kel & Alanna, Kel & Daine, Kel & Raoul, Kel & Thayet
unrequested characters/ships: So long as (at least) one of my requested pairs is the focus, I’m fine with the inclusion of any canon relationships as well as any other characters from the Tortall universe.

Did you notice that I happen to love Kel? Because I really do. The Protector of the Small Quartet are probably my favorite books out of Tortall and it all has to do with her. She was the first Girl Power!™ heroine that I imprinted on at an impressionable age and I never quite outgrew her. I love her pride and stubbornness, and of course her unflinching pursuit of justice. Ideally, I’d like to see something set at the earliest during Squire, but go with your gut.

For ships, I do still really like Dom/Kel. There’s something very satisfying about Kel growing up and landing her teenage crush. Just like there’s something very satisfying about her growing up and earning the respect and admiration of these heroes of her childhood. Seeing her emerge from probationary page to knight and commander and their equal (mostly equal: Thayet is her queen, after all) is such a gratifying arcand I want more of it.

prompt ideas

• The Grand Progress! Squire is probably my favorite of the four Kel books, so anything you set during that time is more than welcome. Preparing for a joust or bandaging wounds from the griffin, squiring/dancing attendance at yet another party, anything like that would be great! 
• Future! I love the idea of Kel settling into the reality that some of these people are her equals, even if she doesn’t always feel like it. 
• Crushes! I actually liked how flighty Kel’s crushes were as a teenager, but I also kind of think she might have been oblivious to anyone’s interest in her. 
  • To what lengths—and how often—does Dom have to go to get her to realize? Does anyone else get roped into his attempts?
• Training! I can always appreciate a good fight/sparring scene. Mostly because I cannot write them myself. 
• Missions! Anything where Kel is out in Tortall, trying to make it a better place, either as a missing scene or set in the future. 
  • Maybe camping after a long, hard ride, sitting at the evening campfire. A team up with the Queen’s Riders, perhaps? 
• Art prompt! I love how most of these characters are more than a little uncomfortable in fancy situations for one reason or another. So: Kel and whoever in formal wear (could be canon or an AU, I’m happy with both) looking less than thrilled.
  • I do not have Opinions™ on what these characters look like, so go wild as far as that’s concerned.

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Last edited January 5, 2018