Dear Chocolatier 2022

[humiliatedrook]

Dear Chocolatier,

Hello!

Happy 2022, I hope you’re doing well! 

This is my first exchange letter, so I tried to be really specific and followed some formats from other letters I've seen.  I hope it helps and isn't too overwhelming!  I also hope you find these prompts interesting, but I want to emphasize that you’re welcome to pick threads you like as you please, combine prompts, or choose your own (as long as DNWs are respected). I’m excited for whatever you come up with and want to make. It’s an honor that you’re creating for me in the first place.

I requested fanfiction but welcome fanart as a treat!

Thank you so much again!  If there’s anything unclear, I’m happy to answer as fast I can through a mod. I really look forward to seeing your creativity and talent!

Best,

HumiliatedRook

Jump to

• Likes

• DNWs

• The Queen’s Gambit

• Encanto (2021)

• Eternals (2021)

General Likes and DNWs

Likes
General, genres, styles

• Character and relationship studies!!!
  • When both plot and character study are woven together that is excellent, but if I had to trade off one, I’ll take character study and anticlimactic character-driven or relationship-driven plots over anything
  • Character moments through slice-of-life works really well here!
• Canon fill-ins
• Adventure, angst, but for the most part I'm okay with sad endings, too!), canon-typical plots, fantasy, sci-fi, humor/comedy, mysteries, casefic, romance, slice of life, domestic, emotional whump
  
• Endings that are happy, peaceful, reflective/bittersweet, open/ambiguous, angsty (preferences for specific prompts when specified; specific angsty DNWs specified when relevant)
• Expanded or missing scenes
• Parallels and canon callbacks
• Bonding and building relationships
• x+1 times
• AUs (unless otherwise specified): canon divergences; canon infused with magic/fantasy/sci-fi (telepathy, time loops, etc); fusions or genre shifts (mythology/god, Harry Potter, etc); tropes (roommates, neighbors), the rest (mall, coffeeshop, restaurant, modern, regency, epic fantasy, etc)
  • In an AU I love epic world-building but it’s definitely not a requirement! A slice of the world or just a single scene is cool, too
• G through E rating acceptable

Details

• Competence, drive, ambition, and characters in their element (or their path to getting to competence).
• (Eventual) genuine affection and respect belying snark, teasing, banter, antagonism, humor, sarcasm
• Mythological (any pantheon or culture or religion works) or literary references
• Exploration or allusions to philosophy, physics, math, science, engineering
• Motifs and symbols, like recurring common objects that people don’t usually pay attention to, like a scrapbook or a necklace or a ring
• Epistolary elements (letters, texts/emails/digital communication, published material)
• Written gore for dark!characters and dark!universes (without glorifying violence)
• Details about side characters, including background pairings
• Characters of color having independence (being conscious of racial dynamics in inter-racial friendships or romances)
• Introspection, character-defining choices (dealing with even non-canonical character illness and death are fine!)
• Worldbuilding, description, detail for setting, emotions, etc
  • History, especially in period dramas
  • Current events, latest fashion trends, favorite foods, zeitgeist things, etc, and how they might affect the characters
• People sharing their expertise/hobbies (including you, writer!). Go full pretentious on your knowledge base, or niche hobby. I’ll love it. I adore how my first-ever ship (Beth/Benny) click over chess, but I'd also love an AU where they connect over something else, like computer science or medicine or law or baseball or backgammon or Go or libraries or books or piano or orchestra or ANYTHING. REALLY, I’ll love all the detail you can add.  My love for detail also applies to other ships and fandoms.

Gen relationships

• Found family or family feels: the complexity that is the dynamic between diverse, powerful people
  
• Conflicts/complexity added to the friendship: what pushes or evolves a friendship beyond what we see in canon?  What happens when characters act selfishly or miss an important detail?
  
• Female friendships, but also all kinds of friendships with inside jokes, loyalty, mutual admiration and respect and pride in each other, betting pools, roughhousing/physical affection
• People bringing unique skill sets/powers to the table (and then finding cool combinations for their skills/powers)
• Plots/heists planned and executed
• Small hiccups and conflicts
• Snark and teasing and even outright antagonism

Romantic relationships

• Pre-relationship and getting together plots
  • Pining/yearning/longing (can be mutual), the gamut of unresolved to resolved sexual tension, romantic almosts (kissing, having sex), flirting, lingering touches, denial, interrupted (almost) kisses and intense moments, veiled confessions, “I love you” confessions (especially during an intense moment/fight/sex), defining ambiguous romantic relationships
  • [Enemies/rivals to] friends to lovers and all the banter and antagonism that comes with it
  • Enemies/rivals/friends with benefits catching feelings
  • “We just kissed/slept together/did something unmistakably romantic and it might be a really bad idea, but we’re definitely not gonna do it again,” and then they absolutely do it again.
  • Finding the way back to someone after breaking up
  • Fake dating, secret dating, slow burns, marriage of convenience
• Established relationships
  • “Taking the next step” questions: do we move in together? If I propose marriage, when and how?
  • Simple demonstrations of affection through small actions, gifts, attention
    • Attempts to try things out of comfort zone, with varying mileage of success: planning a party, surprises, novel date ideas, etc.
  • Trust when others might not trust
  • “I’m mad at you but I can’t help smiling because I love you anyway”
  • Creative or unusual kisses
  • Bonding and time together

Smut

• I'm pretty vanilla in terms of kinks, but most positions work for me!
• Teasing!!!
  • Banter, hand/mouth stuff, solo action, lots of foreplay, striptease
• Minor/fully consensual powerplay dynamics: light D/S, playing games, silence, obedience, restraints, fighting, surprise, choking, rough sex (hate sex, quick and dirty sex, angry sex), hair pulling, holding each other down, losing control, leaving marks
• Characterization
• Feelings: show me how close characters are and how they feel, discovering each other
  • Competitiveness, can’t-hold-back (not making it to the bed), romance, trust, enthusiasm, intensity, tenderness, vulnerability, desperation, desire to please (hand/mouth exploration), laughing/having fun with it, angst, happiness, conflict, jealousy, surprise, hate, jealousy, ambiguity (can’t make out expressions, or feelings)
  • Alternatively, fantasies and dreams (especially when compared to reality!)
• Environment/sensory experiences
  • Attention to jewelry
  • Mirrors

Art/visual

• Portraits
  • Symbolism through position or objects or outfits
  • I enjoy characters that are dynamic or in motion, but that’s not a requirement
  • Moods: any but especially combative/tough/fierce/strong or affectionate
• Art sliced from the universe
  • Photographs they take, candid photographs of them, newspaper articles/headlines, moments in time or snapshots
    
• Action sequences
• Any narrative likes, including and especially AU versions of characters
• Abstract expressionist backgrounds to represent emotions
• Dramatic/contrasting lighting
• Unique perspectives (aerial, side profile, etc)
• Details on outfits (especially pretty or unusual!) and facial expressions
  
• Landscapes/cityscapes that give backdrops for details/expansions/worldbuilding/seasons
• Accurate human anatomy (non-nsfw)
• Colors: glowing and rich tones and palettes, grayscale, minimal palettes, sepia, monochromatic, black and white with some color as accent, blues, reds, deep purple and bright green combo, color symbolism
  
• Highly stylized things: art nouveau, art deco, tarot, medieval manuscripts, high fashion sketches, pop art, graffiti art, hyperrealism/oil painting hyperrealism with bright colors, comic art
  
• Medium: anything, traditional, digital, etc
• Layout: anything
• Moods: anything
• If you feel like it, you can poke through fics I've written for anything that might inspire you

If you write any kind of religion (Christianity, Judaism, Islam, etc), please either know the religion well or use a sensitive reader.

DNWs

General, genres, styles

• I enjoy fluff and hurt/comfort but I’d rather they be a feature rather than the central genre focus Edit 2/20/22: Actually, I really enjoy both
  
• I prefer no first-person POV except for epistolary/non-fiction text
  
• The following AUs: A/B/O, soulmate/soulmark AUs, society is organized around kink-based identities/preferences

Details, relationships

• Character-bashing
• Marriage infidelity (more casual, non-serious relationship infidelity is fine)
• Permanent non-canonical character deaths unless specified for dark!AUs or a darker canon  Edit 1/18/22: Actually, this is fine
• Pregnancy or parenting or accidental acquisition of non-canonical children for requested ships (babysitting is fine)

Smut

• Explicit and/or extreme (16 or younger) underage relationships or sex, even one-sided nsfw fantasies about underage characters
• Owner/slave, teacher/student, or other significant age difference or unbalanced power dynamics
• Incest
• Rape or noncon
• Emphasis on the sexiness of genitalia size or breast size or virginity
• Abuse, age regression, “fuck or die,” BDSM, anal, pegging, body swap for smut purposes, gore/violence for smut purposes, roleplay (petplay, disability, etc), foot worship, more than two people involved/orgies, getting caught/public exhibitionism (sneaking off in a public area to a secret location is fine), humiliation, voyuerism, pain, furry/plushies/tentacles, genital torture, sex pollen/curses, scat/watersports, raceplay

Art and visual

• Excessive floral motifs, cars, nsfw, gore/violence, leaning too much into anime/manga/chibi (inspiration is fine!), digital edits, animation concept art, human characters as anthropomorphic objects or animals

The Queen’s Gambit (TV)

Beth Harmon/Benny Watts, Beth Harmon & Jolene, Jolene/Original Male Character(s), Arthur Levertov/Hilton Wexler, Arthur Levertov/Cleo/Hilton Wexler
Requested format(s): fanfiction
Jump to: General prompts, fandom preferences and DNWs

I have an absurdly long list of reasons why I love this show and specifically Beth/Benny, but no one has time for that in this already absurdly long exchange letter.

I love the fantastical, dreamy period drama atmosphere, the coming-of-age story, and the central conflict being Beth vs. herself throughout the whole series. I love how Beth is a genius, but I love more how the narrative frames her story as one where she can’t succeed on her own. She’s not a terrible person, but she’s complicated and messy.  She falters here and fails to realize another person’s perspective through the fog of her own mind there. And importantly, she doesn’t get those mistakes excused: she feels guilt or consequences and learns and grows and (for Townes and Jolene) apologizes. Most importantly, she’s unapologetically ambitious on her path to win every single chess match she can. Also, Beth’s clothes have inspired my own wardrobe for the last year or so.

I love how wonderfully chess is done here: it’s not just a game to demonstrate how smart someone is, it’s not used as a joke about nerds – it’s so intimately and emotionally depicted, from the games to the players’ expressions to the world around them.

I mix book and show canon in my headcanons, using book stuff to fill in stuff missing in the show and using show stuff to erase some of the book stuff I didn’t like, but I don’t expect people to have done that!

General prompts

• Elevate chess to a fantasy setting – give me a vaguely Seventh Seal AU where Beth Harmon is Death and if you play chess against her and lose you die dramatically


• Add some more stakes to a chess game – does Beth need to play the best game of her life in order to save Jolene, Benny, another friend, or herself? Does Benny need to be able to discern the “real” Beth based on how they play chess, how they talk and kiss, as well as other characteristics he thought he knew pretty intimately?


• (Angsty and separated Beth/Benny ending welcome) post-canon, Beth has accomplished a lot, but as a viewer I am frustrated that Beth never loses a match with grace/resilience. In the show, we see her lose three: she storms out after the Las Vegas match against Benny, she loses Alma right after the Mexico City match against Borgov, then falls into an isolated grief-fueled haze (over a lot of things, like Alma, the house, and the match) after her Paris match against Borgov. In the book and in real life, it’s common for even really amazing chess players to lose a match, especially when they’re out of their element: different time control, different version, different tournament rules, sometimes just sheer fatigue from playing a lot.  I like to think her journey has progressed, but more detail would be wonderful.  What happens the next time Beth loses a match?  What happens if she hits a rut or some upstarts create a totally novel opening that she just can’t crack?
  • This can be its own plot, but it doesn’t necessarily need to be!
  • Maybe she loses a match but still finishes first-place in a tournament.
  • In canon, Beth completely isolates herself at her lowest moments – but, post-canon, now what? Do her friends now know she can rely on them? Is she able to reach out when she’s having a dark turn? Can she reach out?  Will she be able to survive losing again?  Will she survive or will she burn out?
  • Does she relapse? I also think Beth’s addiction plot was wrapped up with a little too neat of a bow, and while I wouldn’t want her to continue to struggle, sobriety is hard.

• Post-canon Beth’s female friendships: Since I’m going to die angry about how the show wrote out Nona Gaprindashvili to elevate Beth on a pedestal, I’d love to see a watershed of women entering the chess world, especially ones as talented as Beth, even an integration of women’s chess tournaments with the non-women’s tournaments (since this is a fantasy period drama). Does Beth become friends with Nona Gaprindashvili and Mrs. Borgov, who help care for her at international tournaments? Does she curate a bevy of talented female chess players who meet up at major tournaments? How does she learn from them?
  • I’d love for Jolene and Annette to pop up here, too! And if you want to play with the Cleo-is-a-spy-for-the-KGB, go for it.

On Beth/Benny

If I talk about this ship I get emotional, and here’s a shortlist of reasons why:

• The fact that they essentially have mental sex with each other when playing chess is really awesome.  Chess is how Benny, who's been absorbed in the game all his life, shows he cares.  Saying “You should play the Sicilian” because he’s thinking of Beth after sex is very funny.  How Beth learns to understand this is actually really intimate while Benny learns he can just say “I love you” leaves a lot of room for storytelling.  Indeed, later, we see Beth kind of appreciate that “yes, talking about chess can mean 'I care about you a lot'” when he calls her in Moscow to help her win against Borgov, and, by enlisting a gaggle of people in Beth's life, Benny kind of appreciates that emotional support from one's friends is just as important as strategy.
• Through the mutual respect they have for each other as players, they study together like friends and people-who-are-kinda-in-the-early-stages-of-a-relationship.
  • Benny pleading for Beth to come back to New York post-Paris solidified that he cares for her as a person beyond just her prowess as a chess player. Their pining and longing for each other at different points of the series can drive them to grow into their romantic relationship.
• I love that they’re mirrors of each other in terms of career and outfit and appearance and inspiration from Fischer and Tevis – Benny is so similar to Beth that Beth falling in love with her is like falling in love with herself, and I would love for Beth to embrace herself, flaws and all.
• I really want them to tell each other they loved each other, train together forever to make each other stronger players, then dominate the world of chess. They’re forever going to be "rivals and lovers," and that mixture of antagonism and support and flirty snark/banter/teasing is wonderful.

Beth/Benny

• (NSFW) The show demonstrates how closely linked chess and sex are in their minds, and speed chess as foreplay/flirting is INSPIRED, so write them fantasizing about playing chess with the other.
  
  • Basically, one half of B2 is imagining how the other will play them and it’s essentially masturbation, optional pay-off when they do play together and it’s as good/better than they had hoped.
  • What turns them on? What gets them going?
  • Does it take place before they meet in Ohio, while Beth is in Paris, or while they’re separated from each other before making up?

• Modern AU vaguely inspired by the summary of this book, where Beth is a day worker while Benny is a night worker who share the same apartment, just at different times of the day. They sleep in the same bed, use the same kitchen, see each other’s toothbrushes, but never meet!
  • They get to know each other through post-its and the ways one does when sharing a physical space with another person, and of course falling in love.
  • Chess games and snarky analysis on post-its! Judging each other’s taste in interior decorating taste and cigarettes! Looking through each other’s books! Small misunderstandings due to mis-reading handwriting!
  • For a darker plot point: “No booze in the apartment” and Beth respecting that until she can’t and then the healing from that

• Modern AU where Beth and Benny are rival college students in chess, and they find themselves playing each other anonymously on Chess.com (or Lichess), and they’re kind of obsessed with how the other plays, because they see a different “playing style” online than they do with each other in real life. They fall in love virtually, arrange to meet in person, find out they’ve been playing chess against their enemy, who’s really attractive and cool beneath the surface, actually

• AU vaguely inspired by Last Night in Soho: perhaps reluctantly at first, Beth travels through time and sees previous chess players – learns their names, styles, what drives them, what ultimately helped them win, and what ultimately made them quit chess. And if she notes some parallels to her own life, maybe she sees what works romantically for these players and spies a familiar snarky rival who drives and falls in love with her.
  • I’m okay with Beth seeing herself in previous chess players, whether they are actually her or just someone with whom she identifies closely.  Race and genders can change if necessary.
  • How does their love story change through every time period?

• A story revolving around Beth and Benny's insecurities and jealousy. Does Benny handle Beth being better than him at chess as well as we see him do in canon? How do they work through it?

• Roommates or Neighbors AU. Their parallel careers and all the five weeks they live together in New York is such fodder for this trope and I’m surprised it hasn’t been taken to its trope horizons yet.

• ANY kind of expertise you can write an AU for, go for it – how do Beth and Benny excel in the field? And more specifically, what makes it sexy? In an Orchestra AU, what about playing the violin turns on rival concertmasters Beth and Benny? In an Artist AU, do they critique each other’s work furiously, then fall for each other during a collaboration? In a Coding / Hacker AU, what common ground makes Beth want to befriend Benny?

• I'd love to fill in Beth's side friendships more beyond what we see on screen. For example, Townes observing and writing up the Ohio Championship or, more generally, tracing the evolution of B2’s relationship through news articles.

• Any post-Moscow reunion or getting together - how does it happen?

On Beth & Jolene and Jolene / Original Male Character(s)

• Honestly, I think it’s funny that Jolene and Beth become friends in the first place, and I’m surprised Jolene helps someone who is decidedly unreliable at this point in her life. I think Jolene’s story is a fascinating success story in itself.
• Nonetheless, I think their bond is really special and sisterly, and I’d love to see Beth learn to support those around her.
• I like headcanon-ing Jolene is already in law school by the time she gives Beth the money to make her sacrifice less out there to me, but I don’t expect people to share this.
• I also headcanon that at Methuen and after college, Jolene has her own life and successful radical friends and love interest.  Rick is fine if you want to write him!   I don’t love the marriage infidelity as a joke on Dolly Parton’s song Jolene, but I get a nicer characterization of him would work.

Beth & Jolene, Jolene/Original Male Character(s)

• (Angsty ending welcome) As a character we see Beth come of age: her growth is fascinating to me but incomplete by the end of the show. She means well, but she has trouble seeing past her own problems often, so how does this build to relationship troubles with Jolene, who’s done so much for her? I would like to see what pushes Jolene to finally cut Beth off, whether they run into any bumps or hurdles.

• Tell me about Jolene’s success in law school and post-graduation! Where does she go to work? To live? What does she accomplish? Moses Ingraham stated in an interview that Jolene can go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court – how does this happen? Beth & Jolene can be in the background or this.

• What happens when Jolene needs Beth for something, as she said in the show?

• Jolene steals Modern Chess Openings - what other things does she steal from people? Why does she take them? What do these trinkets mean to Jolene?

• Let’s say Jolene hits a major milestone, like a wedding or a graduation – does Beth celebrate with her? If so, how?

On Arthur Levertov/Hilton Wexler and Arthur Levertov/Cleo/Hilton Wexler

• Did I ship these two based on a 7-second clip of Arthur and Hilton smirking at each other while Beth destroys Hilton’s puzzle? Yes.
• Do I ship the threesome based on a line that sort-of-kind-of makes sense from Cleo? (“Both of them. Neither of them. Two of them are better than one, if you know what I mean.”) You know it.

Arthur Levertov/Hilton Wexler, Arthur Levertov/Cleo/Hilton Wexler

• Tell me about how Arthur/Cleo/Hilton met – I don’t really want to believe the story that they saved her from jumping off a bridge, so any alternate meeting would be great!

• I love imagining Benny’s friends as incredibly pretentious hipsters who talk about philosophy and physics and math and chess on New York City rooftops. Benny cares about chess and chess alone, but his friends have other interests. Tell me what kind of conversations they have, the kinds of places they explore in the city, how they perceive Benny and Beth/Benny.

• What's the backstory of Arthur and Hilton meeting Benny and other details about their friendship? Is Benny an asshole-with-a-golden-heart with his friends? How frequently does he see Arthur and Hilton and Cleo?

• I have a complex relationship with Cleo.  I think she represents Beth’s temptation/urges (smoking, drinking) while she’s trying to focus on chess, and that all culminates in a disastrous night in Paris. Generously, she is a friend as selfish as Beth or Benny themselves. Uncharitably, she is a spy for the KGB, jealous and resentful of Beth, and the kind of person that brings out the worst in Beth. However, I think Cleo suffers and feels trapped like all the women in the show, and so a story arc where she finds substance and worth in her identity would be wonderful, whether she stays in modeling or leaves for something else. How do her friends Arthur and Hilton support her along the way? Does she succeed?
  • A crack idea that I enjoy is Cleo sabotages Benny’s success in Russia by seducing away Weiss, so if you want to involve some shenanigans there, by all means write it.

• Smut here welcome!

Fandom preferences (no obligation to include any of these!)

• Details
  • I ship Beth/Benny with every fiber of my being, so I would prefer they don’t end up separated or with an angsty ending, except where specified. I’m okay with them being in the background.
  • I’m partial to stories where Beth longs for Benny, but I love longing of any kind.
  • References to real-life chess players (time-period-accurate is awesome but as someone who has tried this before, it’s freaking hard)
  • In this US- and Euro-centric period drama, I really wish there had been more diversity that reflects the chess landscape then and today. If you write side chess players or characters, I’d love to know what countries they come from, as well as what cultures or styles they bring to the TQG universe. They don’t need to be central characters; I’ll just be happy imagining the range of skin tones and cultures.
  • If you write chess, I love accuracy, but I also love the emotions behind each game, so you can always focus on that. Even metaphors (no matter how overdone you think they are!) and small chess details are great – I’ll love anything written about the game, really. Be insanely creative! (Or just make chess a background thing, I love that too.)
  • In an AU, feel free to lean into dark!Beth and dark!Benny as manipulative assholes who break laws freely, but in a canon setting I'd like to avoid those characterizations
• Background ships
  • Hilton/Arthur, Hilton/Arthur/Cleo, Jolene/Other Characters, Matt/Levertov, Townes/Roger
  • Friendships among everyone: Beth & Everyone, Everyone & Everyone
  • Borgov/his wife: I find Borgov’s relationship with his wife and child a fascinating foil to Beth’s own checkered family life. In the whole show, he and his wife seem to have the one successful marriage: she travels as his translator, and he still makes time to take his family to the zoo. If you want to explore Beth observing/wanting/resenting that life, I’d be really excited to read it!
• Smut
  • Knifeplay (for Benny/Beth)

Fandom-specific DNWs

• Details
  • Beth collecting friends as “trophies” or people accusing her of such
  • The Moscow Invitational making Beth World Champion
  • Canon divergence AU with Benny going to see Beth in Kentucky or Beth going to Benny in New York post-Paris
  • Real-life chess players appearing but demonstrating even period-typical sexism/racism/other villainous characteristics unless there is historical evidence. If they're competitive or analyzing Beth's strengths and weaknesses, that's more than fine. If you want to write sexism/racism/etc, please use an OC chess player.
  • Beth and/or Benny defecting from the US
  • Borgov, Luchenko, Girev, or other international players defecting unless their family accompanies them
  • Sexual violence
  • Abusive backstory for Beth and/or Benny
  • Genderfluid Beth and/or Benny
  • Stories that delve deeply into one character’s mistakes but ignore the other (i.e., Benny or Beth as the sole reason their relationship faltered in canon)
  • Race-bending characters
• Ships
  • Beth and/or Benny being in love with anyone but each other, unrequited or one-sided feelings for either
    
    • Canon ships, like past Beth/Harry, past Beth/Tim, and one-sided Beth/Townes, are fine!
  • Beth and Benny romantically separated by the end of the story
  • straight or bi!Townes paired with a woman (Townes with men is fine; other characters as bi are fine!)
  • Jolene romantically linked with any canon character (Jolene with male/female/enby characters are fine!)
  • Annette romantically linked with any canon character except approximately same-aged Harry (OC is fine!)

Encanto (2021)

"Abuela" Alma Madrigal & Mirabel Madrigal (Encanto), Casita and Mirabel Madrigal (Encanto), Casita & Madrigal Family (Encanto), Madrigal Family & Mirabel Madrigal (Encanto), Camilo Madrigal & Mirabel Madrigal (Encanto), Camilo Madrigal & Dolores Madrigal (Encanto)
Requested format(s): fanfiction
Jump to: General prompts, fandom preferences and DNWs

Encanto's “family with superpowers” story resonated with me more than The Incredibles.  I’m not Colombian, and I never knew about magical realism but I’ve fallen down a rabbit hole of how cool this genre is. This movie delighted me as a fairytale about a hyper-competent, super-influential, well-meaning family that reckons with pressure and the generational trauma that drove them to success taking a toll. I loved so much about the details in this movie: the background moments and conversations that develop the side characters like Felix/Pepa, the dancing in every song and celebration, the outfits, the close community, all of it.

On my selected ships

Alma is undoubtedly my favorite character. I think she dealt with the tragedies in her life with remarkable strength, grace, and resilience, even though she had many blind spots. I found her apology in the end really moving.  I love the parallels between her and Mirabel, like their intuition with Casita and the little wave they give the house. Their characters and relationships are so easy to respect and admire.

I adore the whole family, but I found Camilo’s power a perfect encapsulation of what it means to be a teenager: trying on different faces to find one you like, trying to balance being a child and an adult, trying so hard to please those around you. I think there’s so much to explore in his story! I also find the magic of Casita amazing and would love to see the details explored more!

In your writing, feel free to lean into how amazing and powerful a family they are, as well as lean into how fucked up and difficult it can be to be that way.

General prompts

• An x+1 of how every member of the family gets their gift, and Mirabel’s perspective in the aftermath of her gift ceremony.

• Delve more into all the ways every member of the family help around the village every day.

• In the event of dire circumstances, like a natural disaster threatening the crops and homes of people or an AU where the Madrigals have their powers to pull off a heist, how can different family members use their powers for unique results?
  • For example, Isabella creating plants that can be used as weapons that Luisa can swing as a weapon.
  • How does Mirabel play into this dynamic? Is she the leader? A strategizer? Insecure/wistful she can’t be in the middle of the action?

• How do the Madrigals become more powerful over time, like Isabella making cacti? Can Camilo change the appearance of others, change his voice, mix the traits of different people? Does Isabella learn to make plants exactly as she wants them, do the plants talk to her back?
  • What kind of limitations are on their powers right now? Is there an animal Antonio can’t hear? Does Dolores go mad with noise all the time and require special headphones, or does she learn to tune in and out?

• I loved the dancing in the show. How did they learn to dance, use it in their traditions, and connect with others over it?

• Is there another family like the Madrigals in Colombia? What led to their gift? If not a tragedy, how does Abuela feel about that – bitter? Resentful? Envious? Are this family's gifts similar to the Madrigals?

• I'm fascinated to see a story where Mirabel is lovingly embraced by family, making them proud, but still dealing with insecurity about her lack of gift.

Dolores Madrigal-specific

• Did Dolores really know that it was Bruno in the song? Did she always have a suspicion but dismiss it as rats?

Casita and Mirabel Madrigal (Encanto); Casita & Madrigal Family (Encanto)

• I'd love to read a story from the POV of Casita: what does it like about each member of the family? How did it feel about Bruno for all those years? How in touch is it with Pedro/Abuelo? How will it feel toward future generations?
  • Does the candle come with a deal? We see how Alma and Mirabel’s conflict splits the house in half. What about when someone enters – does the candle need to approve?

• (Dark/angsty ending okay) What happens if someone gets a gift that utterly terrifies people (think Bruno, but 10x worse)? How do they react to the Madrigals? Do the Madrigals have to move homes again or deal with persecution? Do they conceal their powers? If they have to trade away their powers to live a normal life, would they? If it goes out, how does the village deal without the magic of the candle?

"Abuela" Alma Madrigal & Mirabel Madrigal (Encanto)

• (Angst) I'd love to read Alma’s perspective: of her nightmares for her family, her insecurities, her trauma that inform how protective she is of their family and their home. When Mirabel doesn’t get her gift, how does her mind spiral? Show me how complicated her love for her family is, even as she tries to do better in the ending of the show.
  • Also I was thinking about a line that Mirabel says - "I will never be enough; Luisa will never be strong enough; Isabel will never be perfect enough" and I don't think that's inherently a bad thing. Like that kind of knowledge you can always be better always drives a person to be better, but it just needs to be accompanied with unconditional love. How is this tension between Mirabel and Alma’s philosophies resolved post-canon?

Madrigal Family & Mirabel Madrigal (Encanto)

• I'd love to read a story that focuses on Felix’s and Agustin’s insecurities or envy, being the only ones in the family without a gift, or something else that made them feel inferior at some point.  There's this lovely deleted scene that made me want to see more of these ultra-supportive fathers and husbands.
  

Camilo Madrigal & Mirabel Madrigal (Encanto)

• Since they're both about the same age, and teenagers facing their own insecurities and issues, I'd love to read about Camilo looking out for Mirabel, or Camilo being jealous and awed by Mirabel and vice versa.

• Stories emphasizing Camilo’s power as a coming-of-age or identity exploration
• There’s a hint of the family pressure on Camilo and his insecurities – with “he won’t stop until he makes you smile today.” How does Mirabel help him like she helps Luisa and Isabel and Alma?
  • This could delve deeper into Camilo’s insecurities – does he imitate the people he most admires? How does he feel about that? How does deal with learning about the person he wants to be?
  • ​​He's like Luisa, but more in the background.  He attempts to be dependable, comforting his mom, trying to save the candle, babysitting in the village. Both he and Luisa are greeting people for Antonio's gift ceremony! I think it’d be neat to explore Camilo wishing he could be "more like Luisa" but while he can appear strong he's not actually as strong as she is, or "more like perfect Isabella" but that's not who he really is.

Camilo Madrigal & Dolores Madrigal (Encanto)

• Maybe one day Camilo is pretending to be Mariano, and an unknowing third party (like Dolores) accidentally confesses her love.  Or Camilo is pretending to be Dolores, and Mariano accidentally confesses something big.  What happens?

Fandom preferences (no obligation to include any of these!)

• If you write something involving a Madrigal/OC love story, even on the side, I would love if it was a same-sex relationship (with homophobia as a minor/unacknowledged thing) since there weren’t any in the show.
• I’m cool with genderfluid!Camilo, ace! and/or lesbian!Isabela, the younger generation exploring their gender/sexual identities, etc
• Details about Colombian culture!! Village celebrations and traditions; coming-of-age celebrations; how weddings work.

Fandom-specific DNWs

• Changing the Madrigals' heritage to another ethnicity/country/history.  I'd prefer to keep it rooted in Colombia.
• Non-canon established romantic relationships
• Alma’s alienation of her family isn’t to be excused, but I don’t really enjoy seeing her painted as an unforgivable villain or having to continue apologize for her actions more than we see in canon. Productive bonding or spending time together is sufficient for me.
• A canon-divergence AU where they don’t get their gifts back at the end
• Physical or extreme emotional abuse/neglect

Eternals (2021)

Ben Stoss/Phastos (Eternals), Ikaris/Sprite (Eternals), Ajak/Ikaris (Eternals), Gilgamesh & Thena (Eternals), Gilgamesh/Thena (Eternals), Druig/Makkari (Eternals)
Requested format(s): fanfiction
Jump to: General prompts, fandom preferences and DNWs

I was never huge on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so this movie was a pleasant surprise to me! It speaks to a lot of what I enjoy: families full of power and loyalty and love, but internal conflicts where everyone believes they're doing what's best prove to be their downfall. Sometimes their abilites that make them special also constrain or hurt each other.

The existentialism, questions of identity in the face of memory wipes/loss, the constant foreboding of environmental collapse from multiple directions stood out to me. I loved the complicated nature of what it meant to be family, the diversity, their influence on huge historical events, their different talents, the restrained delivery of very emotional things and questions about characters and life, and the casual incorporation that everyone knows ASL for Makkari.

On my selected ships

I fell for Druig and Makkari flirting in the early days, then being so happy to see each other after being apart for so long. Damn, you’re immortal gods, and you gravitate to each other like teenagers and old souls at the same time. I love that Makkari decides to become a bookworm in isolation. They’re very pure and pick up on little details about the other, but they're also so private and intimate that apparently Phastos had no idea they were together.

Gilgamesh and Thena have the kind of loyal relationship in the face of Thena’s illness that stuck with me. Even after his death, Thena is able to survive and carry on livig due to her love for him.

Phastos’s character arc as a creative inventor who is horrified by how technology is abused really struck a chord with me. Marrying Ben and settling down (with minor reinforcements for the house) represents the life that Phastos chooses, and that makes me really happy.

I get why Ikaris/Sersi happened, but I find myself really intrigued by what-ifs with Ikaris/Sprite and Ikaris/Ajak. What would’ve happened if he’d been in a relationship with them instead?

General prompts

• Canon divergence AU where Deviants and Eternals team up to deal with the Emergence, since I think it would’ve been fascinating - how does this work?

• Modern AU where they’re a super-powerful family (superpowers can stay or just be translated into expertise/talent, relation by blood optional)

• Simulation AU where Arishem is a software engineer, and all the Eternals are computer programs that write their own subroutines, but he writes really bad patches for them. I dig the idea of the these programs becoming sentient.
  • I didn’t really enjoy Ikaris’s death, but thematically I get it if "Eternals evolve and gain Sartre's absolute freedom even when Arishem their creator didn't intend to" and in particular, Ikaris had adhered to his God's will ardently until he finally embraces his freedom by choosing to die.  I think this dilemma would slot neatly into this AU.
  • Arishem keeps a backup of the different Eternals – what if these backups meet?

For any of my requested gen/romantic ships: I'd love x+1 vignettes, meet-cutes, slice-of-life, casefics, canon fill-ins or character studies of the conflicts they face or journey over canon.

Ajak/Ikaris (Eternals)

• Canon divergence AU with Ajak/Ikaris (past, one-sided, or no Ikaris/Sersi) to explore the admiration and trust and respect Ajak and Ikaris would have in each other, the unraveling of that respect over the Earth, and the eventual heartbreak that Ajak would feel when Ikaris betrays her

Ikaris/Sprite (Eternals), Ajak/Ikaris (Eternals)

• Canon divergence AU where Ikaris doesn’t die, but instead he works through and processes what to do next about the conflict that nearly tears him apart and destroys their family. Besides death, how can he reckon with his actions? Does he change for the better? Chase after Thena, Druig, and Makkari on the other planets to fight them? Have a talk with Sprite or Ajak about their feelings?

Druig/Makkari

• The connection between Druig and Makkari is amazing – she doesn’t talk, but he can speak into her mind. Can he talk to her mind from far away? Does she eventually figure out to respond? What kinds of things can they say or joke about when that people around them can’t hear?

Gilgamesh & Thena or Gilgamesh/Thena

• I’m undecided as to whether this was a ship or just a close friendship - I couldn’t tell. I'd love to delve more into their connection and how they learn to trust and function with each other. Is it instantaneous? Gradually over time?

• Is there any way that Thena and the Eternals can retrieve the minds of Gilgamesh and Ajak after they die to bring them back?

• How does Thena continue to remember Gilgamesh after he dies? What things remind her of him?

Fandom preferences (no obligation to include any of these!)

• Descriptions of ASL
• Sympathy (not excuses) for all the major Eternals, including Ajak, Ikaris, and Sprite.
• I like Sersi, but I don’t ship her with anyone and am happy when she’s alone. I don’t really care for Dane as a character, so if you include him, I prefer he be in the background.

Fandom-specific DNWs

Please keep the universe specific to Eternals, with no or minimum wider MCU references, although references or lore from the Eternals comics I appreciate! Non-canon established relationships are welcome, but for requested ships I would prefer they stay with the person I specified or no one at all.