CHOCOLATE BOX 2019

[revolver]

First, I want to thank you! I am requesting fic for all the below fandoms and characters, and I am so thrilled to see what you come up with! Before we get to the fandoms I’ve requested, some generalities. I’m cool with any rating, from G to Explicit, and all the below are just suggestions and ideas.

General likes: unreliable narrators; nonlinear storytelling; moral complexity and/or ambiguity; backstory; missing scenes; outsider POV; blurring the lines between professional and personal relationships; mentor/protege relationships; epistolary fic; power play; codependency (both healthy and unhealthy); loyalty; identity porn; unexpected intimacy and physical intimacy; case fic; dark fic; super messy, complicated, and difficult to categorize relationships between characters (made all the better if/when they share a history and maybe probably repressed feelings); repression, generally; sexual tension; slow burn; infidelity; hurt/comfort; fake dating; AUs, both of the canon divergence variety and the whole new setting variety (though, that said, I am not a huge fan of mundane AUs, i.e., coffeehouse AUs, high school/university AUs, etc., unless specified).

As I already mentioned, I totally invite ship fic or porn if you wish to write it. If you’re interested in writing smut, likes include: friends to lovers; enemies to lovers; first time; workplace sex; rough sex; hate sex; drunk sex; infidelity; dub-con of the sex pollen/fuck or die/villains made us do it variety; biting, bruising, and marking; breathplay and choking; orgasm delay/denial; frottage; dirty talk; voyeurism/exhibitionism; under-negotiated kink or D/s; sex as negotiation; wet and messy; overstimulation; size kink; experienced/inexperienced; mutual masturbation; praise kink; loyalty kink; power dynamics and power play.

DNWs: A/B/O or omegaverse; scat or watersports; formal BDSM; issue fic; asexual or trans headcanons (unless requested); kid!fic; soulmates or soul marks or soul bonds; and character bashing.

Apparently my theme for this year is “people who aren’t actually canonically or romantically a couple, but they’re going to use their (to varying degrees of) fucked-up relationship to actually fuck (for whatever reasons)," so, without further ado:



1. DUBLIN MURDER SQUAD – TANA FRENCH

Frank Mackey/Stephen Moran

I would love to read fic set following the events of The Secret Place, where Stephen has to work a murder involving one of Frank’s undercovers. Or, for whatever reason, Stephen gets looped into working Undercover with Frank as his handler. I more than love the idea of Frank being in Stephen’s ear, directing his every move, his lone back-up should the worst occur. Or, if you want, for whatever reason, to put Frank in the field with Stephen, the both of them working Undercover, I am all on board.

I really love the unreliable narrator trope, and that could work well for either these two, or the pairing below, where, let’s say, Internal Affairs has to investigate an incident involving them. How do they talk about each other when the other isn’t in the room? Do they work to protect each other, or are they more than willing to reap the consequences of throwing the other under the bus? But mainly, when it comes to Stephen and Frank, I’d love to read something that plays with the trust that exists (or doesn’t exist!) between the both of them.


Frank Mackey/Mick Kennedy

I recently did a reread of Faithful Place, and I was bowled over by the glimpses of history we got of Frank and “Scorcher.” I am all in if you want to play around with that—deepen the backstory between them, the rivalry—or play around with the events of Faithful Place and have Scorcher chasing after Mackey harder and more insistently and what that might have led to between them. Feel free to include Stephen in whatever capacity in that plot as well, if you would like!

And speaking of including Stephen, for either both pairings, just one, or some messed up OT3 involving all three, I would read the hell out of some sort of The Departed AU with one of them working undercover with some Dublin gangster, the other working for the gangster as a rat in the Dublin Police, and the third overseeing the both of them. 



2. THE FAVOURITE (2018)

ALL OF THE CONTENTIOUS POLITICKING SUBLIMATED VIA SEX! This is me giving you carte blanche to get as ugly and wild (and weird) as you want with these pairings. Coercion, blackmail, hate sex to end all hate sex, sex as negotiation tactic, power imbalances—go to there!

(As an FYI: while I am generally cool with AUs, for this fandom and these pairings I request you limit any AUs to canon divergence only—the setting and time period are really a big part of the fun for me here!)

Abigail Hill Masham/Sarah Churchill Duchess of Marlborough

Abigail and Sarah’s rivalry spills over into spite-fucking or fucking as competition, the prize obvious (Anne) but also more than that (pride! revenge! jealousy! like I said: spite! ugly lust!). Some of my favorite scenes of the film—in a film chockfull of favorite scenes—were the repeated shooting scenes between Abigail and Sarah, as Abigail becomes a better and better shot (and as Sarah finds new ways to intimidate her). I’d love more shooting scenes like that, or rides out into the forest. Feel free to include Anne in any way you like—she is the necessary third link in this triangle—and in that same vein, exhibitionism and voyeurism is more than invited! (Or, competitive threesome, if that’s more your bag).

Or, if you want, a canon divergent AU: Sarah is not removed from court and she stays to witness Abigail’s star rise and her own diminish. Passive aggressive to full-on aggressive encounters at various balls or in hidden hallways as Sarah learns she has no negotiating power left with those in Anne’s court. Or, a far less porny option: Sarah’s letters. Abigail’s survival instincts obviously would have her toss those the second she intercepts them into the fire, but what if she kept a couple, hidden carefully, for herself? What if she drafts letters of her own she never sends, cruel missives she scribbles down, until Sarah becomes her own confidant, even if Sarah does not know this. Maybe on a drunken whim, she sends one. Maybe Sarah and Abigail meet again, after everything. MAYBE NONE OF THIS! If you have a better idea, Writer! By all means—go with it!


Sarah Churchill Duchess of Marlborough/Robert Harley 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer
Robert Harley 1st Earl of Oxford & Earl Mortimer/Abigail Masham/Samuel Masham 1st Baron Masham

I’m lumping these two pairings together, because I want basically the same thing from the both of them, which is: sex as negotiation (and humiliation?). Make it mean, make it nasty, you don’t even really have to write sex if you’re disinclined. I just truly loved the scenes between Harley and Sarah, Sarah using every line of conversation to insult and break him down, while Harley plots behind the scenes how he can circumvent, or even cut down, her power. I LOVE IT. There’s a great and obvious history of ugliness between them the film drops us right into, so feel free to play around with that any way you’d like.

As for Harley/Abigail/Masham: Harley clearly thought he knew best what Masham should do to capture Abigail’s attentions (he sent Masham to her in one of his ridiculous wigs and makeup!) and Abigail clearly thinks the way to a man’s heart (or marriage bed) is by kneeing him in the groin and wrestling him to the ground, so, uh, I guess what I’m asking is to combine all these ill-advised ideas of courting to a disastrous threesome. Or just have Harley and Abigail being far more clever and far more insidious than Masham could ever imagine as they both use him to their personal gain.



3. INFORMER (TV 2018)

Holly Morden/Gabriel “Gabe” Waters

This show was such a wild, pleasant surprise for me. I watched it on a Paddy Considine-shaped whim, and boy, was I not disappointed. Between all the undercover and confidential informant stuff mixed with some real dark, off-kilter, this show was right up my alley. I really and truly loved the scene after Gabe and Holly get stopped at the gas station by an old contact of Gabe’s who recognizes him as his undercover alter ego, Charlie. Gabe covers by slipping right into that Charlie character and Holly plays her part too, but her wariness is obvious. The next day, Gabe and Holly confront each other and Gabe explains the reality of undercover work, while simultaneously, essentially, shaking her down. Intimidating her as he, again, effortlessly slips back into the role of Charlie, and idk! The scene is so quietly, intimately menacing, and basically, all I want is more of that—allllllllll of the fix-it fic in the world, please—and more of Holly getting her feet solid beneath her as she holds her own against everything Gabe presents her with.

I would love fic where Gabe teaches Holly how to work undercover. Of fic where the two have to go undercover together, and maybe Gabe has to resume his Charlie role, with Holly at his side (fake dating? Undercover as married? I AM ALL IN). I also am fascinated by how Holly reacts to Gabe's "Charlie" identity. She's clearly disgusted by his ideology but if you want to get real fucked-up with it, maybe over time, as they work undercover together, Holly gets super into (and super gets off?) on the whole “Charlie” identity, namely how different, but also still the same, Gabe is when pretending to be "Charlie." I'd be down with any permutation of the "bad guys made them do it" trope for these two as they grabble with undercover work together. Or, any sort of voyeurism/exhibitionism, where Holly is undercover and Gabe is her handler and he sees and hears everything. 



4. SUCCESSION (TV 2018)

Kendall Roy/Roman Roy (Succession)
Kendall Roy/Roman Roy/Siobhan “Shiv” Roy (Succession)

Fucked-up siblings! Competitive and resentful and willing to do anything to “win” (even though they rarely ever do!) siblings! This is yet another fandom where I say, get as wild and weird and messy as you want. I would be very into post-finale fic that explored what happens to these characters now that so much shit has gone down. In particular, with Kendall: even though the hostile takeover didn’t happen, Roman and Shiv both know that Kendall was willing to take Waystar Royco out of family ownership and jeopardize their financial futures. Is there ever any coming back from a betrayal that size? Get nasty with it: would either Roman or Shiv want revenge, in whatever shape that takes? 

I would also love any fic that covered their richly fucked-up history. All those trips out to visit their mother in England. All the resentment bred into them as they grew up, competing, essentially, for their father's attention (or affection). And missing scenes fic! I’d love more of the fallout from Roman’s betrayal at the vote of no confidence, or more of that awful night at Austerlitz. More of Roman serving as COO to Kendall’s interim CEO! The canon divergent AU where either a) their father does die, or b) the vote of no confidence succeeded in Kendall’s favor, and now he (and Roman) have to run the company.

Or, idk, go the Dangerous Liaisons route and Roman and Kendall (and Shiv, if you want to include her) strike a bet between them to fuck over, or literally fuck, someone else with each other as the stakes, or however you want to play it. Truly, if you wanted to write either Kendall and Roman or Kendall and Roman and Shiv stuck in a room somewhere sniping at each other and quietly plotting betrayal that most likely will blow up in their faces, I am here for it.


Stewy Hosseini/Kendall Roy (Succession)

Oh, buddy. Give me allllllll the history here! Clearly, there is a long and winding road that these two have walked (or pushed each other) down. I truly loved the scene when Kendall asked Stewy if he could trust him, and Stewy flat-out replied, “No,” to which Kendall said, “Yeah, but I can right?” (I’m paraphrasing). More! Of! That! If you want to write, like, 5 Times Stewy Betrayed Kendall (and One Time Kendall Did), I am here for it. Show me their college days! Their party days! The darker days when Kendall is trying to get sober! What is it about Stewy that Kendall thinks he can trust so much? What sort of bizarre loyalty have they built up over the years, and how? (Also! Just how one-sided is it?) Or, cut to the future: what happens after the events of the finale? Obviously the hostile takeover is no more and Kendall is, essentially, fucked. What does Stewy do? How does he fit in with any of this?



5. CROSSOVER FANDOM

Amma Crellin (Sharp Objects)/Amanda (Thoroughbreds)
Amma Crellin (Sharp Objects)/Amy Dunne (Gone Girl)
Amy Dunne (Gone Girl)/Camille Preaker (Sharp Objects)

Nasty girls: a series of pairings, lol. (As a general comment, I am fine with you either using the book or the TV series/film as the source for either Sharp Objects or Gone Girl.)

Maybe Amma and Amanda somehow meet at some sort of Girls’ Correctional Institute after the events of their respective canons? Go canon divergent AU with both and maybe they wind up at a private “troubled girls” school together, Amma developing into something more monstrous outside her mother’s (and Camille’s) eye, with Amanda as the “sidekick,” egging her on.

Or! Amma and Amy! Or, Amma and Amy and Camille! Maybe after the events in Wind Gap, but before Camille discovers that her sister is a killer, they move to the same suburb where Amy lives with her husband. Maybe Amy does disappear, but she takes Amma with her. Cue the news frenzy! And intrepid, but drunken, journalist Camille trying to figure out what happened to her sister (and the neighbor she never really cared for). Or, cut to when Amy comes back. Is Amma fascinated by her? Does Amy quietly teach Amma everything she knows? Or do they become enemies, entrenched in suburbia and trying to ruin each other’s lives? What about Camille? I kinda can’t get the idea of Amy toying with Camille out of my head, so do with that what you may!


Kip Glaspie (Collateral TV 2018)/Gabriel “Gabe” Waters (Informer TV 2018)

Consider this my Hail Mary throw of a request! I watched both series this year, and I was struck by a) how much I loved, loved, loved Kip Glaspie and b) how badly I wanted to see her practicality and no-nonsense, no-drama approach butt up against All Drama All The Time Gabe Waters after I finished watching Infomer. Maybe Kip has to investigate a murder that involves one of Gabe’s CIs and she gets sucked into his tangled, messy world of confidential informants and undercover work, a world that is all gray areas and blurry lines. Add to that Gabe’s history, namely the fallout of the first series of Informer, and that his past undercover identity, Charlie, has followed him around like a kept pet of a ghost for years—basically this sounds like a perfect storm of super fun, if you ask me.



6. ORIGINAL WORK

Civilian Secretly a Superhero/Supervillain
Supervillain Sister/Superhero Brother

Apparently Identity Porn is the other big theme for this year for me, because here we go again! Feel free to have, for either pairing, neither party aware of the real identity (or the superhero/supervillain identity) of the other party. For the civilian and the supervillain, I have no preference on gender. I just really love the idea of a somewhat mundane setting (city hall! public defender's office! a bar frequented by lowlifes and aspiring supervillains!) where our Civilian spends his daytime working hours and keeps running into our Supervillain (also in his mundane alter ego disguise). 

As for the Supervillain Sister and her Superhero Brother, get as darkly funny (family therapy! family reunions! a catalog of ruined family holidays thanks to these two!) or just straight up dark as you want. I am more than a little into the idea of the Superhero Brother being less of the heralded and idealistic and good hero when he is with his sister, that she brings out the darker edges in him. But if you have a different angle you'd like to take, I trust you! Go for it!


Thrill-Seeking Female Pop Star/Disapproving Bodyguard

I have no real preference for the gender of the Bodyguard, but oh buddy, my kingdom for some vaguely, to strongly, D/s vibes here between our Thrill-Seeking Pop Star and her sick to hell of her ways Bodyguard, lol. Discipline! Someone has to teach it to her!


I can be found elsewhere: widespindriftgaze @ tumblr and arbitrarily @ AO3. Thank you!