Chocolate Box Letter 2022

[slumber]

{{ Dear Chocolatier }}

Thank you so much for signing up this year, and I’m so excited to have you assigned to me! I'm Slumber on AO3 as well, and I hope you're as excited about this exchange as I am!

For what it’s worth I’m incredibly easy to please, so feel free to run away with whatever ideas you may already have! But if you wanted some prompts, I hope this letter helps inspire you.

{{ General Likes and Dislikes }}

Likes. It depends on the ship and the dynamics that attracted me to them in the first place, but I quite love canon-centric studies of relationships and dynamics and seeing the different nuances other people have on a character, but for danmei (which is pretty much all of my requests this year) I'm also very interested in Modern Setting AUs, as I've found that tends to lend itself to less grave stakes (RIP everyone) and fun takes on canon dynamics.

Tonally I gravitate to lighter fare, and I'm always up for those tried-and-true romcom tropes of idiots in love, mutual pining, friends to lovers, fake dating, didn't know they were dating, practically married, fwb to more, etc. 5+1 fics are great too! I love domesticity but not established relationship, so anything in that vein would be amazing too! I love ships where each person stands on their own as well as can stand together, so any kind of power couple type portrayal is perfect for me, but in the same manner I also love when things are unhealthily balanced, and that dynamic is explored.

I'm game for all ratings under the sun, not particular about who is doing what, so feel free to write what moves you in that regard as well.

Opt-in stuff that people might be hesitant about that are totally okay with me: (stealing this from marks because I found this very helpful) any form of dubcon (sex pollen, somno, drunken shenanigans, mistaken identities, etc), omegaverse, trans characters, rule 63, infidelity (as long as ships requested are endgame, I don't mind if they're cheating on other people to be together), feet, needles, blood/gore mention, canon-typical violence, abusive pasts/parents, unhealthy coping mechanisms, reckless sexual behavior, pregnancy, vomit/emeto, incest -- like, I'm not sure if/how any of these would somehow pop up, but if you end up with something that does, don't worry about it?? XD

DNWs. There isn’t a lot that I don’t like — name a trope and I’d probably be able to come up with at least one work I’ve read in it that has stayed with me. That said, I don’t always seek out fic with first-person POV, BDSM elements, noncon (dubcon and dubcon-adjacent situations are fine — as long as everyone's having a good time by the end works for me), dark themes for darkness’ sake, and kink-centered PWPs. I've got to be in a specific mood for Major Character Death, terminal illness, wedding fic and explicitly saying "I love you", so I'd rather not have any of them. To stay in the spirit of the holiday, please no unhappy endings, either! Sad fics are fine as long as things are resolved in the end.

The Prompts. Here’s a blanket disclaimer on the prompts here — feel free to absolutely ignore them and run away with your own ideas! If something I’ve said sparks an offshoot kind of idea, please pursue it! All I’d be truly happy for is another round at reliving these characters in their worlds, and I am SO looking forward to what you come up with whether it’s from one of these prompts or not! So please consider them starting points, if anything, or some way to get a sense of what drew me to these characters/fandoms to start. Thank you so much! <3

And with that, feel free to navigate to the fandom that makes sense to you!

{{ Modao Zushi }} {{ The Untamed }} {{ Scum Villain }} {{ Tian Guan Ci Fu }}

{{ Modao Zushi }}

Jiang Cheng/Lan Jingyi, Jiang Cheng/Jin Guangyao, Jin Guangyao/Lan Xichen, Jin Ling/Lan Sizhui

General: I just love the complexities of everyone's motivations and relationships with each other, and I just have an especially soft spot for the characters who I think probably tried very hard to make the right decisions for them, only to have those backfire in the end. I'm in it for the drama in a canon-compliant setting, but I am also very much in it for a happy resolution for their arcs, whether that takes place in canon or a more modern setting.

Possible prompts:
+ Chengyi have to work on something together. Anything! A mysterious demon, an inter-sect issue, matchmaking Jin Ling and Lan Sizhui (or negotiating their betrothal, who knows). Romance ensues.

+ Modern Chengyi: A random encounter somewhere turns into a little bit of a disaster when Jingyi realizes the hot angry man he (snapped at, hit on, fucked, choose-your-own-complication) turns out to be his best friend's uncle.

+ Chengyao: Shared custody of Jin Ling leads to feelings developing~

+ Modern Chengyao: Jin Ling has many uncles but JC and JGY in particular are competing to be The Best Uncle. Only Jin Ling wins, honestly.

+ Modern Chengyao: JGY gets Jin Ling gets a dog and JC has a really hard time not being adorable about it, wtf JGY is not ready for this?? (They can be raising JL together or JZX/JYL can be alive!)

+ Xiyao: Anything about the time JGY was hiding LXC away and things get dangerous/steamy~

+ Xiyao: I know JGY is like, trapped with NMJ for like a hundred years, but hey what if his soul finally goes through reincarnation and maybe he has to start at the lowest of the low but it turns out Xichen's been waiting all this time I DON'T KNOW I am that image of Charlie Day with red strings on the board going "this is how canon Xiyao can still win" heLPPPPP

+ Modern Xiyao: Any kind of romcom, meet-cute, fake dating vibe for these two would be fun, just because I think they deserve a break, thank you very much

+ ZhuiLing: Post-canon getting together, I'm not fussy about how, could be a deep dive into character studies/introspectives, a comedy of errors, a sweet fluff piece, or maybe one of them looks after an injury for the other.

{{ The Untamed }}

Jiang Cheng/Lan Jingyi, Jiang Cheng & pet, Jiang Cheng/Jin Guangyao, Jin Guangyao/Lan Xichen

General: (Sorry, this is pretty much the same as MDZS) I just love the complexities of everyone's motivations and relationships with each other, and I just have an especially soft spot for the characters who I think probably tried very hard to make the right decisions for them, only to have those backfire in the end. I'm in it for the drama in a canon-compliant setting, but I am also very much in it for a happy resolution for their arcs, whether that takes place in canon or a more modern setting.

Possible prompts:
+ Chengyi have to work on something together. Anything! A mysterious demon, an inter-sect issue, matchmaking Jin Ling and Lan Sizhui (or negotiating their betrothal, who knows). Romance ensues.

+ Modern Chengyi: A random encounter somewhere turns into a little bit of a disaster when Jingyi realizes the hot angry man he (snapped at, hit on, fucked, choose-your-own-complication) turns out to be his best friend's uncle.

+ Chengyao: Shared custody of Jin Ling leads to feelings developing~

+ Modern Chengyao: Jin Ling has many uncles but JC and JGY in particular are competing to be The Best Uncle. Only Jin Ling wins, honestly.

+ Modern Chengyao: JGY gets Jin Ling gets a dog and JC has a really hard time not being adorable about it, wtf JGY is not ready for this?? (They can be raising JL together or JZX/JYL can be alive!)

+ Xiyao: Anything about the time JGY was hiding LXC away and things get dangerous/steamy~

+ Xiyao: I know JGY is like, trapped with NMJ for like a hundred years, but hey what if his soul finally goes through reincarnation and maybe he has to start at the lowest of the low but it turns out Xichen's been waiting all this time I DON'T KNOW I am that image of Charlie Day with red strings on the board going "this is how canon Xiyao can still win" heLPPPPP

+ Modern Xiyao: Any kind of romcom, meet-cute, fake dating vibe for these two would be fun, just because I think they deserve a break, thank you very much

+ Jiang Cheng & Pet: Give Jiang Cheng a Dog agenda. I am CONVINCED it's going to fix like 87.21% of his problems.

{{ Scum Villain's Self-Saving System }}

Liu Mingyan/Sha Hualing, Mobei-jun/Shang Qinghua, Liu Binghe/Shen Yuan | Shen Qingqiu, Original Liu Binghe/Shen Yuan | Shen Qingqiu

General: This was the first of the mxtx novels I read and MY GOD it was unhinged and hysterical and I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT IT. The world that's geared toward ensuring everyone papapas, leaning into every kind of trope possible, the way BingQiu are Just Like That and everyone has to suffer around them. For SVSSS, while I'd also adore Modern AUs for them, I actually have fewer ideas about how those would go -- I imagine a lot of corporate AU, heist AU, etc would be fun to play with, but I have less specifics to go with, mostly because in canon, a) everyone stays alive >.>, and b) the world is so META already that it seems ripe for playing.

Possible prompts:
+ Mingyan/Hualing: SHL thinks she knows what it takes to get under the skin of these Cang Qiong Peak cultivators. She finds out just how wrong she is. (Honestly, just anything where SHL thinks she's the bad girl here but LMY kinda unleashes on her instead would be so funny. I just think!)

+ Mingyan/Hualing: PIDW-verse AU where they're part of Bingge's harem and have competed the whole time, but [insert plot device of choice] forces them together.

+ MoShang: Someone on Twitter said "what if Mobei-jun is another fan who transmigrated into PIDW, good thing MBJ canonically doesn't have to talk a lot!"

+ Modern MoShang: I know the hotshot corporate CEO + the mousy little assistant trope is so common, but do you have any idea how many of those kinds of webtoons and fic premises I've read? AND I WILL READ MORE!

+ BingQiu: I just think any way SQQ tries to rationalize his way into spreading his legs for LBH so willingly is so much fun, ESPECIALLY when maybe he doesn't even have to, but he just INSISTS. For Binghe's GOOD. Some post-canon, peak lord and his disciples slice of life fun would be cute too, if you wanna throw something like that in!

+ Modern OG!BingYuan: Or maybe this is a reverse transmigration? I love fish-out-of-water stories where basically SY has to teach Bingge about the ways of the modern world. He doesn't even have to be from PIDW-verse here tbh, maybe he's just an immortal half-demon who runs into SY, or a different breed altogether!

+ BONUS: I was dumb and totally forgot to nominate Liu Qingge/Yang Yixuan but if there is space in your heart to spare, I think giving LQG his own sticky disciple who ends up winning him over would be nice. For LQG.

{{ Tian Guan Ci Fu }}

Feng Xin/Xie Lian, Pei Ming/Yushi Huang, Quan Yizhen/Yin Yu

General: My god do I love so many of these characters, the plot, the nuance between everyone's relationships. I absolutely ADORE HuaLian of course, so if you're hardpressed to come up with anything out of these prompts I am so into any slice-of-life fluff or hurt/comfort or domestic piece you'd like to make of HuaLian post-canon, or maybe even in modern AU settings, but if you're up for it, there are also some rarer fare I've been eyeing!

Possible prompts:
+ Fenglian: Pre-ascension getting together and mutual pining? Forbidden feelings, esp with XL's role as Crown Prince as well as his cultivation style but maybe Feng Xin doesn't care about that, he'll have XL however way he can have him??

+ Pei Ming/Yushi Huang: Gosh I just love how Pei Ming is such a fuckboy and Yushi Huang is so unimpressed with him!! And she seems like the only person who throws him off his game, WITH GOOD REASON. Maybe she saves his ass one too many times? Maybe he has to ask her for a favor? Maybe we're going with a "She's All That" modern AU, go hog wild! I would love to see what you've got for them!

+ QuanYin: I cannot explain how drawn I was to their dynamics. I just LOVE Yizhen SO MUCH, he's such a well-meaning clusterfuck of a bumbling fool, Yin Yu is an overthinker with a heart of gold with a streak of maybe just, idk, the unfortunate luck of being adored by someone who shines so much brighter than he ever could, but wow. WOW. I love how little Yizhen understands that. I love how Yin Yu has so much resentment tied up in admiration AND goodness that just causes him so much frustration. I will take ANY AND ALL QuanYin forms, ngl! Pre-canon fellow disciple days, yes. Pre-canon early godhood days, sure! Post-canon fix-it??? Oh my god, yes, please! Missing scenes from canon? Times when Yin Yu was actually so close to Yizhen but hid away in time, times Yizhen almost, ALMOST found his shixiong again? *grabby hands* ANY modern AU where the dynamics of both these two rising up together but only Yizhen succeeding while Yin Yu falls into obscurity, and the ways they find their way to each other since? (Some kind of celebrity AU, professional sports AU, corporate AU, hell, gangster AU??) When I say I cannot get enough of them, I truly mean it.