12. dear chocolatier 2021
Jan. 1st, 2021 12:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aranciataHello, esteemed Chocolatier! Thank you for your patience while I got this letter together, and I hope that you are doing as well as you can be considering The State Of Things. I already feel so privileged that you will be creating for me this year. I hope that I'm able to give you some decent ideas, but for what it's worth, I want to emphasize: No matter what you write for me, I guarantee that I am going to love it. As I said before, I can think of no greater gift than that it is yours and that you made it for me. I mean, how special is that? Indescribably special. So try not to stress or overthink it! I say this without an ounce of condescension, as someone who was cursed by a witch at birth to stress and overthink everything she writes. Including this letter.
Whatever the ravings contained herein may lead you to believe, ODAO! You are not obligated to include any of the things I talk about in here. I only ask that you avoid my DNWs.
And hey, don't feel bad if you need to default. It's valid to do so any year, but this year especially. Be kind to yourself.
With all that out of the way, in we go!
ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 | JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Narancia Ghirga/Trish Una, Narancia Ghirga/Giorno Giovanna, Bruno Buccellati & Narancia Ghirga, Bruno Buccellati & Trish Una, Diego Brando/Hot Pants, Hot Pants & Lucy Steel
Most of my requests are for Vento Aureo, which is my absolute favorite of favorites, but there are a couple Steel Ball Run requests as well! Growth!
Narancia Ghirga/Trish Una
My top ship, my #1, unfortunately. They're REALLY in love and I'm never not thinking about it these days, nor am I ever not thinking about Narancia having a montage envisioning his future and seeing protecting Trish for his whole life as a part of it, nor am I ever not thinking about him swimming after the boat and saying that the wound on her arm is his own. The romance! Love to read about them like tentatively connecting over GriefTrauma or discussing the Narancia death that may or may not have happened as much as I love to read about them post-canon dancing around their feelings for each other in the most aggravating possible way for all involved (read: Mista).
Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Cyril/Lysithea von Ordelia, Claude von Riegan & Cyril, Caspar von Bergliez/Hilda Valentine Goneril, Dorothea Arnault/Edelgard von Hresvelg
Things I love about FE:3H include the potential for the following: seasonal balls and festivals, worldbuilding for Almyra specifically, post-war healing and growing up and finding each other again, and Cyril becoming his own person outside of the very extremely bad Church who was like hey let's make this vulnerable war orphan our servant and pretend it's an amazing great thing we did.
Cyril/Lysithea von Ordelia
I find their ending absurd, considering Lysithea gets to live in several of her other ones. She's absolutely smart enough to figure out a way to extend her lifespan, and on the off-chance she somehow needs fucking Hanneman to do it I'm sure he'd be happy to provide in a way that doesn't involve marrying her. So please, no fic about Lysithea dying, if that's all right! Other than that, they were definitely my favorite 3H ship of 2020 and I adore their sweet budding romance, their genuine ways of interacting with each other, their similarities as people who want to be Taken Seriously.
Kidou Keisatsu Patlabor | Mobile Police Patlabor
Izumi Noa/Shinohara Asuma, Izumi Noa/Kanuka Clancy, Goto Kiichi/Nagumo Shinobu
Haikyuu!!
Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Them, still. I think the thing that appeals to me the most about their relationship, in whatever form it takes, is how they help each other grow—the ways, both subtle and overt, that they drive each other to be better and braver and stronger; especially now that the timeskip has happened, and they've lived these varied adult lives! HQ is ripe for the Superb Childhood Friends Dynamics but this one has always stood out to me the most. They just enjoy each other so much, and I am here for that.
The Queen's Gambit (TV)
Beth Harmon/Benny Watts, Beth Harmon & Jolene, Beth Harmon/Cleo/Benny Watts
Beth's one great love is chess, but her other great love is also her friends and her home. And I think that's wonderful.
Beth Harmon/Benny Watts
Shocking how they're still mega in love at the end. I hope they get back together. Does Beth go to see Benny in New York unannounced? Does Benny show up to watch her play in some quiet Kentucky competition he has no business even knowing about? Do they only see each other at opens and invitationals? Do they both get interviewed by Chess Review and have aggressively conflicting ideas on middlegame strategies? Do they hook up??? Better yet—DO THEY COME TO KNOW EACH OTHER AS PEOPLE, AND NOT JUST CHESS PLAYERS?
Beth Harmon & Jolene
I really really want more about their friendship over the years, how they support one another—maybe Jolene needing Beth, as she said she might one day. I would rather Jolene not just be there to talk about Beth's love life or her problems. What was the rest of Jolene's time like at Methuen? Did she and Mr. Shaibel ever talk about Beth? Does she ever come to watch any of Beth's matches? Do they see each other every year for Christmas? Does Beth ever try teaching her how to play chess?
Beth Harmon/Cleo/Benny Watts
Okay this is purely self-indulgent but I just think it would be both hot and classy for the Beth-Cleo-Benny polycule to be a thing. Resolution for Beth and Cleo would be wonderful, and I am very here for learning more about Benny and Cleo's history. I'd be totally fine with this being explored from a gen angle as well; I just find their dynamic so interesting and I thought Cleo got quite shafted by the overall narrative; she just sort of dropped off the face of the earth? So yes, please; Benny and Beth going out on the town (soberly, of course) with Cleo when they come to Paris; Cleo breezing into the New York apartment whenever she feels like it; Cleo the artist who believes in three square meals a day having to contend with these two chess lunatics who live on coffee.
Aaaah I know that's a lot, but thank you for reading it all! I can't wait to see what you create!
Love,
Gwen
Whatever the ravings contained herein may lead you to believe, ODAO! You are not obligated to include any of the things I talk about in here. I only ask that you avoid my DNWs.
And hey, don't feel bad if you need to default. It's valid to do so any year, but this year especially. Be kind to yourself.
With all that out of the way, in we go!
I AM INTO (ODAO): drunken confessions, healing from grief and trauma, the pining-longing-yearning triptych, character studies, ship studies, the 5 times + 1 time format, nonlinear narratives, almost kisses, developing romance, angst with a happy ending, emotional hurt/comfort, fake/pretend dating leads to feelings, snark and banter, found families, FRIENDSHIPS (especially unlikely ones), friends to lovers, seemingly unrequited pining, expansions of canon, WOMEN, unresolved romantic/emotional tension, WOMEN, things like love and friendship daring to exist even in dire circumstances, nature imagery, "What Comes After" as a concept (basically anything post-canon)
I AM NOT INTO (DNWs): non-canonical character death, heavy or detailed gore (minor injuries and violence OK), incest, marriage/pregnancy fic, established relationship fic (with certain exceptions), non/dubcon, first person POV (unless it's epistolary), character bashing, explicit sexual content (there are exceptions, but in general I don't seek it out), angst with no happy ending, actually unrequited love (for any ships I request), high school/college/coffee shop/florist/tattooist AUs, modern AUs (for fandoms that take place in the past/a fantasy world/whatever), NSFW content of underage (which for me is under 18) characters
EXTREMELY OPTIONAL NSFW LIKES: pegging, praise kink, phone sex, somebody's fingers being in somebody's mouth as like a trust thing but also as a sexy thing, cute endearing human clumsiness, face-sitting (and cunnilingus from any angle tbh), guided masturbation, a little blowjob between friends, distraction kink (is that a thing?), sex that leads to an impulsive and quite possibly ill-timed "i love you," sex that is quite possibly more talking than actual sex, femdom
I AM NOT INTO (DNWs): non-canonical character death, heavy or detailed gore (minor injuries and violence OK), incest, marriage/pregnancy fic, established relationship fic (with certain exceptions), non/dubcon, first person POV (unless it's epistolary), character bashing, explicit sexual content (there are exceptions, but in general I don't seek it out), angst with no happy ending, actually unrequited love (for any ships I request), high school/college/coffee shop/florist/tattooist AUs, modern AUs (for fandoms that take place in the past/a fantasy world/whatever), NSFW content of underage (which for me is under 18) characters
EXTREMELY OPTIONAL NSFW LIKES: pegging, praise kink, phone sex, somebody's fingers being in somebody's mouth as like a trust thing but also as a sexy thing, cute endearing human clumsiness, face-sitting (and cunnilingus from any angle tbh), guided masturbation, a little blowjob between friends, distraction kink (is that a thing?), sex that leads to an impulsive and quite possibly ill-timed "i love you," sex that is quite possibly more talking than actual sex, femdom
ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 | JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Narancia Ghirga/Trish Una, Narancia Ghirga/Giorno Giovanna, Bruno Buccellati & Narancia Ghirga, Bruno Buccellati & Trish Una, Diego Brando/Hot Pants, Hot Pants & Lucy Steel
Most of my requests are for Vento Aureo, which is my absolute favorite of favorites, but there are a couple Steel Ball Run requests as well! Growth!
Narancia Ghirga/Trish Una
My top ship, my #1, unfortunately. They're REALLY in love and I'm never not thinking about it these days, nor am I ever not thinking about Narancia having a montage envisioning his future and seeing protecting Trish for his whole life as a part of it, nor am I ever not thinking about him swimming after the boat and saying that the wound on her arm is his own. The romance! Love to read about them like tentatively connecting over GriefTrauma or discussing the Narancia death that may or may not have happened as much as I love to read about them post-canon dancing around their feelings for each other in the most aggravating possible way for all involved (read: Mista).
- Fake dating! For what reason? YOU DECIDE! Mission cover? Trish needs a convenient boyfriend for some pop star function so that people will leave her alone? Endless possibilities
- Spice Girl having a soft spot (HA) for Narancia, especially before Trish's feelings for him have become Public Knowledge
- Hurt/comfort of any kind from either side (physical or emotional); I am never not here for Narancia patching up Trish's busted face after some Passione business
- The HEALING from TRAUMA
- Comparing dance styles
- Narancia showing Trish around Naples or Trish showing Narancia around rural Calabria... the Places That Made Them
NSFW likes are okay to apply here, as long as it's far enough in the future that they're adults!
Narancia Ghirga/Giorno Giovanna
I think often about Narancia's face after Giorno stuck up for him to Fugo and I think often about how Narancia dying was the only thing to move Giorno to tears since INFANCY. I love that Giorno helps Narancia to see his worth and I love that Narancia comes to trust Giorno despite being canonically stated to trust very very very few people. I would love to see an exploration of what it would be like if Gold Experience Requiem did in fact bring everyone back and how that may or may not deepen Narancia's connection to Giorno in ways that Giorno could not have predicted. Although I am a fervent supporter of Narancia getting to live and go back to school, I'm also really into the idea of him returning to Passione on occasion just to bodyguard or fight for Giorno, which just SO unfortunately complicates that crush he thought he'd gotten over XYZ number of years ago.
Narancia Ghirga/Giorno Giovanna
I think often about Narancia's face after Giorno stuck up for him to Fugo and I think often about how Narancia dying was the only thing to move Giorno to tears since INFANCY. I love that Giorno helps Narancia to see his worth and I love that Narancia comes to trust Giorno despite being canonically stated to trust very very very few people. I would love to see an exploration of what it would be like if Gold Experience Requiem did in fact bring everyone back and how that may or may not deepen Narancia's connection to Giorno in ways that Giorno could not have predicted. Although I am a fervent supporter of Narancia getting to live and go back to school, I'm also really into the idea of him returning to Passione on occasion just to bodyguard or fight for Giorno, which just SO unfortunately complicates that crush he thought he'd gotten over XYZ number of years ago.
- Fraught physical effects of Gold Experience Requiem using its god-powers to bring Narancia back to life in the same way that one can sense bad weather in their bones after they've broken them, you know, but more romantic
- Fake dating! For what reason? YOU DECIDE! Mission cover? Giorno needs a date for a fancy Passione function?
- Workplace romance! Narancia "Is He Bothering You King" Ghirga and Giorno "Just Wanted To Bring Narancia To Paris" Giovanna
- Talking about their ABANDONMENT ISSUES
NSFW likes are okay to apply here, as long as it's far enough in the future that they're adults!
Bruno Buccellati & Narancia Ghirga
I find their dynamic soooo fascinating is the thing. Narancia's misguided hero worship of Bucciarati, Bucciarati's odd tenderness towards him. I don't really like fanon that interprets Bucciarati as a "dad" and Narancia as a "child" so I'd rather that be avoided.
Bruno Buccellati & Narancia Ghirga
I find their dynamic soooo fascinating is the thing. Narancia's misguided hero worship of Bucciarati, Bucciarati's odd tenderness towards him. I don't really like fanon that interprets Bucciarati as a "dad" and Narancia as a "child" so I'd rather that be avoided.
- Pre-canon pre-canon pre-canon! I would love to read Bucciarati & Narancia gen about Narancia getting his Stand, joining Passione, finding his Place, etc.—especially if Bucciarati isn't always the best at handling his metaphorical wounds, if that makes sense
- Post-canon deconstruction of Narancia's rose-colored view of Bucciarati! Not in a way that demonizes Bucciarati, but more in a way that enables them to stand on more even ground, connect over the traumas they've suffered at the hands of the world they had to throw their lot in with to survive, that kind of thing
Since this is gen, no NSFW please.
Bruno Buccellati & Trish Una
I love that canonically they are very similar, enough that Bruno's mom comments on it in PHF. I love that Bruno wanted to protect Trish on his own order. I love that Trish can't begin to understand how Bruno and the others make decisions based on what they think is right, not for their future or safety. I love them having an understanding of each other that nobody else really has. I love Bruno being Trish's mentor and teaching her about Stands. I love that when she held his hand in the elevator, he held back—I love that had Bruno not chosen in that moment to hold her hand back, Diavolo in all likelihood would have taken her away to kill her and Bruno never would have realized his true intentions.
Bruno Buccellati & Trish Una
I love that canonically they are very similar, enough that Bruno's mom comments on it in PHF. I love that Bruno wanted to protect Trish on his own order. I love that Trish can't begin to understand how Bruno and the others make decisions based on what they think is right, not for their future or safety. I love them having an understanding of each other that nobody else really has. I love Bruno being Trish's mentor and teaching her about Stands. I love that when she held his hand in the elevator, he held back—I love that had Bruno not chosen in that moment to hold her hand back, Diavolo in all likelihood would have taken her away to kill her and Bruno never would have realized his true intentions.
- Trish gets that house by the sea after all. Does Bucciarati help her decorate/fix it up? Do the other Team Bucciarati boys get involved?
- SPARRING. Bucciarati instructing Trish on how to fight; Trish being, tragically, a natural!
- Bucciarati being resurrected by Gold Experience Requiem's weird god powers and getting to tie up the loose ends with Trish. I feel like he'd want to keep his distance out of respect for her, but maybe she would reach out to him with some outside encouragement. :)
Since this is gen, no NSFW please.
Diego Brando/Hot Pants
God, I love them. They're both so jagged at the edges, so distrusting, so delicate and tragic underneath it all; two distinct mutations of survivor's guilt, HAHA. And yet they bring out such interesting facets of each other, even though their interactions are so brief and their alliance so wary—as with Vento Aureo, I found these deaths a little meaningless, so I love fix-it.
Diego Brando/Hot Pants
God, I love them. They're both so jagged at the edges, so distrusting, so delicate and tragic underneath it all; two distinct mutations of survivor's guilt, HAHA. And yet they bring out such interesting facets of each other, even though their interactions are so brief and their alliance so wary—as with Vento Aureo, I found these deaths a little meaningless, so I love fix-it.
- Diego and Hot Pants, having survived the Steel Ball Run Race, head back across the United States on horseback to who knows where. I'd just love to read about them traveling together across the Old West, is the thing. Starlit nights sleeping on opposite sides of the campfire but still swapping all their darkest secrets and maybe hooking up for warmth, that kind of thing.
- Reconnecting years later, maybe for another race or at a horse show or at a presidential party (as stars of the great Steel Ball Run Race and all)
- Horse girl Diego... that's all
- I think their porn potential is excellent provided we're on the same page as far as the fact that Hot Pants pegs him goes. Because she does, and he enjoys it.
NSFW okay!
Hot Pants & Lucy Steel
God I want Hot Pants to be in Lucy's life forever and I want Lucy to get the fuck away from that literal old man she's a child bride to, what the fuck. If you fix this and have Hot Pants take her in instead and bring her on adventures I will praise your name until death.
Hot Pants & Lucy Steel
God I want Hot Pants to be in Lucy's life forever and I want Lucy to get the fuck away from that literal old man she's a child bride to, what the fuck. If you fix this and have Hot Pants take her in instead and bring her on adventures I will praise your name until death.
- I'd love to see Hot Pants's faith explored or deconstructed, since it seems like she only turned to the convent out of her unbearable guilt and not any kind of deep belief in God, and maybe now that she's been freed of her guilt she no longer feels connected to religion. Could Lucy help her work through this?
- Hot Pants teaching Lucy how to fight... Hot Pants teaching Lucy how to ride and care for a horse... Hot Pants teaching Lucy ANYTHING
Since this is gen, no NSFW please.
Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Cyril/Lysithea von Ordelia, Claude von Riegan & Cyril, Caspar von Bergliez/Hilda Valentine Goneril, Dorothea Arnault/Edelgard von Hresvelg
Things I love about FE:3H include the potential for the following: seasonal balls and festivals, worldbuilding for Almyra specifically, post-war healing and growing up and finding each other again, and Cyril becoming his own person outside of the very extremely bad Church who was like hey let's make this vulnerable war orphan our servant and pretend it's an amazing great thing we did.
Cyril/Lysithea von Ordelia
I find their ending absurd, considering Lysithea gets to live in several of her other ones. She's absolutely smart enough to figure out a way to extend her lifespan, and on the off-chance she somehow needs fucking Hanneman to do it I'm sure he'd be happy to provide in a way that doesn't involve marrying her. So please, no fic about Lysithea dying, if that's all right! Other than that, they were definitely my favorite 3H ship of 2020 and I adore their sweet budding romance, their genuine ways of interacting with each other, their similarities as people who want to be Taken Seriously.
- I've prompted dancing for so many of my requested ships so far but: dancing! Whether it's at the winter ball or just for fun, whether it's at a peacetime celebration or a quiet moment during the war with no music to follow but the beating of their own hearts (and maybe Cyril singing since he canonically likes to).
- Lysithea getting Cyril's help with one extremely minor home improvement project after the war and then coming up with increasingly nonsensical repairs just to get him to keep coming back. Until he maybe just builds her a house. Wait god that's too romantic.
- Cyril brushing or otherwise styling Lysithea's hair; maybe helping her cut it? This is so specific but I just think he'd be good at that kind of thing
- Cyril tries to take up baking to make Lysithea something sweet but is sadly very bad at it. Comically useless input from the Golden Deer (his best house, RIP to the Blue Lions) more than welcome.
- Anything taking place post-timeskip when they're reunited again... wandering around the ruins of their old school... and the ruins of each other... picking wildflowers... you know what I mean
No NSFW, please!
Claude von Riegan & Cyril
Claude von Riegan & Cyril
- ARCHERY LESSONS ARCHERY LESSONS
- Claude asking Cyril to come back with him to Almyra when he goes to claim his throne... Cyril as Claude's extremely blunt royal advisor... or, if Claude doesn't go back to Almyra right away, Cyril as Claude's Wandering-Around-The-Healing-Continent companion, hunting game, talking to their wyverns, learning about each other
- Cyril not pledging his heart and loyalty to Almyra herself, but to Claude T__T
Since this is gen, no NSFW please.
Caspar von Bergliez/Hilda Valentine Goneril
Friends with benefits! Classic! But also friends who see the other for exactly who they are, and embrace it. I especially love them postwar, when they've grown so much as people. I would love to read about their various hookups over the years ostensibly to Relieve Stress whenever the other is in town but then they just keep falling into bed together out of comfort and habit. I'm fine with even the simplest of tropes for these two—kissing lessons, after-battle patch-ups, chore assignments turning into accidental dates, friends with benefits leads to risking their lives for each other in a skirmish and suddenly it's way too real, ET CETERA.
NSFW likes are okay here, post-timeskip!
Dorothea Arnault/Edelgard von Hresvelg
Yeah hi Dorothea wanted to write an opera about her? Imagine how well they'd complement each other as people who the world thinks are fragile and broken but who have in fact found power and courage in the cracks and are still standing? The notion of WALTZES! The notion of ACADEMY-ERA CRUSHES! The notion of Dorothea pulling Edelgard down from her loneliness and Edelgard pulling Dorothea up from hers! The notion of Dorothea being the one person who can get through to her! The notion of untangling all of their messiness and sins TOGETHER!
NSFW likes are okay here, post-timeskip!
Caspar von Bergliez/Hilda Valentine Goneril
Friends with benefits! Classic! But also friends who see the other for exactly who they are, and embrace it. I especially love them postwar, when they've grown so much as people. I would love to read about their various hookups over the years ostensibly to Relieve Stress whenever the other is in town but then they just keep falling into bed together out of comfort and habit. I'm fine with even the simplest of tropes for these two—kissing lessons, after-battle patch-ups, chore assignments turning into accidental dates, friends with benefits leads to risking their lives for each other in a skirmish and suddenly it's way too real, ET CETERA.
NSFW likes are okay here, post-timeskip!
Dorothea Arnault/Edelgard von Hresvelg
Yeah hi Dorothea wanted to write an opera about her? Imagine how well they'd complement each other as people who the world thinks are fragile and broken but who have in fact found power and courage in the cracks and are still standing? The notion of WALTZES! The notion of ACADEMY-ERA CRUSHES! The notion of Dorothea pulling Edelgard down from her loneliness and Edelgard pulling Dorothea up from hers! The notion of Dorothea being the one person who can get through to her! The notion of untangling all of their messiness and sins TOGETHER!
NSFW likes are okay here, post-timeskip!
Kidou Keisatsu Patlabor | Mobile Police Patlabor
Izumi Noa/Shinohara Asuma, Izumi Noa/Kanuka Clancy, Goto Kiichi/Nagumo Shinobu
God, if you're here and you want to write me Patlabor I am going to need to know your name and address so that I can come to your house and propose marriage, assuming that's not weird. I love how everyone in this show is so adult and real, and so mundane in the most gorgeous of ways. I love the tentative ways in which they connect with each other, over their work just as much as their pasts. I love the extremely realistic bureaucracy of the Labor Divisions and how Labors function in society.
Izumi Noa/Shinohara Asuma
GOD I LOVE THEM. I would love to read about how they navigate their relationship, I would love to read about pining and Noa being oblivious and Shinohara thinking the absolute world of her, which is canon and quite frankly exquisite. Noa is just such a wonderfully human character, and I would be thrilled to read anything about her; I'm fascinated by how she handled that whole ordeal with the Griffon, which seemed to affect her deeply in a way we hadn't seen anything quite affect her before. Shinohara, too, has a lot of hidden depths that I find compelling both for personal reasons and just because of the way they're revealed to us. Basically, anything about these two becoming closer would make my year. That can be emotional talks, coming to terms with their feelings for each other, a series of will-they-or-won't-they misunderstandings with their coworkers, close calls in the line of duty, late nights drinking beer at each other's apartments, straight-up kissing, I don't care!
NSFW okay!
Izumi Noa/Kanuka Clancy
They had the hots for each other; that's just a fact. Izumi visiting New York! Awkward but ultimately romantic first dates! Feeling the pressures of having to be Perfect in very different ways! Bickering but secretly caring about each other so, so much! Platonic clothes-sharing that gives their coworkers the wrong idea but then wait maybe it leads to something else?!
NSFW okay!
NSFW okay!
Haikyuu!!
Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Them, still. I think the thing that appeals to me the most about their relationship, in whatever form it takes, is how they help each other grow—the ways, both subtle and overt, that they drive each other to be better and braver and stronger; especially now that the timeskip has happened, and they've lived these varied adult lives! HQ is ripe for the Superb Childhood Friends Dynamics but this one has always stood out to me the most. They just enjoy each other so much, and I am here for that.
- PLEASE JUST TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED DURING THE TIMESKIP. TELL ME HOW IN LOVE THEY ARE AND HOW THEY STILL HAVEN'T SAID SO.
- Going on trips together! Whether this is just a vacation someplace in Japan, a visit to Hinata in Brazil, or something else, I think they'd be a super funny traveling couple especially if they're not strictly a Couple yet but oh no maybe the hotel only has one bed—you understand where I'm going with this.
- Uselessly pining Tsukishima, the best flavor of Tsukishima
- Yamaguchi cheering on every Sendai Frogs match! Koganegawa just assumes he's Tsukki's boyfriend! Wait, isn't he? HASN'T HE ALWAYS BEEN?
- Tsukishima and Yamaguchi as adults practicing volleyball together, whether it's hitting serves in the local rec center late at night or passing the ball back and forth in Tsukishima's backyard when they both come home to Sendai for Golden Week
- Drunken confessions. PHONE confessions. That's all.
NSFW likes are okay here!
The Queen's Gambit (TV)
Beth Harmon/Benny Watts, Beth Harmon & Jolene, Beth Harmon/Cleo/Benny Watts
Beth's one great love is chess, but her other great love is also her friends and her home. And I think that's wonderful.
Beth Harmon/Benny Watts
Shocking how they're still mega in love at the end. I hope they get back together. Does Beth go to see Benny in New York unannounced? Does Benny show up to watch her play in some quiet Kentucky competition he has no business even knowing about? Do they only see each other at opens and invitationals? Do they both get interviewed by Chess Review and have aggressively conflicting ideas on middlegame strategies? Do they hook up??? Better yet—DO THEY COME TO KNOW EACH OTHER AS PEOPLE, AND NOT JUST CHESS PLAYERS?
Beth Harmon & Jolene
I really really want more about their friendship over the years, how they support one another—maybe Jolene needing Beth, as she said she might one day. I would rather Jolene not just be there to talk about Beth's love life or her problems. What was the rest of Jolene's time like at Methuen? Did she and Mr. Shaibel ever talk about Beth? Does she ever come to watch any of Beth's matches? Do they see each other every year for Christmas? Does Beth ever try teaching her how to play chess?
Beth Harmon/Cleo/Benny Watts
Okay this is purely self-indulgent but I just think it would be both hot and classy for the Beth-Cleo-Benny polycule to be a thing. Resolution for Beth and Cleo would be wonderful, and I am very here for learning more about Benny and Cleo's history. I'd be totally fine with this being explored from a gen angle as well; I just find their dynamic so interesting and I thought Cleo got quite shafted by the overall narrative; she just sort of dropped off the face of the earth? So yes, please; Benny and Beth going out on the town (soberly, of course) with Cleo when they come to Paris; Cleo breezing into the New York apartment whenever she feels like it; Cleo the artist who believes in three square meals a day having to contend with these two chess lunatics who live on coffee.
Aaaah I know that's a lot, but thank you for reading it all! I can't wait to see what you create!
Love,
Gwen
