straightforwardly | Chocolate Box 2019 Letter (Reply)

AO3: straightforwardly

Table of Contents
1. General Likes
2. DNWs
3. Cinderella Phenomenon
4. The Legend of the Sun Knight
5. OZMAFIA!!
6. The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System
7. Shall We Date? The Niflheim
8. Tales of Symphonia

General Likes [↑]

blood, blood-drinking, blood kink.
canon settings.
canon divergence AUs.
castles, shrines, abandoned ruins, dark forests, haunted locations, places with a deep sense of atmosphere and/or history.
crossovers between my requested canons.
dysfunctional or otherwise complicated relationships, especially if the people involved genuinely care about one another.
ghosts ghost ghosts GHOSTS.
hair kink, loving descriptions of long hair, hair brushing, hair petting.
hand-holding, casual touching, any focus on hands.
hurt/comfort.
mutual pining, especially if the characters retain their canon levels of competency.
trapped together / huddling for warmth scenarios.
any time-related shenanigans: time travel, time loops, peggy sue, etc.
unusual formats (e.g., epistolary, interactive fiction, non-linear storytelling, & so on.)
winter/autumn settings and atmosphere (e.g., snow, autumn leaves, pumpkins, fog, tea, etc.)
worldbuilding.

Do Not Wants [↑]

a/b/o & similar AUs based around defined biological roles.
cannibalism/anything being eaten alive.
characters who are young in canon growing old and/or dying of old age.
eye injuries.
first person POV (exception: this doesn't apply to epistolary fiction, which I do like).
identity headcanons
pregnancy/childbirth/small children/stories about “the next generation”, whether canonical or not.
setting-change/mundane AUs.
zombies/any of the rotting undead.

Smut-specific DNWs: anal tearing/bleeding, belly kink, come eating, come inflation, daddy/mommy kink, foot kink (exception: boot kink is definitely, definitely allowed!), lactation, rimming, sounding, sex acts involving characters under the age of fifteen (you don’t need to namedrop their age, but don’t refer to them as being younger than that or describe them in ways that would only apply to a child)

Finally, while it’s definitely not a DNW, I do have a preference for sex acts other than anal.

Cinderella Phenomenon [↑]

Karma/Lucette
I love these two so much! Lucette was very much the star of the game for me. I spent hundreds of words going on about what I found compelling about her in my wrap-up post for this game, but the short version is that I’m fascinated by how well the game shows how her fucked-up upbringing shaped her into the person she is at the start of the game, and I love her in all of her prickliness, loneliness, and well-hidden vulnerability.

And Karma! I love him in all of his highs and lows: his charm, his talent at sword-fighting, his vanity, his selfishness. I loved how well he could understand Lucette’s journey (because he had to make a similar journey too!) and I loved, loved, loved him for being the only LI from the initial routes to recognize how messed up Lucette’s childhood was, even if that moment was all-too brief for my tastes.

Also, the crossdressing delighted me. ♥

There’s so much that I’d be interested in seeing for these two. I’d love canon divergence AUs and alternate getting-together scenarios, but I’m also equally into exploration of their post-canon established relationship. I will say that I’m not particularly interested in fic set in the period of time late in his route when Karma’s avoiding Lucette, unless it’s in the service of a canon divergence and/or alternate getting-together scenario.

I’d love more early game bonding! Especially if it also deals with more of Lucette revealing some detail of her childhood that she doesn’t realize is horrifying, but Karma does. Honestly, anything dealing with Lucette’s past is guaranteed to delight me, regardless of when it’s set.

Crossdressing! All of the crossdressing! The two of them having sex while Karma is wearing a dress? Erotically charged scenes where either (or both!) of them are doing the other’s make-up?

All of the undercover-as-a-couple scenarios! (Or, if it’s post-canon, simply them having to go undercover.) Especially if it stars both of them crossdressing—I can’t help but think that Lucette would make an awfully dashing nobleman.

There’s a tweet from the developers which says that Karma’s a mopey drunk, which delights me. So maybe something about that, with a side of Lucette Not Having It?

I’m also always up for politics, Lucette meeting Karma’s family, sorting out Lucette’s tangled relationships with her family, either of them being exhausted/overworking themself, and swords and sword-fighting—especially if it features the two of them fighting at one’s another’s side! ♥

The Legend of the Sun Knight [↑]

Some fandom-specific DNWs: Anything from the 39th generation. (I haven’t read it & don’t intend to.) The second Charlotte.

Grisia Sun/Lesus Judgement
Grisia is a dream of a main character, and Lesus is just as wonderful—in any other canon, he would’ve been my favorite, but Grisia exists, so he has to be a very close second instead. I love what a mess of contradictions Grisia is—he’s petty and selfish, but he’s also willing to sacrifice absolutely anything to protect the people he cares about. I love his talent at manipulation, his perfect shining Sun Knight mask (and how it contrasts with his internal dialogue), how ridiculously pretty he is, how well he suffers, and his total devotion to his holy knights. ♥ Their relationship is easily one of my absolute favorite things about this canon. I especially love the “have to pretend to be enemies” thing they have going, the meetings in the bathroom, and how they react when the other is hurt.

So, I know the Judgment Knight and Sun Knight shouldn’t go on missions together, and I know that Grisia can’t really leave Leaf Bud City post-canon without all of the Holy Knights being there, but I love mission fic and have a Need. Maybe something goes wrong in one of the bi-yearly Grisia versus Roland duels and Grisia & Lesus somehow get stranded away from the others? An accident while fighting, or maybe an ambush by some enemy? And they need to deal with getting back + the ticking time bomb that is Grisia’s Demon King side coming out again? Or—a canon divergence where it’s Lesus who comes across Grisia during the amnesia arc, not Ecilan?

In general, I’d love either of them getting hurt. Directly for the other’s sake, it happens when they’re out and about and the other has to find out about it... a scenario where it’s vital that Grisia play his perfect Sun Knight role at that very moment for Reasons, but he can’t let on that he’s been injured?

Illnesses are also great—especially when paired with get-together fic. Feverish confessions are *_* Or maybe Grisia actually manages to get drunk and gets a little handsy with Lesus? Face-touching, clinging, groping—it’s all good. Accidental confessions of feelings and/or insecurities (“Does the God of Light really want me to remain as his Sun Knight?”) are great too. :D

I also love ghosts!! Actual ghosts, characters telling ghost stories, haunted locations, spooky encounters… Maybe they go on a mission to a suspicious and definitely not haunted building in the outskirts of Leaf Bud City and get trapped inside?

If you’re familiar with Female Warrior, then I’d also love time travel fic where Grisia and Lesus meet the original Sun Knight, whether it’s through him coming to their time or them going to his time. The thought of how Grisia would react to finding out the truth behind the original Sun Knight’s constant praises of the God of Light is just… my everything… As a related side-note, I also adore Carol.

Finally, I’m still up for basically everything I asked for in my Hurt/Comfort Exchange Letter. ♥

OZMAFIA!! [↑]

In regards to my “eye injuries” DNW: you can definitely mention that Hamelin’s missing an eye and/or refer to how that happened, but I don’t want any detail on the actual injury itself or on what Robin Hood might have done to keep it from healing. I also DNW Kyrie permanently losing his intelligence.

If you want to pair Fuka up in the background in a fic not focusing on her, I’d be fine with these LIs: Caesar, Caramia, Kyrie, Scarlet, Hamelin-in-the-context-of-the-better ending. Please, don’t have there be any reference to Robin Hood/Fuka.

Caramia/Kyrie
I love these two so much; every interaction these two made my life just that much better. Even the worst routes were elevated by these two showing up in the same scene. I love their bickering and how Kyrie’s always mocking Caramia, and I love the moments when Caramia turns the tables on him. I love how well they know one another (that moment when Caramia prepared fresh clothing for Kyrie right before Kyrie comes back from being in scarecrow mode complaining about how he hates how dirty that always makes him! ♥), how clearly comfortable they are with one another, and how, when the situation turns genuinely serious, they are 100% on the other’s side.

I spent pretty much the whole game thinking about these two secretly having a casual sex/friends-with-benefits arrangement in the background. Which is to say: I’d be very much here for that! Casual sex! Casual sex unexpectedly turns into something more! Kyrie secretly pining for Caramia, starting up a friends-with-benefits relationship with him, and then being taken aback (or disbelieving!) when Caramia ends up falling for him! Mutual pining while fucking! There’s so many different ways this could go, and I’m here for all of them.

Anything that deals with their backstory and history with one another! Maybe something about the ways in which their relationship has changed over the years—from their journey (the reveal that Kyrie used to call Caramia “Lion-kun” was super-cute ♥) to the founding of the town to the outbreak of violence after Robin Hood’s wedding?

I find the way Kyrie secretly sees his memory and intelligence as a burden rather than a gift both fascinating and heartbreaking. I’d be interested in any exploration of that, whether it’s in regards to him as a character or how that (especially the part about memory) affects his relationship with Caramia.

POSSESSED CARAMIA POSSESSED CARAMIA POSSESSED—

Drinking together! Strategizing together! Caramia with his glasses! Anything which plays with Caramia’s heightened senses! Kyrie summoning a murder of crows! Clothing porn! Caramia getting tied-up!

Famiglia Grimm (Gen & Ship)
HELLO MY OVERWHELMING FAMIGLIA GRIMM FEELINGS. I love these four an awful lot. I did talk about my feelings about them a lot in my reaction to Scarlet’s route, and also in my reaction to Hamelin’s route and my reaction to the epilogue / grand ending (caution, spoilers everywhere), but you definitely, definitely don’t have to read all of that. To sum up my feelings relatively quickly:

I love how absolutely devoted Hansel, Gretel, and Scarlet are to Hamelin, and though the game doesn’t touch on it too frequently, I do really like the undercurrent of tension that exists between Famiglia Grimm and the other Famiglia because of what Hamelin did. That bit in the epilogue where Hansel and Gretel basically decide to take revenge on everyone for allowing Hamelin to be imprisoned—and so, leaving him helpless against his killer—was so very good for me; I don’t even have the words to express it.

In general, I do get the sense that they don’t really have anyone but each other—not even Scarlet, for all that he’s easily the one who spends the most time with people outside their Famiglia. When push comes to shove—Hamelin’s still the one who has the firmest grip on his heart. As for Hamelin himself—I adore him. He’s very pathetic in a way that really appeals to me, and his self-loathing is absolutely delicious.

I’d also like to note that, for this request, I’m fine with not all of the requested characters actively showing up in your fic, as long as the main focus is still on any of the relationships within Famiglia Grimm.

This is also true for the ship version of this request! I love the OT4, but I’d also be interested in receiving Hamelin/Scarlet, Hansel/Gretel, Hansel/Gretel/Scarlet, Hansel/Gretel/Hamelin… I have a slight preference for Hansel and Gretel staying together as a unit, but, again, as long as the focus is on any of the relationships between the members of Famiglia Grimm, I’d be delighted.

I requested these four in various combinations for the Hurt/Comfort Exchange, and would still be up for any of the prompts that I requested there!

I’m so fascinated by tension that exists in regard to Scarlet’s devotion to Hamelin (and Famiglia Grimm) and his desire for peace, as well as the hard choices he’s forced to make. I can’t recall—do Hansel and Gretel know about the role Scarlet played in Hamelin losing his eye? How do they feel about it? How did they react when it happened, or, if they don’t know—how do they feel about it when they find out?

What happens after the grand ending??? How do they handle the emotional fallout of all that death? And what happens with Hamelin? Does he end up back in prison after he revives? (Are they even willing to accept that, considering what happened to him the first time around?)

Basically anything playing with an us-against-the-world dynamic, mafia politics, the situation with Hamelin, the balancing act Scarlet has to manage, and/or the tensions that exist between them and the rest of the town would delight me!

Gretel/Fuka
Gretel is my absolute favorite side character in this game, and also just one of my favorites overall. Her prickliness and defensiveness absolutely won me over, and I just have so many feelings about her, her bond with Hansel, and Famiglia Grimm as a whole. I love how suspicious she is of Fuka, and how Fuka generally doesn’t let it get to her. I love how in various routes, Fuka expresses interest in being Gretel’s friend!

One of my favorite aspects of Scarlet’s route was the parts where Fuka seemed to be working on a friendship with Gretel, and I’d love to see more along those lines… except shippier. tl;dr please show me Fuka breaking through Gretel’s barriers and slowly worming her way into her trust and her heart!

—Or her trying and failing; I’d be happy with that too!

Maybe after a platonic version of the ending where Scarlet joins Famiglia Oz, Fuka tries to reach out to Gretel and Gretel snaps back?

Pashet/Fuka
This pairing was just so iddy for me. They deliberately invoked knight/princess dynamics!! You have no idea how badly I wanted them to kiss during that CG where Fuka encourages Pashet to take up arms against Hamelin. It was just such an intense moment! And then that last dialogue choice in her route, where Pashet explicitly draws on those knight/princess comparisons and (in one branch) swears that she’ll come back to her “even if [she] has to crawl”! Seriously, the only way this pairing could be better for me is if it were canon.

I didn’t mind the “bad” ending too much in this route, but I’m also not much interested in seeing fic about it—I want to see Pashet fully comfortable with herself as a knight! (Though she can definitely indulge in her fondness for baking on the side. ♥) Please don’t focus on the Pashet’s crush subplot.

PLEASE LET THEM AT LEAST KISS. I don’t care how you do it—post-canon realization of feelings, canon divergence AU where Fuka does kiss Pashet in that scene where she encourages Pashet to fight against Hamelin, canon divergence AU where their reunion involves a lot of make-outs… I’m here for all of it.

Or: Brothel Mistress!Fuka finds her way to the world of Pashet’s route and decides to bang her other self’s love interest. I would definitely be fine with this going into dubcon territory. Especially if Brothel Mistress!Fuka doesn’t let on that she’s not the same Fuka that Pashet knows / Pashet feels like something’s slightly off about her today, but doesn’t know why.

I did request these two for Smut Swap 2019, so please feel free to take inspiration from that letter as well!

The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System [↑]

Some fandom-specific DNWs: SJ being referred to as “A-Jiu”, the Shen twins headcanon / Shen Jiu and Shen Yuan being family in any way, LBH referring to SQQ with any variation of the name “Shen Yuan”, unhappy endings for Bingqiu (including anything that breaks them up).

Luo Binghe/Shen Qingqiu
I love these two more than words can say. As long as the two of them get a happy ending, I’d read just about anything for them: post-canon, missing scenes, canon divergence AUs, established relationship, getting together, Luo Binghe’s adolescent pining, hurt/comfort, fluff, horror, knives… I’m here for all of that and more.

Any other kind of supernatural/monster encounter would be excellent! Fox spirits (both friendly and cruel); mysterious, dark, and potentially cursed forests; spooky fog; any kind of monster or spirit, whether it’s from Chinese mythology or one of Airplane-bro’s creations. SQQ geeking out about a horrifying monster that they encounter while LBH admires the breadth of his knowledge?

A qi deviation leads to Luo Binghe losing control of his dream powers, trapping him (and SQQ, if post-canon/a canon divergence AU?) in a realm of nightmares. Maybe reliving the Endless Abyss? Or horrors that are all new.

One of them gets afflicted by a truth serum. Both post-canon and canon divergence would be amazing! Canon divergence where SQQ starts admitting to feelings that he didn’t even realize that he had, or where he tells him more about the reasons for his actions than he actually should… Canon divergence where it makes LBH reveal just how in love / insecure / desperate he is much earlier on than in canon... Post-canon where SQQ is scrambling to keep his remaining secrets hidden… Post-canon where LBH just starts spilling everything he’s thinking & it leads to a lot of sex… there’s so many directions in which this could go, and I am here for all of them.

Anything inspired by the list of tags under the Luo Binghe/Shen Qingqiu column in this post, my Hurt/Comfort Exchange letter, and/or my Smut Swap Letter. Finally, if all else fails, hurt/comfort and/or kissing can never go wrong! ♥

Shall We Date? The Niflheim [↑]

I’m familiar with all of the main routes (though not quite all of the endings), and most of the event stories. If you want to reference something that happened in one of the temporary Grace Point event stories, feel free to do so. I remember the Lovesickness Event and onwards best, though I did read through the Grace Point event that happened before it.

This is a canon that I have a deep and almost ridiculous amount of affection for. I’m particularly fascinated by the worldbuilding. It’s so charming and strange!

Jean/Orlando
It made me laugh when, at the end of Orlando’s route, it turned out that Jean was less angry with them because his best friend ran off with his fiancee, and more because he felt left out. Orlando’s was the second route that I played through, and while I’d already liked their relationship well enough before, I think that was the moment I was 100% sold on them. I love their bickering, and how they can be genuinely angry with one another, but I also love those moments when you see just how absolute Orlando’s loyalty to Jean is. I also love Orlando’s eternal frustration with Jean, and how it is (at least in my opinion) derived at least in part because he knows full-well that Jean isn’t as incompetent as he plays at.

Established relationship, getting-together fic, and not-actually-together-but-clearly-have-feelings-about-each-other would all delight me! Pre-canon and post-canon are equally good for me, as long as it’s not “how they met” fic— I really love the history between them, and how that informs their current relationship, so I don’t want to see that stripped away.

Loyalty kink! All of the loyalty kink! Show me a moment when Orlando uses his charm and skills at manipulation to help Niflheim—and Jean.

Casual sex turns into something more.

I’m fascinated by the connection that Jean has with Niflheim, and would love anything that plays with that. If you’re familiar with Jean’s route in the “Before We Met” event, then I’d also be interested in something that deals with that period of Jean’s existence.

Or maybe something with Niflheim’s never-ending excuses for holidays and festivals! Is Orlando disgruntled because all of the work for organizing the latest one has fallen on him, again?

Feel free to also go darker! Orlando has a lot of dark, possessive urges in his own route, and I’d love to see that possessiveness applied to a relationship with Jean. Alternatively, I’m also fascinated by what Jean could do with the terrifying amount of power he has over Niflheim if he were to truly go dark/had reacted differently when his people rejected him 1000 years ago. As long as Orlando stays at his side, I’m up for just about anything!

In general, I’d love anything that explores the world of Niflheim more. I’m also interested in canon divergence AUs set from literally any point in any route, darker takes on any of the concepts we see in game, weird fluff…

Philippe/Isabella
Isabella: Best heroine, or best heroine? I love her dearly, and especially adore her enthusiasm, her kindness, her energy, and her curiosity about all things Niflheim. I ship Isabella with a lot of people, but from all of her canon routes, Philippe’s was the first I played, and might actually be my favorite? I’m eternally fascinated by the concept of a living person in Niflheim, and I love how genuinely Philippe cares about Isabella. Enough to wait 1000 years for her—and enough to step aside without even mentioning a word of his own feelings if he sees that she’s in love with someone else.

I’m equally interested in fluffy or bittersweet fic for these two. The only thing I don’t want is for Philippe to be overly possessive of Isabella or force his feelings on her if she’s in love with someone else, as the fact that he never does that is one of my favorite things about him.

Again, I’d love anything that explores the world of Niflheim more. I’m interested in canon divergence AUs set from literally any point in any route, darker takes on any of the concepts we see in game, weird fluff…

A snippet of their lives in Niflheim together following any of the Philippe route endings (yes, even the dark ones!), or a moment between them in a route when Isabella doesn’t remember him & is maybe even with someone else, or anything about those 1000 years of waiting.

Or maybe something about the contrast between the Philippe Isabella remembers (who was more of a knight than anything) and the one she knows now?

Tales of Symphonia [↑]

Kratos & Lloyd
The amount of time I spent sobbing “BECAUSE HE’S YOUR DAD AND HE LOVES YOU” at my computer screen while playing this game was truly ridiculous.

I’ve read convincing explanations for why Kratos leaving at the end makes the most sense for his character arc, and I do kind of get it, but it’s still not emotionally satisfying for me. You can handle it however you want—setting the fic before the end of the game, handwaved magical portal accident that dumps Kratos back in their world, etc.—just please do keep that in mind.

I’m also not very interested in anything that fixes the canon tragedy that separated them or that’s set when Lloyd is a child.

Anything set pre-betrayal, with Kratos trying to hide that he’s his father while caring SO MUCH!

Either of them throwing themselves into danger to protect the other! I have a slight preference for Kratos doing it pre-betrayal, Lloyd doing it post-reveal, and either of them in that murky period in-between, mostly because I think those are the combinations with the most interesting emotional complications and consequences, but really, anything about them getting hurt protecting the other would delight me!

More interactions in that time period post-betrayal, but pre-reveal!! Them getting trapped somewhere together? Caught in a time loop? Otherwise pushed into interacting with one another??

on that note: TIME TRAVEL. True story: I very nearly signed-up for Past Imperfect solely on the strength of how much I want time travel fic for this fandom in general and this relationship in particular. Lloyd time traveling into the past! Post-betrayal!Kratos time traveling into the post-canon future! Just, time travel in any shape you’re up for!

I loved that skit that comes up during Colette’s journey of regeneration where Lloyd invites him to join him in traveling the world on a boat, so maybe something where Kratos does, unexpectedly, end up on a boat with Lloyd while Lloyd’s on his post-canon search for exspheres. Is it via time travel? Magical portal and/or wormhole accident? Due to Kratos having delayed his departure, just for a little bit longer? Something else? You decide!

I will never get tired of alternate ways the dad reveal could have happened. Never.

Zelos & Seles
The Coliseum scene + following skit after you win in the Seles fight made me fall so hard for this relationship. I’m just so into how they both clearly care so much about one another, but are equally convinced that the other one doesn’t care about them at all.

What if Seles did actually decide to try to sneak off and follow their group on their journey?

Either one of them protecting the other from danger! And, of course, the emotional fallout from that. ♥ Especially if they didn’t realize that the other person was there until that moment!

Something about Seles finding out about Zelos’ death in the Kratos route? Alternatively: TIME TRAVEL. I’d love to see Seles as a time-traveller, especially if it’s in the form of her trying to prevent Zelos’ death!

Chocolate Box 2019 Letter