Chocolate Box Letter 2021

[spring_gloom]

Hi Chocolatier,

If you saw a note here when assignments went out, I'm done now! Fixed up all fandom sections (just edited - likes or no prompts removed), added more general likes (mainly art-focussed), edited NSFW doc.

Thanks in advance for your creations and I hope you have some fun with them! All my requests are for both fic and art.

AO3 is spring_gloom.

The format of this letter is: some general likes/dislikes, some vague ship-related rambling in the specific sections, and some particular prompts. Optional details are always optional, but I thought I'd note that the prompts are just whatever ideas I thought would be cool when I wrote this. You probably have some great ideas yourself, so feel free to do whatever. If it hits my general and/or smut likes, that's always fab.

---

Contents

• General Stuff
• Animamundi Dark Alchemist
• Babylon 5
• Crusade
• Final Fantasy VII Remake
• Hotel Dusk
• Miami Vice

---

General Stuff

General likes: adventure, ambiguously paranormal spooky things, angst (happy ending or not), casefic, character-driven plot, costumes and uniforms, dark and gothic styles, episode-related, first time/getting together, found family, friends to lovers, goofy hijinks, hurt/comfort, loyalty, missing scenes, mysteries, pining, post-canon, sexual tension, sharing a bed, tarot cards styles and motifs, trapped together, undercover as a couple, undercover as gay. Always down to be emotionally wrecked in any direction. Any rating - I like smut (including PWP) and not-smut!

NSFW likes Dislikes: Can be found here as a txt file on Google Drive! Skippable if you're definitely not writing/drawing smut. Please read if you are! 💕

Art note: Obviously, a lot of these prompts are more suitable for fic, because I think that's just the way it goes when you're asking for both. Be assured that I do want fanart, and I've tried to add art likes and prompts! I love all sorts of styles, so I'll leave you to do what you do best. In basically every romantic ship, I'm down with flirty looks, embracing, kissing, and other classic poses. I've hopefully given a general mood for the pair in the description, so something may fit better than another. And don't feel the need to idealise the appearance of characters/erase 'flaws'. What this means will probably depend on your style. ...yes, this is very vague.

DNWs: injection/needle details; omegaverse (A/B/O); graphic noncon (mention is fine if it's relevant/canon, dubcon is fine/welcome - clarification below, any exceptions are detailed); details about pregnancy; mpreg; medical kink; AUs other than canon divergence; the 'only gay for you' trope (clarification below).

Dubcon clarification: Good with dubcon where the characters are attracted to each other before and/or after, and get some pleasure from the experience. Some tropes listed in the NSFW doc.
'Only gay for you' trope clarification: Literally just 'I'm straight except I also like you as the exception'. Things that are 100% fine/welcome and that do not count as this trope include: character is bi/gay but has barely explored it, character is hardly ever attracted to anyone at all anyway, character struggles with internalised homophobia.

If any of the DNWs or likes are ambiguous, I'm always happy to clarify via an anon comment or an exchange mod because this should be fun and not a stressful guessing game!

---

Animamundi Dark Alchemist

Note on DNWs: there's noncon in canon. Feel free to work it in and mention it because it is relevant to their characters/the story, but I'd prefer if it wasn't the main focus (by depicting it graphically, or being the main focus thematically).

Francis Dashwood/Georik Zaberisk

All these years later, I still care about this game and most especially this ship. The relationship between Georik and Dashwood may not be the most thematically grand one in the game but I really love their dynamic and I also love to suffer. 👌 I simultaneous love and want to fix a tragic ending with no true resolution, so the tragedy of Georik misunderstanding Dashwood's true character and motivations until it's too late hooks me right in. I love the flashes of tenderness along the way where Dashwood drops his usual act and lets his concern for Georik show. Or when the aloof Georik takes a rare moment to ask Dashwood about his injuries. ;.; Less seriously, I've always loved that goofy Fake-Out Make-Out bit in the Hellfire Club where Dashwood just haaas to be all over him. (There's no choice!)

Broadly, I'm into exploring the angst of Dashwood's ending(s) but I'm also very into the idea of fixing it and making everything (relatively) okay. I guess you could also make it worse but that would take some real skill. Scenes in any of the routes would be cool too.

• Fix-it fic is very possible just within the game's setting! There are so many magic/Hell-dwelling/timeline shenanigans to choose from. I really wish I could prompt better for this but I haven't played the game for a little while now so I don't remember the exact rules! 😬 Of course, you can bend those to suit your purposes and make Dashwood alive. Or at least in the same realm as Georik. All this is to say that I am due for a another replay.
• Missing scene from canon/fill in some gaps! Expand on those moments of concern: the times Dashwood is doing Georik some huge favours Georik's never even aware of, when Georik thinks he might see something beneath the surface in Dashwood. <3 Or extend the Hellfire Club material and their respective feelings on it...
• I'm interested in Dashwood's idea of the relationship he wants with Georik (a new 'Master' to take him away). This man does not have a very healthy conception of what he wants but, given his past, that may be the only way he could imagine it. I wonder if that view would shift if his affection was reciprocated and whether it would be positive or painful for the both of them.
• I love so many of the visual styles and motifs in this game's art. Even if your style is different, incorporating the gothic elements would be really cool.

---

Babylon 5

I'm familiar with Crusade, Legend of the Rangers, all the films and all the canon books for B5, so feel free to include pretty much anything or anyone from the universe if it suits you!

I just wanted to write a general note on Anna Sheridan specifically, since she's featured in a few requests here. In the show itself, we only briefly see Shadow!Anna and never really know much about the real her at all. If you've read The Shadow Within, you know that she's motivated, curious, courageous, and generally pretty great. If you haven't read it or if you don't want to use that exact characterisation: John Sheridan has a track record of stellar taste in women, so you can be sure she was exceptional. According to the Techno-mage Trilogy, every trace of the former Anna is gone and buried so deep that a P12 can't bring it back without damaging her. Again, you're welcome to use this totally non-Anna Anna for any request, or to explore the idea of what she might be like if the Shadows had needed to use less extreme coercion and had left at least some of her original personality.

Anna Sheridan/Delenn

I think the beauty of this ship is the Shadow vs Vorlon influences, light vs dark... and also shipping John Sheridan's wives with each other (of course). The influence isn't nearly as neatly parallel as it is with Lyta (further down), but the Vorlons have been influencing Minbari society for a long time and Delenn has been working with them personally prior to the show starting. Aside from that, Delenn is one of the main heroes of the show and Anna is this sinister interloper. This concept of darkness seducing light is *chef's kiss* but Delenn initiatiating would also be fascinating (I just have no ideas/prompts for it, haha). I'm also totally fine with adding a Anna/Delenn/John element where it works too.

• When Anna comes to Babylon 5 in 'Shadow Dancing'/'Z'ha'dum', her aim is not only to convince John but to influence Delenn as well. ...maybe the Shadows directly instructed her to, or she just took it upon herself.
• Anna comes to B5 much earlier as an agent of the Shadows (along with Morden or instead of him) and starts trying to turn Delenn by any means necessary (...sexy means).
• As much as I love a Shadow Anna for this one, it would also be cool to explore them getting together in an AU timeline where Anna never went to Z'ha'dum. I'm sure they'd find each other mutually fascinating.
• The contrast between these two would be really cool to represent visually. Or like... the seduction by dark influences. 🤔

Anna Sheridan/Elizabeth Lochley

Anna and Delenn above: check. Onto the next of John Sheridan's wives! These two are great characters and also really different personalities... warrior and scientist. I just think it's neat.

• One possibility is that Elizabeth Sheridan introduced her pal Anna to her brother's current or ex- wife. She might be intentionally be playing matchmaker, or she thinks both Lochley and Anna should get out more and meet new people (they probably should). Regardless, these two hit it off some time pre-canon!
• Lochley encounters Anna as a Shadow agent during the Shadows War. She might even recognise Anna and know she's meant to be dead, which would make for some excellent shadiness and suspicion amidst her attraction.

Anna Sheridan/Elizabeth Sheridan

I was inspired to nominate this last year because the teensy scene with them meeting up in The Shadow Within was very cute. Liz is so good and I really wish they'd brought her back for another ep. Her book interaction with Anna is very comfortable and open so you get the impression they're great friends, too. Between that one ep and her short book appearance, I have no idea if we even know Liz's canon job so you can probably take a lot of liberties with her!

• What if Anna fell for the first Sheridan she met instead? Honestly, that idea could just be a scene from their relationship (or the development of it), or it could lead to a ridiculous alternative history where shit went down a lot differently (which could be good or very very bad).
• The Shadows knew that Liz loved her brother's wife so they decided to use their Anna-who-is-no-longer-Anna to manipulate her too/instead as part of some grand scheme?
• Dating or hooking up in university!
• Liz's complicated requited or unrequited feels for her brother's wife.

Anna Sheridan/Lyta Alexander

Here are the real Vorlon/Shadow parallels! There's a reverence within both of them for their respective gods: Lyta is captivated by the Vorlons, and Techno-mage Trilogy Anna thinks a lot about the beauty and perfection of the Shadow tech. The psychological stuff that could go into this if they were to develop some kind of attraction to each other. 👌 With that said, this combination would also be interesting before they were changed or in another timeline where one or neither was changed.

• Given the reverence I mentioned both having for their respective First Ones, they might find their opposite repulsive (whether innately, or something artificially implanted). Some kind of fascination based on this could be interesting!
• Anna isn't buried so deep that no one can reach her after all. What if Lyta was there and could find a way to bring her original personality back? Maybe this would cause Lyta to empathise as she compares what happened to Anna to what the Vorlons did to her? Either way, it could be a cool setup for some hurt/comfort.
• Before scanning Kosh, Lyta was asked a question by a woman she met: "What do you want?" (Some kind of alternate timeline where the Shadows try to influence her first.)
• Vorlon vs Shadow motifs, yessss.

Control/Susan Ivanova

This is so interesting, because who is Control? Does she have memories (real or fabricated) outside of Talia? How much of Talia's conscious life could she witness while hidden? Does she go to sleep and wake up with a surprise Susan Ivanova in her bed, thanks to Talia? We only see her outburst, so we don't even know the type or complexity of feelings she's capable of having.

• Control's thoughts Susan, while she's still hiding inside Talia. If she likes Susan herself, maybe she's jealous and conflicted.
• Alternatively, maybe she really is remorseless and gets a perverted kick out of messing with Susan.
• We're not sure what happened to Control after that ep, other than the assumption that it wasn't good (because: Psi Corps). But she could have been utilized in the outside world again, giving her the opportunity to run into Susan in the future. With time to develop as her own person, both of them may see things differently.

Elizabeth Lochley/Zoe

Right in the sads, this one. I love the insight into Lochley's past with Zoe that we get in 'Day of the Dead' because it introduces her as a complex character with an interesting life trajectory. I also constantly forget that this ship isn't actually canon because they were definitely together.

• Two messed up girlfriends doing their best to survive. We know why Lochley ran away, but what's Zoe's story? What were the moments of affection and solace in between the bad stuff? (Also: feel free to cover the bad stuff instead.)
• Fix-it fic. What if something managed to shock BOTH of them into getting clean. The story of getting better, or a story about a future where it happened!
• Day of the Dead: missing scene, Lochley's thoughts on talking to her long-dead girlfriend.
• P.S. Neil Gaiman was maybe going to make Lochley trans (and I always forget where this info comes from but it's a thing) and I'm very down with including that if you want. Lesbian Lochley too, if our headcanons match.

Susan Ivanova/Talia Winters

It's always hard to say something about the bigger ones (and the canon ones)! I like the dynamic of wary-of-each-other (mainly on Susan's end) to lovers, even though it was very strangely paced due to Talia's actress leaving. They're both quite different people in the way they react to emotion and pain, but they both seem like people who need love. Also, because I am a true intellectual, I am like 'hhhhg pretty lady in suit with gloves and other pretty lady in uniform'.

• Scenes from before the Bad Thing happened. How they figured out their feelings as hostility grew into friendship and then romance, how they got together.
• Talia's true personality CAN be recovered and Susan does absolutely everything in her power to be reunited with the woman she loves. :') Maybe it involves having to rescue/kidnap her from wherever they've stashed her away, and also enlisting the help of a powerful telepath to break the block (like... Lyta?).
• Would they have helped each other cope with their respective powers? Talia helping Susan better use and hide her latent telepathy, Susan helping Talia come to terms with her emerging abilities. (And I hear telepathic sex is unlike anything else... just sayin'.)
• ...as previously stated, gloves and uniforms and stuff.

---

Crusade

As mentioned in the B5 section, I'm familiar with all the canon materials for this universe so feel free to pull in references to other plotlines/characters from outside of Crusade itself! I've also read the unfilmed scripts and planned plot outlines and... yeah. If you want to include it, I'm likely familiar with it.

Dureena Nafeel & Matthew Gideon

A dynamic not explored enough (...this applies to most in Crusade). Gideon and Dureena are an unlikely pair from perspective of Earthforce Officer vs Thief, but personality-wise they gel very well. I need no further evidence than Dureena saying 'take me, an arrested stranger, on your mission' and Gideon being like 'YOU'RE HIRED'. I feel like 'The Needs of the Earth' showcases their relationship the most. We get to see plenty during their mission together, including some emotionally vulnerable moments for Dureena and Gideon's reaction to learning about her past. It feels like he's quite... careful with her? Not in a patronising way, but in a way that shows he's ready for her to disclose more in her own time. His own trauma is mentioned briefly near the end of this episode, directly before she elaborates on hers, so it's interesting to see this as a sort of understanding.

• Dureena and Gideon working together again on a planet! All sorts of weird mission potential that their skills would be needed for.
• This is a cast heavy on trust issues, but these two are definitely near the top of the list. Kind of. Dureena has a lot of trouble trusting but it seems like she very much wants to. Gideon does show some trust, but I think he has trouble giving up the control required. ...the prompt here is very vague but I do like explorations of trust and characters opening up. A little. As a treat.

Dureena Nafeel/Sarah Chambers

These two did not get nearly enough interaction in the show, but I have come to appreciate what little they have. 'Patterns of the Soul' particularly stands out, because we have the whole interaction between Dureena and Sarah around the secret of her people, which includes her threatening Sarah and a not-very-good apology later. Luckily, Sarah is very forgiving... in this particular case, anyway. There are also other hints of their rapport here and there, indicating a level of trust. Also, there's a line in the unshot 'To The Ends of the Earth' where Dureena enters Medbay and Sarah says 'Well... it's our wandering star' which I wanted to mention because it's adorable and because Dureena mentions her unease right after, which is yet another tiny glimpse of their relationship.

Also... I will never get over this TNT suggestion from one of the Crusade books (for 'Patterns of the Soul' IIRC) so I'm bringing it back.

"Have Dureena and Chambers go to the planet alone to search for a missing culture... two tough women from different sides of the track, one a thief, one a martial arts expert, must rely on each other to survive." - from TNT's notes (in Crusade Other Voices Vol 1)

• Sarah agrees to teach Dureena martial arts and, you know... [insert trope about how sparring leads to making out.] Maybe Dureena is very pleasantly surprised by Sarah's strength. 🤔
• The quote above sounds like some ridiculous action buddy cops setup, and I always ship buddy cop types. Could the experience of having to work together to survive during one of the Excalibur's investigations bring them closer?
• On the more serious and emotional side, Dureena is someone who has experienced unimaginable loss and Sarah is now having to deal with the idea that she might too (including her sister and niece). This grief could be how they initially find a connection.
• I always end up yelling about trust in Crusade, but... trust. The difficulty with this is mostly on Dureena's side, but Sarah doesn't seem the most emotionally available either.

Galen/Isabelle

I really like Techno-mage Trilogy Isabelle (which is the only Isabelle we know about in any detail). She's charming and funny and tough and aaaa. Her knitting/weaving spell language is fascinating. I love that Galen's character progression from the trilogy to Crusade shows that he learned from her and integrated some of her best traits. The show introduces her as an important part of his backstory, but then their (too short-lived) dynamic in the book is just so... warm. ;.;

• Galen feeling sad about Isabelle is nothing new, but feel free to do it again and delve deeper/do an extra scene/explore how he felt after receiving the message from the universe in The Path of Sorrows.
• Isabelle didn't die and they eventually found the Well of Forever together. :')
• Quiet moments on Zafran VIII, hijinks on Zafran VIII (like the Great Breen Eat-off Sweepstakes), Isabelle's perspective on their time together there.
• Isabelle was right about the universe. Her first message ignored, she reaches out again.
• After initiation, Isabelle generally doesn't have hair except when she's projecting an illusion and I think that's cute so it would be cool to include in art. 👀

Galen/Matthew Gideon

Their dynamic is interesting because both of them tend to keep their cards close to their chest and trust few people, but they seem to trust each other... to an extent. They're also both hiding pretty big things and it's hard to imagine they don't feel guilty about it.

My personal take is that Galen's thing for Gideon developed some time between rescuing him the first time and the start of Crusade. In the canon novels, Galen takes comfort in checking up on Gideon from the techno-mage hiding place, so he's had plenty of time to get to know Gideon from afar. In the eps, he really focuses his found family/home sentiments on Gideon in particular (with varying degrees of verbal backspacing after he says it). My take on Gideon is way more vague. Maybe somewhere along the line, his feelings for the man who rescued him developed into something. Maybe it's not even requited by the time Crusade prematurely ends. Maybe his obsession with finding the ship that destroyed the Cerberus means he can't give much of himself at all to anyone.

• Angggst related to the unaired season finale because Gideon found out (some of) what Galen was hiding and is feeling very betrayed. THEN he manages to get himself shot. This whole plotline is a very good starting point for hurt/comfort or plain old angst all around.
• Gideon was ready to (mostly) trust Galen again pretty quickly after visiting The Well of Forever, which I think is pretty amazing given Galen didn't trust him enough to tell him why they were going on a trip deep into hyperspace. What's going on when he gives Galen this unusual treatment?
• - I said a lot of serious stuff above, but I'm always down for a classic shippy trope - sci-fi or otherwise (see my general likes for a bunch). Trapped together on a planet! Sex pollen! Pretending to be a couple to get some information! I literally never get tired of this stuff.

---

Final Fantasy VII Remake

I don't normally request stuff that is actually popular, so this section might be a little different. There's such a wealth of content (comparatively, hah) that it's kind of hard to think of original prompts! If I list something as a general like or a prompt, rest assured that I would like to read/look at infinite variations on it (and this goes for any fandom).

Also, I know this is kind of tough because we've only seen the first part and have nooo idea where it's going to go now. Spoilers can normally be assumed in letters but I thought I'd leave a special note here due to it being a remake but not an exact retelling. Big spoiler warnings for Remake-specific stuff here, even if you've played the original FFVII!

Aerith Gainsborough/Tifa Lockhart

This was always a good ship, but the Remake truly blessed us with all the bonus Aerith/Tifa content! They just immediately like each other and we get to see so much more interaction this time around. They meet and are mutually like 'WOW, I would do anything for her'. YES. All the saving each other and IMMEDIATELY making dates and the hand-holding yesssss. <3

Fave additions: Tifa catching Aerith in the sewers when she's going to fall, aforementioned shopping date (with Cloud as pack chocobo), Aerith immediately stepping in front of Tifa to shield her from scary ghosts (and Tifa grabbing the back of her jacket for security!), kicking the pipes to save Aerith and Wedge, Tifa being the one to properly fuss over her in the Shinra building. In short, I loooooove them immediately warming to each other and protecting each other and all the affectionate touching.

• This version of Aerith seems to Know Things, although we're not quite sure what and in how much detail yet. Does she already have memories of Tifa by the time she meets her? Memories of feelings 'she' had, or even of a relationship/a one-time thing/unrequited thing etc.
• Or, as a more lighthearted take on the above, she's just like 'damn, who is this stunning woman in my visions?? 👀' and is quite excited to meet her.
• What if they ran into each other before the events of the main game and started something? Or they met once, shared a moment, and never saw each other again until the events of the game? Or Aerith asks Tifa to be her bodyguard instead!
• Going off the variations above: depending on when Aerith started seeing her visions and the extent of what she knows from them, she may also realise that she's deviating from the timeline... but she can't help herself.
• Tifa kicking ass and saving Aerith, and Aerith appreciating the s t r e n g t h. The reverse: Aerith protecting Tifa despite being the physically weaker one, and Tifa being hearteyes over that!
• Art-wise, world love affectionate touching they teased me with in the game. Even scenes like Aerith Curing Tifa after a fight... let's pretend that closer = stronger cure?

Aerith Gainsborough/Cloud Strife/Tifa Lockhart

So, a bunch of the stuff I said above PLUS a bonus Cloud, right? I love some of the bits with the three of them too, like each of the ladies holding one of Cloud's arms (as they force him into peril lol), and Tifa and Cloud saving Aerith from her lonely ghost vision ('we found you' <3). And of course, teaming up to rescue her from Shinra!

It's honestly just fun connecting all the dots in the 'love triangle', especially since Aerith and Tifa combined are a powerful force that could make Cloud do anything. :D I mean, they were planning on making him carry their bags on their fantasy shopping date...

• Aerith realising the only way these two dumbasses will get together is via her (and she doesn't mind at all, because she has Taste).
• Aerith is soooo into girlCloud if her reaction during the Honeybee Inn sequence is anything to go by (same). Tifa only really has time to be surprised, but she could definitely be convinced too. Let's be real: Aerith is in charge here and Cloud could 100% be bullied into the dress again, given he secretly enjoyed it.
• If you wanted to go more angsty, Aerith would definitely have some reservations getting involved with them. If you unlock Aerith's garden scene, she tells Cloud not to fall in love with her. :( This seems to be because she knows her fate, so she'd undoubtedly tell Tifa the same thing too. (Of course, she now may have escaped her fate...) Meanwhile, Tifa also has a lot of reasons to keep her emotional distance from Cloud for now, while his memories are still scrambled.

Reno/Rude

The theme here is that my fave ships coming out of Remake were ones I was given some quality canon content for. Very glad they introduced Rude sooner and that we got to see them together a decent amount, not to mention the addition of their private POVs/discussions. I know their characterisation can vary wildly within the Compilation (and according to different translations), but I very much enjoyed the balance the Remake achieved. These two are bastards who do a lot of bad things, but they do have a few qualms about it. There was no question that they'd carry out their orders to drop the plate even though they questioned the wisdom of it, which at least makes them interesting atrocity-committing bastards (who value professionalism).

Okay, now that I've made it clear that they are morally bad dudes, I can add that I adore their partnership and how devoted they are to each other. I also love seeing both with a softer side, especially in relation to each other. I love that we got to see Rude turning up like 'hey, I heard you beat up my partner... prepare to be a stain on the ground', Reno thinking Rude had died in the helicopter crash for a moment (his SMIRK when Rude is okay), and Rude slinging Reno over his back. It's that loyalty and protection that I do like. I also really love their personalities, especially in combination.

I also saw the following translation as part of one of the official books, talking about Rude's behavior in the pillar boss battle, and I immediately died: "Rude worries about his partner since he fights recklessly. When Reno looks like he is about to be done for, Rude rushes in and risks his own life to protect Reno since he cares about him." I also found out that he says Reno's name if you cast a sleep spell on him. How are they so cute??

• Exploring that very interesting difference from the original: Rude getting to drop the plate instead of Reno. I don't necessarily think Rude objects more than Reno (despite Reno being publicly flippant about it to the party in the original), but I think transferring that burden to Rude because he got knocked out would bother Reno in a bunch of ways because he cares about his partner.
• On the subject of Reno getting beat up by Cloud and co. and Rude having to sling him over his back: tending to wounds and hurt/comfort?
• Reno also being (perhaps hypocritically) angry or standoffish because he thought Rude was dead after the helicopter crash.
• According to some Before Crisis material, Reno thinks Rude is quiet at least some of the time because he's actually shy (in romantic situations anyway). Even though Rude is very comfortable with Reno, he might still be shy about initiating something beyond friendship (and Reno may need to make up for it).
• Some elements of fandom have decided that Rude has piercings we can't see and I am very on board with this, and also with Reno being into it. 👀

---

Hotel Dusk

This fandom doesn't get much action these days, but I always live in hope. I'll note that I headcanon Kyle Hyde as gay but not interested in many people in total, though I'm not married to the idea so you don't have to be. Even Mags thinks he's a Confirmed Bachelor though... I'm just saying. Don't feel the need to shy away from period-typical homophobia if you want to include it either.

I also loooove the sketchy monochrome style of the game sprites, and I've seen people combine this with their own art style with great effect, so that would be cool to see.

Brian Bradley/Kyle Hyde

I barely need to explain this because Hotel Dusk is entirely driven by Kyle Hyde's obsession with finding Brian Bradley. We know he constantly thinks about Bradley, dreams about Bradley. While several of the other characters assume he wants revenge for being betrayed, it's never on his mind; he felt anger in the moment he pulled the trigger but hasn't felt it since. He just wants to know why the closest person to him betrayed him.

• Bradley was undercover, so they may not have had a lot of opportunity to meet up towards the end. Did Kyle sense something was wrong and choose to ignore his instincts? Did he feel his partner slipping away from him?
• Just a couple of cool customers being cops in 70s Manhattan. Stakeouts, crime scenes, shooting pool, hitting bars... go nuts. How did they end up getting together during that time?
• Would Kyle really give up after receiving Bradley's letter? Clearly Bradley considers himself irredeemable after all he's done, but would Kyle respect that and leave him be? Getting an answer allowed him a lot of emotional closure but now he knows for sure that Bradley is still out there. Maybe he just wants to meet Bradley in person one last time...

Jack Green/Rex Foster

There are a lot of people across both games who have/had a loved one entangled with Nile. These two have major Kyle and Bradley parallels and it would be cool to take a closer look at them!

I replayed Last Window recently and I actually noticed that Rex was a few years younger than Jack. At Jack's date of death, they were 30 and 25 respectively. It's not a big thing, but maybe Jack was originally something of a mentor to Rex as well as a partner (and a partner).

• A couple of Los Angeles Beat reporters developing feelings on the job.
• Rex's feelings when Jack was planning to publish the Condor/Nile articles, or the fallout...
• Reading up on Kyle Hyde's past felt a little too familiar for Rex (despite some major differences...) and it prompted him to reflect on his past relationship again.

Kyle Hyde/Rex Foster

My basis for this is... sad man/sad man who are similar in a lot of ways. They both lost their bff/bf to Nile and then radically changed jobs. Both dogged investigators. Both prickly on the outside but good at the core (though Kyle Hyde is a lot softer... I doubt if he could do Rex's job).

• As I mentioned in the other Rex ship, maybe he recognises a little too much of himself in Kyle. Maybe Kyle recognises himself right back. I think they'd rarely find mutual understanding about the loss of their partners, especially if both were romantic relationships due to the relative homophobia of the era. That could be the start of a connection.
• Rex shows interest, but Kyle is naturally very suspicious given the way he used Betty. Rex tries to win him over.
• Rex says he won't be seeing Kyle's ugly mug again once he helps Marie escape. But it's a small world and Kyle travels a lot, and they could encounter each other again on slightly better terms and go for a drink (and... more?).
• I really like Rex's character design with his cool-guy leather jacket, so I'd love to see that make an appearance in art.

Mila Evans/Rachel OR Mila Evans & Rachel

Between Hotel Dusk and Last Window, we know these two have met and formed some kind of relationship! Mila's studying in Seattle by the end of 1980, but it's really sweet that she comes back to visit both Kyle and Rachel. I actually can't remember if this happened or if I made it up, but I think Mila was already staying with Rachel before she enrolled in school (presumably after they'd finished the roadtrip). I know Rachel is an absolute saint who would lend Mila her room anyway, but I love that the small amount of info we get shows they've become close.

This is a request for / or & or any part of the spectrum in between!

• Mila stayed with and trusted Kyle because he helped uncover her painful truth. But when they got back to real life, who helped her get her life on track? Rachel! What developed between them as they adjusted to living together?
• It's a few years down the line and Mila has finished her studies. She can choose to live anywhere but all she really wants is Rachel to let her stay for good (friendship, established relationship, or the start of one!).

---

Miami Vice

One of my favourite things about Miami Vice is that it is so visually stunning, and I looove the palette of it. If you're using colour in your art, it would be very cool to see the same kind of aesthetic. The clothes are always amazing too, so I'd love to see unrestrained Style if there's room for it.

Gina Calabrese/Trudy Joplin

I love shipping cop partners, and I think it's pretty rare to get an f/f pair, especially one that hits the vibe I love. Despite being supporting characters without a huge amount of development and mainly being given the woman-specific vice jobs, I think these two still end up with a few noir tropes I love which are usually reserved for men (being sad because of the bleakness of the job, doomed romance of the week, etc).

I was always fascinated by Trudy and I think part of that is because she reads as mysterious, closed off, and a bit sad when it comes to her private life. There's a few examples in the show where she just doesn't know how to deal with her feelings of loneliness and alienation. I think Gina's a little more open about her pain - partly because of her personality and partly because she simply has more character development and plot than Trudy. Anyway, that was sadder than I intended because I really love their lighter moments too... but hey, this is neo-noir!

• They don't get a whole lot of undercover work in the show aside from posing as sex workers on the street, but they should! They're undercover as a couple, undercover in a gay bar, they're forced to share a hotel bed. Throw all the cop partner fic tropes in a truck and back up that truck straight over me.
• A case leads one of them to find out her partner used to have a girlfriend and it gives her a new perspective/makes her realise she might have a chance after all.
• Hurt/comfort related to the job. They have to deal with plenty of emotional pain in canon (and occasionally physical). Maybe the only person who can really understand the toll of the job is your partner?
• I love every single ridiclous undercover outfit they wear so much. Somehow including those would be perf.

Jack Gretsky/Martin Castillo

Bushido is about Castillo helping his long lost ex-bf's wife and son, right? (After shooting him.) It's not even the first or last time he's helped an ex and/or their family - this is just a thing he does. I love the drama of this relationship, because Castillo is (understandably) about as shaken as you ever see him when Gretsky shows up on video.

"What would he want in Miami?" "Me."

• The old Golden Triangle days! Organisations with their double-crossing and a couple of agents who care about each other caught in the middle. Working together on a mission. Castillo's feelings when he woke up after almost dying only to be told Gretsky was dead.
• Neither Castillo nor Gretsky 'existed' before Vietnam... and I don't think we ever find out why. Both of them are ridiculous superhumans so what were they doing together before?
• All the complex feelings it brings back for Castillo when Jack comes to Miami and is very much alive. (And then he isn't.)

Ricardo Tubbs/Sonny Crockett

A classic, obviously. I fell in love with the ship because it's just one of those partner pairings with an easy closeness and caring that seems unconditional most of the time and just... all the buddy cop stuff that I do love. And for that reason, it's weirdly hard to write prompts for! While I know some of these prompts have been covered before, I could read variations on these for eternity. <3

• As I said above in the Gina/Trudy section, just hit me with the buddy cops tropes truck cause I can never get enough.
• The goddamn amnesia arc and the rebuilding of their broken trust.
• What's with Tubbs in the Caitlin arc? He's very Concerned (and pining ;.;). In fact, his character seems to shift a bit from that season onward, and I do like a more angsty and contemplative Tubbs. (That said, I also appreciate a chill and humourous one. Balance.)
• Post-Freefall: they're burnt out and cynical and done. What do they even do after that? How long til they miss each other a little too much and get back together (to establish a relationship or continue an old one)?
• Hurt/comfort is always a treat, and an awful lot of bad stuff happens to both of them so there's no shortage of material.