Dear Chocolatier (2019)

Dear Chocolatier,

Hello! I’m nause. Over at ao3 I am adnauseam, over at tumblr I am etcetera-adnauseam, and on discord I am adnauseam#2400 (whatever that means).

First of all, thank you so much for writing for me! If you are the sort of person who prefers to write without prompts, then feel free to ignore this letter. As long as my DNWs are not included, I will love whatever you write – I’m fairly easy-going, I promise. I like fics of all lengths, tones, and ratings.

I am cool with gen, slash, femslash, or het. Admittedly my tastes tend towards slash or femslash, and that’s mostly what’s requested here, but I don’t have any particular aversion towards het, so don’t feel you have to avoid it or anything.

Although the sections of this letter are of varying lengths, this is not because I like some fandoms/pairings more than others – I would be more than happy with any of the following requests being written! I’m just a mess with no restraint or sense of structure.

I've requested fic for all fandoms, though art treats are welcome.



I have requested: Dark Matter (Michelle Paver); We Have Always Lived in the Castle (Shirley Jackson); The Haunting of Hill House (Shirley Jackson); Jeeves (PG Wodehouse); Harry Potter (JK Rowling).

DNWs: non-con, mpreg, a/b/o or similar dom/sub universes, PWP, hard kinks you would consider ‘opt in’ as a rule (e.g. scat), ‘onscreen’ graphic harm to animals or children, voyeurism in sexual situations, underage (under 16yrs), student/teacher relationships, soulmate AUs, public sex, character/pairing bashing, unrequested polyamory, unrequested rule 63/genderswap, unrequested modern day AUs.

Some clarifications:

         Non-con:

I would not like to receive non-con but am okay with most dub-con. The sort of dub-con I would not like to receive is where Character A is exploiting or has the advantage over Character B. For example, a fic in which both characters are too inebriated to properly consent would be fine, a fic in which A is sober but B is too drunk to consent (however enthusiastic) would not. Or another example: a fuck or die or sex pollen fic would be fine, as long as it has not been engineered by one character to take advantage of the other.

      Pregnancy:

I’ve only put mpreg in my DNWs, because pregnancy in general is fine, but I would prefer not to receive a fic in which pregnancy/childbirth is the focus.

PWPs:

I am cool with sex being included! More than cool! I just don’t want the fic to be nothing but sex.

 'Opt in’ kinks:

I haven’t made a list of these, because I would inevitably forget some. If something seems niche or extreme or ‘opt in’ then I’m probably not into it. E.g. scat, bloodplay etc.

      Voyeurism:

I love outsider POVs, but I don’t want sexual voyeurism, it makes me anxious.

This is not a DNW exactly, but in sexual situations I'd like you to avoid the word 'c*nt'. It's not a hard DNW, but I do find it generally uncomfortable.

What I am a fan of:

Bittersweet endings! Ambiguous endings! Relationships that definitely ought to be dysfunctional but are somehow quite functional despite it all! Unhealthy levels of devotion and obsession! Ghosts! Uneasiness! Aftermaths, recovery, and life goes on! Pining! My id is approximately 90% mutual pining, no word of a lie. Huddling for warmth/sharing a bed! Non-verbal communication and quiet intimacy! Isolated vignettes/scenes from a life! Outsider POVs! Repression and unresolved issues! Nerdiness over historical details! Developing relationships! Women being awesome! Loneliness! Non-penetrative sex! (I don’t have anything against penetrative sex however.) Touch deprived characters being overwhelmed! Epistolary! Found families! Mysteries! Happiness! Descriptions of setting! Atmosphere/mood focused stories! Humour! Inadequately masked fondness! Guilt & regret! Comes back wrong! 5 + 1 fics! Unreliable narrators! Us against the world!

 

DARK MATTER

Jack/Gus

Oh, I have so many feelings about these characters! I love how earnest they are, especially Jack even despite the bleakness of his situation at the beginning of the book.

I love the setting and atmosphere of canon and am definitely up for something set during the events of the book. Given the journal format, there are plenty of scenes that we don’t get to see, so I’d love to see the gaps filled in a bit. Maybe from Gus’s POV? Or Algie’s? The unreliableness of Jack’s narration really interests me… Journal entries are so unreliable/subjective/claustrophobic and it might be compelling to play with this, or to show Jack from someone else’s POV. We get glimpses of this when Jack reads Gus’s own entries, but those are quite reserved of course, and the more personal parts of those seem to be what Gus just can’t help but express – which in itself interests me… What did Gus see in the boat? How did Gus and Algie’s conversation about it go? I would like to read about what Gus was thinking when he couldn’t bring himself to tell Jack about it… Or Gus’s POV when he loses contact with Jack from Longyearbyen and they make the decision to go back to Gruhuken (or Algie’s POV if you want!) – I would adore that! Desperation! Panic! Guilt! Dread!

Obviously, Gus/Jack is not resolved during canon, so if you’re writing a fic set during this timeframe, don’t worry about not making it shippy enough. I’ve requested Gus/Jack, but I don’t need them to enter/have entered a relationship within the fic, pre-slash or an undercurrent of feelings/pining is totally valid!

I would also love to see a post-canon fixit, of course… Who doesn’t! The ending interests me, because although it is obviously v v sad, I do quite like it… It is, at least, very neat, because of course it is the 1930s, and we don’t even know if Gus does requite Jack’s feelings. I would like to think that he did, although ultimately it doesn’t matter much to me – more important is that Jack did get to a position where he could open himself up enough to fall in love—but I’m getting somewhat off topic. Anyway.

Point being, if Gus does survive, it’s quite messy. I would like to see Jack and Gus navigate England post-Gruhuken, and even during the war… You don’t have to go full 1930/40s societal pressure/family troubles/homophobia if you don’t want to, though I would like some sort of acknowledgement of the difficulties their relationship might go through, if you’re up for that. I mean, I don’t really want some heartbreaking break-up fic particularly, but even aside from external issues, I do think there would be internal conflicts to work through. Jack is so solitary and then there’s the class divides and the trauma from Gruhuken… I would enjoy a fic dealing with this very much. But ultimately, I just want them to find happiness, much as I love sad canon fic.

Do they go to Jamaica? Would they stay in the UK during the war? Do Gus’s parents know? What do they make of it? What is the family like? I’m always up for an outsider’s POV by the way.

If you want to write something sad and post-canon where Gus is dead, go for it! Don’t feel that you have to write a happy ending. I’d also be up for a comes back wrong, maybe where Gus is just ever so slightly different, and Jack becomes gradually more aware that something isn’t right… Doesn’t have to be a malicious comes back wrong and could even potentially be bittersweet.

[EDIT 07/01/19. Oh, I just had a thought! Time loop/groundhog day! That would be brilliant. Maybe for that last day in Gruhuken, or for the day Gus leaves, or the night under the aurora when Gus nearly tells him about seeing the ghost? I would love this.]

I haven’t requested Isaak specifically, but I absolutely adore him and would love for him to be included! I’m aware that huskies don’t live particularly long on average, so don’t feel you have to write him as immortal or anything, but I would prefer not to read a fic principally concerned with his death.

My feelings on Algie are… complicated, to say the least, but I do find him interesting. You don’t need to prominently include him if you have no desire to, but feel free to do so if you want to. He’s obviously an important part of Gus’s life and vice versa.

I like both first and third person in this fandom – go with whatever is most comfortable for you. I enjoy fic written in journal entries, but I also enjoy ‘ordinary’ narration, either is good!

I haven’t bookmarked anything in this fandom because there aren’t very many fics, so I know I won’t lose anything, but I’ve enjoyed everything written in this fandom… so like… Anything goes! Pining is good! Recovery fic is good! Sad canon fic is good! Especially with undertones of pining! I love this fandom, I will read anything!

WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE

Merricat & Constance

Oh, We Have Always Lived in the Castle… Shirley Jackson is one of my favourite writers ever and this is one of my favourite books… I love Merricat, I think more than I probably ought to!

I’m fascinated by the relationship of the sisters! It’s so co-dependent and frighteningly dysfunctional really, but they somehow make it work. The ending in particular is so interesting! Merricat is viciously happy, but they’re so confined… The cardboard over the windows is so distressing to me – Constance was so joyful at the beginning when she got as far as the gate, but by the end they’re spending large swathes of their lives watching out from the door. Is Constance as happy as Merricat thinks she is? I would very much enjoy a fic from her POV.

What are they like ten years into the future? Twenty? Thirty? Fourty? Is their way of living sustainable? Do people from the outside try to interact with them again?

A more specific prompt, if you want it, would be a story from Charles’s POV or one of the other side characters. I’d be fascinated to see Merricat and Constance’s relationship seen through somebody more “normal” – Merricat’s POV is so skewed and claustrophobic.

I would also love a fic set pre-canon, maybe during the trial, or during/around the murders. What was Merricat and Constance’s relationship like then? How did it fit within the family dynamic? What was Merricat’s mindset when she killed them? Constance’s during the trial?

What if Constance hadn’t been acquitted? What if Merricat had been prosecuted instead? A fic in which Merricat has been institutionalised and Constance is visiting her would be amazing… How different would their relationship be in that situation?

Feel free to creep me out, by the way. I love uneasy stories.

First or third person both welcome! Go with what is more comfortable for you.

I love them so much, chocolatier! I will be happy with anything! I just want more fic in this fandom!

THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE

Eleanor/Theo; Eleanor & Theo

I will take this as gen, full throated femslash, laden with homoerotic subtext, implied anything with these two!

The contrast between Eleanor’s intense, obsessive attachment to Theo, and Theo’s relative lack of interest in her (there’s affection and genuine interest there, I think, but it’s not on the same level) is both heartbreaking and fascinating to me. Eleanor’s fear of being left alone and her inability to conduct her life independently – shaped by her upbringing and her mother, of course, and her lack of opportunity to form an individual identity – is so engaging to me, and I’d love to see a fic dealing with this, perhaps from Theo’s POV.

I’d love to see a fic set during canon, either as a missing scene or as a canon divergence/alternate canon. What if the haunting focused on Theo instead? Would a relationship between Theo & Eleanor change the nature of the haunting or would it make no difference?

My reading of the book is that there are no specific ghosts haunting Hill House, because it is the house itself that is malicious and evil, so I would prefer a fic aligning with this. That said, if you want to explore Eleanor coming back as a ghost to haunt Theo, absolutely go for it!

I would love a creepy/uneasy story, but I also really like the humorous elements of the book, so if you want to embrace that, go for it! The way the characters talk to each other is so fascinating to me… witty and sophisticated and not quite right and always veering on the edge of hysteria.

I was reading this article recently, and was particularly interested in this bit:

Neither is Eleanor’s grasping after a sense of sexuality that has been denied her: her intense attachment to Theodora and her reflexive attempts to make herself attached to Luke are spelled out with some directness.

Which interests me. I don’t know I’d say it was all that direct, but the whole ‘reflexive attempts to make herself attached to Luke’ I very much agree with. Maybe a story where Theo confronts her about this? I’d be happy with anything exploring this concept.

Unlike the other relationships I’ve requested, I have real trouble seeing Theo/Eleanor as endgame in any way, even in a fix-it. If you want to write them as such go for it! Convince me! But in truth I see Theo patching it up with her “friend”… If Eleanor doesn’t suicide, what does she do after the events of the book? Surely she can’t go back to her sister’s… Does she try and impose herself on Theo? Away from the house does she come to her senses?

I’ve always read Theo as a lesbian, to be honest, and even if you decide to go down a gen route (totally valid! I’m up for that!) I’d prefer it if you didn’t portray her as being straight or in a het relationship (don’t feel the need to spell out her sexuality if you don’t want to; I would probably prefer a more ambiguous set up).

JEEVES – PG WODEHOUSE

Honoria/Madeline; Honoria & Madeline

To my knowledge*, these two do not actually meet in canon or anything BUT… I just think that they would make such a fun pair! They’d be excellent foils to each other, with Madeline’s sentimental dreaminess and Honoria’s heartiness.

If you want to write a canon style farce, then I think the fact that both characters think that Bertie (the dear) is in love with them would be a good base! Surely that has comical misunderstandings written all over it. I would be all over that!

If you want to go more realistic/historical, then I would totally be up for it. I am fascinated by how Bertie’s narration skews the way we see the other characters, particularly the women he is (briefly!) engaged to. His fear and sort of confused aversion really defines them, and what they never get is the opportunity to be characters in their own right. So – what are Honoria and Madeline actually like, removed from this distortion? I would love to see Honoria and Madeline on their own terms.

I love the hints in canon of a more steely Madeline. In particular…

He looked pale and corpse-like, she cold and proud and aloof. (…) didn’t exchange a word from start to finish. Oh, yes, once – when he asked her to pass the salt, and she passed the pepper, and he said ‘I meant the salt,’ and she said, ‘Oh really?’ and passed the mustard. The Code of the Woosters, Chapter Six.

!!!

So if you wanted to write a quieter/contemplative/flirty piece I would totally be up for it!

If you want to go the gen route, I am happy with canon het to be in the background and even endgame as I love it all… I just don’t want it to be prominent/the main focus. If you are going with the femslash route, I am happy with canon het involving either character to be mentioned in the past tense or in the background, but not endgame please! Canon het involving other characters is welcome in the background, as is Bertie/Jeeves (the dears), but this is definitely not necessary at all.

Ultimately, I just want a fic in which Madeline and Honoria interact. I’d love to see their personalities rub up against/bounce off each other. It doesn’t need to be harmonious, exactly, I’d be up for a more fraught fic where they don’t fully understand each other.

I am cool with first or third person, go with whatever feels more comfortable!

*I have read all of the short stories, but not all of the novels. I have read Thank You, Jeeves/Right Ho, Jeeves/The Code of the Woosters/Much Obliged, Jeeves/Aunts Aren’t Gentlemen and am currently reading Joy in the Morning. References to events from the other novels or the show will likely go over my head, I’m afraid!

HARRY POTTER

Ginny/Luna; Ginny & Luna

I love these two, gen or otherwise. I love Ginny’s spirit and grit and fierceness and sense of humour. I love Luna’s off kilter way of looking at things and her quiet strength and her sense of loyalty. I love their friendship. I would love a romance between them.

I’d particularly love a fic about recovering from the war or rebuilding Hogwarts. What do they get up to in Seventh Year? Post-Hogwarts? (Please feel more than free to ignore the epilogue.)

I’m also really interested in the dynamic of the DA during Deathly Hallows and would love to see how their relationship develops in the climate of fear and uncertainty. If your tastes run towards the plotty, I’d love to see one of the DA’s underground missions. If your tastes run towards calmer moments or introspection, I’d be more than happy to see that too.

I am fine with Harry/Ginny being either integrated or entirely ignored. It can even be in the background as a sort of unresolved question; I do have a fondness for it, but have no particular interest in reading a fic where it is foregrounded or particularly endgame…

Luna & Ginny & Neville

As mentioned above, I am fascinated with the DA during the Deathly Hallows/Battle of Hogwarts. I would love a fic exploring the dynamic of the silver trio. How does their relationship develop throughout the events of the year? How do they stand up to the teachers? How do they give each other emotional support? Maybe a fic about listening to Potterwatch/discussing events occurring outside of Hogwarts?

Plotty fics and more emotion centred pieces are both more than fine.

Please feel free to include plenty of other DA members/Hogwarts students in the background if you wish!

TLDR: If it’s not in my DNWs, I will probably love it, chocolatier! If you have your own idea that you want to explore, go for it.

Also, as a last note, I’m a bit of a slow commentator, but I will do so (it just may not be straight away). If it does take a while (it shouldn’t take longer than the anon period imo), it is absolutely not because I didn’t like it! Much more likely, I love it so much I don’t know how to articulate my thoughts.