Yuletide 2022 Letter

AO3 Username: StopTalkingAtMe

Welcome to my letter, Mystery Creator. Let me start by saying I’m open to a LOT of different things, and to endings of all kinds from tooth-rottingly happy to bleak despair. I’m also open to unrequested crossovers, so as long as you have good reason to believe I’m into a fandom, then go for it. And while my general likes might lean towards the bleak and angsty, believe it or not, I do also really love more light-hearted styles of fic as well as pure unadulterated smut. Some of the sections here may be longer than others but please don’t read anything into that – I’d be delighted with a gift for any one of them. I’m excited to see what you come up with! :D

General Likes
Smut Likes
DNWs
Doomsday (2008)
Hamlet (1969)
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Supernatural (1977)
Whisky Galore

General Likes and DNWs

General Likes

Character studies and introspection
Loneliness and isolation
Angst
Atmospheric description, scenery porn, sensory description
World-building, backstory, and character development.
Horror.
Closed Circle - Stranded with a murderer in your midst, whether in horror or murder mystery. Think And Then There Were None.
Case-fic, whether fully realised or just touching on elements from a case.
Whump, hurt/comfort and hurt/no comfort.
Endings of all kinds, happy, bleak or bittersweet.
Canon-divergent AUs, especially post-canon ones where the bad guys win.
Pining, whether mutual or one-sided
Repression and stoicism
Descriptions of scars
Main Character Death and grief; characters getting together while still grieving for previous partners, taking solace in each other, the dead character still seeming like a presence in the relationship, etc. (Please note the exception for Whisky Galore!)
Crossovers, especially oddball crossovers that come completely out of left field, although I do tend to prefer crack played straight rather than outright crack. If you have reason to believe I know and like the other fandom, then I encourage you to go for it.
Post-Apocalypse scenarios, including zombies (probably my favourite AU scenario of all time), with focus on angst and the struggle for survival.
Stranded Together With No Way Home, us against the world, deep mutual dependence on the other party because there’s no one else around (which may not be entirely healthy)
Time Loops
Older characters finding love.
Age gap relationships
I really love historical detail and extensive research notes, so if that’s what you’re into then feel free to go wild. (If that’s not your thing, then please don’t worry: I am in no way an expert, and I love tropey indulgent stuff and cheerfully anachronistic fics just as much).
Hair kink. Hands pushed into hair, coiling it around fingers, routinely cutting another character's hair if appropriate in context (e.g. in post-apocalyptic scenarios), hairwashing as part of hurt/comfort, yanking head back by the hair, etc
Textiles, especially knitwear and embroidery; men in jumpers; historical and cultural details and craft in general
Unusual structures and ways of telling a story, such as Rashomon plots, non-linear narratives, outsider POVs, epistolary works, etc.
Cigarette kink: descriptions of smoking, sharing cigarettes, lighting cigarettes for each other, etc.
Finally, and I cannot emphasise this enough, men in sleepwear, particularly pyjamas and dressing gowns.

Smut Likes

Sex Pollen and aftermath, and any other kind of something made them do it scenario
Angry Sex, rough sex, hate sex, rough sex that turns tender
Clothed Sex, or clothed/naked
Comfort Sex
Dubcon when requested (mutual dubcon of the something-made-us-do-it kind is ALWAYS okay even when not explicitly requested)
Mild bondage and other forms of gentle restraint
Oral Sex, especially cunnilingus in all its forms, and ESPECIALLY cunnilingus with fingering
Rough Sex - Lots of Scratching and Biting and Hair-Grabbing/Pulling and Holding Partner(s) Down
Sex in grimy, grim, uncomfortable places
Threesomes
Situations where one character is too tired, injured etc to orgasm themselves, but takes great pleasure in making the other person come, so long as it's part of a wider give-take relationship when it comes to sex.

DNWs

A/B/O
Unreqested Noncon (Bad Guys Made Them Do It scenarios are fine though)
Dubcon involving unaroused characters
Unrequested Incest
Bestiality (monsters don't count here)
Scat and waterplay
Formalised D/s dynamics (bondage and other forms of restraint are OK)
Underage
Het anal sex
Breathplay (antagonistic choking is fine)
Fisting
Sexualised lactation
Any variation of the word 'come' in a sexual context spelled as 'cum' (please use 'come', 'came', 'precome' etc)

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Doomsday

Requested Characters:
Sol, Cally

This film has grown on me so hard over the years. It revels in what it is, and while I wasn't sure about it when it first came out (probably because it wasn’t The Descent), I unashamedly love it now. It’s so gloriously batshit and unrestrained, and I'd love to see the world beyond the wall and its history explored, particularly the relationship between Sol and Cally. How did they come to be in such different places at the start of the film? What was their upbringing like? All kinds of fucked up, presumably, but their relationship with each other and with Kane fascinates me. I’d especially love to see something of how Sol turned into the total fucking maniac that he is at the start of the film and how he came to be the leader of the marauders in the first place.

Oh, and if you want to go with Sol/Cally, whether implied or otherwise (and Sol/Cally/Viper would be very interesting indeed), then please do.

How did Sol come to be the leader of the cannibals? How do the various factions get on generally? And what's life beyond the wall like, either when they were growing up or closer to when canon is set? Explore their backstories, or go with a canon-divergent fic where Sol survives. What’s going to happen to Scotland if a cure is found and there’s no longer an excuse to keep the wall standing with the world still looking on? If the wall comes down, how will the survivors adapt to the new world?

Optional Prompts

How did he become leader of the cannibals? Did they run away from home? Did she originally go with him, but decided to return home because, you know, cannibalism and shit.
A canon-divergent AU where Sol survives. Does he storm the wall with his army and unleash the Reaper Virus on the rest of the UK? Turns out Cally isn't entirely on Sinclair's side after all.
Cally/Sol/Viper? However it turns out, whether dubcon or entirely consensual. An AU where Cally is (almost?) entirely allied with Sol? And they have a messed-up incestuous poly vibe going on?
Cally has to choose between Sol and Captain Sinclair
Captivity – Whether an exploration of Cally being imprisoned by Sol and the Marauders, or Sol being imprisoned by Cally’s father. In canon Cally tells Sinclair he was going to kill her – was he, and if so was he going to do it entirely willingly? (and on this note it’s interesting that Viper targets Sinclair as being specifically for Sol. A replacement for Cally?)
Hurt/Comfort – Yep, I am so here for them having a childhood where they were completely wrapped up in each other and had only each other to turn to for comfort. I’m fine with it being extremely unhealthy (I mean… *gestures at canon*) and incestuous.
Maybe all through their childhoods, Cally and Sol used to talk about how they'd run away together, and then when they're older, they manage it, and run away to Glasgow. What happens before their father drags them back? Or does he only drag Cally back? Is this when Sol gets his first taste of the Maurauders' life? Is this when he meets Viper? Or does Sol appear to sacrifice himself to save his sister, which means she thinks he's dead until by chance she finds out otherwise? Whatever you do, I'd love to see something of them exploring the ruined city together. Maybe for a little while it’s even fun.
Zombie Apocalypse AU – Fast zombies (which I think would fit pretty well with canon) or otherwise.
A canon-divergent fic where Cally still leaves on the helicopter, but Sol survives and goes on to confront his father.
So, post-canon, what happens if they manage to develop a cure, and the wall surrounding Scotland is demolished allowing those beyond to reintegrate with the rest of the country, presumably with all crimes forgotten.
Character Surprised By Their Own Deep Loyalty Feels; Object Of Loyalty Even More Surprised – I’d just love to see their relationship explored, especially given Cally’s role in Viper’s death. Maybe Sol’s trying to get revenge but finds he’s unable to hurt his sister, or he was trying very hard to keep her alive, because keeping the Marauders from turning against him is a fine line to tread?
Fuck or Die with mutual pining – Pre-canon when they were younger or closer to the point at which canon takes place, and with Sol apparently in the aggressor role, but it’s actually a bit more complicated than that, and he’s very much trying to keep her alive.
Grief - privately and conflictedly mourning a loved one whom society regards as evil – I’m also fine with post-canon fics where Sol is dead so long as there’s a significant focus on their relationship. (I’m fine with Cally/Stirling too so include that if you want) While I love canon-divergence, I’d also love to see a canon-compliant post-canon fic which focuses on Cally, her complicated grief over her brother and what he became, and how she adjusts to the new world, which, uh, may not exactly be the paradise she might have imagined. XD

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Hamlet (1969)

Requested Characters:
Hamlet, Horatio

When I started watching this version of Hamlet my thoughts for it went something along the lines of, yep, okay, I’m basically just watching this for one particular actor, but hey, I have been meaning to watch more Shakespeare for a while, so I might as well start here, and it’s not like I’m going to end up shipping it or anyth-- dammit.

Seriously, though. Horatio. Baby. <3<3<3 He’s so lovely in this, sweet and smiley and bookish, and he gives Ophelia the loveliest hug, and the dynamic between him and Hamlet is… well, uhm, how do I put this, I was very definitely getting a low-key Horatio is desperately in love with Hamlet subtext up until the final scene, at which point it ceased to be subtext and became about as close to being text-text as it’s possible to get without them actually kissing, and in a way that appeals extremely strongly to my id.

(ETA: Since writing the above I rewatched, got to the 'and I will wear him in my heart's core […] as I do thee' bit, and oh hey, mystery solved. Horatio’s adoring gaze when Hamlet says that line, combined with the hand-touching, and yep, let’s just say I can see where I got the shippy vibes, hot damn. Frankly, the only mystery is why I was only low-key shipping them.)

As for the death scene, look, there are forehead presses and hands pushed into hair and Horatio gently lowering a dying Hamlet down, and that ‘more an antique Roman than a Dane’ sure does look a whole lot like a moment of ‘I don’t want to live in a world without Hamlet in it’ grief. The way it’s filmed means that there’s heavy focus on faces and the whole bit is just this extremely heartwrenching understated moment of grief and love on both sides which took me from ‘aww, I semi-ship it’ to ‘THEY HAVE MY SWORD’. (Also, and I know this is goofy as fuck, they have matching beards, which it took me far too long to realise was a very deliberate attempt at mirroring. Apparently, it took them gazing into each other’s eyes – no really – for me to figure it out. *facepalm*)

Put short, it’s one of the shippiest things I’ve ever seen.

I’ve never studied Hamlet in detail, so can’t really say much about how it compares with other performances in terms of what they’ve cut and how they’ve rearranged scenes, and I definitely raised an eyebrow at Nicol Williamson (Hamlet) being only a year younger than Judy Parfitt (Gertrude), but what it does have is a young(ish) Anthony Hopkins being sexy as fuck as Claudius (if that’s your thing. It sure as hell is MINE), and some incestuous vibes between Ophelia and Laertes. Also, I love how pared back and intimate and emotionally raw it is, Hamlet’s death scene and his confrontation with Gertrude in particular.

The filming is pretty odd, in that it’s something between a film and a filmed performance (and I may well be talking bollocks here, but bear with me XD). The sets are stripped back, but unlike with a filmed performance where you might make allowances for the moving of the sets etc. because it’s treated more like a film, it almost makes it feel like it’s taking place in this weird unreal liminal space. So if you at all want to take advantage of that, then please do. Is it purgatory? This unreal place between worlds? Some weird time-fuckery?

As for Hamlet/Horatio, ahhh, man. <3<3<3 My personal headcanon for these particular versions is that they love each other, but it’s platonic on Hamlet’s side, however it’s entirely up to you whether you go with that, or if you want to have Hamlet reciprocating, whether or not he takes it as seriously as Horatio does. I’d love to see hurt/comfort, backstory for them, explorations of the class issues, pining (mutual or otherwise), missing scenes, post-canon fics, whether canon-divergent or otherwise (and I am more than happy for Main Character Death and heavy focus on grief here, just for the record). Or a post-canon thing focusing on the theme of truth? Also ghosts, supernatural fuckery, Horatio dealing with the aftermath of canon and essentially being the last man standing. That moment when Horatio hugged Ophelia was so sweet and tender, and it got me wondering about the relationship between the two of them – why is it Horatio who encourages the queen to talk to Ophelia?

Finally, while I’m not in any way an expert on Hamlet, I would very much like to understand more about its themes, use of language, and references, etc, so if you happen to have studied it in any great detail, then please consider this carte blanche to dig deep into its themes to an indulgent degree. I’m especially drawn to the references to stage-craft and in-jokes to the audience – Horatio probably going off into an advert for Julius Caesar in one of the alternative texts, for example – so if you want to explore some fourth-wall breaking stuff then do. If it’s not your thing, don’t worry; I’ll also be delighted with something fun and iddy, or creepy, or smutty, or angsty, or… well, look, basically anything.

Optional Prompts

Was there ever a canon more suited for ghosts? Maybe in the aftermath, Horatio sees Hamlet’s ghost, but is it really Hamlet? I am open to all explorations of the supernatural, I love creepiness in general and ghost stories in particular, but, uh, I’m also partial to ghost-fucking if you wanted to go smuttier, or really delve into the guilt and grief and sense of loss.
"Casual" Sex Turning Tender" – So maybe while they were both at Wittenberg, he and Horatio had a casual sexual relationship. Give me all the pining while having sex, Horatio believing he isn’t good/rich/noble enough for Hamlet, and knowing he should stop it because it will end up breaking his heart, but he can’t bring himself to finish it.
Character expected to die but didn't and now has no idea how to live anymore – Although everyone else who dies, still dies, somehow Hamlet survives the poison, and okay, yes, he’s revenged his father, but unfortunately with one or two casualties along the way. Which raises again the question of the ghost’s motivations, and plunges him into a whole new quagmire of guilt and grief while Horatio tries to bring him through it.
Characters A and C brought together by shared love for B – Specifically Horatio and Ophelia. I’d really love to see the relationship between this version of Horatio and Ophelia explored. That hug, and what exactly is going on between her and her brother. I absolutely 100% believe that this version of Horatio adores Hamlet, but also he’s lovely, and I can completely see him Horatio pining for Hamlet and making the decision to love Ophelia too because he believes Hamlet loves her. Seriously, that hug.
Characters Are In Love But Duty Will Keep Them Apart Forever Until Something Makes Them Do It – Always and forever, ‘Something made them do it’ scenarios are one of my favourite tropes. The nature of the something that made them do it is up to you, but… drugs? Alcohol? Pirates?
Pining. All the pining, whether one-sided or mutual, whether they have a sexual relationship or not. Maybe Horatio’s awareness of the differences in their stations, or because he believes Hamlet is in love with another (or using Horatio as a substitute, which yes, fine, but the heartache), or because Hamlet is straight.
Drunken Confessions – Danes or not, turns out they’re both very bad at being drunk.
That Time of Night So Late It's Early Again (And the Liminal Conversations Had At This Hour) – Hamlet and Horatio get into the habit of staying out late in the hopes of seeing the ghost again. Conversations, huddling for warmth, lack of sleep...
A canon-divergent fic where Claudius decides that it might be wiser to let Hamlet return to Wittenberg after all, but the ghost still won’t leave him alone while he’s there.
Elsinore as a weird liminal space between life and death, and Horatio as the only character who’s actually real/alive? A time loop, where events keep repeating themselves?
Time Loop – The whole thing as a semi-neverending story. On explaining the story to Fortinbras (which happens off-screen in this production which ends with the ‘Goodnight sweet prince’ line, making it feel even more like a tragic Hamlet/Horatio love story), Horatio keeps looping back to the beginning and living it all over again. Gradually, reality starts to break down, and he begins to realise it’s all starting to feel a bit familiar.
It's partly the mirroring in the matching beards (I feel so silly writing that, and yet) and partly a note about the text I read somewhere which points out that Horatio is whatever the script (or Hamlet) needs him to be at that particular moment. So play with that. Horatio as the ghost? Or Horatio as a creation of Hamlet's mind which has brought forth at a time of extreme stress, with Horatio's disapproval at the killing of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern an echo of Hamlet's own guilt?

I Know What You Did Last Summer (Movies)

Requested characters:
Mr Brooks, Nancy, Ben Willis

The second film in the trilogy, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (which also happens to be the film my request is particularly focused on, and depending on what you choose to write, this request could probably be fulfilled by watching that film alone) is available on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL0adFw2wNE

Note: I’ve requested all the nominated characters (two of whom are only in I Still Know) because I’m specifically hoping for fic involving the setting and/or characters introduced in the second film. So long as the island setting is the focus, it’s fine to only include one or two of the requested characters.

Also, while I have watched the third film at some point, I have forgotten almost everything about it (except that it's suddenly supernatural). I have no immediate plans to watch it again, so it can be safely ignored. (Although if you would rather include it, then please feel free to do so)

I like the first film a lot (and I really appreciate how the relationship that gets the most focus is the friendship between Julie and Helen), but it’s the second film I really, really love beyond all reason. I’m not going to claim it’s a good film, but it is endearingly dumb, and I’m inexplicably fond of it. Why do I keep coming back to it over objectively better slashers from the same period? Fuck knows, to be honest, but there’s a good chance it has something to do with the characters being stranded in an empty hotel on an island in the Bahamas in the middle of the hurricane season. Isolated storm-swept hotel? TICK. I’m willing to forgive just about everything for that trope, which, uh, is probably just as well. XD It’s certainly not perfect, (Jack Black’s performance in particular is… mmph, not great), but I just find it so much fun to watch.

So what do I like about it? Well, for one thing, there’s the setting: isolated storm-swept islands are so RTMI I can’t even say, and the fact that it was partly filmed at an abandoned hotel in Mexico just makes the whole thing that little bit more interesting. I’m also charmed by how convoluted Ben's plan is: why follow your victims to college when instead you can lure them to the Bahamas for… no good reason? Granted, it’s the off-season, so at least the hotel rooms must have been cheap, but still… why? What is the purpose of this diabolical scheme, other than to explore a piece of Ben’s backstory which has nothing to do with Julie at all?

I’m also really drawn to the contrast between what is to all appearances a genuinely lovely looking hotel and the staff-members who work there. Like the check-in scene, with that potted history of the hotel, which just gives the most delightful Shining vibes, and Mr Brooks is creepy and ever so slightly menacing, while at the same time being utterly DONE WITH THIS SHIT. And Nancy, with her snark, tough-girl attitude and threatening karaoke machine -- what brought her to the island? Did she really shoot a guy?

I just want to know more about what the hell is going on. Why is Mr Brooks so hostile? Is he just pissy because it’s the end of the season and he really didn’t want to be dealing with guests? Or was he just hoping to hunker down and play strip-poker with Nancy? OR is there something more going on behind the scenes? At one point he says that he knew they’d be trouble: why? Does he have his suspicions that Ben Willis is involved somewhere along the line but took a backhander to keep his mouth shut? Are they both semi-complicit in the events of the film, and I'm including Nancy in that because she sure acted suspiciously when that karaoke machine acted up? Is the hotel cursed along the lines of the Overlook, and if it isn’t prior to the opening of the film, is it cursed afterwards? Why does it take so long for anyone to point out that Rio isn’t actually the capital of Brazil?

I’d love to see something that digs a little bit more into what’s going on behind the scenes with Ben, and his ridiculous get-Julie-to-the-Bahamas scheme. Was it because he wanted to punish the islanders too, and it’s a case of killing two birds with one stone? What’s his relationship with his son like? Why does Will go along with his father’s plan, given he doesn’t have much of a reason for vengeance himself (and let’s face it, even Ben’s reason is a bit shaky once you start examining it). I’m just very interested in the idea of them returning home and the ghosts that might be waiting for them there, and I’d love to see something exploring all the little details of their backstory that only get briefly touched on in canon.

Something else I’d love to see is a fic which explores the hotel and the island, because again I just love the setting so much. Horror is particularly welcome, but it doesn’t have to be in the same vein as the films. Feel free to completely disregard the actual plot of the fulms if you want. One thing I do like about the first film is the urban legend aspect of it, how it starts with the story of the hook hand killer, and ends with Ben losing his hand and becoming the urban legend. I’m reminded of how Ben cuts Helen’s hair because he hears her sister talking about it, and it’d be interesting to explore how urban legends can be recursive and self-perpetuating.

What urban legends (or ghost stories) have grown up around him on the island, either after he left the first time or after the events of the second film? Is the hotel haunted, before, during, or afterwards? How did the requested characters come to be on the island in the first place? I also just really love the idea of this tiny island and the hotel being haunted by this terrible thing that happened (shades of The Shining again), and I should also point out that I have a particular weak spot for ghost stories set by the coast. I’m always open to slasher-style horror too, though, so if you don’t feel like going spooky and understated, then don’t. :D

Optional Prompts

Ghosts! After the events of the film, the hotel is abandoned except for the ghosts haunting its corridors. Is Will one of them? How about Ben? Also here for decay, abandoned buildings, the place gradually eroding as it gives way to the elements and the storms.
Explore the setting up of the plan behind the scenes, and to what extent the characters are complicit, whether they knew or suspected anything was up.
Something quiet, with a quiet undercurrent of menace, where the night before Julie and her friends arrive Mr Brooks and Nancy share an uneasy drink in the bar. It’s the last night of the season so they’re probably going to be rushed off their feet, but maybe despite how busy they are, there’s a feeling at the back of their minds that something bad is going to happen.
So what do they actually know about each other? What brought them both to the island and what are they running away from, if anything?
God, I love Ben Willis and his stupid, stupid plans. This whole thing is a terrible idea, and when it comes to Julie he really needs to cut his losses and let it fucking go, but he never will, the dumbass. Why the island? Why the absurd, convoluted plan? Why does Will go along with it? Explore the idea of their homecoming, and the question of them both having ghosts of their own, namely Ben’s wife.
An AU where I Still Know is an understated ghost story rather than a slasher.
A time-loop where the events of I Still Know keep happening, and the characters are trapped in it, repeatedly dying until they figure out how to break the loop.
An AU where Julie never comes to the island, but Ben Willis and his son return to wreak revenge on the islanders anyway.
Look, Closed Circle scenarios like this are my CATNIP. Always. Give me missing scenes, or a version of the scene where events play out differently. Maybe where the killers aren't so efficient at clearing away the evidence of that corpse in the wardrobe so Mr Brooks isn't quite so quick to dismiss it, and events play out at a slower more 'And Then There Were None'-style pace with lots of paranoia and suspicion.
Five times something weird happened at the hotel (and the one time everyone got butchered)

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Supernatural (1977)

Requested Characters:
Howard Lawrence, Mary Lawrence

The characters I'm requesting only appear in the mostly standalone episode Night of the Marionettes, which is currently up on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuqafiyLnN4. The episode is also available from Amazon Prime UK. It's just under an hour long.

And while it should go without saying, if you’re at all in any doubt regarding my DNW, this very much counts as requested incest, whatever level of explicitness you go with. :D Please avoid any suggestions of anything underage though: a huge part of why I love the dynamic between them is the implication that Mary isn’t that young and that she’s fast approaching spinsterhood.

Hah, well, damn, turns out that when you go trawling through an actor’s back catalogue, you find some… I want to say gems, but I’m not sure if that’s really the work for this batshit fever dream of a horror show. I wish to god it was longer: there’s a whole novel’s worth of Gothic WTFery to unpack here.

This is a standalone episode from a 1970s BBC anthology series of gothic horror stories, gloriously overwrought, somewhat stagey, and just bonkers from start to finish. (The puppet show. Oh, god, the puppet show.) All the episodes feature a narrator telling a grisly tale to the members of a Club in the hopes of becoming a member themselves: if they fail to convince, it means their death, and that’s really all you need to know about the wider series (although the other episodes are also worth watching).

This episode is so gloriously fucking weird. Scenery-chewing, Hammer-horror-esque sets, Howard in a loose shirt and undone waistcoat exploring darkened corridors and brandishing a candelabra, the heavily implied incestuous attraction between him and his daughter…. uh, and FYI, those scenes between them are some of the most uncomfortably hot things I’ve ever seen – her touching his hand, the way he eases her down onto the bed, while he touches her face and searchingly gazes at her. The slowly dawning realisation that the slight incesty vibes I was getting weren’t actually accidental, and oh, hey, turns out I ship it. Oh, damn, he’s really distraught and guilty over what happened? Turns out I REALLY ship it.

I’ve watched it twice and I’m still not 100% sure I know what’s going on. Is Mary possessed by the spirit of Mary Shelley? Are the Huberts actually murderers or have they been unfairly castigated when all they really wanted to do entertain? Who the fuck knows? Certainly not me! Go with whatever head canon takes your fancy and hand-wave whatever you need to.

I have so many questions. Like, what happened at the Villa Diodati that meant he needed rest? What’s going on with Mary? And for that matter, what’s going on with Howard? Who’s really to blame for what happened? What’s with the lack of crucifixes in the guesthouse? It’s entirely up to you what headcanon you go with (part of the joy of fanfiction for me is seeing other people’s takes), but I really like the idea of the Huberts using their, uh, skills to fulfil needs beyond the puppet shows, such as helping people come to terms with bereavement. The mix of rich and poor in the audience enthralled me too. Who are these people? What the hell is going on? Thinking about it, I’m leaning towards the idea that Mary, and possibly Howard too, are possessed or influenced by an entity that also may have possessed Mary Shelley. It just seems to fit with the theme of puppetry, and it makes the weird coincidence of them turning up in this specific guesthouse a bit more likely.

And finally there’s the relationship between Mary and Howard. I really, really love their dynamic, the fact that she isn’t all that young, but probably about 30 or so, a bluestockingy spinster destined for an unmarried life dedicated to helping her father with his research. They are so utterly devoted to one another, but at the same time he’s so horribly selfish and caught up with his own obsessions. It’s so uncomfortable to watch: the way they’re clearly such a happy loving family at the start, but the cracks are already there, and they’re beginning to deepen, with the father-daughter team developing their own little world with Elsbeth excluded – partly because she’s simply not interested in his work in the same way Mary is, and partly because of her alcoholism. Also, I really love the idea of the relationship between Howard and Mary shifting in the Villa Diodati: perhaps Elsbeth was feeling unwell and had to take to her bed, which led to them spending more time with each other, and all that Byronic influence taking its effect.

I'm open to any level of explicitness for the ship, from canon-style uncomfortable smarm to explicit sex, but I'd also love to see something that concentrates on the gothic atmosphere/plot, and which treats it as an entirely non-incestuous father-daughter relationship.

Optional Prompts

So, uh, that scene where the Monster turns up in Mary’s bedroom? I’m not sure how much this fits with canon (fudge it if you need to, and bear in mind the whole thing could be filtered through Howard’s narration anyway), but it occurred to me that maybe part of the way they entertained themselves at the Villa Diodati could have been through putting themselves in the Shelleys’ mindset by reenacting Regency-style games like Charades (that dressing up and posing in tableaux thing). So what if her first thought when she sees the Monster is that it’s her father in a costume? And that raises some major fucking questions given the turn the puppet show takes.
Unreliable narrator. Play with this however you want. Assume the whole thing is filtered through Howard’s narration, and that events may not necessarily have played out as he claims. Maybe the whole thing comes about because of his obsession with Mary Shelley? Maybe there are no animated corpses, but just people in costume, or maybe they are just puppets, and the whole thing is an invention of his fevered brain because he feels so horribly guilty about an affair with his daughter? And maybe he was in fact the Monster that turned up in her bedroom in a moment of delusion.
A Rashomon-style narrative where we see the other versions of the story. I’d particularly love to get the Huberts’ take if they’re more or less innocent of actual murder – this overwrought maddened candelabra-wielding academic who’s clearly got a thing for his daughter feverishly accusing them of fuck knows what. (“Ghouls! Murderers! Frankenstein! Frankenstein!” XD) And it never fails to crack me up that he makes certain to question Hubert about his pet academic theory before accusing him of murder. Priorities!
Explore the aftermath of canon. Like, fuuuuck, that ending and everything that happens to Mary, and what we learn of her fate, and how distressed he is about it, which. Is. Catnip. Is she mad? Is she dead and somehow been reanimated? Does she have lucid moments? Is she specifically reenacting the role of that female marionette? She’s mostly the one who knowingly initiates most of the inappropriate touching: I’d love to see some of the aftermath where he’s stuck caring for this poor broken creature whom he still adores, but she keeps on with the inappropriate touching. Maybe it distresses her not to have the puppet show reenacted, so he plays along with it as much as he can bear, resisting letting it go too far, but in a way she doesn’t really feel like his daughter any more, until one day in a moment of weakness, he breaks and sleeps with her, and oh god the guilt, the horrible horrible GUILT.
Hurt character offered comfort they think they don’t deserve – Or the aftermath of canon and Howard caring for Mary, as above, but something painfully tender and bittersweet, where he genuinely loves his daughter and would never take advantage of her in that way, he knows he should never have let things get to that point in the first place, and he should probably send her to an asylum, but her delusions are real, and she’s the proof that his were real in turn so he can’t bring himself to do it. And if she does try to do the inappropriate touching thing he’s learned from his mistakes and quickly disengages. Hair washing, and the whole thing heavy with grief and guilt and love and attempting to atone, and her trying to comfort him as much as he’s trying to comfort her, and look, just rip my heart out and have done with it, okay?
Keeping with the marionette theme, maybe he gradually begins to suspect that there’s someone or something controlling her. Perhaps a ghost which has been influencing their actions (and possibly Elsbeth’s too) since the Villa Diodati.
Explore his reasons for approaching the Club in the first place. Why was he trying to join? (The Club features throughout the series, but we never learn much about it other than what I’ve written about it above so you really have an open book). If he doesn’t convince them of his story (and at the end of canon it seems very much like he hasn’t), it means his death, so why has he gone to them? Has Mary died? Do they have the rumoured power to bring her back, or somehow reunite him with her spirit, or is he so guilt-ridden he’s secretly hoping he’ll fail?
Just give me more of the horribly awkward and uncomfortably father-daughter incesty smarm. Slice-of-life moments from their time together pre-canon or during the early part of the episode. I did sort of feel everything happened a little too fast, so I’d really love to see some missing scenes and expansions which take canon events and slow them down to dwell on them a bit longer. Their chess games, Elsbeth’s alcoholism, the transition between ‘o what a lovely peaceful guesthouse’ to ‘clearly these people are murdering their guests.’ Or answer the question of what really happened at the Villa Diodati.
Epistolary – Entirely suited for the setting. Mary’s diaries, especially if she has occasional lucid-ish moments post-canon? Perhaps she has no memory of what happened, or of who she really is, and is still playing out the story she saw in the puppet show, or something similar? Letters that explore what’s going on, pre, during or post-canon, or which explore another story, perhaps from an Outsider POV, where Howard and Mary have moved, and to make it easier to explain away the occasional moments of inappropriate touching, he’s decided to pretend she’s his wife rather than his daughter. It makes things simpler. Except it doesn’t, of course.
Incest – platonic touching slowly turning less platonic – Yeah, okay, look, as far as I’m concerned, the incesty bits are fucking hot. So, uh, that, basically. The slow creep from affection to something much darker.
Possessiveness – Bites and scratches and bruises as claiming – Yep, also something that I basically just think is hot. :D I’d love to see a darker take on what Mary becomes, where she isn’t just this innocent broken doll, but something with a malicious streak, maybe something which isn’t entirely his daughter anymore. And maybe Howard has given up and is already sleeping with her, or he’s trying to be noble and self-sacrificing (successfully or otherwise), but either way as far as she’s concerned, he belongs to her in every way: as father, lover, husband, victim, and marks him accordingly.
Outsider POV – Especially one which goes all-out on the Gothic atmosphere, such as the point of view of the nurse/companion Howard brings in to look after Mary, who gradually begins to get the impression that something isn’t quite right in the house.
What happens between Howard and the Huberts in the aftermath of what happens in canon? I’m fascinated by the Huberts’ whole deal – there’s a moment where you see the woman’s grim, faintly despairing expression just before the puppet show begins – and I really do like the idea that they’re not actually murderers, and are, in fact, decent people, corpse-desecration aside. And hey, maybe they have permission for the corpse-desecration. Maybe it’s considered an honour. Maybe they have other sources of income other than what they earn from the shows, such as offering solace to the recently bereaved. And maybe, if Howard hadn’t gone poking about where he didn’t belong and encouraging Mary to do the same, nothing bad would have happened other than some restless nights (No fucking wonder no one stays in that guesthouse if they can help it with that racket going on). So give me that confrontation with Herr Hubert, either in the immediate aftermath, or over a longer period of time with Herr Hubert visiting him occasionally in England in an attempt to persuade Howard to come to terms with his daughter’s death so that she can finally laid to rest, and they become friends of a kind.

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Whisky Galore! (1949)

Requested Characters:
George Campbell, Catriona Macroon

Canon-specific DNWs: Heavy angst, dark themes, unhappy endings

Note: I've also read (and love) the novel it's based on, so if you want to base it off that rather than the film, or make it a combination of the two, then feel free to do so.

Oh god, this film is absolutely delightful. It’s just the loveliest film, and I love everything about it: the central message of how every problem can be solved with bootleg whisky, the quiet understated humour, and especially all the scenes of island life, the rèiteach, and all the Gaelic, and the scenery (even if it doesn’t quite come through in b&w), and the two central romances, particularly George and Catriona, who were adorable. I’d love to see more of the two of them, whether it follows them post-canon, or if it’s set in the period leading up to the events in the film. The film focuses a lot on the men of the island, so if you want to expand on the two sisters and their relationship with each other, and the other women of the island, especially George’s mother, then please do. I’d really love either something which captures the tone of the film (sweet and fluffy and gently funny) OR something atmospheric which captures the character and beauty of the island.

Generally I’d love to see something indulgently fluffy and heartwarming, home guard shenanigans, or some other low-stakes conflict, something domestic, sweet or smutty (or both), or alternatively something which goes hard on the atmosphere, details of island life, and scenery porn, or domestic details of married life as their marriage evolves over the years and the seasons. A gentle murder mystery or some other kind of casefic would also be wonderful.

Optional Prompts

The scenes where the islanders hide bottles of whisky everywhere made me laugh quite a bit, because you just know they’ll never be able to find them all again later, so they’ll be finding bottles of whisky in unexpected places for months afterwards. So… stumbling across a carefully hidden bottle after you thought it had all run out? Digging multiple places because you can’t remember exactly where you hid it?
Weddings - I wasn’t kidding when I said I wanted something tooth-rottingly fluffy. I’d love to see something which captures the film’s gentle humour and relatively low-stakes here. The trials and tribulations of holding a wedding during rationing (wedding dress details, because I’m also here for home sewing), trying to keep George’s mother sweet, pre-wedding nerves, bickering between the sisters, or a minor home guard crisis (suspected German spy who turns out to be a birdwatcher? Unexploded bomb?). Is it a double-wedding?
First Time - Wedding Night – And speaking of wedding nights… *ahem* I’m a sucker for inexperienced couples figuring things out. Smut? Or George discreetly tries to seek advice from Sergeant Odd
Inclement weather - Storms and heavy snow and sea fogs, whether just for atmosphere, or for tropey situations like huddling for warmth, mildly perilous rescue attempts, or just a reason for the two of them to shelter inside with only each other for company. And then nine months later…
Falling in love - How did they come to fall in love? Pre-canon quiet pining, or the two of them getting to know each other. Were they childhood sweethearts? Why didn’t his mother like Catriona?
His mother! Using whisky as the solution to all life’s problems is great, until the whisky runs out. Has his mother permanently come around to their relationship, or are there still going to be some blips along the way? Is there a permanent battle of wills between Catriona and Mrs Campbell, or do they find some common ground?
Scenery Porn - I am completely here for something plotless and quiet and atmospheric, maybe just vignettes of their life together set at different times of the year. A year (or longer) in the life of a relationship, where the island itself plays a part.
Pregnancy – Yeah, I really wasn’t kidding about wanting indulgent fluff. All the pregnancy tropes, George sweating it about not being ready to be a father, Catriona and his mother butting heads about how to raise a baby, getting the nursery ready, both the sisters pregnant at the same time…
5 times fic – Five things George and Catriona have argued about.

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Thanks for reading!