tentaclesock

Dear Trick-or-Treater,

Hello, and thank you for writing for me. I'd like to write a more festive introduction than that, but in all honesty, you're not here for the introduction. Let's proceed with the exchange-letter protocol.

( Sadism is such a versatile and rewarding perversion that no other can compare to it. )

Dear Author,

First, thank you for writing a story for me—and for taking interest in this exchange in the first place.

SFF literature has been a nigh-lifelong love of mine. I started this exchange because the field felt neglected in a sea of paranormal television and superhero movie megafandoms, and I am pleased to see that the fest attracted at least some attention. Don't worry, though—I'm not particularly demanding in fic exchanges; I've participated in four so far over the past six months and have been pleased with all my gifts, and I'm sure that I can create something that you will enjoy.

If all goes well (or moderately so), then you can expect this exchange to return next year.

I like:

• A strong sense of atmosphere.
  
• Psychedelia and weirdness.
  
• The ocean.
  
• Cats.
  
• M/M, F/F, and neuter/neuter sex (as long as it's not described too graphically).
  
• Lavish descriptions of food.
  
• Monsters.
  
• Sorcery.
  
• Recognition of non-binary genders, where appropriate.
  

I dislike:

• Secular humanism in fic written for canons that aren't secular humanist.
  
• M/F sex, most of the time.
  
• The idea that one's genitals define one's personality and/or abilities.
  
• Spare prose.
  
• Present tense.
  
• Incest (except in very special cases).
  
• A/B/O.
  

Hyperborean Cycle - Clark Ashton Smith


Clark Ashton Smith's stories of this bizarre lost land are some of my all-time favorite fantasy. Hyperborea, as CAS writes it, is a prehistoric northern continent that began as a jungle until it was overwhelmed by a titanic blizzard and became a frozen wasteland. In brief, the cycle is packed with rogues, strange gods and their followers, dinosaurs, interplanetary travel via secret wormholes, sardonic humor, hidden temples, and a number of indescribable things. If you like sheer weirdness, CAS in general and Hyperborea in particular are for you. Today, Hyperborea is most famous for sharing a universe with H. P. Lovecraft's mythology, which is not completely fair because Smith's stories stand on their own whether or not one annexes them to the Cthulhu Mythos.

Smith cared more about characterization than his correspondent Lovecraft did. As a result, character-centric fic is easier to conceive in one of Smith's canons than in any of Lovecraft's. Some ideas you might bat around include:

-Vixeela's life as a temple prostitute before Satampra Zeiros rescued her.

-Any adventure that Satampra Zeiros and Tirouv Ompallios might have embarked upon. What went on during their yam heist, for example?

-An adventure shared by Satampra Zeiros and Vixeela, of course.

-A day in the life of a Tsathoggua cultist and how Tsathoggua feels about its worshipers.

-The nefarious deeds that Eibon might have gotten up to before his trip to Saturn.

-Does Atlach-Nacha have worshipers? If so, what do they believe about him?

Does Atlach-Nacha care if he receives devotion? What is his purpose behind his eternal web-weaving?

-Tsathoggua/Atlach-Nacha smut, because why not.


Gormenghast Trilogy

One summer, I read the Gormenghast trilogy, The Worm Ouroboros, and Watership Down over a two-week period. My mind was swimming by the time I was finished, but it was an experience I'd like to reproduce if I could. Of these books, I think I enjoyed the Gormenghast trilogy the most. Like Hyperborea, it was crammed with wall-to-wall weirdness, and the prose was just staggering.

I have no real specifications to make for this canon, except to say that Alfred Prunesquallor is my favorite character. You may or may not know what to do.


Frankenstein - Mary Shelley

Where would science fiction be without Mary Shelley? Where would modern horror be without her, for that matter? Brian Aldiss called science fiction "a lively sub-genre of the Gothic" because of this one short novel, which bred from Gothic romance a new genre unto itself. I don't expect your ambitions to be quite as high as Mrs. Shelley's, however—no pressure.

Anyway, Frankenstein has been analyzed, re-interpreted, and adapted hundreds if not thousands of times, and yet it's still fresh. I'd be interested in seeing your take on it.

A couple of ideas, if you'd like:

-What if Victor Frankenstein really did build a mate for his monster? Would Frankenstein's suspicions prove true, or would he be surprised?

-If the monster hadn't killed Elizabeth, would she and Frankenstein have had a happy marriage? Would obsession take hold of her husband?


Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass were staples of my childhood, as they were for many others. As with Frankenstein, this duology has been adapted, analyzed, and re-interpreted again and again, but it's immortal.

I love these books so much that I'll read virtually any fic for them that does NOT fall into one of the following categories:

-A darker or sexually themed rewrite. (This includes pedophilic and hebephilic interpretations. I don't want them.)

-Alice returning to Wonderland to depose one of the queens.

-A drug trip.

Anything else would suit me. I wonder if and/or how Alice rationalizes her experiences once she grows older, or if she ever goes back to Wonderland. On the flip side, anything about the denizens of the fantasy countries themselves would be pleasing.


Thank you for participating in this exchange and for writing for me! I'm just trembling with eagerness.