For Guidance, Please See the Corporate Interpersonal Relationship Policy
| Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | For Guidance, Please See the Corporate Interpersonal Relationship Policy |
| Author(s): | suspiciousflashlight |
| Date(s): | August 2019 |
| Length: | 25k words, 3 chapters |
| Genre(s): | Alternate Universe, Crack |
| Fandom(s): | Naruto |
| Relationship(s): | |
| External Links: | Ao3 |
Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
For Guidance, Please See the Corporate Interpersonal Relationship Policy (sometimes shortened to just "For Guidance") is a Sasuke x Naruto fanfic notable for its unconventional choice of AU setting—the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation—and as an example of Take Your Fandom to Work. By June 2023, it had amassed over 500 kudos and 146 bookmarks on Archive of our Own. It has also broken containment in that it is repeatedly recommended on the r/CanadaPublicServants subreddit[1] and has spread beyond the Naruto fandom and Canadian government bureaucrat community.[2][3]
In April 2022, suspiciousflashlight published a sequel which focused on the continuation of Sasuke and Naruto's relationship, as well as an Iruka/Kakashi side pairing. The two stories are collected into the NCR Workplace Misconduct series ("NCR" refers to National Capital Region, which encompasses the cities Ottawa and Gatineau as well as surrounding suburban towns).
Summary
What Sasuke Uchiha wants is an indeterminate EC-02 Step 2 position with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation that offers a decent salary, health benefits, paid vacation, and a manager who won't break all his Excel spreadsheets. What he gets is Naruto Uzumaki, an improbably attractive and unbearably annoying co-op student who eats way too much instant ramen and doesn't understand that "casual Friday" doesn't mean varsity sweatpants.
Official CBC Canada Reads Selection 2019, made possible by the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ottawa Tourism Board.
Author's Notes
TO EVERYONE WHO FOLLOWED ME 4 YEARS AGO FOR MY SUPERNATURAL FIC: I am so sorry but also you're welcome
This is the fic for you if:
a) you've ever wanted to read about Sasuke Uchiha responding to Access to Information and Privacy requests
b) you've ever wanted to know more about the intricate internal workings of the Government of Canada
c) you've ever worked in public service in your life ever
Dedicated to Jen for coming up with this dumb idea in the first place
March 2021 update: it has been brought to my attention that this fic is plugged on an annual basis in the canada public servants subreddit. if that's how you got here, my condolences/permettez moi de vous présenter mes condoléances, and best wishes for end of fiscal
Attention outside Fandom Circles
In an example of Containment Breach, a link to the fic was posted to the /r/CanadaPublicServants subreddit in August 2019, [4], just two weeks after suspiciousflashlight first published the story, and gained 102 upvotes. The subreddit is normally focused on career and job discussion/advice for public sector government employees or those wishing to enter the field, so the link caught most users by surprise.
Several people commented about reading the fic at work or sharing it with their colleagues. One user mentioned that while they hadn't liked Sasuke as a character in the anime, they found themselves relating to his POV in this story.[5]
As the author mentions in an amended author's note, a link to the post continued to be circulated on the subreddit annually. The April 2022 version of the post garnered 243 upvotes and also pointed users to the recently-published sequel.
Reactions and Reviews
Many comments focused on the humor of the fic and how enjoyable it was to read. The author's descriptions were particularly noteworhy:
I cannot put into words how much I adored this. I simply died. The way you use your words is phenomenal, I know absolutely nothing about the Canadian government or what job Sasuke had but DAMN reading about his work gave me anxiety!! You made me empathize with him so well, in the beginning I was just as annoyed with Naruto as he was—got major flashbacks to my own job hahaha! I think that’s just a testament to how good of a writer you are—your sentence structure was perfect.Excerpt from a comment by Cyberflamingo [6]
I couldn't put it down. [...] The author clearly has a wealth of inside knowledge about how the Government of Canada operates, but even more than that, about how any large corporate-type office operates. I have no idea how they managed to make it both extremely specific and widely applicable at the same time - it's really kind of amazing.
Also, it's hilarious. I can't pick a favourite line because there are so many great ones but trust me, it will probably make you at least chuckle.
solovei [2]
I just finished reading this and it's absolutely hilarious. I have as much Naruto knowledge as you do probably and you were right, it's totally captivating. The Canadianisms are so perfect in this fic and they really elevated my enjoyment of it. I can't wait to read the sequel :Dviolet_rain3 [2]
Another major theme among the comments was readers appreciating the accuracy of the setting and portrayal of either the Government of Canada, public service work more generally, or the Ottawa-Gatineau region, praising the author for small details like the bus Sasuke takes to work and the name of the restaurant the characters go to.
The public servants subreddit brought me here and I have never interacted with the Naruto fandom, but I’m a GoC public servant and I absolutely love this!!! It’s so few times I can relate to a story in the geographic sense and that was so cool to me, cuz I was literally going like “hey I know that place!” I loved all the NCR references honestly!justlovefanfiction2901 [7]
when will cbc adapt this into a cbc gem show. also i have never read something so specifically canadian and v much enjoy the fact that this feels more set in the country than most canada reads actually. maybe i will actually watch naruto now.svnflowerz [8]
As International Fanworks Day's Feedback Fest 2023 focused on Fusion and AU fanworks, one Ao3 user described this work in a comment like so:
Naruto and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation fusion (yes, CMHC has a fandom, no matter how small). This fic is legendary.JKirin [9]
It has come to be regarded as a Fandom classic, as in the comment above and this comment from r/FanFiction:
I will never not gush about this PublicServantsForTheGovernmentOfCanada!AU Naruto fic and its sequel (edit: i know next to nothing about Naruto, it's just that the writing is that good and it was once recommended on the (unofficial) Canada Public Servants sub and it was a massive hit with everyone on there, 95% of whom had never read fanfic before and/or were unfamiliar with Naruto): For Guidance, Please See the Corporate Interpersonal Relationship Policy by suspiciousflashlightlaeb163 on r/FanFiction [3]
Recursive Fanworks
- @huntingthehaggis’s naruto canadian gvmt fic had been haunting my mind for the past two weeks it’s incredible, Archived version fanart by impastopesto, 2024 alt link
- Fic Rec: For Guidance, Plase See the Corporate Interpersonal Relationship Policy -- detailed review and recommendation by solovei, 2023
References
- ^ Recommended on r/CanadaPublicServants in 2019, in 2022, and in 2023. It has received over 400 upvotes and 50 comments across these three posts. EDIT: oh also this comment on a post asking for book recs.
- ^ a b c solovei; comment by violent_rain3 (March 26th, 2023 through March 31st ,2023). "Fic Rec: For Guidance, Plase See the Corporate Interpersonal Relationship Policy".
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b u/laeb163 (23 December 2022). "reply to "Have you read any fanfics that are surprisingly good despite the premise or fandom it came from?"". Archived from the original on 24 December 2022.
- ^ Markotan (2019-08-29). "Whoever wrote this deserves a Nobel Prize in Literature". /r/CanadaPublicServants. Archived from the original on 2023-06-10.
- ^ malikrys (2019-08-19). "Comment in r/CanadaPublicServants". Archived from the original on 2023-06-16.
- ^ cyberflamingo (February 3, 2021). "Comment on Chapter 3".
- ^ justlovefanfiction2901 (April 6, 2022). "Ao3 Comment on Chapter 3".
- ^ svnflowerz (December 21, 2022). "Bookmark for "NCR Workplace Misconduct" series on Archive of Our Own".
{{cite web}}: External link in|author= - ^ JKirin (February 14, 2023). "Comment on "International Fanworks Day Feedback Fest 2023"".
✪ This article was featured on the Fanlore main page in 2024 | |
| How To & About | |
|---|---|
| Past Featured Articles | |
| Featured Article Nominations | |