Yuletide Letter 2025
Oct. 24th, 2025 06:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chthonic_cassandraDear Yuletide Writer,
Thank you so much for writing for me this year! This will be my 19th Yuletide, and it's a part of the year I always cherish - thank you so much for being a part of it, and for writing for one of my incredibly niche prompts! These prompts are all ones from previous years which have not yet been fulfilled, and it would be such an exciting surprise to get to read a story for any of them!
Re: opting-in for treats - happy to receive them if you're moved to write them!
If you are the kind of writer for whom more information about a recipient's tastes and interests is helpful, you can find me at AO3 of course here. I'm also on Tumblr, where I am probably most active, as chthonic-cassandra. I've said in past letters: “I tend to write meditative female character-centric gen about trauma recovery, and/or fucked-up dub-con darkfic, and those are both totally things I love to read about as well, but neither of those are your style, no worries! I also really, really love romance, sexy D/s stuff, and world-building or plot-heavy casefic; I’m just not as good at writing any of those.” This still goes!
The canons I am requesting are pretty dark, so wanted to say: a) if you have an idea for a story but are worried it will be too dark, please write it anyway! I'd happy to have a story that's on the same level of darkness as the content in these canons.
But by the same token, b) if you would prefer to write something fluffier that puts these characters in situations where they will actually be happy, I'd be equally happy with that! I love these characters and would love to see them getting the positive experiences they often weren't able to get in canon.
Some things I like in fic: smart, prickly, messed-up characters especially when they’re interacting with other smart, prickly messed-up characters; complicated or tense relationship negotiation; power dynamics (sexual or not, and either set and formalized or in constant flux); poly relationships; moments of hope/resilience within suffering; canon divergence (‘what if?’ AUs), darkfic/horror, D/s and related kink (especially bondage, humiliation, pain - either healthy and negotiated kink or also fucked-up dub or non-con stuff); moral ambiguity, or characters dealing with situations where there are no good choices; depictions of trauma recovery or otherwise putting one’s life together after devastation; characters who are smart and competent and passionate about things; allusion, experimention, meta-fictional stuff, playfulness with form and language; historical details and world-building; pastiche; things in general being complicated and messy and nuanced
Some things I’d prefer not to read about (though see specific notes/carve-outs for each fandom below): any kind of "it was all in their head" mental illness AU; setting-changing AUs; slapstick humor; heavy focus on bodily fluids other than blood; heavy focus on animal harm or meat preparation; heavy focus on pregnancy or being a parent of young children (though it's fine to discuss where relevant to canon plots); sexual content with anyone younger than late adolescence; dogs; explicit discussion of disordered eating
And prompts below the cut!
The Blood Opera Sequence - Tanith Lee
Characters: Rachaela Day, Althene Simon
Prompt:
I love these peculiar books and I in particular love Rachaela and Althene and their relationship so so much. Rachaela's isolation and aloneness and constricted sense of possibility move me so much, and the way that all of that opens up for her when she meets Althene, including the possibility for meaningful emotional (and sexual!) connection with another person, is incredibly touching. I am likewise moved by Althene's poise and grace and fortitude, the ways she has made a meaningful life for herself despite her horrific experiences of abuse.
I would love a story that gives me more about Rachaela and Althene's relationship than the novels had space for. I would be interested in any stage in their relationship - when they are first falling in love during Personal Darkness, or the tension around their parenting of Anna in Darkness, I, or maybe especially what happens for them after the end of trilogy, when so much has been thrown into tumult for them both. I would be fascinated to see an imagining of how they might be able to rebuild their relationship in the wake of everything that happens in the third novel, and how they find their way to one another.
I think their romance (especially the early scene of Althene's advances to Rachaela) is very sexy, and would be pleased with a story that played with more of that (what if they feel moved to some more typical Scarabae customs together, like the blood drinking?). However, if that's not what you're feeling moved to, I would be equally glad for a more emotion-focused story.
If you're not feeling the shippy angle right now, I would also love to see an exploration of some of the parts of Althene's long life of which we get only hints in the books, especially if it involves some Scarabae world building. If you decide to take this angle, it's okay for Rachaela to play a more minor role.
As far as crossovers: I am not a big crossover person in general, but if you come up with an idea to cross these books with another Tanith Lee novel I would be all of it.
DNWs for this fandom: please no setting changing AUs (canon divergence is awesome!), slapstick humor, or explicit sexual content with anyone younger than adolescence (references to the child abuse in Althene's backstory is fine). I know pregnancy is a pretty big part of this story and I have no problem with that showing up, but I'd prefer the biological elements of it not be a major focus.
La Morte Vivante/Living Dead Girl (1982)
Characters: Catherine Valmont, Héléne
Prompt:
This movie started my journey with Jean Rollin's film, and it remains one of my favorites of his. I love Rollin's haunting style, the unanswered questions in the world-building, the tragedy of the ending, and most of all, the potent devotion and heartbreak in the relationship between Catherine and Héléne. Héléne loves Catherine so much, and is willing to do horrific things for her sake, but in the end it can never be enough. The ending to the film absolutely breaks my heart in its tragic eroticism.
I would love a story that gives me more of this relationship, and of the bond between them, in any form. I ship it (obviously!) and would love a story that makes the subtext text as far as the nature of Héléne's love for Catherine, but if you don't want to go there, that's totally okay. A missing scene from the film, or an AU that gives them an ending in which Héléne doesn't have to die and their bond with one another can continue, would all be fascinating to me. I'm happy for a story for this fandom to be as dark and tragic and sexy as you want to make it.
I'd also be delighted with a story that gives us more of Catherine's interiority, which is left so tantalizingly ambiguous in the film itself. What is her experience of being undead? How does she perceive the world? What is her sense of continuity or discontinuity with her living self? If you'd prefer to write a more Catherine-focused story, it's fine for Héléne to be decentered or even not present.
I'm typically not much of a crossover person, but if you have an idea for a crossover between this and one of Rollin's other films I would be interested to read it! Also: there's a lot of gore in this movie and I'm totally fine with that level of content being reflected in your story, but I'm more interested in the psychodynamics of the horror than the details of the gore in themselves.
DNWs for this fandom: please no setting changing AUs (canon divergence is awesome!), slapstick humor, graphic focus on animal harm, or explicit sexual content with anyone younger than adolescence.
The Masquerade Series - Seth Dickinson
Characters: Iscend Comprine
Prompt:
This is a request I've been repeating for several years! Will you, dear writer, be the one who finally fulfills it? Fine if you're not! But if you are, I remain as invested as ever.
So. I adore Iscend, and I've wanted more of her since I first read these books. I love how her story shows how humanity and agency can still exist even within the context of such deeply insidious and devastatingly global conditioning. The steps that she takes to regain her agency move me and fill me with so much excitement (using her own trigger word on herself! using her own trigger word on herself!). I loved the scene with Baru in which she describes the pleasure she felt during her training as an act of resistance, and the way she explains her reasoning behind sexually engaging with Baru.
I would love a story focused on Iscend in any way, whatever part of her life you would like to explore. Something that takes us beyond the end of Tyrant and shows Iscend continuing her journey to find her autonomy would be amazing, as would a story that shows us her life before her appearance in the series. I would be especially interested in some exploration of Iscend's relationship with Torrinde, which we can only assume from hints about how Torrinde feels about and engages with the Clarified. If you are interested in getting inside Iscend's mind and showing us what her internal experience looks like, I would be over the moon.
I don't particularly ship Iscend with anyone, but wouldn't say no to some complexly power dynamic-y stuff between her and Baru; if you have another ship for her I'd also be willing to be sold on it! I am happy to see any characters, nominated or not, included. Also feel free to take your story as dark as you want to with some of the more thorny parts of canon, or the hints we get about how horrific the training the Clarified receive is.
Note re DNWs for this fandom: for this prompt I would be okay with a story that deals with the sexually abusive implications of the Masquerade's policies in childhood education/the training of the Clarified, but I would want this content to be treated as traumatic and not titillating.
Thank you so much for writing for me this year! This will be my 19th Yuletide, and it's a part of the year I always cherish - thank you so much for being a part of it, and for writing for one of my incredibly niche prompts! These prompts are all ones from previous years which have not yet been fulfilled, and it would be such an exciting surprise to get to read a story for any of them!
Re: opting-in for treats - happy to receive them if you're moved to write them!
If you are the kind of writer for whom more information about a recipient's tastes and interests is helpful, you can find me at AO3 of course here. I'm also on Tumblr, where I am probably most active, as chthonic-cassandra. I've said in past letters: “I tend to write meditative female character-centric gen about trauma recovery, and/or fucked-up dub-con darkfic, and those are both totally things I love to read about as well, but neither of those are your style, no worries! I also really, really love romance, sexy D/s stuff, and world-building or plot-heavy casefic; I’m just not as good at writing any of those.” This still goes!
The canons I am requesting are pretty dark, so wanted to say: a) if you have an idea for a story but are worried it will be too dark, please write it anyway! I'd happy to have a story that's on the same level of darkness as the content in these canons.
But by the same token, b) if you would prefer to write something fluffier that puts these characters in situations where they will actually be happy, I'd be equally happy with that! I love these characters and would love to see them getting the positive experiences they often weren't able to get in canon.
Some things I like in fic: smart, prickly, messed-up characters especially when they’re interacting with other smart, prickly messed-up characters; complicated or tense relationship negotiation; power dynamics (sexual or not, and either set and formalized or in constant flux); poly relationships; moments of hope/resilience within suffering; canon divergence (‘what if?’ AUs), darkfic/horror, D/s and related kink (especially bondage, humiliation, pain - either healthy and negotiated kink or also fucked-up dub or non-con stuff); moral ambiguity, or characters dealing with situations where there are no good choices; depictions of trauma recovery or otherwise putting one’s life together after devastation; characters who are smart and competent and passionate about things; allusion, experimention, meta-fictional stuff, playfulness with form and language; historical details and world-building; pastiche; things in general being complicated and messy and nuanced
Some things I’d prefer not to read about (though see specific notes/carve-outs for each fandom below): any kind of "it was all in their head" mental illness AU; setting-changing AUs; slapstick humor; heavy focus on bodily fluids other than blood; heavy focus on animal harm or meat preparation; heavy focus on pregnancy or being a parent of young children (though it's fine to discuss where relevant to canon plots); sexual content with anyone younger than late adolescence; dogs; explicit discussion of disordered eating
And prompts below the cut!
The Blood Opera Sequence - Tanith Lee
Characters: Rachaela Day, Althene Simon
Prompt:
I love these peculiar books and I in particular love Rachaela and Althene and their relationship so so much. Rachaela's isolation and aloneness and constricted sense of possibility move me so much, and the way that all of that opens up for her when she meets Althene, including the possibility for meaningful emotional (and sexual!) connection with another person, is incredibly touching. I am likewise moved by Althene's poise and grace and fortitude, the ways she has made a meaningful life for herself despite her horrific experiences of abuse.
I would love a story that gives me more about Rachaela and Althene's relationship than the novels had space for. I would be interested in any stage in their relationship - when they are first falling in love during Personal Darkness, or the tension around their parenting of Anna in Darkness, I, or maybe especially what happens for them after the end of trilogy, when so much has been thrown into tumult for them both. I would be fascinated to see an imagining of how they might be able to rebuild their relationship in the wake of everything that happens in the third novel, and how they find their way to one another.
I think their romance (especially the early scene of Althene's advances to Rachaela) is very sexy, and would be pleased with a story that played with more of that (what if they feel moved to some more typical Scarabae customs together, like the blood drinking?). However, if that's not what you're feeling moved to, I would be equally glad for a more emotion-focused story.
If you're not feeling the shippy angle right now, I would also love to see an exploration of some of the parts of Althene's long life of which we get only hints in the books, especially if it involves some Scarabae world building. If you decide to take this angle, it's okay for Rachaela to play a more minor role.
As far as crossovers: I am not a big crossover person in general, but if you come up with an idea to cross these books with another Tanith Lee novel I would be all of it.
DNWs for this fandom: please no setting changing AUs (canon divergence is awesome!), slapstick humor, or explicit sexual content with anyone younger than adolescence (references to the child abuse in Althene's backstory is fine). I know pregnancy is a pretty big part of this story and I have no problem with that showing up, but I'd prefer the biological elements of it not be a major focus.
La Morte Vivante/Living Dead Girl (1982)
Characters: Catherine Valmont, Héléne
Prompt:
This movie started my journey with Jean Rollin's film, and it remains one of my favorites of his. I love Rollin's haunting style, the unanswered questions in the world-building, the tragedy of the ending, and most of all, the potent devotion and heartbreak in the relationship between Catherine and Héléne. Héléne loves Catherine so much, and is willing to do horrific things for her sake, but in the end it can never be enough. The ending to the film absolutely breaks my heart in its tragic eroticism.
I would love a story that gives me more of this relationship, and of the bond between them, in any form. I ship it (obviously!) and would love a story that makes the subtext text as far as the nature of Héléne's love for Catherine, but if you don't want to go there, that's totally okay. A missing scene from the film, or an AU that gives them an ending in which Héléne doesn't have to die and their bond with one another can continue, would all be fascinating to me. I'm happy for a story for this fandom to be as dark and tragic and sexy as you want to make it.
I'd also be delighted with a story that gives us more of Catherine's interiority, which is left so tantalizingly ambiguous in the film itself. What is her experience of being undead? How does she perceive the world? What is her sense of continuity or discontinuity with her living self? If you'd prefer to write a more Catherine-focused story, it's fine for Héléne to be decentered or even not present.
I'm typically not much of a crossover person, but if you have an idea for a crossover between this and one of Rollin's other films I would be interested to read it! Also: there's a lot of gore in this movie and I'm totally fine with that level of content being reflected in your story, but I'm more interested in the psychodynamics of the horror than the details of the gore in themselves.
DNWs for this fandom: please no setting changing AUs (canon divergence is awesome!), slapstick humor, graphic focus on animal harm, or explicit sexual content with anyone younger than adolescence.
The Masquerade Series - Seth Dickinson
Characters: Iscend Comprine
Prompt:
This is a request I've been repeating for several years! Will you, dear writer, be the one who finally fulfills it? Fine if you're not! But if you are, I remain as invested as ever.
So. I adore Iscend, and I've wanted more of her since I first read these books. I love how her story shows how humanity and agency can still exist even within the context of such deeply insidious and devastatingly global conditioning. The steps that she takes to regain her agency move me and fill me with so much excitement (using her own trigger word on herself! using her own trigger word on herself!). I loved the scene with Baru in which she describes the pleasure she felt during her training as an act of resistance, and the way she explains her reasoning behind sexually engaging with Baru.
I would love a story focused on Iscend in any way, whatever part of her life you would like to explore. Something that takes us beyond the end of Tyrant and shows Iscend continuing her journey to find her autonomy would be amazing, as would a story that shows us her life before her appearance in the series. I would be especially interested in some exploration of Iscend's relationship with Torrinde, which we can only assume from hints about how Torrinde feels about and engages with the Clarified. If you are interested in getting inside Iscend's mind and showing us what her internal experience looks like, I would be over the moon.
I don't particularly ship Iscend with anyone, but wouldn't say no to some complexly power dynamic-y stuff between her and Baru; if you have another ship for her I'd also be willing to be sold on it! I am happy to see any characters, nominated or not, included. Also feel free to take your story as dark as you want to with some of the more thorny parts of canon, or the hints we get about how horrific the training the Clarified receive is.
Note re DNWs for this fandom: for this prompt I would be okay with a story that deals with the sexually abusive implications of the Masquerade's policies in childhood education/the training of the Clarified, but I would want this content to be treated as traumatic and not titillating.
