Yuletide Letter 2014
This would be my...ninth year, I guess? Wow.
Dear Yuletide author,
Thank you so much for volunteering to write for one of these canons - I am so excited to see what you come up with! I love all these texts and characters very, very much, and would love to read more about them in a variety of different directions. So don’t feel like you have to follow any of the prompts below closely or at all, if they’re not inspiring to you; I’m going to be excited about however you choose to illuminate these canons for me.
Some things I like in fic: I love love love stories about people recovering from trauma or otherwise putting their lives and minds together after difficult experiences; navigation of layered and complex interpersonal relationships, especially if they involve power dynamics (sexual or not); poly relationships; little moments of hope/resilience in the face of oppression or suffering; metafictional-ish explorations of narrative and agency and identity; canon divergence (‘what if?’) AUs; characters who are smart and competent and passionate about things; characters having intellectual/abstract dialogues which reflect more personal issues; D/s and related kink (bondage, humiliation, pain); historical details and world-building; allusions to myth or fairy tale
Some things I’d prefer not to read about: dub-con which involves ‘they secretly wanted it’ or ‘they didn’t want it at first but then learned they actually did’ tropes (other kinds of dub- or non-con are fine, though I’d prefer they’d be treated as primarily traumatic rather than sexy); setting-changing AUs; crossovers; PWP (any level of explicit content is fine, but I prefer when sex isn’t the entire focus of a fic); pregnancy or being a parent of young children
If you’re looking to get more information about my tastes, I’m on AO3 also as Assimbya, and on tumblr as chthonic-cassandra.
Les Contes d’Hoffman - Offenbach/Barbier
Characters - Olympia, Giulietta, Dapertutto
I would love a story that gives some more development to one (or more!) of the women and/or villains of the internal stories of the opera. I’ve requested Olympia, Giulietta, and Dapertutto, but I’d be fine with a story that only includes one or two of them if that works better. What kind of consciousness does Olympia have, and how might it challenge the assumptions made about her both by her inventors and by Hoffman himself? What is actually going on with Giulietta, and how did she become involved with a reflection-stealing sorcerer in the first place? Metafictional experiments with the form of the opera would be awesome, as would more straightforward narratives that flesh out these pretty under-developed characters.
I am fascinated with this weird and somewhat lopsided opera, and I would be thrilled to see some more exploration of its characters! There are all sorts of delightful directions one might be able to go in - Olympia and questions of artificial intelligence and constructed femininity! The layering of the stories meaning that some of the characters between them have some sort of layered consciousness/awareness of their own fictionality/etc!
I think Giulietta is awesome and totally neglected by the larger plot, in which she gets stereotyped as this duplicitous, greedy courtesan. Also, Dapertutto’s aria, “Scintille, diamant” is much more sexy than anything Hoffman sings in the course of the opera. I maybe-sort of ship them, and would be very into a story that showed us more about their relationship and how they formed what seems to be a very interesting magical partnership.
I’m not that interested in Hoffman himself, in whose consciousness the opera so often leaves us; though I have no objection to his appearance, I would prefer a story that wasn’t centrally focused on him.
Deathless - Catherynne M. Valente
Characters - Koschei
Please, give me more! Koschei before the start of the novel (some more depth to the Yelenas, maybe?), Koschei and Marya in Buyan negotiating their complex marriage, Koschei/Marya/Ivan OT3 things...I would adore something plotty and meditative, sexy and relationship focused, or intertextual and playing off of the novel’s focus on storytelling and what it means to exist within a narrative. The book gives us Marya’s perspective on all these things - I would like Koschei’s. Fic that maintains his sort of strange, inhuman edge of remorseless authority would be best; I like him as a very ambiguous character, who definitely behaves in some pretty unforgivable and immoral ways, partly because he’s something akin to a god.
So, I spend a lot of time thinking about god-mortal relationships in Greek mythology, and that’s sort of my paradigm for understanding a lot of what goes on with Koschei; it doesn’t have to be yours, but I’m sorry if a little of that is seeping into this prompt! I love the novel very, very much, but was frustrated at how little space it gave to the ethical issue of the Yelenas, or to the actual development of Marya and Koschei’s relationship. I believe very much that each of the Yelenas was as vital and interesting a character as Marya herself, and if you want to explore some of those stories, I would be very interested in it. Alternatively, if you want to fill in some of the fade-outs that happen after Marya and Koschei reach Buyan, or once she manages to pass Baba Yaga’s tests, I would be very into it - I want to see how they get to the various stages of their relationship!
Also, Koschei/Marya/Ivan is one of my absolute favorite OT3s, and the whole thing with the basement hit kinks I didn’t know I had. I am very into the reciprocal power exchanges things that Koscheia and Marya do, so. Make of that knowledge what you will.
Byzantium (2012)
Characters - Clara
Clara is amazing and I have so much awe and admiration for her, despite her sometimes dubious interpersonal choices as a mother. I would adore any story that either fills in some of the missing pieces of her life (as a young woman in the brothel; in the years after her transformation into a vampire; when she and Eleanor were traveling around together) or lets us follow her further beyond the scope of the film. Her particular brand of compassion and caring in combination with ruthlessness is very interesting to me, and I would be interested in seeing that explored further - how does she balance her love for Eleanor, and what seems to me to be a genuine empathy for her clients, with the pitilessness she needs to survive in the world? World-building involving the nature of vampirism in this fictional world would also be fantastic.
I think I covered most of the possibilities I’m interested in above, but I do want to add that I see Clara’s experience of violence and victimization as a major part of her identity and story, and I would be open to a story focusing on those experiences, and on her healing, though it would of course absolutely not be required.
Heroes and Villains - Angela Carter
Characters - Marianne, Jewel, Donally
This is such an intriguing fictional world, and I have always wished that I could have more of it beyond Carter’s extremely short novel! I’ve requested all three of the major characters, but they don’t need to all be included if you’d rather not. Some possibilities might be a story taking Marianne beyond the end of the novel, or showing us how Donally constructed his persona, or what Jewel thought of some of the events that we get only from Marianne’s perspective. Something that works with the messy, lush style of the original, or plays further with the sociological, anthropological, or semiotic theories that Carter introduces would be much welcome.
Every piece of this novel is so rich that I feel it could be expanded in a multitude of ways, and I am excited at the thought of a story which might explore some of those ways. I can imagine how it might a difficult canon to write for, given its highly over-determined, symbolic nature, and the ways that Carter sort of deliberately alienates us from Marianne at various points; although I mentioned above that I’d be interested in something working with the style of the original, please don’t feel as though you’re required to do that! I’m just as interested in the characters and narrative and world.
Similar to what I brought up with Byzantium above, I feel like Marianne’s rape by Jewel is a really important piece of the plot and of both their characters; even though both of them are being manipulated pretty thoroughly by Donally at that point, I’d prefer if that aspect of their relationship wasn’t glossed over or excused if you do choose to write more about the two of them. Also, Donally is scary! If you want to go further into that scariness, I am right there with you.
Steerswoman Series - Rosemary Kirstein
Characters - Rowan, Bel
I love Rowan and Bel, and these books make me so intensely happy that I can hardly wait for the next one! I would be so thrilled if you would give me more of Rowan and Bel interacting - I absolutely ship them and would be delighted with something in a romantic vein, but I would also be glad to see them exploring and learning and confronting ethical dilemmas together, just like in the books. I really love all the characters, and would be very happy to see anyone included, but at the moment I feel particularly interested in Will and Janus, if you want to bring one or both of them into the story too.
Just thinking about the idea of Steerswoman fic makes me giddy! I love the gentleness of these books, the way they confront extremely complex and difficult with questions with care and humaneness; I adore the way Rowan in particular approaches the world, which is profoundly conscientious and caring. More of any of that would be welcome, or of the books themes of intercultural exchange, simple courage within oppressive circumstances, and the vital necessity of truth and learning in life.
Or, you could just write Rowan and Bel being adorable together. That would be great too.
Chronicles of Prydain - Lloyd Alexander
Characters - Eilonwy
Eilonwy has been one of my favorite literary characters since I was very young, and I would be so happy to have a story that gives me some more time with her internal world. I am particularly interested in post-Castle of Llyr Eilonwy, and the issue of how she navigates her relationship with and thoughts about Achren after her imprisonment. How does she work out her own identity as a sorceress when this sorceress who raised her has caused her so much harm? How much of the events of Castle of Llyr does she remember, and what does she do with those memories? And, of course, the eternal question - what is going on with her during the whole of Taran Wanderer? I look forward to any possibilities you might come up with!
As deeply as I adore Mr. Alexander, I feel like he gave Eilonwy short shrift at times. Dalben treats her atrociously, for one, with such condescension and paternalism, and then she vanishes for a whole book only to reappear alongside her nemesis and former caretaker, who she is somehow expected to forgive and work alongside without much exploration of what that means for her!
I’d really like something that made some more space for her and for her story alongside Taran’s. In addition to the possibilities I listed above, I would also really, really like to see her and Achren having a good, long, somewhat antagonistic conversation - I think they have a lot to work through.
Achren is my other favorite, even she’s obviously pretty amoral and abusive, and so any way you can come up with to bring her into the story, or to draw parallels/contrasts between her and Eilonwy would be an utter delight.
Thank you so much, and I hope you have a wonderful season!
Dear Yuletide author,
Thank you so much for volunteering to write for one of these canons - I am so excited to see what you come up with! I love all these texts and characters very, very much, and would love to read more about them in a variety of different directions. So don’t feel like you have to follow any of the prompts below closely or at all, if they’re not inspiring to you; I’m going to be excited about however you choose to illuminate these canons for me.
Some things I like in fic: I love love love stories about people recovering from trauma or otherwise putting their lives and minds together after difficult experiences; navigation of layered and complex interpersonal relationships, especially if they involve power dynamics (sexual or not); poly relationships; little moments of hope/resilience in the face of oppression or suffering; metafictional-ish explorations of narrative and agency and identity; canon divergence (‘what if?’) AUs; characters who are smart and competent and passionate about things; characters having intellectual/abstract dialogues which reflect more personal issues; D/s and related kink (bondage, humiliation, pain); historical details and world-building; allusions to myth or fairy tale
Some things I’d prefer not to read about: dub-con which involves ‘they secretly wanted it’ or ‘they didn’t want it at first but then learned they actually did’ tropes (other kinds of dub- or non-con are fine, though I’d prefer they’d be treated as primarily traumatic rather than sexy); setting-changing AUs; crossovers; PWP (any level of explicit content is fine, but I prefer when sex isn’t the entire focus of a fic); pregnancy or being a parent of young children
If you’re looking to get more information about my tastes, I’m on AO3 also as Assimbya, and on tumblr as chthonic-cassandra.
Les Contes d’Hoffman - Offenbach/Barbier
Characters - Olympia, Giulietta, Dapertutto
I would love a story that gives some more development to one (or more!) of the women and/or villains of the internal stories of the opera. I’ve requested Olympia, Giulietta, and Dapertutto, but I’d be fine with a story that only includes one or two of them if that works better. What kind of consciousness does Olympia have, and how might it challenge the assumptions made about her both by her inventors and by Hoffman himself? What is actually going on with Giulietta, and how did she become involved with a reflection-stealing sorcerer in the first place? Metafictional experiments with the form of the opera would be awesome, as would more straightforward narratives that flesh out these pretty under-developed characters.
I am fascinated with this weird and somewhat lopsided opera, and I would be thrilled to see some more exploration of its characters! There are all sorts of delightful directions one might be able to go in - Olympia and questions of artificial intelligence and constructed femininity! The layering of the stories meaning that some of the characters between them have some sort of layered consciousness/awareness of their own fictionality/etc!
I think Giulietta is awesome and totally neglected by the larger plot, in which she gets stereotyped as this duplicitous, greedy courtesan. Also, Dapertutto’s aria, “Scintille, diamant” is much more sexy than anything Hoffman sings in the course of the opera. I maybe-sort of ship them, and would be very into a story that showed us more about their relationship and how they formed what seems to be a very interesting magical partnership.
I’m not that interested in Hoffman himself, in whose consciousness the opera so often leaves us; though I have no objection to his appearance, I would prefer a story that wasn’t centrally focused on him.
Deathless - Catherynne M. Valente
Characters - Koschei
Please, give me more! Koschei before the start of the novel (some more depth to the Yelenas, maybe?), Koschei and Marya in Buyan negotiating their complex marriage, Koschei/Marya/Ivan OT3 things...I would adore something plotty and meditative, sexy and relationship focused, or intertextual and playing off of the novel’s focus on storytelling and what it means to exist within a narrative. The book gives us Marya’s perspective on all these things - I would like Koschei’s. Fic that maintains his sort of strange, inhuman edge of remorseless authority would be best; I like him as a very ambiguous character, who definitely behaves in some pretty unforgivable and immoral ways, partly because he’s something akin to a god.
So, I spend a lot of time thinking about god-mortal relationships in Greek mythology, and that’s sort of my paradigm for understanding a lot of what goes on with Koschei; it doesn’t have to be yours, but I’m sorry if a little of that is seeping into this prompt! I love the novel very, very much, but was frustrated at how little space it gave to the ethical issue of the Yelenas, or to the actual development of Marya and Koschei’s relationship. I believe very much that each of the Yelenas was as vital and interesting a character as Marya herself, and if you want to explore some of those stories, I would be very interested in it. Alternatively, if you want to fill in some of the fade-outs that happen after Marya and Koschei reach Buyan, or once she manages to pass Baba Yaga’s tests, I would be very into it - I want to see how they get to the various stages of their relationship!
Also, Koschei/Marya/Ivan is one of my absolute favorite OT3s, and the whole thing with the basement hit kinks I didn’t know I had. I am very into the reciprocal power exchanges things that Koscheia and Marya do, so. Make of that knowledge what you will.
Byzantium (2012)
Characters - Clara
Clara is amazing and I have so much awe and admiration for her, despite her sometimes dubious interpersonal choices as a mother. I would adore any story that either fills in some of the missing pieces of her life (as a young woman in the brothel; in the years after her transformation into a vampire; when she and Eleanor were traveling around together) or lets us follow her further beyond the scope of the film. Her particular brand of compassion and caring in combination with ruthlessness is very interesting to me, and I would be interested in seeing that explored further - how does she balance her love for Eleanor, and what seems to me to be a genuine empathy for her clients, with the pitilessness she needs to survive in the world? World-building involving the nature of vampirism in this fictional world would also be fantastic.
I think I covered most of the possibilities I’m interested in above, but I do want to add that I see Clara’s experience of violence and victimization as a major part of her identity and story, and I would be open to a story focusing on those experiences, and on her healing, though it would of course absolutely not be required.
Heroes and Villains - Angela Carter
Characters - Marianne, Jewel, Donally
This is such an intriguing fictional world, and I have always wished that I could have more of it beyond Carter’s extremely short novel! I’ve requested all three of the major characters, but they don’t need to all be included if you’d rather not. Some possibilities might be a story taking Marianne beyond the end of the novel, or showing us how Donally constructed his persona, or what Jewel thought of some of the events that we get only from Marianne’s perspective. Something that works with the messy, lush style of the original, or plays further with the sociological, anthropological, or semiotic theories that Carter introduces would be much welcome.
Every piece of this novel is so rich that I feel it could be expanded in a multitude of ways, and I am excited at the thought of a story which might explore some of those ways. I can imagine how it might a difficult canon to write for, given its highly over-determined, symbolic nature, and the ways that Carter sort of deliberately alienates us from Marianne at various points; although I mentioned above that I’d be interested in something working with the style of the original, please don’t feel as though you’re required to do that! I’m just as interested in the characters and narrative and world.
Similar to what I brought up with Byzantium above, I feel like Marianne’s rape by Jewel is a really important piece of the plot and of both their characters; even though both of them are being manipulated pretty thoroughly by Donally at that point, I’d prefer if that aspect of their relationship wasn’t glossed over or excused if you do choose to write more about the two of them. Also, Donally is scary! If you want to go further into that scariness, I am right there with you.
Steerswoman Series - Rosemary Kirstein
Characters - Rowan, Bel
I love Rowan and Bel, and these books make me so intensely happy that I can hardly wait for the next one! I would be so thrilled if you would give me more of Rowan and Bel interacting - I absolutely ship them and would be delighted with something in a romantic vein, but I would also be glad to see them exploring and learning and confronting ethical dilemmas together, just like in the books. I really love all the characters, and would be very happy to see anyone included, but at the moment I feel particularly interested in Will and Janus, if you want to bring one or both of them into the story too.
Just thinking about the idea of Steerswoman fic makes me giddy! I love the gentleness of these books, the way they confront extremely complex and difficult with questions with care and humaneness; I adore the way Rowan in particular approaches the world, which is profoundly conscientious and caring. More of any of that would be welcome, or of the books themes of intercultural exchange, simple courage within oppressive circumstances, and the vital necessity of truth and learning in life.
Or, you could just write Rowan and Bel being adorable together. That would be great too.
Chronicles of Prydain - Lloyd Alexander
Characters - Eilonwy
Eilonwy has been one of my favorite literary characters since I was very young, and I would be so happy to have a story that gives me some more time with her internal world. I am particularly interested in post-Castle of Llyr Eilonwy, and the issue of how she navigates her relationship with and thoughts about Achren after her imprisonment. How does she work out her own identity as a sorceress when this sorceress who raised her has caused her so much harm? How much of the events of Castle of Llyr does she remember, and what does she do with those memories? And, of course, the eternal question - what is going on with her during the whole of Taran Wanderer? I look forward to any possibilities you might come up with!
As deeply as I adore Mr. Alexander, I feel like he gave Eilonwy short shrift at times. Dalben treats her atrociously, for one, with such condescension and paternalism, and then she vanishes for a whole book only to reappear alongside her nemesis and former caretaker, who she is somehow expected to forgive and work alongside without much exploration of what that means for her!
I’d really like something that made some more space for her and for her story alongside Taran’s. In addition to the possibilities I listed above, I would also really, really like to see her and Achren having a good, long, somewhat antagonistic conversation - I think they have a lot to work through.
Achren is my other favorite, even she’s obviously pretty amoral and abusive, and so any way you can come up with to bring her into the story, or to draw parallels/contrasts between her and Eilonwy would be an utter delight.
Thank you so much, and I hope you have a wonderful season!