Dear Yuletide Writer

[carabas]

Hello! Thank you for writing for me and for sharing one of these fandoms!

I'm DeCarabas on AO3 and carabas on tumblr. All my prompts are fully optional, I hope this letter is enough to give you a starting point if you need one but if you’ve got your own idea for this fandom already, fantastic, do that - what I want most is to see someone else's spin on these characters. I like both gen and shipfic and would love either for any of my requests, I like fluff and darkfics and everything in between, any rating, long or short, plot-filled adventures or trope-filled pining or worldbuilding or character studies or hurt-no-comfort or smut - whatever style of fic you like to write, go for it. And regarding the recent AO3 settings change, I do have gifts enabled, treats are always very welcome.


Fandom:
Archive 81 (Podcast)
The King in Yellow - Robert W. Chambers
Malevolent (Podcast)
Moon Knight (Comics)
Painted Skin (Short Film - Guo Jingming)
Vampyr (Video Game)


General likes/prompts:

• Shapeshifting, possession, bodyswaps, magical mishaps, mad science mishaps, anything that really leans into the quirks of magical or supernatural settings
• Only one bed
• Huddling for warmth
• Road trips
• Slow dancing
• Seasonal fic or holiday fic for whatever holidays the characters might celebrate
• Legends and lore and historical details
• Altered states
• Telepathic connections
• Shared dreams
• Identity porn
• Loyalty, and oaths of loyalty, and conflicted loyalties
• Competency, admiring someone's absorption in something they're good at
• Established relationships
• UST
• Outsider POV
• Fake marriage, forced marriage, accidental marriage
• Case fic and canon-typical adventures
• Characters wearing their partners' clothes
• Possessiveness
• Stockholm syndrome
• Scars
• Blood, gore, body horror, cannibalism, violence
• Characters temporarily rendered helpless by their injuries
• Relationships that in some way change a character into something stranger
• Apotheosis
• Mirrors (really anything using mirrors - a character's reflection or lack thereof, distorted funhouse mirrors and mazes, spying through one-way mirrors, magical mirrors for scrying or used as portals, historical mirror-making featuring mercury poisoning...)
• Interactive fiction
• Crossovers between my requested Yuletide fandoms

Smut likes/prompts:

• Mirror sex
• Blindfolding
• Voyeurism and exhibitionism
• Voice kink
• Suit kink
• Boot kink
• Wearing nothing but jewelry
• Throne sex
• Nonpenetrative sex and oral sex
• Masturbation
• Taller, bigger, or more powerful characters bottoming during anal sex
• Blood kink
• Weapons kink
• Biting, scarring, leaving a mark
• Sounding
• Xeno, including but not at all limited to tentacles, unusual orifices, unusual erogenous zones
• Dubcon
• Unwilling arousal
• Unnegotiated somnophilia

DNW/Do Not Want:

• Mundane AUs
• Omegaverse
• Watersports or scat
• Pet names that weren't used in canon (for Vampyr, Edgar is exempt from this DNW, feel free to have him call anyone anything you like)
• For Vampyr, Archive 81, and Malevolent, DNW trans versions of my requested characters (this does not apply to any genderbending done by shapeshifters or gods, feel free to have Dromen or the King in Yellow take on any forms you like)
• For Malevolent, if John appears in the fic, DNW John appearing in a separate body of his own, please keep him bodysharing with either Arthur or the King if he's present. (It's completely fine for John to not appear at all, in which case it's fine to mention him having been separated from Arthur in any way you like.)

Archive 81 (Podcast)
Characters: Mark Sollinger, Dan Powell

I absolutely love all the body horror in this show, the transformations both willing and unwilling, and especially the extreme lengths Mark went to for Dan - the time travel and the apparent lack of free will, joining a cult, Dromen! By the end of season 3, Dan's warning other people away from weirdness and just wants his normal life back, meanwhile Mark has actively transformed himself into weirdness and doesn't look to be resuming a normal life any time soon and all of this motivated by Dan, and at the same time Dan still describes Mark as his best friend even after Mark's podcast kind of cost Dan his normal life to begin with - incredible dynamic from every angle, elaborate on any of that, what does this dynamic look like when Dan's finally back and trying to resume a normal life? I would love reunion fic for these two, and gen or slash are both great; or maybe some pining (one-sided or otherwise) from Mark while they're apart.

Was Dromen!Mark able to communicate with Dan at all while Dan was in the space between worlds, or does Dan only know what Mark's been up to through listening to recordings? Static Man certainly seemed to hit a nerve about Mark feeling like he's abandoned Dan - even if Dromen was capable of communicating with Dan in that space, did he? Or what does Dromen look like to Dan? What does Dan look like to Dromen!Mark for that matter - even if he no longer has a cyborg body when he makes it back home, is a body manifested through an unnameable ritual in an in-between plane any more human from Dromen's otherworldly perspective? Or does he still have a cyborg body after all, and does he enjoy wireplay? Could Mark's time-traveling let him visit Dan during season 2? Did we get to see everything Dan's new body was capable of that Rat was so excited about, or were there still some more surprises for Dan? Or how's that entity he incubated doing? Or what exactly is Dromen's perspective like - how much of Dromen is Mark, is it possible for them to have conflicting desires or are they not separate enough for that, does all of Dromen care about Dan because Mark does, does Dromen have goals or desires of their own apart from Mark's, what else are they capable of, what did Mark get out of all the lengths he went to in the end? Or did he travel back to the present day after finishing "Wingbeats" or has he lived through all the years in between? And why that particular ritual, how closely is Dromen associated with the sounds of wing beats, is Dromen connected to the Messenger leviathan and can that sound be used to try to reach Dan?



The King in Yellow - Robert W. Chambers
Characters: Philip, The King in Yellow

I'm fascinated by all the little allusions to the King in Yellow in "The Demoiselle D'Ys" even though the play itself doesn't appear in the story - Hastur the falconer's name, Jeanne d'Ys as a pun on jaundice, the story ending with a gravestone naming Philip as "A Stranger" like the role in the play, the general theme of a land reduced to ruins and the arrival of a stranger ending in tragedy - tell me more! I'd love to see something expanding on those connections, and maybe something where the King appears more directly in Philip's life, whether that's something with a bit of horror, or something surreal playing with the lines between fiction and reality or past and present, or some godfucking, or whatever you like.

Was there a connection between the legend of Ys and Carcosa? Or did Philip go on to become the author of the King in Yellow play, making a story out of his experiences? Or does some otherworldly influence cause the tragedy of Carcosa to play out again in other places, in new variations? Or was the King in Yellow known of by the people of Ys, is that where Hastur the falconer's name came from - did he or Jeanne or the other residents of Ys worship the King, did they summon their own Stranger? Or is Hastur a version/avatar/vessel of the King himself - or is "Jaundice"? Or having fallen into another time or another world, does that have any lasting effects on Philip afterwards, does he start to see cracks in reality in other places? Does he ever meet any of the other characters from the other supernatural stories in the book? Or even those stories without the supernatural - there's something eerie about reading descriptions of a play where the first half is banal and innocent and the second half drives people mad, and then hitting a drastic genre shift halfway through the real book. Was there any time-travel involved at all, or was it all an illusion of the King's? Does Philip struggle with uncertainty about it? Does he try to find a way back again?



Malevolent (Podcast)
Characters: Arthur Lester, The King in Yellow

I usually follow along with the public episodes, so please no patreon spoilers, if that's relevant; feel free to ignore any new canon developments after the writing period starts.

I love all the ways John and the King and Yellow are and aren't the same person and the shifting way Arthur sees that, Arthur's insistence that John needed to own his past as the King and then his rejection of Yellow when he did just that - Arthur's relationship with amnesiac versions of the King just makes me want to see more of him interacting with and/or being tormented by the King himself, the version of John with all his old godly memories and powers intact, the god who's had to spend so much time fixating on this one powerless man. And I'm completely up for shipping any combination of King/Arthur, Arthur/John, Arthur/Yellow, or any other Arthur ship you want to include (cultists? Dancers? The King resurrecting Peter just to toy with Arthur, or simply assuming Peter's form himself in dreams or hallucinations?).

Optional prompts if you want a starting point - eldritch rituals? Monstrous transformations? The King haunting Arthur's dreams where John can't see? Arthur finding a way to turn the tables on the King? What does the loss of John feel like to the King, has he changed at all by losing a piece of himself? The King growing curious about what exactly makes half of his own soul choose to stay with Arthur, studying Arthur until it makes sense? Does torturing and/or fucking Arthur help with that? Is he still interested in Arthur's body as a potential host? That body's got the roots of a bloodthirsty moving tree growing through it at this point, does the King have any particular feelings about sharing Arthur with a possibly sentient plant? Does the King understand John's point of view any better now after their brief reunion, did that have any lasting effects on him, what's it like to so briefly regain a piece of your soul that has such drastically different goals and desires and then lose it again? Or a post-episode-20 AU where Arthur doesn't make the deal with Kayne or where the terms of the deal are different, and the King gets to keep John a little longer - is the King influenced by John, or by his memories if John no longer exists? Maybe instead of dealing with Kayne, Arthur sought out the King's cultists in an attempt to get back to the King and John? Or without Kayne's deal, maybe Arthur is forced to attempt to rebuild his life in the real world without John, and the King takes an interest - and maybe Arthur's status as John's former host still draws various horrors into his life?



Moon Knight (Comics)
Characters: Khonshu, the House of Shadows

I would absolutely love to see what kind of relationship a god has with his sentient temple of sorts. I love the whole concept of the House of Shadows serving as a mission in the name of an absent and imprisoned god, not out of devotion to that god but because Marc related to the House and offered it purpose - what does that purpose mean to the House exactly? Gen is great and I'm also completely up for anything shipping Khonshu/House of Shadows, or shipping either or both of them with Marc and/or Badr.

Are Khonshu and the House of Shadows even capable of communicating directly - if touching Marc's mind essentially gave the House food poisoning, how would it react to the presence of Khonshu himself? Or maybe trying to touch Khonshu's mind feels overwhelming in a good way? Does Marc ever serve as a go-between? Does Badr? (And I've read issue 16 that just came out - no matter what happens next in canon, I am absolutely up for post-issue-16 fic for this request.) And I adore how otherworldly Khonshu's brief appearances in this run have been, still an intense presence even while he's imprisoned, and I'd love anything really leaning into the mystical weirdness of a connection between two reality-bending, shapeshifting, otherworldly beings. For a comic character that was created in the '60s the House of Shadows has had so very few appearances over the years - what else has it experienced in its life as a haunted house before becoming the Midnight Mission? And just how long has it existed - I'm always a sucker for interactions between two immortal or inhumanly-long-lived characters who both remember some bygone era that no one else living has experienced. And historical fun fact, in real life the roof of Khonsu's temple at Karnak was covered in devotional graffiti left by the priests themselves - what kind of personal touches are there between Khonshu and the Midnight Mission and all its residents, what kind of marks do they leave on each other?



画皮 | Painted Skin (Short Film - Guo Jingming)
Characters: Wang Sheng, Xiao Wei

This short film was incredible. I came out of the original Painted Skin movies going yes, good, but what if even more demon/human identity swap angst? Just really dig your teeth into that! Let them stay in each other's skins a little longer! Throw in some reincarnation pain maybe! And apparently Guo Jingming had the same thought, and it's just made me want another story to lean into all those things even more. I very much ship Xiao Wei/Wang Sheng, and I want to hear everything about swapping hearts and trading roles, about wanting what the other has, seeing the world through each other's eyes, about being inextricably linked and transformed by each other.

What happened between demon!Wang Sheng fleeing and his body being found? AU where Wang Sheng lived on as a demon a little longer? Or what happens when he reincarnates - would Wang Sheng's next incarnation have a human heart or a demon one, will he be drawn to Xiao Wei the way he'd hoped to be drawn to Pei Rong? Or will he find Pei Rong again even though the lock of hair wasn't hers - Xiao Wei/Wang Sheng/Pei Rong reincarnation OT3? I ship every possible combination of characters in this film. And I also love Xiao Yi's loyalty to Xiao Wei, and he was so discomforted with the way Xiao Wei changed - how would he feel about demon!Wang Sheng's change? Or how did Wang Sheng get the lantern with Xiao Wei's tail, and did Xiao Wei know it was there before he came to their home? I'll love any story about these two.



Vampyr (Video Game)
Characters: Jonathan Reid, Edgar Swansea

I love Edgar's delight in all things vampire and in the transformation of the accomplished Dr. Reid specifically, even while Jonathan himself was still lost and confused and wandering about covered in bloodstains - the perfect time for Edgar to swoop in to his rescue, giving him a place safe from the people who hunt him, a job that lets him blend into the mortal world, a houseplant in slight need of watering, and a whole building full of patients whom Edgar's trusting Jonathan with in full knowledge of Jonathan's endless vampiric thirst situation. And I love their odd power dynamic - Edgar in charge at Jonathan's hospital and with more knowledge of the world of vampires, Jonathan as the actual vampire here and Edgar's eventual maker, and then Edgar's complete refusal to treat being turned as the punishment Jonathan intended. So I'd love to see more of their dynamic in any form, slash or gen.

Something early in the game playing on the fact that Edgar is one of the very few mortals in on Jonathan's secrets, knowing he's alive while Jonathan's own family believes he's dead, aware enough of Jonathan's killings (if any) to comment on them and yet never throwing Jonathan out of the hospital for them? Or something where Edgar gets to indulge in his vampire-watching kink or simply finds Jonathan's looming intimidating vampire monologue routine inappropriately hot? How would any particular scene in the game have played out differently if Edgar was a romance option? Or something with vampire!Edgar, with the voice of Jonathan as his maker in Edgar's mind? Myrddin had some ominous comments about the likelihood of Edgar causing trouble in the Brotherhood now that he's been turned - was he right about that or is Edgar just Myrddin's least favorite of Jonathan's potential progeny? Something following up on one of the endings where Jonathan doesn't stay with Elisabeth, or one where he does and Edgar remains as fascinated by Jonathan's research as always? I'm particularly fond of the brooding-alone ending where Jonathan's killed some people but still has some qualms about it, but all versions of Jonathan on the pacifist-to-evil spectrum are great, please run with whichever you like. I'm also really fond of the game mechanic that rewards you with more XP the more you've gotten to know an NPC's secrets before eating them, sort of incentivizing Jonathan to become the kind of vampire who stalks a victim over time, and I'd love something exploring how that mechanic plays with Jonathan's personality - even if he's successfully resisting the urge to eat people, is it more difficult around those people he's grown closest to, and why does he feel the need to compel people to tell him their secrets in the first place?