Dear FicMountain Author Letter
Dear FicMountain Writer,
Firstly, I would like to say thank you for the time and effort that you are willing to put into making my gift :) I know I seem to have a lot more ideas for some fandoms than others, but I would be ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTED to receive fic in any of the fandoms I asked for. Optional details are optional, of course, but if you're like me and like to have lots of info to work with, I've tried to provide some info on the sorts of things I like (and don't) and give prompts for each of my fandoms.
GENERAL STUFF
Parings/Sex/Ratings:
Likes:
-SLASH, het and gen.
-All ratings up to R.
-A focus on the romantic/emotional aspect of a relationship and some semblance of a plot/point rather than just sex.
-love-triangles, complicated relationship dynamics, relationships that take some effort/time to work, loving each other but because [insert reasons here] not always being able to be together/communicate those feelings, etc in this vain.
-UST. Eventually resolved is probably better than not, however, not a must-have.
-Conversely from the above - romantic partners who just can’t help but adore each other.
Dislikes/Rather-Nots
-Femslash as the main pairing (nothing against femslash, I just don’t ship fem in these fandoms with these characters).
-Threesomes/moresomes and polyamory.
-Incest (unless specifically asked for).
-Parings with large age disparity (over 15 years) unless specifically asked for.
-Pedophilia (please keep minors in sexual relationships with adults 16 and over; if both partners are teens 14-15 is ok if treated appropriately).
-NC-17 and PWPs
-BDSM, omegaverse, and most kink. (NOT included in this: foreplay; bantery/lighthearted roleplay for the purposes of foreplay; preferences for a certain sexual position, fascination with a partner’s physical trait, such as, e.g., preferring redheads or virgins or younger partners or being fascinated by someone’s shoulders; rough/aggressive/desperate sex or outside-of-bedroom inequalities that transfer into the bedroom, even though there may be pining down of wrists or some other element that could be considered a kink or part of BDSM.)
-Foot fetishes (I know I said liking specific body parts is fine, but ah, feet are the exception).
-Humiliation (both sexual and not)
-Non-con/rape (dub-con that leans toward/ends up as consensual is ok).
-Mpreg; cross-dressing; genderbending/genderswap.
Genres/Themes (and such):
Likes:
-Angst, drama. (Generally, I’m ok with dark!fic too, but please don’t try to use this as a challenge to see how many angst/dark tropes you can fit into a single fic. I enjoy dark themes and things like character death don’t bother me, but if it feels like it’s just a marathon of horrible things happening with no light anywhere to be seen…that might be a little too intense for me.)
-Humor is fun too, but I like it more as an element in the story rather than a story that sets out to be funny first and foremost.
-Hurt/comfort (especially of the m/m variety, including both slash and gen).
-Fluff, cuddling/snuggling, adorable!fic.
-Banter; friendship, family, platonic love; themes of loyalty.
-Well-rounded characters, characters with emotions/sympathetic motives; the “other side of the story”.
Dislikes:
-Crack!fic, parody.
-Radical AUs that subvert the universe (eg: genderswaping the cast, setting a modern fandom as a fairytale, turning a historical fandom all Sifi, etc. This includes stuff like A/B/O and inserting magic/supernatural elements into a non-magic/supernatural universe).
-Crossovers.
-Character bashing; intentional OOCness.
-Any sort of glorification of bullying, or bullying being excused/condoned in the narrative (this includes things like victim blaming, etc).
-Narrative implications that “sex = love” or that romantic partners HAVE to have sex to have a “valid” relationship or to be “really” in love with each other.
FANDOMS
Екатерина | Catherine (TV 2014)
Requested Character(s): Peter, Brockdorff
The canon is available HERE on Youtube, 12 episodes. (Sadly, it’s Russian only, no English subs of anything.)
So. This is a historical drama. Which fudges around with history quite a bit, especially timelines. But like, I don’t even care, because it’s wonderfully written and acted and offers up some wonderful characters. Characters based on real people, so feel free to use historical facts/background to flesh things out. (Although, since I’m looking for show!fic not RPF, show canon/characterization trumps history.)
Obviously, feel free to skip historical research as this is not an RPF request, but in case you are interested:[Who the hell is Christian August von Brockdorff anyway?]Before Peter III was called to Russia to take his place as the crown prince, he grew up in a German/Prussian family. His father was close with Brockdorff's father. Peter and Brockdorff obviously knew each other as kids/teens because by the time Peter was called to Russia (he was like 14..maybe a tad older), Russian ministers had decided that Brockdorff had such an influence on him, that he should not be allowed into the country. So when Brockdorff tried to follow Peter to Russia, he was turned away at the border. Several years later he ended up basically sneaking into the country anyway, came to Petersburg, got a warm reception from Peter and stayed as the latter's Kammerherr. I'm sure the "real" motive behind all this was something along the lines of money-position-power. But the more romantic (read: slashy) theory is more fun :D (Info comes from Russian wiki article.)
Peter stole my heart. I understand Catherine’s struggles and that he pushed her away and generally has the tendency to be a snot a lot, but he won me over. There is so much genuine desperation, fear and unhappiness in his character that I just want to give him all the hugs. I love that of all the women he could have had he chose Liza. Not some flawless, sexy toy but a rough-around-the-edges, unattractive girl with a limp who loves what he loves and seems to understand him and knows all the right things to say (right in his POV). I do love them as a ship a lot - she makes Peter happy and I really like it when he’s happy. So if you want to write about them, that’s cool <3
Peter/Brockdorff shipfic would make me ridiculously happy :D Brockdorff is always in the background but also always around, even when it doesn’t seem like he has a “duty” to be. Even if you don’t want to use historical background, Brockdorff seems to be the one person who is always exclusively on Peter’s side. (Shuvalov is too, to an extent, I suppose.) In that last scene before Peter gets arrested by Orlov and co., it’s Liza and Brockdorff who are with him and Brockdorff makes such a touching show of loyalty by offering to buy Peter time to by “holding them off.” I don’t want to make this into a shipper’s manifesto or anything, but I just mean that there are so many little, subtle things. This could even be a one-sided ship. I love the dynamic of the emotionally vulnerable, mildly daft Prince and his loyal and more competent/composed underling (chamberlain in this case). You could go fluffy - private, happy moments - or angsty - Brockdorff’s one-sided love or a complicated relationship made even more complicated by Peter’s constantly worsening paranoia and dissatisfaction with everything. Hurt/comfort <3
Also, Brockdorff and Liza friendship! Dealing with Peter’s death together, maybe. Don’t see them as a ship, but as something platonic, united by their love/loyalty to their Prince - totally.
The Imitation Game
Requested Character(s): Peter Hilton
I have this really bad habit of latching on to secondary characters and making a big deal out of them. As it is, I thought everyone in this movie was awesome. But Peter is the character who both broke my heart and is the one I can identify with. (He also reminds me of a puppy…) The scene where he realizes he will have to let his brother die “for the greater good” is just awful. Beautiful but heartbreaking. And he’s mad but he also realizes that the others are right. I also got the impression from reading cut lines and scenes from the script that he is the one who has the hardest time coming to terms with this idea that they have to let a lot of people die whom they could save. Maybe because he is the youngest, maybe because it affected him personally. Either way, he’s that quiet boy in the corner and I want to know more about him.
Specific prompts? Gosh I don’t even know. Coping with the loss of his brother and the guilt that must have accompanied it. Survivor’s guilt after the war. Just fluffy team!fic with the rest of the codebreaking team. I will adore you if you write Hugh/Peter or John/Peter slash for me, set during or after the war, either way. Hurt/comfort! OMG, once again that scene. Someone needs to give Peter a hug.
Captive Prince
Requested Character(s): Aimeric
I feel like asking someone in this fandom to write this character (and do so very sympathetically) is like poking a sleeping bear with a sharp stick. And yet. I know I said no character bashing in the general dislikes above but it bears repeating. Please. I’m requesting characters I love here.
Anyway. Aimeric (unlike Laurent) makes a lot of sense to me. What he does makes sense to me. I think it’s important to remember that Damen’s perspective is biased and filters things according to his sexual/romantic feelings for Laurent. Who, let’s face it, is a jerk to most people. Aimeric is a great example of how being a spy can get bad. Especially when you from an attachment with someone from that other side (i.e. Jord). Spies are either heroes or traitors, depending on which side you look at it. In a civil war things can get especially strained. (And, in a monarchy, civil war and coups are about your only options for expressing strong opinions about your choice of country leadership.) Laurent says, and probably truly believes, that the only reason Aimeric became a spy was to get together with the Regent. Which is certainly at least partly true. But people often have multiple reasons for doing something. And Aimeric certainly has more reasons to support the Regent and his faction than he does Laurent (e.g.: family loyalty, the Regent coming off as a better leader than his bratty, rude and arrogant nephew).
I’m all up for a sympathetic character study here. The way things look for someone who isn’t infatuated with Laurent. I love taking minor or secondary characters and making them into well-rounded people.
My dearest wish though, seriously, is just for some Jord/Aimeric fluff or flangst or hurt/comfort. Jord/Aimeric hits all of my OTP kinks. I love how they work together, I love the difference in social power and yet the reverse difference in emotional vulnerability. I also just love Jord. I love how much Jord loves Aimeric. Basically, yea. If you just want to write something utterly heartbreaking: Jord dealing with Aimeric’s death and realizing that despite the breach in trust he still loves the boy. And how devastating that realization is. (I feel like because the book is from Damen’s POV we don’t really get closure for Jord/Aimeric. I didn’t get closure, anyway, and I’d like some.)
War and Peace
Requested Character(s): Dolokhov, Anatole, Sonya, Helene
Re Dolokhov’s first name: I’m use to the translated version - Theodore - and I’ll use that in this letter but if you’re used to the transliterated version - Fyodor - feel free to use that in the fic. I’m not fussed at all. (Same goes for other variants eg: Nikolai v Nicholas. Whatever you’re comfortable with.)
The book is in the public domain so finding it free online shouldn’t be an issue, but if you need somewhere to start HERE is one place you can try.
I adore this fandom and these characters. I only have a few deal breakers: First, Bolkonskis. I’m not a fan of that entire family so I would prefer to not have them as a focus or part of the main pairing. I’m fine with them in love triangles of angst, but I’d rather these characters be generally absent or peripheral (or as the antagonists or just angst-causers for the main paring, if you like). Second, Pierre/Natasha (I didn’t request either of them, so I don’t think this will be an issue). Thirdly, for pairings with Dolokhov - please have him be the "top". Dolokhov as a bottom is a big squick for me. Other than that, I’m not picky.
I’ll go through slash pairings first, then het pairings, then maybe some more babbling and gen prompts/ideas for each of the characters.
Slash
Dolokhov/Anatole! I ADORE them together. I think Theodore really does love the boy SO MUCH. He obviously tries to take care of him in his own way (see scene where Theodore tries to talk Anatole out of running away with Natasha). And canon even says that Anatole “genuinely loves” Dolokhov. Personal headcanon is that Dolokhov takes not just a leading but protector type role in this relationship, but you can play with that as you like. You could do anything with them! Happy, fluffy summertime fic, banter, first time, UST (especially at a ball), friendship-turned-more, drunk fooling around. Also mushy hurt/comfort. Or awfully angsty war!fic. How does Theodore take Anatole’s death at Borodino? What about that whole Anatole/Natasha thing? How does that fit in? For something more “serious” - having to hide their relationship; maybe Anatole is in denial about having romantic feelings for men? There are some major socioeconomic imbalances in this relationship, but Dolokhov has the upper hand personality and intellect wise and an exploration of how all that translates into power dynamics within the relationship would be cool. Not to say that their relationship has to be flawless. With someone like Theodore it’s never going to be. I’m sure there would be plenty of jealousy and cheating and hurting each other (probably unintentional on Anatole’s end and intentional on Dolokhov’s). I’d be up for a kinda-fix-it where Anatole survives the war and well…that’s going to cause its own slew of problems and issues, but maybe a happy ending of sorts if you go in this direction? I do want these two to be happy, but their angst has the potential to be extremely delicious.
Anatole/Pierre! I especially like the idea of this being a start-of-book or pre-book pairing. Maybe they got together in Paris during Pierre’s time at University? They’re both just such boyish sweethearts (Pierre changes but he starts like that, at least!). I can also imagine a Pierre/Anatole/Dolokhov (not necessarily in that order) triangle. You could play an Anatole/Pierre/Andrei Bolkonski triangle if you want, but in this case I would like to see Pierre being pretty torn over the whole thing. Post-war angst and regret is always a go. (I actually had this AU thought a little while ago - what if Dolokhov puts Anatole in Pierre’s care after Borodino and Pierre takes him away from Moscow after evacuation and feels like he has to take care of Anatole and Anatole lives and they kind of…bond and end up bridging their differences and stuff and…yea.)
Dolokhov/Nikolai was actually the first pairing I shipped in this fandom. They’re very cute, I think. I’d love to see a scene from that summer they spent together in Moscow after the duel when Nikolai’s family is out in the country. Or maybe a post-duel hurt/comfort fic? Throwing someone like Dolokhov into a situation where he’s hurt and vulnerable can be so interesting. Or Nikolai’s reaction to the card game? Why such a “messy” break-up? (We know in canon it’s Sonya but was it really?)
Dolokhov/Petya - this is canon. No really, see Book 14, Chapter 9 :) This, and just the whole French Camp Expedition episode is SO intense and sparks are flying all over the place. Petya’s hopelessly in love if you ask me. And Dolokhov is uncharacteristically gentle with him. I…don’t have actual prompts…but maybe Petya had met Dolokhov back in Moscow when he [Dolokhov] was still friends with Nikolai and developed and un-requited teenage crush? (For reference, at the time of the French Camp episode, Petya is 16.)
Het
Dolokhov/Sonya! How I want her to have a happy ending and how sad it is that Dolokhov is never even mentioned in the epilogue. I wouldn’t mind an AU where Sonya accepts his proposal or at some point realizes Nikolai isn’t worth waiting for or something. I would even more love a post-war fic because then Nikolai is married and Sonya has no ties to him anymore. (I think this is important because I somehow feel it would have diminished Sonya in Theodore’s eyes had she “jumped” men at the time that he proposed.) I would love-love-love for them to have a happy ending together. I think this could be such a sweet pairing!
Dolokhov/Helene! They’re great on a whole spectrum of genres and themes. A pre-book teenage romance, their affair after Helene’s marriage, and exploration of the class issues standing between them… I think they can range anywhere from sweet and beautiful, if hopeless, romance to something dark, passionate, complicated and possibly selfish. I think with them I would love to see a “mature” relationship. I think they’re both characters that put up with a lot. I think there’s lots of pressure on Helene from society and her father to be a certain way and I think that leaves its mark. (I’m seriously thinking about the Christina Aguilera song “Reflection” right now.)
Anatole/Natasha! The one Natasha paring I honestly love. These two are so…gah! It’s so teenage romance/first love and they completely lose their heads. I wish I knew what prompt to give you but I’m pretty sure that anything - even just a canon-tight expansion on their romance - would be fantastic! I’d rather not have dark!fic with them or anything like that but angst is certainly fine. This was the one time I really sympathized with Natasha and I think Anatole was not devious at all here. Immature and irresponsible? Sure. But he’s not some evil seducer, more like a boy who gets the biggest crush in the world and allows his imagination to run away with him.
Anatole/Helene. They’re the incest exception. It’s just hinted at in canon and it’s just a rumor, but these two have massive chemistry. (I blame the 2007 miniseries for this honestly.) Just please, don’t normalize it, incest isn’t really a normative behavior nor should it be. But I would love to see this very close brother-sister relationship with a sexual tension (unresolved or not) layer and how this effects them and their lives. I see this as a darker, more angsty fic but you can take it wherever it takes you, so to speak.
Gen and etc
Dolokhov is obviously close to his mother and sister. But where is his father? Did he die? If yes, was it something tragic like a duel? Did Theodore know him at all? How did this effect Theodore and his personality growing up? Or maybe a tender moment with his little sister. (She’s a hunchback; we don’t know to what extent but either way, given that time’s medicine there were bound to be health issues involved.) He’s supposed to be an awesome brother. Let’s see that! Anatole and Dolokhov friendship!fic would be very-very welcome if you don’t like slash. I would love to read about their antics, either as young men or something from their childhood together. Dolokhov’s older so he’d be like an older brother, holding a mentor/protector role. Also: what if Dolokhov and Pierre were both Decembrists and met at one of the secret society meetings (the whole shock of “what is HE doing here”) and then having to work together. They seem to make some nice steps in canon toward getting over their issues and I would love to see some sort of mutual respect build between them. They would never see eye to eye but I'd love to see a working relationship between them develop, maybe both starting to see something in each other that they didn't see before. Basically, Dolokhov is my absolute love and I’d love just about anything that allows him to be awesome (in which ever way that is).
Anatole is so misunderstood by fandom. At least that’s what it feels like to me. I feel like people think that he does what he does while understanding the consequences. Honestly, I think he doesn’t. He just doesn’t THINK it through. Not a good trait, but thoughtlessness and immaturity is not the same thing as causing intentional harm. I would love a Kuragin family!fic. Anatole and Helene (in a non-incest way) and their relationship or maybe Anatole’s relationship with his older brother. We don’t get a lot of Hippolyte in canon. Are they close? If no, why not? Is it the age difference or something else? How does the family deal with his death in the war?
I think Helene is a very interesting female character. There’s a lot of hate toward her for obvious reasons but I always chose to see her as a more nuanced, complicated character. She’s obviously close to her father but I think there’s quite a bit of manipulation in that father-daughter relationship from Vasili’s side too. Helene is practical and despite what Pierre may think, I see her as smart rather than stupid. She a woman in a time when women are not supposed to be much more than decorations to the lives of men. Helene plays this interesting role of appearing to society as exactly what they expect of her and yet, when no one’s looking, getting her way through the back door. Given that, I would really love a character study piece of some sort for a gen fic with her. Or, if you want something a little more on the lighter side, a fun fic with her and Anatole. They’re obviously close and I would love to see them interacting as brother and sister who care for one another (in this scenario without the incest lol).
Sonya! I’m not sure what prompt to give you but let me just say that I love her and I’m sure I would be pleased with just about anything you write centered on her. She is a character I relate to and identify with a lot and is probably my favorite female character in lit (or, like, anywhere). I love her ability to sacrifice her happiness for that of others and I love how she is still a strong woman in her own way without being a feminist at all. It's an inner sort of strength that isn't always obvious at first sight. Admittedly, I would rather see something with her as a child while her parents were still alive (what happened to them anyway?) or maybe her bonding with Nikolai's or Natasha's kids and being the favorite aunt or something, rather than being all subservient to the Rostovs, especially Nikolai and Natasha because they both betrayed her in the end and that has always angered me. Also, I would love a Dolokhov-Sonya pseudo-friendship type fic (if the paring doesn't work) like in the situation where Anatole and Natasha wanted to run away. I can totally see Dolokhov going to Sonya, telling her "the plan" and being all like "we can't let them do this, but I don't want anyone (mainly Anatole but that's not the point) to get un-fixably hurt by this" and they figure out that the best way to do it is let the plan run but then Sonya would rat Natasha out so that their aunt can stop her. (Or you can totally ignore that because it was WAY too specific. I'll shut up now.)
Ok, that was a lot! Please don't feel pressured by any of it, though. I'm sure I'll love whatever you come up with for these fandoms and characters <3
Firstly, I would like to say thank you for the time and effort that you are willing to put into making my gift :) I know I seem to have a lot more ideas for some fandoms than others, but I would be ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTED to receive fic in any of the fandoms I asked for. Optional details are optional, of course, but if you're like me and like to have lots of info to work with, I've tried to provide some info on the sorts of things I like (and don't) and give prompts for each of my fandoms.
GENERAL STUFF
Parings/Sex/Ratings:
Likes:
-SLASH, het and gen.
-All ratings up to R.
-A focus on the romantic/emotional aspect of a relationship and some semblance of a plot/point rather than just sex.
-love-triangles, complicated relationship dynamics, relationships that take some effort/time to work, loving each other but because [insert reasons here] not always being able to be together/communicate those feelings, etc in this vain.
-UST. Eventually resolved is probably better than not, however, not a must-have.
-Conversely from the above - romantic partners who just can’t help but adore each other.
Dislikes/Rather-Nots
-Femslash as the main pairing (nothing against femslash, I just don’t ship fem in these fandoms with these characters).
-Threesomes/moresomes and polyamory.
-Incest (unless specifically asked for).
-Parings with large age disparity (over 15 years) unless specifically asked for.
-Pedophilia (please keep minors in sexual relationships with adults 16 and over; if both partners are teens 14-15 is ok if treated appropriately).
-NC-17 and PWPs
-BDSM, omegaverse, and most kink. (NOT included in this: foreplay; bantery/lighthearted roleplay for the purposes of foreplay; preferences for a certain sexual position, fascination with a partner’s physical trait, such as, e.g., preferring redheads or virgins or younger partners or being fascinated by someone’s shoulders; rough/aggressive/desperate sex or outside-of-bedroom inequalities that transfer into the bedroom, even though there may be pining down of wrists or some other element that could be considered a kink or part of BDSM.)
-Foot fetishes (I know I said liking specific body parts is fine, but ah, feet are the exception).
-Humiliation (both sexual and not)
-Non-con/rape (dub-con that leans toward/ends up as consensual is ok).
-Mpreg; cross-dressing; genderbending/genderswap.
Genres/Themes (and such):
Likes:
-Angst, drama. (Generally, I’m ok with dark!fic too, but please don’t try to use this as a challenge to see how many angst/dark tropes you can fit into a single fic. I enjoy dark themes and things like character death don’t bother me, but if it feels like it’s just a marathon of horrible things happening with no light anywhere to be seen…that might be a little too intense for me.)
-Humor is fun too, but I like it more as an element in the story rather than a story that sets out to be funny first and foremost.
-Hurt/comfort (especially of the m/m variety, including both slash and gen).
-Fluff, cuddling/snuggling, adorable!fic.
-Banter; friendship, family, platonic love; themes of loyalty.
-Well-rounded characters, characters with emotions/sympathetic motives; the “other side of the story”.
Dislikes:
-Crack!fic, parody.
-Radical AUs that subvert the universe (eg: genderswaping the cast, setting a modern fandom as a fairytale, turning a historical fandom all Sifi, etc. This includes stuff like A/B/O and inserting magic/supernatural elements into a non-magic/supernatural universe).
-Crossovers.
-Character bashing; intentional OOCness.
-Any sort of glorification of bullying, or bullying being excused/condoned in the narrative (this includes things like victim blaming, etc).
-Narrative implications that “sex = love” or that romantic partners HAVE to have sex to have a “valid” relationship or to be “really” in love with each other.
FANDOMS
Екатерина | Catherine (TV 2014)
Requested Character(s): Peter, Brockdorff
The canon is available HERE on Youtube, 12 episodes. (Sadly, it’s Russian only, no English subs of anything.)
So. This is a historical drama. Which fudges around with history quite a bit, especially timelines. But like, I don’t even care, because it’s wonderfully written and acted and offers up some wonderful characters. Characters based on real people, so feel free to use historical facts/background to flesh things out. (Although, since I’m looking for show!fic not RPF, show canon/characterization trumps history.)
Obviously, feel free to skip historical research as this is not an RPF request, but in case you are interested:[Who the hell is Christian August von Brockdorff anyway?]Before Peter III was called to Russia to take his place as the crown prince, he grew up in a German/Prussian family. His father was close with Brockdorff's father. Peter and Brockdorff obviously knew each other as kids/teens because by the time Peter was called to Russia (he was like 14..maybe a tad older), Russian ministers had decided that Brockdorff had such an influence on him, that he should not be allowed into the country. So when Brockdorff tried to follow Peter to Russia, he was turned away at the border. Several years later he ended up basically sneaking into the country anyway, came to Petersburg, got a warm reception from Peter and stayed as the latter's Kammerherr. I'm sure the "real" motive behind all this was something along the lines of money-position-power. But the more romantic (read: slashy) theory is more fun :D (Info comes from Russian wiki article.)
Peter stole my heart. I understand Catherine’s struggles and that he pushed her away and generally has the tendency to be a snot a lot, but he won me over. There is so much genuine desperation, fear and unhappiness in his character that I just want to give him all the hugs. I love that of all the women he could have had he chose Liza. Not some flawless, sexy toy but a rough-around-the-edges, unattractive girl with a limp who loves what he loves and seems to understand him and knows all the right things to say (right in his POV). I do love them as a ship a lot - she makes Peter happy and I really like it when he’s happy. So if you want to write about them, that’s cool <3
Peter/Brockdorff shipfic would make me ridiculously happy :D Brockdorff is always in the background but also always around, even when it doesn’t seem like he has a “duty” to be. Even if you don’t want to use historical background, Brockdorff seems to be the one person who is always exclusively on Peter’s side. (Shuvalov is too, to an extent, I suppose.) In that last scene before Peter gets arrested by Orlov and co., it’s Liza and Brockdorff who are with him and Brockdorff makes such a touching show of loyalty by offering to buy Peter time to by “holding them off.” I don’t want to make this into a shipper’s manifesto or anything, but I just mean that there are so many little, subtle things. This could even be a one-sided ship. I love the dynamic of the emotionally vulnerable, mildly daft Prince and his loyal and more competent/composed underling (chamberlain in this case). You could go fluffy - private, happy moments - or angsty - Brockdorff’s one-sided love or a complicated relationship made even more complicated by Peter’s constantly worsening paranoia and dissatisfaction with everything. Hurt/comfort <3
Also, Brockdorff and Liza friendship! Dealing with Peter’s death together, maybe. Don’t see them as a ship, but as something platonic, united by their love/loyalty to their Prince - totally.
The Imitation Game
Requested Character(s): Peter Hilton
I have this really bad habit of latching on to secondary characters and making a big deal out of them. As it is, I thought everyone in this movie was awesome. But Peter is the character who both broke my heart and is the one I can identify with. (He also reminds me of a puppy…) The scene where he realizes he will have to let his brother die “for the greater good” is just awful. Beautiful but heartbreaking. And he’s mad but he also realizes that the others are right. I also got the impression from reading cut lines and scenes from the script that he is the one who has the hardest time coming to terms with this idea that they have to let a lot of people die whom they could save. Maybe because he is the youngest, maybe because it affected him personally. Either way, he’s that quiet boy in the corner and I want to know more about him.
Specific prompts? Gosh I don’t even know. Coping with the loss of his brother and the guilt that must have accompanied it. Survivor’s guilt after the war. Just fluffy team!fic with the rest of the codebreaking team. I will adore you if you write Hugh/Peter or John/Peter slash for me, set during or after the war, either way. Hurt/comfort! OMG, once again that scene. Someone needs to give Peter a hug.
Captive Prince
Requested Character(s): Aimeric
I feel like asking someone in this fandom to write this character (and do so very sympathetically) is like poking a sleeping bear with a sharp stick. And yet. I know I said no character bashing in the general dislikes above but it bears repeating. Please. I’m requesting characters I love here.
Anyway. Aimeric (unlike Laurent) makes a lot of sense to me. What he does makes sense to me. I think it’s important to remember that Damen’s perspective is biased and filters things according to his sexual/romantic feelings for Laurent. Who, let’s face it, is a jerk to most people. Aimeric is a great example of how being a spy can get bad. Especially when you from an attachment with someone from that other side (i.e. Jord). Spies are either heroes or traitors, depending on which side you look at it. In a civil war things can get especially strained. (And, in a monarchy, civil war and coups are about your only options for expressing strong opinions about your choice of country leadership.) Laurent says, and probably truly believes, that the only reason Aimeric became a spy was to get together with the Regent. Which is certainly at least partly true. But people often have multiple reasons for doing something. And Aimeric certainly has more reasons to support the Regent and his faction than he does Laurent (e.g.: family loyalty, the Regent coming off as a better leader than his bratty, rude and arrogant nephew).
I’m all up for a sympathetic character study here. The way things look for someone who isn’t infatuated with Laurent. I love taking minor or secondary characters and making them into well-rounded people.
My dearest wish though, seriously, is just for some Jord/Aimeric fluff or flangst or hurt/comfort. Jord/Aimeric hits all of my OTP kinks. I love how they work together, I love the difference in social power and yet the reverse difference in emotional vulnerability. I also just love Jord. I love how much Jord loves Aimeric. Basically, yea. If you just want to write something utterly heartbreaking: Jord dealing with Aimeric’s death and realizing that despite the breach in trust he still loves the boy. And how devastating that realization is. (I feel like because the book is from Damen’s POV we don’t really get closure for Jord/Aimeric. I didn’t get closure, anyway, and I’d like some.)
War and Peace
Requested Character(s): Dolokhov, Anatole, Sonya, Helene
Re Dolokhov’s first name: I’m use to the translated version - Theodore - and I’ll use that in this letter but if you’re used to the transliterated version - Fyodor - feel free to use that in the fic. I’m not fussed at all. (Same goes for other variants eg: Nikolai v Nicholas. Whatever you’re comfortable with.)
The book is in the public domain so finding it free online shouldn’t be an issue, but if you need somewhere to start HERE is one place you can try.
I adore this fandom and these characters. I only have a few deal breakers: First, Bolkonskis. I’m not a fan of that entire family so I would prefer to not have them as a focus or part of the main pairing. I’m fine with them in love triangles of angst, but I’d rather these characters be generally absent or peripheral (or as the antagonists or just angst-causers for the main paring, if you like). Second, Pierre/Natasha (I didn’t request either of them, so I don’t think this will be an issue). Thirdly, for pairings with Dolokhov - please have him be the "top". Dolokhov as a bottom is a big squick for me. Other than that, I’m not picky.
I’ll go through slash pairings first, then het pairings, then maybe some more babbling and gen prompts/ideas for each of the characters.
Slash
Dolokhov/Anatole! I ADORE them together. I think Theodore really does love the boy SO MUCH. He obviously tries to take care of him in his own way (see scene where Theodore tries to talk Anatole out of running away with Natasha). And canon even says that Anatole “genuinely loves” Dolokhov. Personal headcanon is that Dolokhov takes not just a leading but protector type role in this relationship, but you can play with that as you like. You could do anything with them! Happy, fluffy summertime fic, banter, first time, UST (especially at a ball), friendship-turned-more, drunk fooling around. Also mushy hurt/comfort. Or awfully angsty war!fic. How does Theodore take Anatole’s death at Borodino? What about that whole Anatole/Natasha thing? How does that fit in? For something more “serious” - having to hide their relationship; maybe Anatole is in denial about having romantic feelings for men? There are some major socioeconomic imbalances in this relationship, but Dolokhov has the upper hand personality and intellect wise and an exploration of how all that translates into power dynamics within the relationship would be cool. Not to say that their relationship has to be flawless. With someone like Theodore it’s never going to be. I’m sure there would be plenty of jealousy and cheating and hurting each other (probably unintentional on Anatole’s end and intentional on Dolokhov’s). I’d be up for a kinda-fix-it where Anatole survives the war and well…that’s going to cause its own slew of problems and issues, but maybe a happy ending of sorts if you go in this direction? I do want these two to be happy, but their angst has the potential to be extremely delicious.
Anatole/Pierre! I especially like the idea of this being a start-of-book or pre-book pairing. Maybe they got together in Paris during Pierre’s time at University? They’re both just such boyish sweethearts (Pierre changes but he starts like that, at least!). I can also imagine a Pierre/Anatole/Dolokhov (not necessarily in that order) triangle. You could play an Anatole/Pierre/Andrei Bolkonski triangle if you want, but in this case I would like to see Pierre being pretty torn over the whole thing. Post-war angst and regret is always a go. (I actually had this AU thought a little while ago - what if Dolokhov puts Anatole in Pierre’s care after Borodino and Pierre takes him away from Moscow after evacuation and feels like he has to take care of Anatole and Anatole lives and they kind of…bond and end up bridging their differences and stuff and…yea.)
Dolokhov/Nikolai was actually the first pairing I shipped in this fandom. They’re very cute, I think. I’d love to see a scene from that summer they spent together in Moscow after the duel when Nikolai’s family is out in the country. Or maybe a post-duel hurt/comfort fic? Throwing someone like Dolokhov into a situation where he’s hurt and vulnerable can be so interesting. Or Nikolai’s reaction to the card game? Why such a “messy” break-up? (We know in canon it’s Sonya but was it really?)
Dolokhov/Petya - this is canon. No really, see Book 14, Chapter 9 :) This, and just the whole French Camp Expedition episode is SO intense and sparks are flying all over the place. Petya’s hopelessly in love if you ask me. And Dolokhov is uncharacteristically gentle with him. I…don’t have actual prompts…but maybe Petya had met Dolokhov back in Moscow when he [Dolokhov] was still friends with Nikolai and developed and un-requited teenage crush? (For reference, at the time of the French Camp episode, Petya is 16.)
Het
Dolokhov/Sonya! How I want her to have a happy ending and how sad it is that Dolokhov is never even mentioned in the epilogue. I wouldn’t mind an AU where Sonya accepts his proposal or at some point realizes Nikolai isn’t worth waiting for or something. I would even more love a post-war fic because then Nikolai is married and Sonya has no ties to him anymore. (I think this is important because I somehow feel it would have diminished Sonya in Theodore’s eyes had she “jumped” men at the time that he proposed.) I would love-love-love for them to have a happy ending together. I think this could be such a sweet pairing!
Dolokhov/Helene! They’re great on a whole spectrum of genres and themes. A pre-book teenage romance, their affair after Helene’s marriage, and exploration of the class issues standing between them… I think they can range anywhere from sweet and beautiful, if hopeless, romance to something dark, passionate, complicated and possibly selfish. I think with them I would love to see a “mature” relationship. I think they’re both characters that put up with a lot. I think there’s lots of pressure on Helene from society and her father to be a certain way and I think that leaves its mark. (I’m seriously thinking about the Christina Aguilera song “Reflection” right now.)
Anatole/Natasha! The one Natasha paring I honestly love. These two are so…gah! It’s so teenage romance/first love and they completely lose their heads. I wish I knew what prompt to give you but I’m pretty sure that anything - even just a canon-tight expansion on their romance - would be fantastic! I’d rather not have dark!fic with them or anything like that but angst is certainly fine. This was the one time I really sympathized with Natasha and I think Anatole was not devious at all here. Immature and irresponsible? Sure. But he’s not some evil seducer, more like a boy who gets the biggest crush in the world and allows his imagination to run away with him.
Anatole/Helene. They’re the incest exception. It’s just hinted at in canon and it’s just a rumor, but these two have massive chemistry. (I blame the 2007 miniseries for this honestly.) Just please, don’t normalize it, incest isn’t really a normative behavior nor should it be. But I would love to see this very close brother-sister relationship with a sexual tension (unresolved or not) layer and how this effects them and their lives. I see this as a darker, more angsty fic but you can take it wherever it takes you, so to speak.
Gen and etc
Dolokhov is obviously close to his mother and sister. But where is his father? Did he die? If yes, was it something tragic like a duel? Did Theodore know him at all? How did this effect Theodore and his personality growing up? Or maybe a tender moment with his little sister. (She’s a hunchback; we don’t know to what extent but either way, given that time’s medicine there were bound to be health issues involved.) He’s supposed to be an awesome brother. Let’s see that! Anatole and Dolokhov friendship!fic would be very-very welcome if you don’t like slash. I would love to read about their antics, either as young men or something from their childhood together. Dolokhov’s older so he’d be like an older brother, holding a mentor/protector role. Also: what if Dolokhov and Pierre were both Decembrists and met at one of the secret society meetings (the whole shock of “what is HE doing here”) and then having to work together. They seem to make some nice steps in canon toward getting over their issues and I would love to see some sort of mutual respect build between them. They would never see eye to eye but I'd love to see a working relationship between them develop, maybe both starting to see something in each other that they didn't see before. Basically, Dolokhov is my absolute love and I’d love just about anything that allows him to be awesome (in which ever way that is).
Anatole is so misunderstood by fandom. At least that’s what it feels like to me. I feel like people think that he does what he does while understanding the consequences. Honestly, I think he doesn’t. He just doesn’t THINK it through. Not a good trait, but thoughtlessness and immaturity is not the same thing as causing intentional harm. I would love a Kuragin family!fic. Anatole and Helene (in a non-incest way) and their relationship or maybe Anatole’s relationship with his older brother. We don’t get a lot of Hippolyte in canon. Are they close? If no, why not? Is it the age difference or something else? How does the family deal with his death in the war?
I think Helene is a very interesting female character. There’s a lot of hate toward her for obvious reasons but I always chose to see her as a more nuanced, complicated character. She’s obviously close to her father but I think there’s quite a bit of manipulation in that father-daughter relationship from Vasili’s side too. Helene is practical and despite what Pierre may think, I see her as smart rather than stupid. She a woman in a time when women are not supposed to be much more than decorations to the lives of men. Helene plays this interesting role of appearing to society as exactly what they expect of her and yet, when no one’s looking, getting her way through the back door. Given that, I would really love a character study piece of some sort for a gen fic with her. Or, if you want something a little more on the lighter side, a fun fic with her and Anatole. They’re obviously close and I would love to see them interacting as brother and sister who care for one another (in this scenario without the incest lol).
Sonya! I’m not sure what prompt to give you but let me just say that I love her and I’m sure I would be pleased with just about anything you write centered on her. She is a character I relate to and identify with a lot and is probably my favorite female character in lit (or, like, anywhere). I love her ability to sacrifice her happiness for that of others and I love how she is still a strong woman in her own way without being a feminist at all. It's an inner sort of strength that isn't always obvious at first sight. Admittedly, I would rather see something with her as a child while her parents were still alive (what happened to them anyway?) or maybe her bonding with Nikolai's or Natasha's kids and being the favorite aunt or something, rather than being all subservient to the Rostovs, especially Nikolai and Natasha because they both betrayed her in the end and that has always angered me. Also, I would love a Dolokhov-Sonya pseudo-friendship type fic (if the paring doesn't work) like in the situation where Anatole and Natasha wanted to run away. I can totally see Dolokhov going to Sonya, telling her "the plan" and being all like "we can't let them do this, but I don't want anyone (mainly Anatole but that's not the point) to get un-fixably hurt by this" and they figure out that the best way to do it is let the plan run but then Sonya would rat Natasha out so that their aunt can stop her. (Or you can totally ignore that because it was WAY too specific. I'll shut up now.)
Ok, that was a lot! Please don't feel pressured by any of it, though. I'm sure I'll love whatever you come up with for these fandoms and characters <3