Dear Yuletide Writer Letter
Dear Yuletide Writer,
Firstly, I would like to say thank you for the time and effort that you are willing to put in to make me a wonderful winter-holiday gift :)
I suppose you are here looking for details, so without further ado…
GENERAL STUFF
Parings/Sex/Ratings:
I love slash. I also like gen and het. For these fandoms I really would prefer to not have femmeslash. I love love-triangles but not so much threesomes. I’d also prefer to not have incest (Helene/Anatole are the exception) and parings with large age disparity (over 15 yrs) unless specifically stated otherwise or chan.
I’m comfortable with all ratings up to R. PWP just isn’t my thing though; I would prefer a focus on the romantic/emotional aspect of a relationship and some semblance of a plot/point. I don’t care much for BDSM and heavy kink (scat, watersports, bloodplay, necro, etc). I don’t really mind dub-con but non-con/rape as the main sexual interaction doesn’t interest me. (If you wanna write something where MALE Character A got raped and he and his boyfriend have to deal with the after-affects - that’s a different story.) Also, mpreg tends to bother me…
Genres/Themes (and such):
I love angst! I LOVE hurt/comfort. Especially of the m/m variety ;) Fluff and mush are lovely. Cuddling/snuggling and adorable!fic are great too.
I definitely don’t mind things like Dark!fic and character death.
Humor is fine too. Give me adorable banter or - where appropriate - family and/or friendship fic and I’m sure you’ll put a smile on my face :) However, I’m not the biggest fan of crack!fic/parody. (This will be somewhat subverted for my RPF fandom as discussed further down.)
I like well-rounded characters. Give me characters that have motives and feeling and don’t look like a stereotype cardboard cut-out. I also realize that characterization is fairly up to interpretation but just don’t give me something obviously intentionally out of characters. PLEASE don’t bash any of my requested characters. I don’t see why anyone who offered to write a character would but just in case :)
I feel like most other things are fandome specific so…onward to the fandoms!
FANDOMS
War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
Character Requested: Fyodor (Theodore) Dolokhov
Note: I’m gonna use the translated version of his first name in this letter but feel free to use the transliterated version in the fic if you feel more comfortable with that.
I LOVE HIM OMG. Dolokhov is my favorite character and if you’ve signed up to write him I love you already (and will probably stalk you…yea I know that sounds creepy O_o)! Just about anything with him - the brave, intense, loyal-to-his-family-and-a-couple-other-special-people, assertive, confident, complicated, ambitious, talented, smart, outrageous man he is - I will be absolutely delighted.
Slash
Dolokhov/Anatole are my absolute OTP of all time. 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 :D You could do anything with them! Happy, fluffy summertime fic. Banter, first time, UST (especially at a ball ;) ), friendship-turned-more, drunk fooling around - it all works! As does mushy hurt/comfort. As does awfully angst war!fic. How does Theodore take Anatole’s death at Borodino? Not to say that they’re relationship has to 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). There’s just so much chemistry between them! Can you tell how excited I am? Just do whatever you think fits and I’ll be falling over with squealing delight.
Dolokhov/Nikolai was actually the first paring I ‘shipped in this fandom. They’re very cute, I think. I’d love to see a scene for that summer they spend together 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.
"Really!" he cried, "you are such a hero! Oh, how fine, how splendid! How I love you!"
"All right, all right!" said Dolokhov. But Petya did not let go of him and Dolokhov saw through the gloom that Petya was bending toward him and wanted to kiss him. Dolokhov kissed him, laughed, turned his horse, and vanished into the darkness.
-- 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’m also not adverse to a Dolokhov/Anatole/Pierre triangle with various Dolokhov/Pierre undercurrents. Jealousy for everyone! (Including Bolkonski who’s getting left out of the smexyness :p)
Het
Now if you’re sitting there going “I CAN’T WRITE SLASH, WOMAN!” that’s ok!
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 Helen’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 character than 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.)
Triangles and Things / Other Parings
So if you’re all up for writing a triangle that’s both slash and het or maybe you want to write two other characters in a paring here are some ideas…
Dolokhov/Anatole/Natasha. That whole fiasco! Anatole is so desperately in love with her, so childishly! What’s Theodore’s reaction? “This is so amusing” or “that stupid boy is going to get himself into trouble again!” or just plain out jealousy?
Anatole/Theodore/Helene (or any other order/permutation thereof). Is Theodore carrying on an affair with both of them at the same time? Is he with one of the siblings because he can’t have the other? Or is he in a relationship with one of the siblings while the other tries to steal him away? OR are Helene and Anatole carrying on an affair while Theodore stares in bemusement but helps them out non the less? (I’d love a snarky POV peace for the last scenario.)
Gen
If you’re completely frustrated by now because you don’t like writing romance or none of these parings work for you, that’s ok! Gen is here to save the day.
Family!fic: 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!
I would ADORE a post-war fic where Theodore has a son. HUGE BONUS POINTS if it’s Helene’s child and/or he’s named after Anatole :D
Friendship!fic: Anatole and Dolokhov and 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.
If you have other wonderful ideas, please, don’t be shy! Just give me fic about this amazing guy and I will love you!
Barber of Siberia
Characters Requested: Andrei Tolstoy/Count Polievsky
I LOVE cadet boys. Especially in this movie. The interactions between the boys are always so entertaining and amusing and the sense of friendship you get is so awesome. First of let me say that if you don’t want to write slash, adorable friendship!fic would be awesome. Maybe something dealing with the consequences of the duel. Polievsky’s guilt, him and Andrei rebuilding their friendship, hurt/comfort - it’s all good.
If you want to be extra awesome and write me slash with these two I would totally love that! First time, UST, jealousy, hurt/comfort, general cuteness, cuddling, post-movie angst - I love it all! If you have to make allusions to Jane that’s fine, but lets not give her too much screen time :p Honestly, I would LOVE to know what was going on in their heads before, during and after the duel and if there was some cuddling afterwards ;) Or, maybe, a tearful goodbye before Andrei is shipped off to Siberia? The fact that they have to hide their relationship from their friends (?) makes it even more exciting!
Eugene Onegin - Alexander Pushkin
Characters Requested: Eugene Onegin/Vladimir Lensky
These two are adorable together. They have such fantastic chemistry. I also love how indulgent Onegin is of Lensky and how all Lensky wants to do is meet Onegin when he first gets to the estates rather than go around and visit other people (who are secretly trying to get him to marry their daughters). I would love to see something with them before the whole mess with Olga gets in the way. I would love something cute! I would love something slashy even more ;) If you would like to go AU I would love to see a post-duel fix-it/hurt/comfort where Vladimir doesn’t die. Or maybe he does die but they get to make up beforehand? (Oh the angst!) Or I’d be very amused to see Lensky thrust into the Petersburg environment (summer trip! …or something) and Onegin kind of being amused at how lost the boy is but also helping him along an being all protective.
I hope you don’t mind keeping the Larin sisters out of it as much as possible ;)
20th-21st Century RPF
Characters Requested: Dmitri Medvedev/Vladimir Putin
So pretty much, there are two ways you could approach this: humor/melodrama!fic or political!dark!fic. I admit to really, really want to have these two slashed. If you can’t do that AT ALL don’t go *headdesk* cause, there’s always gen, after all though I think slashing Russia’s two top!men makes the joke :p
Humor!fic… This is basically what it says in the main request prompt. I think it would be so amusing to poke fun at them a bit. The tough, “us-against-the-world” Russian leaders turning out to be totally into each other! *giggles at the thought* Go melodramatic over the top, throw in a love triangle with Obama or something if you want. Just make it as in character as possible while still kinda poking fun. Outrageous plans to take over the world - evil!Russians are fun - followed by “we’re so great” sex (not explicit though, please!) or something of the sort. As you can probably tell, I would have a hard time taking this pairing seriously so I’m not really looking for serious angst or outright mush/fluff.
Dark!fic… If you’re thinking “I can’t do humor! ARGH” I would be interested in seeing a little more “dark.” I guess this also works if you wanna go more gen than slash. I’d love to see some dark politics, some manipulations… Go ahead and make Putin an asshole who’s totally inline with the mafia and give Medvedev an “initiation.” I’d love to see a sort of power struggle between them, which works great with gen but even better with slash because you have that extra later there. UST, tension, mind games and manipulation, power struggle, bribery and other Russian illegalities, intrigue and politics, blazing looks across the conference table at an international heads-of-state meeting - those are the sort of things I’d totally love to see. Angst is unavoidable here but I’m not looking for any sort of fluff or anything; probably not a happy ending.
I hope that wasn’t all TOO intimidating :p I know that’s a lot of thoughts and ideas and I tend to get carried away and really specific… If push comes to shove, just remember that optional details are optional and I really would just love a fic in one of my fave microscopic fandoms with my fave characters :)
Have fun! Happy Yuletide!
~Alley
Firstly, I would like to say thank you for the time and effort that you are willing to put in to make me a wonderful winter-holiday gift :)
I suppose you are here looking for details, so without further ado…
GENERAL STUFF
Parings/Sex/Ratings:
I love slash. I also like gen and het. For these fandoms I really would prefer to not have femmeslash. I love love-triangles but not so much threesomes. I’d also prefer to not have incest (Helene/Anatole are the exception) and parings with large age disparity (over 15 yrs) unless specifically stated otherwise or chan.
I’m comfortable with all ratings up to R. PWP just isn’t my thing though; I would prefer a focus on the romantic/emotional aspect of a relationship and some semblance of a plot/point. I don’t care much for BDSM and heavy kink (scat, watersports, bloodplay, necro, etc). I don’t really mind dub-con but non-con/rape as the main sexual interaction doesn’t interest me. (If you wanna write something where MALE Character A got raped and he and his boyfriend have to deal with the after-affects - that’s a different story.) Also, mpreg tends to bother me…
Genres/Themes (and such):
I love angst! I LOVE hurt/comfort. Especially of the m/m variety ;) Fluff and mush are lovely. Cuddling/snuggling and adorable!fic are great too.
I definitely don’t mind things like Dark!fic and character death.
Humor is fine too. Give me adorable banter or - where appropriate - family and/or friendship fic and I’m sure you’ll put a smile on my face :) However, I’m not the biggest fan of crack!fic/parody. (This will be somewhat subverted for my RPF fandom as discussed further down.)
I like well-rounded characters. Give me characters that have motives and feeling and don’t look like a stereotype cardboard cut-out. I also realize that characterization is fairly up to interpretation but just don’t give me something obviously intentionally out of characters. PLEASE don’t bash any of my requested characters. I don’t see why anyone who offered to write a character would but just in case :)
I feel like most other things are fandome specific so…onward to the fandoms!
FANDOMS
War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
Character Requested: Fyodor (Theodore) Dolokhov
Note: I’m gonna use the translated version of his first name in this letter but feel free to use the transliterated version in the fic if you feel more comfortable with that.
I LOVE HIM OMG. Dolokhov is my favorite character and if you’ve signed up to write him I love you already (and will probably stalk you…yea I know that sounds creepy O_o)! Just about anything with him - the brave, intense, loyal-to-his-family-and-a-couple-other-special-people, assertive, confident, complicated, ambitious, talented, smart, outrageous man he is - I will be absolutely delighted.
Slash
Dolokhov/Anatole are my absolute OTP of all time. 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 :D You could do anything with them! Happy, fluffy summertime fic. Banter, first time, UST (especially at a ball ;) ), friendship-turned-more, drunk fooling around - it all works! As does mushy hurt/comfort. As does awfully angst war!fic. How does Theodore take Anatole’s death at Borodino? Not to say that they’re relationship has to 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). There’s just so much chemistry between them! Can you tell how excited I am? Just do whatever you think fits and I’ll be falling over with squealing delight.
Dolokhov/Nikolai was actually the first paring I ‘shipped in this fandom. They’re very cute, I think. I’d love to see a scene for that summer they spend together 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.
"Really!" he cried, "you are such a hero! Oh, how fine, how splendid! How I love you!"
"All right, all right!" said Dolokhov. But Petya did not let go of him and Dolokhov saw through the gloom that Petya was bending toward him and wanted to kiss him. Dolokhov kissed him, laughed, turned his horse, and vanished into the darkness.
-- 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’m also not adverse to a Dolokhov/Anatole/Pierre triangle with various Dolokhov/Pierre undercurrents. Jealousy for everyone! (Including Bolkonski who’s getting left out of the smexyness :p)
Het
Now if you’re sitting there going “I CAN’T WRITE SLASH, WOMAN!” that’s ok!
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 Helen’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 character than 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.)
Triangles and Things / Other Parings
So if you’re all up for writing a triangle that’s both slash and het or maybe you want to write two other characters in a paring here are some ideas…
Dolokhov/Anatole/Natasha. That whole fiasco! Anatole is so desperately in love with her, so childishly! What’s Theodore’s reaction? “This is so amusing” or “that stupid boy is going to get himself into trouble again!” or just plain out jealousy?
Anatole/Theodore/Helene (or any other order/permutation thereof). Is Theodore carrying on an affair with both of them at the same time? Is he with one of the siblings because he can’t have the other? Or is he in a relationship with one of the siblings while the other tries to steal him away? OR are Helene and Anatole carrying on an affair while Theodore stares in bemusement but helps them out non the less? (I’d love a snarky POV peace for the last scenario.)
Gen
If you’re completely frustrated by now because you don’t like writing romance or none of these parings work for you, that’s ok! Gen is here to save the day.
Family!fic: 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!
I would ADORE a post-war fic where Theodore has a son. HUGE BONUS POINTS if it’s Helene’s child and/or he’s named after Anatole :D
Friendship!fic: Anatole and Dolokhov and 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.
If you have other wonderful ideas, please, don’t be shy! Just give me fic about this amazing guy and I will love you!
Barber of Siberia
Characters Requested: Andrei Tolstoy/Count Polievsky
I LOVE cadet boys. Especially in this movie. The interactions between the boys are always so entertaining and amusing and the sense of friendship you get is so awesome. First of let me say that if you don’t want to write slash, adorable friendship!fic would be awesome. Maybe something dealing with the consequences of the duel. Polievsky’s guilt, him and Andrei rebuilding their friendship, hurt/comfort - it’s all good.
If you want to be extra awesome and write me slash with these two I would totally love that! First time, UST, jealousy, hurt/comfort, general cuteness, cuddling, post-movie angst - I love it all! If you have to make allusions to Jane that’s fine, but lets not give her too much screen time :p Honestly, I would LOVE to know what was going on in their heads before, during and after the duel and if there was some cuddling afterwards ;) Or, maybe, a tearful goodbye before Andrei is shipped off to Siberia? The fact that they have to hide their relationship from their friends (?) makes it even more exciting!
Eugene Onegin - Alexander Pushkin
Characters Requested: Eugene Onegin/Vladimir Lensky
These two are adorable together. They have such fantastic chemistry. I also love how indulgent Onegin is of Lensky and how all Lensky wants to do is meet Onegin when he first gets to the estates rather than go around and visit other people (who are secretly trying to get him to marry their daughters). I would love to see something with them before the whole mess with Olga gets in the way. I would love something cute! I would love something slashy even more ;) If you would like to go AU I would love to see a post-duel fix-it/hurt/comfort where Vladimir doesn’t die. Or maybe he does die but they get to make up beforehand? (Oh the angst!) Or I’d be very amused to see Lensky thrust into the Petersburg environment (summer trip! …or something) and Onegin kind of being amused at how lost the boy is but also helping him along an being all protective.
I hope you don’t mind keeping the Larin sisters out of it as much as possible ;)
20th-21st Century RPF
Characters Requested: Dmitri Medvedev/Vladimir Putin
So pretty much, there are two ways you could approach this: humor/melodrama!fic or political!dark!fic. I admit to really, really want to have these two slashed. If you can’t do that AT ALL don’t go *headdesk* cause, there’s always gen, after all though I think slashing Russia’s two top!men makes the joke :p
Humor!fic… This is basically what it says in the main request prompt. I think it would be so amusing to poke fun at them a bit. The tough, “us-against-the-world” Russian leaders turning out to be totally into each other! *giggles at the thought* Go melodramatic over the top, throw in a love triangle with Obama or something if you want. Just make it as in character as possible while still kinda poking fun. Outrageous plans to take over the world - evil!Russians are fun - followed by “we’re so great” sex (not explicit though, please!) or something of the sort. As you can probably tell, I would have a hard time taking this pairing seriously so I’m not really looking for serious angst or outright mush/fluff.
Dark!fic… If you’re thinking “I can’t do humor! ARGH” I would be interested in seeing a little more “dark.” I guess this also works if you wanna go more gen than slash. I’d love to see some dark politics, some manipulations… Go ahead and make Putin an asshole who’s totally inline with the mafia and give Medvedev an “initiation.” I’d love to see a sort of power struggle between them, which works great with gen but even better with slash because you have that extra later there. UST, tension, mind games and manipulation, power struggle, bribery and other Russian illegalities, intrigue and politics, blazing looks across the conference table at an international heads-of-state meeting - those are the sort of things I’d totally love to see. Angst is unavoidable here but I’m not looking for any sort of fluff or anything; probably not a happy ending.
I hope that wasn’t all TOO intimidating :p I know that’s a lot of thoughts and ideas and I tend to get carried away and really specific… If push comes to shove, just remember that optional details are optional and I really would just love a fic in one of my fave microscopic fandoms with my fave characters :)
Have fun! Happy Yuletide!
~Alley