Dear Rare Pairs Author k
Dear Rare Pairs Author,
Firstly, I would like to say thank you for the time and effort that you are willing to put into making my gift :) The order of the fandom/requests and/or the number of details/prompts for each is no indication of how much I want something - I would be very happy to get something for any of my requests! 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 the characters I’ve requested.
GENERAL STUFF
Parings/Sex/Ratings:
Likes:
Genres/Themes (and such):
Likes:
FANDOMS
18th c. Russia RPF
Anna Leopoldovna/Julia von Mengden. Anna Leopoldovna was regent to the infant Emperor Ivan VI, her son. (She was Anna Ivanovna’s niece, but a male heir had been preferred so Anna Ivanovna declared Ivan her heir before she died.) Julia was Anna’s lady-in-waiting as well as her closest and most faithful friend. (Julia helped in the conspiracy to overthrow Biron and install Anna as the regent, she was Ivan VI’s nurse, willingly followed Anna to her place of incarnation after Elizabeth’s coup. Also, allegedly, she even agreed to marry Count Lynar in order to better facilitate Anna’s affair with him.) It was pretty well known that the two women slept in the same bed - obviously not a usual thing, as it’s often remarked on specifically. By one version of the events of Elizabeth’s coup, when Elizabeth went to wake Anna up and tell her what happened, she found Anna and Julia asleep together. When Anna wok up and realized what was going on, she pleaded with Elizabeth for the safety of her children and Julia. So…basically…this is as femslash as you can get pretty much?
Potential prompts: something sweet, perhaps. Like, did they form the habit of sleeping in the same bed as children which then, in puberty, progressed to…ah…experimentation? Or is this only something that came about with their romantic relationship? Sneaking away from parties and court functions. Did people gossip about them? I imagine Anna would be kind of oblivious while Julia, being the more politically savvy, would worry about it and plot and participate in intrigues and such. (I love anything with politics in it really!) Something desperate and angsty re: Elizabeth’s coup. Ha - what if Count Lynar wasn’t actually having an affair with Anna, but they were just friends and he was in fact facilitating her romance/relationship with Julia?
Captive Prince
Jord/Aimeric. Aimeric is a tragic character to me. He’s abused, then manipulated. His trauma response leaves him more vulnerable than Laurent. He gets caught up in a civil war and tries to do a brave thing (when you look at it from his side of the political divide) and it ends horribly. He ends up stuck between a manipulative “lover” and his family on one side and a man he’s come to love who genuinely loves him back but also a Prince he despises on the other. It’s all delightfully juicy angst but also terribly sad. Aimeric makes a lot of sense to me.
I would love me 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. 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. Or, AU where at some point they decide "screw everyone" and run away to Vask or...IDK wherever and live happily in peace without Laurent, the Regent and all their drama. Or, as a narrow, fandom-specific exception to my general DNWs, a modern-day type political AU where the Regent and Laurent are leaders of political parties and it's election season. This way you get all the good political drama but no one has to die. (I love the political drama, not so much the "losers have die/lose everything" part. This makes the stakes less high I guess, but the emotional fallout doesn't have to be so catastrophic either.)
Two notes: 1) I haven't read the 3rd book. I don't care about spoilers, really, but just FYI that my frame of reference is mostly the first 2 books.
2) I can't stand Laurent. The less actual on-screen appearance he makes the better, to be honest.
War and Peace
Dolokhov/Sonya. I love both these characters and I've always wanted them to get a happy ending. I wouldn’t mind an AU where Sonya accepts Dolokhov's 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 Dolokhov’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. But it doesn't have to easy right off, if you know what I mean. I definitely enjoy watching as two people fall in love despite themselves, where one or both feel that they wouldn't be able to make the relationship work for whatever reason (difference in personalities or world views) and then prove each other wrong.
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? 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 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.)
Crossover: War and Peace x Eugene Onegin
Dolokhov/Onegin: I don’t think we ever get a canonical timeframe for Eugene Onegin, but inference and educated guesses and such, say that the age difference between Dolokhov and Onegin is actually about 15-20 years. However, if you would like to twist/bend the EO timeline a bit to make them closer in age, that’s fine too. I’ve seen it done very well before.
I think…I think this would be an interesting opportunity to see a younger, pre-canon, more vulnerable Onegin. Before he was quite so jaded with the world/society. Also a chance to see him as the more vulnerable/less experienced in a relationship. Dolokhov plays the most exquisite mind games, so there’s that. And what if Dolokhov is trying to use a young Onegin as a replacement for Anatole who died in the war? Or would these two have some sort of seduction stand-off? Or connect on a purely intellectual/cynical level? I don’t even know, honestly. But I would be super interested in seeing how this pairing would work. I don’t actually have any sort of headcanon that I’m much attached to, so I’d love to see any take you have on this ship.
Crossover: Suits x Law and Order: SVU
Scottie/Casey: Lawyer girls! Seriously, nothing hotter than gorgeous lawyer girls kicking ass in the courtroom and falling in love at the same time. Story ideas: working on a case together (maybe Dana becomes a D.A. or Casey goes into private practice), litigating a case against each other, late-night study sessions in law school (I don’t think we ever find out where Casey went to LS in canon). Don’t get me wrong, I’m not insisting on a casefic or something with lots of legal stuff in it. I just want these two falling in love in or adjacent to the high-paced professional environment that they both obviously love/are committed to, even if you handwave most of the legal stuff. God knows Suits does it a lot. (Though, as a note, handwavy-most-of-anything-important-happens-behind-the-scenes is waaaay better than utterly-wrong-over-dramatic-what-are-rules-of-evidence ala HTGAWM.)
Екатерина | Catherine (TV 2014)
Peter/Liza. I love that of all the women Peter 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). She makes Peter happy and I really like it when he’s happy. In fact, they make each other happy. They’re both outcasts in some way: Liza is not the flawless, demure bride prized by society at this time and age; Peter is stuck in a country he cares little for, far from what he considers home, his marriage is unhappy, he’s under the control of a tyrannical aunt… But when these two find each other, it’s like everything else goes away.
I don’t have many specific prompt, I admit. I just want fluff, I guess? I want them to be happy, to make each other happy. Oh, maybe Liza is actually in control of this relationship? Not in a creepy manipulative way, but like, she’s the only one who can talk Peter down from one stupid thing or another and she knows that though he might think that all the good ideas are his, they’re actually hers. Maybe an AU of some sort where they manage to run away to Holstein during the coup and go through a period of adjustment but then end up living happily. Or, IDK, an AU where Catherine is removed out of the way somehow (she dies in childbirth, takes Peter up on his offer to go back to Prussia, whatever I’m not picky) and they get married and rule happily together. I don’t think I want too much angst with this ship, or at least, even if there’s angst I’d want a happy ending. Canon ends so heartbreakingly for them that I don’t think I could stand it :/
For artists: general happiness, bright colors, warm colors, candles, pretty dresses (for Liza), wedding (day, vows), holding hands, hugs from behind. Uniform kink, maybe?
Please no sex. I'd prefer a rating of PG-13 or lower for art.
Peter/Brockdorff. Obviously, feel free to skip historical research as this is not an RPF request, but in case you're interested:[Who 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 during Peter’s childhood (there are issues with establishing Brockdorff's age but for fanfic purposes I like to assume they were about agemates.) because by the time Peter was called to Russia (he was 14), Brümmer, who was in charge of Peter’s education after the boy’s father died, advised Russian ministers that Brockdorff had such an influence on Peter, that he should not be allowed into the country. (Brümmer considered it negative influence, but given the man’s tendency to be abusive and generally not give a damn about Peter’s best interests, his assessment is highly suspect. Catherine didn’t like Brockdorff either, but they had a personal rivalry going.) 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 (in the guise of a glass merchant) anyway, came to Petersburg, got a warm reception from Peter and stayed as the latter’s Kammerherr. (Source).
Also, I wrote a shipper’s manifesto in case that’s helpful to anyone? [BE ADVISED there are GIFs, though they are under spoiler cuts.)
Brockdorff is always in the background but also always around, even when it doesn’t seem like he has a “duty” to be. (Or any comprehensible reason? Like when Peter is woken up in the middle of the night to go watch Catherine give birth and Brockdorff is there with him. I mean, other than like providing moral support, why would he be there?) 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. (Well, Liza too.) There are just so many little, subtle things. But the potential in this ship for loyalty kink and hurt/comfort and kinda awkward/messed up power dynamics is through the roof. 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. Maybe they fly that kite (and watch it burn up in the air!). Maybe the reason Peter mentioned the kite at all as something that would make him happy is because that’s something he and Brockdorff would do as kids back in Holstein before things got complicated. Pre-canon childhood fic in general! Triumphant moments/success during Peter’s short rule and/or grand plans for a brighter future. (Oooh! Their first kiss?) Some cute scenes with Pavel maybe? If they get into a relationship, when/how do they make the switch from formality to informality? (Especially Brockdorff, as Peter is already all over the place with his yous and thous. but Brockdorff is always overproper and I'd love to see how that formality may break down in intense/intimate moments.)
Or all the angst! Brockdorff’s one-sided love or a complicated relationship made even more complicated by Peter’s constantly worsening paranoia and dissatisfaction with everything. Peter having to leave home (Holstein) and everyone/everything he knows behind. Brockdorff dealing with the coup and Peter’s death - when you’ve basically committed and built your entire life around someone, that’s a lot of empty space to suddenly fill when they’re gone. Having to say goodbye when Peter is first called away to Russia (and Brockdorff swearing he’ll come and join him as soon as he can?).
Hurt/comfort would be amazing <3 Aftermath of Peter’s smallpox and all the emotional fallout and insecurity there and/or remaining physical weakness, for more tradition h/c. Or maybe Brockdorff walks in on Peter during a private breakdown/vulnerable moment after he finds out that Catherine is going to have a child after all and that child might very well not be his. Peter’s constantly dealing with a lot - social pressures of being the heir, insecurity/sense of inferiority instilled by Elizabeth’s constant disappointment, homesickness (especially during his first years in Russia), a failed marriage, constant fears about the future. It’s ripe for some hurt/comfort!
For artists: anything cute/adorable, hugs and cuddles, kissing, holding hands, horseback riding, nature setting, summer days, balls and fancy clothes, longing looks (hidden or not, requited or not), mementos/things that remind one of the other (Peter’s sword with the ribbon comes to mind, also his violin), flying a kite (which burns up in the air!), quiet/intimate moments, curling up under blankets during a thunderstorm, snowy settings…
Please no sex. I'd prefer a rating of PG-13 or lower for art.
Firstly, I would like to say thank you for the time and effort that you are willing to put into making my gift :) The order of the fandom/requests and/or the number of details/prompts for each is no indication of how much I want something - I would be very happy to get something for any of my requests! 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 the characters I’ve requested.
GENERAL STUFF
Parings/Sex/Ratings:
Likes:
- I'm good with slash, het or fem for background ships!
- 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.
- Unrequited (or secretly requited) pining.
- Complicated relationship dynamics, love triangles, 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.
- Praise kink (in the sense that there’s a lot of emotional investment in and getting-off on getting praised or otherwise acknowledged as worthwhile. Works especially well with characters who are deeply insecure. I’m generally fond of other related things, such as body worship, partners being encouraging during sex in a very sweet, reassuring way, etc).
- Threesomes/moresomes and polyamory.
- Incest (unless specifically asked for or canon).
- 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; anything specifically listed as a “like”).
- Foot fetishes (I know I said liking specific body parts is fine, but 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. (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 have no issue with dark themes, angst is my crack 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’s 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 (for m/m).
- LOYALTY KINK! Themes of loyalty in general. Protectiveness.
- Friendship, family (dynamics), platonic love.
- Fluff, banter, cuddling/snuggling, kissing, general adorableness (and adoration!).
- Well-rounded characters, characters with emotions/sympathetic motives; the “other side of the story”.
- Politics, intrigue.
- Crack!fic, parody.
- AUs that subvert the universe or drastically change the setting (eg: genderswaping the cast, setting a modern fandom as a fairytale, turning a historical fandom all Sifi, Coffee Shop/College AUs, etc. This includes stuff like A/B/O and inserting magic/supernatural elements into a non-magic/supernatural universe).
- Crossovers other than those explicitly requested.
- Time travel.
- Character bashing. (Especially with requested characters.)
- Graphic gore and violence. Horror.
- Torture. (Mentions are fine if torture is something that happens in canon. BUT no deaths/executions by torture - eg: drawing and quartering - whatsoever. No torture of requested characters whatsoever.)
- Humiliation; any sort of glorification of bullying (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
18th c. Russia RPF
Anna Leopoldovna/Julia von Mengden. Anna Leopoldovna was regent to the infant Emperor Ivan VI, her son. (She was Anna Ivanovna’s niece, but a male heir had been preferred so Anna Ivanovna declared Ivan her heir before she died.) Julia was Anna’s lady-in-waiting as well as her closest and most faithful friend. (Julia helped in the conspiracy to overthrow Biron and install Anna as the regent, she was Ivan VI’s nurse, willingly followed Anna to her place of incarnation after Elizabeth’s coup. Also, allegedly, she even agreed to marry Count Lynar in order to better facilitate Anna’s affair with him.) It was pretty well known that the two women slept in the same bed - obviously not a usual thing, as it’s often remarked on specifically. By one version of the events of Elizabeth’s coup, when Elizabeth went to wake Anna up and tell her what happened, she found Anna and Julia asleep together. When Anna wok up and realized what was going on, she pleaded with Elizabeth for the safety of her children and Julia. So…basically…this is as femslash as you can get pretty much?
Potential prompts: something sweet, perhaps. Like, did they form the habit of sleeping in the same bed as children which then, in puberty, progressed to…ah…experimentation? Or is this only something that came about with their romantic relationship? Sneaking away from parties and court functions. Did people gossip about them? I imagine Anna would be kind of oblivious while Julia, being the more politically savvy, would worry about it and plot and participate in intrigues and such. (I love anything with politics in it really!) Something desperate and angsty re: Elizabeth’s coup. Ha - what if Count Lynar wasn’t actually having an affair with Anna, but they were just friends and he was in fact facilitating her romance/relationship with Julia?
Captive Prince
Jord/Aimeric. Aimeric is a tragic character to me. He’s abused, then manipulated. His trauma response leaves him more vulnerable than Laurent. He gets caught up in a civil war and tries to do a brave thing (when you look at it from his side of the political divide) and it ends horribly. He ends up stuck between a manipulative “lover” and his family on one side and a man he’s come to love who genuinely loves him back but also a Prince he despises on the other. It’s all delightfully juicy angst but also terribly sad. Aimeric makes a lot of sense to me.
I would love me 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. 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. Or, AU where at some point they decide "screw everyone" and run away to Vask or...IDK wherever and live happily in peace without Laurent, the Regent and all their drama. Or, as a narrow, fandom-specific exception to my general DNWs, a modern-day type political AU where the Regent and Laurent are leaders of political parties and it's election season. This way you get all the good political drama but no one has to die. (I love the political drama, not so much the "losers have die/lose everything" part. This makes the stakes less high I guess, but the emotional fallout doesn't have to be so catastrophic either.)
Two notes: 1) I haven't read the 3rd book. I don't care about spoilers, really, but just FYI that my frame of reference is mostly the first 2 books.
2) I can't stand Laurent. The less actual on-screen appearance he makes the better, to be honest.
War and Peace
Dolokhov/Sonya. I love both these characters and I've always wanted them to get a happy ending. I wouldn’t mind an AU where Sonya accepts Dolokhov's 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 Dolokhov’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. But it doesn't have to easy right off, if you know what I mean. I definitely enjoy watching as two people fall in love despite themselves, where one or both feel that they wouldn't be able to make the relationship work for whatever reason (difference in personalities or world views) and then prove each other wrong.
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? 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 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.)
Crossover: War and Peace x Eugene Onegin
Dolokhov/Onegin: I don’t think we ever get a canonical timeframe for Eugene Onegin, but inference and educated guesses and such, say that the age difference between Dolokhov and Onegin is actually about 15-20 years. However, if you would like to twist/bend the EO timeline a bit to make them closer in age, that’s fine too. I’ve seen it done very well before.
I think…I think this would be an interesting opportunity to see a younger, pre-canon, more vulnerable Onegin. Before he was quite so jaded with the world/society. Also a chance to see him as the more vulnerable/less experienced in a relationship. Dolokhov plays the most exquisite mind games, so there’s that. And what if Dolokhov is trying to use a young Onegin as a replacement for Anatole who died in the war? Or would these two have some sort of seduction stand-off? Or connect on a purely intellectual/cynical level? I don’t even know, honestly. But I would be super interested in seeing how this pairing would work. I don’t actually have any sort of headcanon that I’m much attached to, so I’d love to see any take you have on this ship.
Crossover: Suits x Law and Order: SVU
Scottie/Casey: Lawyer girls! Seriously, nothing hotter than gorgeous lawyer girls kicking ass in the courtroom and falling in love at the same time. Story ideas: working on a case together (maybe Dana becomes a D.A. or Casey goes into private practice), litigating a case against each other, late-night study sessions in law school (I don’t think we ever find out where Casey went to LS in canon). Don’t get me wrong, I’m not insisting on a casefic or something with lots of legal stuff in it. I just want these two falling in love in or adjacent to the high-paced professional environment that they both obviously love/are committed to, even if you handwave most of the legal stuff. God knows Suits does it a lot. (Though, as a note, handwavy-most-of-anything-important-happens-behind-the-scenes is waaaay better than utterly-wrong-over-dramatic-what-are-rules-of-evidence ala HTGAWM.)
Екатерина | Catherine (TV 2014)
Peter/Liza. I love that of all the women Peter 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). She makes Peter happy and I really like it when he’s happy. In fact, they make each other happy. They’re both outcasts in some way: Liza is not the flawless, demure bride prized by society at this time and age; Peter is stuck in a country he cares little for, far from what he considers home, his marriage is unhappy, he’s under the control of a tyrannical aunt… But when these two find each other, it’s like everything else goes away.
I don’t have many specific prompt, I admit. I just want fluff, I guess? I want them to be happy, to make each other happy. Oh, maybe Liza is actually in control of this relationship? Not in a creepy manipulative way, but like, she’s the only one who can talk Peter down from one stupid thing or another and she knows that though he might think that all the good ideas are his, they’re actually hers. Maybe an AU of some sort where they manage to run away to Holstein during the coup and go through a period of adjustment but then end up living happily. Or, IDK, an AU where Catherine is removed out of the way somehow (she dies in childbirth, takes Peter up on his offer to go back to Prussia, whatever I’m not picky) and they get married and rule happily together. I don’t think I want too much angst with this ship, or at least, even if there’s angst I’d want a happy ending. Canon ends so heartbreakingly for them that I don’t think I could stand it :/
For artists: general happiness, bright colors, warm colors, candles, pretty dresses (for Liza), wedding (day, vows), holding hands, hugs from behind. Uniform kink, maybe?
Please no sex. I'd prefer a rating of PG-13 or lower for art.
Peter/Brockdorff. Obviously, feel free to skip historical research as this is not an RPF request, but in case you're interested:[Who 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 during Peter’s childhood (there are issues with establishing Brockdorff's age but for fanfic purposes I like to assume they were about agemates.) because by the time Peter was called to Russia (he was 14), Brümmer, who was in charge of Peter’s education after the boy’s father died, advised Russian ministers that Brockdorff had such an influence on Peter, that he should not be allowed into the country. (Brümmer considered it negative influence, but given the man’s tendency to be abusive and generally not give a damn about Peter’s best interests, his assessment is highly suspect. Catherine didn’t like Brockdorff either, but they had a personal rivalry going.) 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 (in the guise of a glass merchant) anyway, came to Petersburg, got a warm reception from Peter and stayed as the latter’s Kammerherr. (Source).
Also, I wrote a shipper’s manifesto in case that’s helpful to anyone? [BE ADVISED there are GIFs, though they are under spoiler cuts.)
Brockdorff is always in the background but also always around, even when it doesn’t seem like he has a “duty” to be. (Or any comprehensible reason? Like when Peter is woken up in the middle of the night to go watch Catherine give birth and Brockdorff is there with him. I mean, other than like providing moral support, why would he be there?) 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. (Well, Liza too.) There are just so many little, subtle things. But the potential in this ship for loyalty kink and hurt/comfort and kinda awkward/messed up power dynamics is through the roof. 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. Maybe they fly that kite (and watch it burn up in the air!). Maybe the reason Peter mentioned the kite at all as something that would make him happy is because that’s something he and Brockdorff would do as kids back in Holstein before things got complicated. Pre-canon childhood fic in general! Triumphant moments/success during Peter’s short rule and/or grand plans for a brighter future. (Oooh! Their first kiss?) Some cute scenes with Pavel maybe? If they get into a relationship, when/how do they make the switch from formality to informality? (Especially Brockdorff, as Peter is already all over the place with his yous and thous. but Brockdorff is always overproper and I'd love to see how that formality may break down in intense/intimate moments.)
Or all the angst! Brockdorff’s one-sided love or a complicated relationship made even more complicated by Peter’s constantly worsening paranoia and dissatisfaction with everything. Peter having to leave home (Holstein) and everyone/everything he knows behind. Brockdorff dealing with the coup and Peter’s death - when you’ve basically committed and built your entire life around someone, that’s a lot of empty space to suddenly fill when they’re gone. Having to say goodbye when Peter is first called away to Russia (and Brockdorff swearing he’ll come and join him as soon as he can?).
Hurt/comfort would be amazing <3 Aftermath of Peter’s smallpox and all the emotional fallout and insecurity there and/or remaining physical weakness, for more tradition h/c. Or maybe Brockdorff walks in on Peter during a private breakdown/vulnerable moment after he finds out that Catherine is going to have a child after all and that child might very well not be his. Peter’s constantly dealing with a lot - social pressures of being the heir, insecurity/sense of inferiority instilled by Elizabeth’s constant disappointment, homesickness (especially during his first years in Russia), a failed marriage, constant fears about the future. It’s ripe for some hurt/comfort!
For artists: anything cute/adorable, hugs and cuddles, kissing, holding hands, horseback riding, nature setting, summer days, balls and fancy clothes, longing looks (hidden or not, requited or not), mementos/things that remind one of the other (Peter’s sword with the ribbon comes to mind, also his violin), flying a kite (which burns up in the air!), quiet/intimate moments, curling up under blankets during a thunderstorm, snowy settings…
Please no sex. I'd prefer a rating of PG-13 or lower for art.