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Well, hellooooooooooo nurse~ I am Vnutrenni and you are my mysterious benefactor! Please use your powers as a covert agent in the name of truth, justice and heartfelt procrastination.
Lately I haven't been so active on LJ/DW, so I offer a link to my tumblr as well, though I should note that it can be nsfw, gory and full of gifs. But it also has puppies and things!! Which makes it a useful example of the fact that I like a little bit of everything and will help me segue smoothly into talking about how I'll enjoy anything you write and just want you to enoy the Yuletide experience, aw yiss, segue complete.
I am guaranteed to be delighted no matter which of my requests brought you to me! And I love all manner of fic (ie. gen- and pairing-based, short and sprawling, silly and serious, super descriptive and tersely written, character-driven and setting-/theme-/atmosphere-focused)! I generally sign up for this exchange so that I can see what treasures gleam in the imaginations of other writers. I'm absolutely not sitting on any specific expectations for any one story itself. For me, Yuletide is more of an opportunity to encounter new people and read new material in fandoms that need more of it.
Squicks
I don't feel the need list anything here, and I realize that I'm implicitly agreeing to a whooole lot of things. Please do warn, though, if there are squicky or problematic elements in the final draft, for the reference of other readers!
Interests
- character interactions not explored in canon. (Lebedeva & Koschei? Rahab & Turel? Ravenna & her earlier royal conquests? [Of course, I absolutely recognize and stress that we only matched on my requested characters; this is more a general 'Like' for reference, with random examples])
- character motivations
- monsters with personalities
- elements of horror in otherwise lovely, sweeping fairy tales
- body horror (less in the shock/gross-out aspect, more in the truly frightening idea that the consciousness could be at the mercy of its own vessel)
- big, dark castle interiors
- big, open worlds that still somehow feel like a cage
Deathless - Catherynne M. Valente
Madame Lebedeva
I love Lebedeva's poise. She knows herself, and she knows her craft. Her defining moment in the book, when she explains her fixation with cosmetics, introduces so many neat ideas: make-up as war paint, fashion as armour. Unfortunately we don't hear much more about it directly from her, but I'd love to read more of her reflections on the battlegrounds hidden in polite society. Also awesome: backstory on her magician's training, or an expansion on her time with Marya (I'll gladly take Lebedeva/Marya here, just sayiiiing), or a record of her wanderings (and subtle resistance?) in Viy's kingdom. Anything, really, about this haughty, beautiful vila.
Additional optional prompts: the pros and cons of civilizing wild magic; joining Mayra on the hunt; the true nature of her ivory cameo.
I'll let her speak for herself in regards to the main idea behind my prompts since I definitely won't be able to say it any better:
“Do you think I am a fool, Masha? All this time, and you speak to me as though I were a flighty pinprick of a girl. I am a magician! Did you never think, even once, that I loved lipstick and rouge for more than their color alone? I am a student of their lore, and it is arcane and hermetic beyond the dreams of alchemists. Did you never wonder why I gave you so many pots, so many creams, so much perfume?” Lebedeva’s eyes shone. “Masha, listen to me. Cosmetics are an extension of the will. Why do you think all men paint themselves when they go to fight? When I paint my eyes to match my soup, it is not because I had nothing better to do than worry over trifles. It says: I belong here, and you will not deny me. When I streak my lips red as foxgloves, I say: come here, male, I am your mate, and you will not deny me. When I pinch my cheeks and dust them with mother-of-pearl, I say: death, keep off, I am your enemy, and you will not deny me. I say these things, and the world listens, Masha.”
O perfect lady~ This could be a fic with dripping, decadently purple prose, orrr painfully spare descriptions and clipped dialogue. Or it could be neither of those things!! I would just love to have a story about Lebed to put in my face. She's described as ethereal, but she left such a vivid impression on me. There's that aristocratic demeanor, that love of little rituals (in the mundane sense more than anything else; things like socializing over a meal, or applying those cosmetics in a specific order), and there's her compassion and her devotion and her fierce pride. She's a great character with so much history left unexplained. Add a few more pieces to the puzzle that is Madame Lebedeva and I will adore you eternally.
As an aside, I loved the Buyan chapters (bahaha, I loved the whole book, but yeah) so if you choose to do some worldbuilding there or want to draw on further Slavic folklore, I'd reALLY ENJOY THAT TOO, YES.
Legacy of Kain
Rahab
I'm deeply attached to this series! I'd love a fic set in any era(s), and I totally welcome the inclusion of any other characters you choose. As a possible prompt: The idea that Rahab actively hoped to develop some kind of a connection with water is one that I've come across a few times, and I really like it. (The seahorses on his Sarafan armour get me, okay.) It's fascinating and frightening to imagine that anyone could want something so self-destructively, but the worst (best?) part is that we already know he gets his way in the end. Kind of.
Additional optional prompts: cold-blooded; the body is an island; dead languages.
These games. To this day, I mouth-foam.
I love that you can play through five different titles and piece together a vague history of this whole, fragile world and read exhaustive chronological timelines of in-game events and still feel like you don't really know very much about the story. It's hilarious, for one thing, and makes for great replay values; but it's also the mark of a really nicely crafted "for each thing you explain, leave something else unknown" kind of narrative. It always affords you another blank space to fill with Endless Thoughts, ohoho.
Not sure I could actually pick a favourite character if pressed to do that, but I like Rahab a lot. It was the word 'maladjusted' that did it, haha. Like.... among pissy, preening vampires he has a reputation, that's the sense I got. I ended up assuming that this meant his own interests and aversions and ambitions were all-consuming, and he just couldn't give a crap about being sociable. It's interesting that his loyalty to Kain remained one of his focusing points. I doubt Rahab was 'the favourite' at any point, but it sort of seems like that was because he never cared to play at that particular game.
And after all that, I.... can't think of any specific story prompts for this one. I'd just really like to see your interpretation of a character and a world I adore beyond all measure, please share it with meeeeee.
(To credit the 'guided evolution' idea: I recently came across this forum, where one of the game designers - Daniel Cabuco - has been answering fans' questions about the LoK series. He's.... pretty obviously a fan himself, and his replies sometimes stray into extrapolation and brainstorming, and. It's great. It's soooo greeeaaat, agh. Someone asked about Rahab's eye colour and Daniel replied: "Rahab's eyes are blue because of his ongoing desire to develop waterbreathing." Which doesn't even make a lot of sense? And I still went aijgsrjgeklrgslkej like a real live adult.)
Snow White and the Huntsman
Ravenna
She seems cruel, but not incapable as a ruler. I'm fascinated by that, and by her dependence on the mirror; whether she made it or acquired it, she seems to think that she needs it to guide her. I think I'd like to see what would happen if she had in fact caught Snow and eaten her heart. With the goal of eternal youth achieved, what new purpose would the mirror serve for Ravenna?
Additional optional prompts: cinders and wings; a white tower on a black hill; world-weary.
My queen. I love hhhhhhher.
Rather than a 'fix-it fic', I think I'm asking for a make-it-worse fic. Ravenna consumes Snow White's beauty (which doesn't necessarily have to kill her, if Greta is any indication of the norm) and becomes immortal. She obviously thought this would be enough to satisfy her, but I can't see how that's the kind of victory that gives you any sense of closure. She's lived with fear and anger for years and years; now she's just extended that indefinitely. I feel like she'd be turning to the mirror before long, asking it what to do, but we don't really know what it is. Is it enchanted? Is it a delusion? Is it some aspect of herself, scrambled and morphed and shrouded so she can never recognize it?
Given enough time in one place, Ravenna would probably raise a stable empire around herself. A very dark one, I'm sure, but her sovereignty would still be legendary for its persistence and its reach. I'd love to know what that could look like, what she would do with it, and whether having everything she thought she wanted could actually bring her any peace.
And that's it from me. I hope the next couple of months are good ones, my leetle shining star. Thank you for wandering into my clutches with a gift of words, I actually cannot wait to place them at the very top of my dragon's hoard of beloved stuff. :')