Hello! I hope you don't mind if I ask you question about Russian nick/petnames, because I can't think of a better person to ask to be honest. My debate is whether Yūri can use "Vitenka" to surprise Victor (they're lovers) though he has never used "Vitya" before. The context is Yūri, who has read up about it, being overwhelmed and using it in an intimate scene with Victor. Right now I have written "Vitya," but after that (for now) Yūri goes back to using "Victor." What would be best in this case?
hey! I think in cases where we have two characters from different cultures, the rules can (and probably will) be broken. even if yuuri has read everything about diminutives in one go, i can’t imagine that he’d have it down perfectly right away without viktor’s guidance (especially since japanese uses its own honorifics that don’t align with russian). using “vitenka” with viktor when they’re lovers is completely correct, if you want to include it, definitely do so. after that, going back to saying “vitya” in everyday situations is the most natural but again, since yuuri is from a different culture, going back to “Viktor” might be what yuuri feels comfortable with. it’s really up to you on how well-adjusted you want yuuri to be to russian customs
