#zelikov

[belikov-barnes]

Zelikov and Dragoway are SO real how can anyone read VA and not see Rose and Dimitri are bisexuals

Richelle: Rose and Dimitri just really loved their best friends

The fandom, collectively:

[belikov-barnes]

my favourite thing about VA is that everyone is bisexual queer

[belikov-barnes]

some of my VA headcanons/AUs I choose to believe over canon

Rose is bi. Dimitri is bi. They are the ultimate bi power couple.

Dimitri was in love with Ivan at the time of Ivan’s death. That’s why the death hit Dimitri so deeply. Dimitri had taken leave for the first time in two years to visit his family and to try and get some distance between himself and Ivan in order to deal with the feelings he had for his charge. And that was when Ivan died, while Dimitri was actively trying to understand and reflect upon the extent he loved Ivan. So not only did Dimitri lose his best friend, but he lost the man he loved as well, which is why he blamed himself so deeply and shut himself off from others. 

Meanwhile, while on the run Rose and Lissa had a little thing going on. Neither really addressed it or labelled it, but they would often hold hands, kiss and cuddle together. They held deep feelings for each other. All alone, two vampire girls in a human world, they turned to each other for love, comfort and affection. It started one night when Rose woke up to one of Lissa’s nightmares through the bond, and climbed into bed with her. The spent all night cuddling.

Rose and Adrian never dated, and are instead the Chaotic Duo (as coined by @thegoldenlily​). Instead of their toxic relationship, they formed a solid friendship where they constantly called each other out on their bullshit (including the clown transformation).

Bloodlines, except instead of Angeline coming to guard Jill, Viktoria does instead. Like I love Angeline, but it just makes sense for Viktoria to be chosen instead. She’s someone that Rose knows and trusts much more than Angeline, and Viktoria can get an opportunity to explore the world beyond Baia. I just think it fits, especially because she would be arriving in Palm Springs with Dimitri and they would be there to support each other.

All plot holes can be fixed with Yeva or Abe meddling/withholding information theories. How did Rose and Lissa stay hidden while on the run? Because Abe had people watching out for them from a distance, and was leaking false leads to the academy search team. Dimitri didn’t know that Sonya was pregnant? Yeva informed the family that they weren’t allowed to tell him, and that he’d find out ‘in his own time’.

[belikov-barnes]

Brokeback Mountain is Dimitri’s favourite movie, right? It has to be

Yeah he saw it with Ivan shortly before his death, and it’s a deeply special movie to Dimitri. People like to tease him because they think it’s just the cowboy thing (and sure that was part of why he saw it to begin with) but the real reason he loves it is that it reminds him of those final good months with Ivan before he lost him forever

[belikov-barnes]

If Ivan dated any royal Moroi women to convince himself he was straight, 19-20 year old Dimitri definitely had fits of jealousy like Rose had about Lissa and Christian. When Ivan went out to dinner with his girlfriend, Dimitri glared at her from the other side of the table the entire night because he had to be there as Ivan's guardian.

Dimitri quietly seething, guardian mask hiding his emotions, sitting at the table and slowly bending a fork through clenched fists while watching Ivan's date run her hands up his arm, across his chest, brushing back his hair.

[belikov-barnes]

Zelikov is a cowboy/city slicker ship

You are absolutely correct anon!

AU city slicker Ivan is driving through the countryside to get to [generic big city] and his car breaks down. He is rescued by local cowboy Dimitri, who lets Ivan hop on the back of his horse and takes him to his family's farm. Ivan calls [generic small town] mechanic and organises for his car to be towed and repaired. Olena invites Ivan to stay at their farm until his car is fixed. Later that evening, a shocking phone call. It turns out Ivan's car won't be able to be fixed for at least two weeks as the mechanic needs to wait for specific parts to arrive. Nobody could have seen this coming. Dimitri is a bit disparaging of Ivan's skills as a city slicker, but the Belikova sisters convince him to give Ivan a chance to help. Ivan wants to try helping as a sign of gratitude for the family allowing him to stay, but he's not very good at [generic farm chores]. Dimitri rolls his eyes at Ivan's incompetence, but also finds it mildly endearing. One day Ivan does [generic new twist on old farming practice] that saves time and is more efficient. Dimitri starts to respect and trust Ivan with farm matters. Several weeks later, Ivan's car is fixed. But Ivan doesn't want to leave. He has grown to love [generic small town], feels welcome and accepted by the Belikov family, and most importantly, he is completely in love with his cowboy.

[belikov-barnes]

Zelikov fic? Yes!

I have so many ideas but I'm not sure what to do. Maybe a series of one shots exploring the development of Ivan and Dimitri's relationship from friendship to unrequited love. It would be so much angst though, and I don't know where to start.

[belikov-barnes]

I headcanon Dimitri as bisexual and Ivan as gay but closeted. He dated some royal Moroi girls cause it was the expected thing for him to do but he could never get into it

There's clearly pressure on royal Moroi to get married and have biological children. Lissa and Christian literally talk about how Christian has enough Dragomir blood to continue on the family line. I can see poor Ivan falling into this pressure, knowing that he should try dating royal Moroi girls, but not really knowing why he doesn't feel anything for them. This is partly why I'm interested in the series giving Victor a husband, because that truly diverts from the 'traditional' and more conservative views of royal Moroi society.

It's also impossible to talk about Ivan and Dimitri without discussing that they grew up in Russia, a country where in a 2019 survey, 74% of people did not believe homosexuality should be accepted by society. That would have a massive impact on how they both viewed themselves and their feelings towards each other. Even though I headcanon that they travelled around the world together, that culture of disdain towards lgbt people definitely would've impacted both Dimitri and Ivan, and potentially been a massive barrier preventing them from addressing their feelings sooner.