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Rare Women Letter
Dear 2013 ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
rarewomen author,
Hello!! Thank you for signing up for this exchange! That alone gives you pretty much a free pass as far as I’m concerned. Especially since, apparently, you are willing to write something for at least one of the many women I have found myself enamored with. This letter is mostly here to help guide you if you have absolutely no idea what you’re going to write. However, I do have a few VERY STRONG PREFERENCES when it comes to fics and I would really love it if you would adhere to them, please. These are the items I have bolded, for your convenience, so if you want you could just skim this letter for those things and completely disregard the rest. Of course, you can always disregard those as well, if they work against what you really, really wish to write. (But I really rather prefer you didn’t, obviously.)
The, uh, titles of the canons I’ve requested are also bolded, also for your convenience. Let’s just say they’re strong preferences of mine too. Yes, I would strongly prefer it if you wrote for one of the fandoms I’ve requested. There.
General Likes: Plot and structure! Which is weird, I know, because almost everyone else, as far as I can tell, are really into characterization to such an extent that things like plot and structure fall a little to the wayside. Which isn’t to say I’m not all about characterization either. I love a good character study, but I will always love it more when it comes well-plotted and well-structured!
(Just to be clear, when I’m talking about plot I’m not asking for a large, sprawling AU with a billion subplots entwined together – that would be well beyond the scope of this challenge, after all. I just like it when something happens in the stories I read, you know, especially when those things are given meaning by how the story is framed.)
On that note, I will say I also am very fond of experimental storytelling, especially in regards to the structure of a story.
I love AUs! But more for the characters who are well-established within their respective canons. If it’s a character with little screen time then I would rather have their characters expanded on within their original contexts. (I hope that makes sense.) I love fucking up the gender binary. I love deliberate crossdressing and genderplay. I love intrigue, action, adventure, conspiracies, psychological thrillers, the mindbending, the surreal, romantic comedies, domesticity, families, even kidfic. I run the gamut in tastes here, it isn’t very hard to please me.
General Dislikes: No slaves, please! I’m also not particularly fond of meaningless angst. If there is angst I just generally prefer to be there for a greater reason. I can handle dubcon/noncon in fiction as long as it is not romanticized and does not verve off into victim-blaming territory.
Homestuck
I’m sorry this is going to be a bit longwinded because this is the fandom I’m most active in right now and the canon I’m currently most familiar with. Also, I just happened to have selected a buttload of characters. (Whoops!)
At of all these characters, though, I really only ship Meenah/Aranea and Porrim/Latula, both of those in the pale quadrant as well as the flushed. However, I will say that I am always open to seeing any of girls or women interacting with each other regardless of any lack of canonical interactions together. And I am very open about shipping even if the two pairings I mentioned before are the only ones I’m actively shipping at the moment. I’m more than fine with Latula/Mituna! In fact, the only ships I never want to see are any involving Cronus or Eridan and John/Karkat. Everything else, I’ll just leave up to you.
In case you haven’t noticed, all of the characters I’ve selected have parallel selves from an alternative reality. And I will admit I’m really interested in exploring those parallels. I’m interested in seeing the similarities and differences that comes with being the same people at their core but placed within radically different circumstances. If you could work that into your story, even just a little bit, I will absolutely adore it.
Meenah Peixes: The thing about Meenah is that she is driven primarily by Greed. I love that! And I also would love it if it was a characteristic that was placed on the backburner for a bit in order to bring other parts of her personality were brought to the forefront. For one thing, she considers herself to be the leader of a group of trolls who she obviously has mostly disdain for. Well, we know how well that worked out for her but it would be nice to see it as it plays out. She doesn’t seem like one for reflection or introspection so it seems like there is room for a lot conflict as she interacts with the rest of the Beforus trolls. I would definitely be interested in seeing her life on Beforus or her role in the game or both explored.
Aranea Serket: I’m way interested in seeing those traits that made her Mindfang in an alternative come through despite her apparent efforts to keep them at bay. While we may have some idea about why she decided to restrain herself in this way it would be interesting to see it explore more in a fic. Why exactly did she respond this way to the pressure she felt when Meenah was so willing to work against it? How will it affect her relationship with Meenah or the other characters now she is beginning to embrace it?
Porrim Maryam: For her, I would want all kinds of kissing fic with all kinds of pairings. She is a very sexual character and I want all the fics I can have about her exploits. I am shameless about this.
Latula Pyrope: I want fic about her relationship with Porrim the most, especially considering how she changes around Porrim. That said, you can also come up with a scenario where she forges a relationship with Alpha!Rose or Grandma English for all I care and I would adore it.
Redglare: So she was a follower the Signless and I would definitely like to see how exactly that came about. What was it about his ideas that resonated with her? How did she learn about him? And how did she reconsolidate those ideas with Alternia’s culture, particularly with her profession? These are just some of the things I would like to see explored if you’re going to have her in canon setting. Or maybe even in an AU, who knows?
Alpha Rose Lalonde: Oh, man. What do you think it was like for her when she first started getting visions of the future? When she came to realize that she would have a daughter she would never personally meet? Maybe you could explore the actual process of writing her books? Or maybe you could show how she worked the press while trying to deal with the Condesce?
Grandma: I would love to see more fic about her that deals with the business side of her company and the (pseudo-)science of the technology she dealt with. I would love to see her love of science and technology explored more.
The Disciple: For her, the most interesting fic for me would deal with her life after the Sufferer died and how she spread his teachings and whom she might’ve met along the way. Bonus points if you can somehow fit Redglare in there!
The Dolorosa: What do you think it was like for her to raise the Signless even though it went against troll nature and Alternian society? What kind of external challenges do you think she faced while raising him? Or what was her role while she followed him as he spread his teachings?
The Condesce: I think it would be really interesting to see her relationship with Alpha!John and Alpha!Jade from her point of view. Or maybe you could even explore her side of the conflict she had with Alpha!Dave and Alpha!Rose. Either way, I think it would be neat to see her side of things when it comes to her dealing with Earth.
Avatar: Legend of Korra
The thing you need to know about me is that I’m super big on families in fiction. So the only things I can think of that I would like to see in a fic revolves around that. Especially since LoK has some pretty fantastic families to work with.
I don’t necessarily ship any of these characters with anyone else, but I would definitely prefer it if throughout the fic Penma and Tenzin’s marriage stayed intact.
Lin Bei Fong: What was it like to be Toph Bei Fong’s daughter? Dang. That’s basically all I want for this character. What was it like for her to be expected to fill those shoes? What sorts of conflicts arose from their conflicting personalities, either while Lin was growing up or in her adulthood? That kind of stuff. If you can work in the other three characters I’ve requested, or even just one of them, and their experiences with their families, that would be fantastic - although hardly necessary.
Penma, Ikki, & Jinora: I’m going to group these three together because the fic I would most like to see the most for them is one that deals with their relationships with each other. That doesn’t necessarily have to be the case if you can think of something for just on of these characters, such as a character study dealing with Penma’s past or what she gave up to live with Tenzin or how different it is for her living with Tenzin than it was for her growing up. Or you could write futurefic for one of the girls as they grow up as a few of the last airbenders alive. But I would really love, love, love a fic that includes at least two of them and explores their relationship with each other.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Homura/Madoka is one of the major OTP4LYFE pairings of mine, and I greatly prefer it if they aren’t paired up with anyone else. But that doesn’t mean I won’t be happy with any fic that doesn’t have them paired up together. I’m fine with them being just friends! As long as, like I said, they’re not being paired up with someone else instead.
I am a big fan of Kyouko/Sayaka as well, albeit to a much lesser extent than Madoka/Homura. I don’t mind either them being paired up with Mami or maybe an OC instead, but this is by far my most preferred pairing for both of them. I’m sorry I’m so boring with my pairing choices! /o\ But it is how it is.
Since of these characters are extremely prominent in the series, I am more than willing to get an AU for them. If you want to, go wild! If that’s what you want to do, then you could probably disregard everything I’ve said below. As long as you keep them as in character as you can, I will be happy with any AU you can come up with.
Akemi Homura: She is my favorite! One of my favorite things about her story is that she comes to know the other girls through her many travels through time, and she has been relatively close to them in other timelines, but by the time we are introduced to her she is incredibly distant from them. I find that very interesting and, who knows, maybe you could do something with that? Another thing I would like to note is that that instead of being as equally devoted to Madoka as she was in the final timeline I’ve always thought that she grew to be that obsessed as she kept going back in time and found out more about the situation and got to know Madoka better. Maybe there is something you could do with that too?
Kaname Madoka: Madoka was very different when we first get to know her in what we come to realize is the final timeline than she is when Homura first meets her in the first timeline. I find that interesting and I think that gives us room to explore her characterization.
Tomoe Mami: We know that up till she met Madoka she was living a very lonely life. If you want, you can write about that period and I would gobble it up. You could also explore the differences between that lonely lifestyle she had led in a universe with witches versus the one she must’ve had in the newly rearranged universe Madoka created. I think that that would have the potential to be very interesting.
Miki Sayaka: What I love about Sayaka the most is her strong morals and how sticking to them so strongly has only seemed to have given her pain. But it also has given her a strong feeling of righteousness and that must've felt good. Anyway, I love the clash between her and Kyouko and how their ideologies grate against one another. I love her idolization of Mami and I love how protective, and resentful, of Madoka she has been. I also really loved her antagonism towards Homura and how fantastically she misses the point when it comes to her. I would adore it if you explored any of those relationships.
Sakura Kyouko: Kyouko! Oh man, it would be great to see some fic about her days as a magical girl before Sayaka entered the picture. It would also be great to see Sayaka alive in the new universe fighting alongside Kyouko and see how their personalities conflict even in a world without witches. (Or have Kyouko team up with any of the girls or even all of them in the new universe.)
Baccano!
I’m really only familiar with the anime, not so much the original light novels. So please keep that in mind. This section may be rather short but let me reassure you that it is not out of disinterest! Baccano! is one of my favorite anime of all time and I am definitely up to reading more fic for it. It's just that there isn't much fic for it so I'm willing to read pretty much anything for it!!
Ennis: She is probably my favorite character in the series. And if you must know, I do ship Ennis with Firo rather a lot! Gen fic with her and Issac and Miria would also be very much appreciated. Gen fic exploring her perspective on human emotions and how she views things as a homunculus would also be grand. Basically, anything you got would be absolutely great! I love her so much and there just needs to be more fic about her, imo!
Rachel: I would love to see some fic for her that works with her career as a freelancer! I would love to see what her work entails and what other sort of adventures or such she has experienced because of her work. It could even be somehow connected to what happened or to the characters we’ve already known in the series.
Fullmetal Alchemist
First of all, I’m only interested in fics that deal with the manga or Brotherhood’s canon. That shouldn’t really be a problem because I’ve only requested characters that only show up in those canons. It’s as if it was planned that way. :P
But, seriously, I am super invested in Xing and its culture and its politics, particularly that of the royal family, although it is far from the focus of the series. Although I do ship Ling/Lan Fan, Lan Fan/Greed, and Ling/Lan Fan/Greed, I would definitely prefer genfic right now.
You can write a fic with both of these characters and their relationship to one another or you can just limit your focus on just one. I will be happy with either.
Lan Fan: As I say before, I’m really invested in Xing politics and would love to see some fic expanding on Lan Fan’s role in that. What sort of training did she have to undergo at such a young age? What is it about her that causes her to hold onto her ideology so strongly? How has her beliefs changed throughout her lifetime?
Mei Chang: What I would really, really love to see is an AU where Mei becomes the Empress of Xing instead of Ling becoming the Emperor. If you don’t feel up to that, you could always write about her future with her clan. Or her role in the future of Xingese politics.
rarewomen author,Hello!! Thank you for signing up for this exchange! That alone gives you pretty much a free pass as far as I’m concerned. Especially since, apparently, you are willing to write something for at least one of the many women I have found myself enamored with. This letter is mostly here to help guide you if you have absolutely no idea what you’re going to write. However, I do have a few VERY STRONG PREFERENCES when it comes to fics and I would really love it if you would adhere to them, please. These are the items I have bolded, for your convenience, so if you want you could just skim this letter for those things and completely disregard the rest. Of course, you can always disregard those as well, if they work against what you really, really wish to write. (But I really rather prefer you didn’t, obviously.)
The, uh, titles of the canons I’ve requested are also bolded, also for your convenience. Let’s just say they’re strong preferences of mine too. Yes, I would strongly prefer it if you wrote for one of the fandoms I’ve requested. There.
General Likes: Plot and structure! Which is weird, I know, because almost everyone else, as far as I can tell, are really into characterization to such an extent that things like plot and structure fall a little to the wayside. Which isn’t to say I’m not all about characterization either. I love a good character study, but I will always love it more when it comes well-plotted and well-structured!
(Just to be clear, when I’m talking about plot I’m not asking for a large, sprawling AU with a billion subplots entwined together – that would be well beyond the scope of this challenge, after all. I just like it when something happens in the stories I read, you know, especially when those things are given meaning by how the story is framed.)
On that note, I will say I also am very fond of experimental storytelling, especially in regards to the structure of a story.
I love AUs! But more for the characters who are well-established within their respective canons. If it’s a character with little screen time then I would rather have their characters expanded on within their original contexts. (I hope that makes sense.) I love fucking up the gender binary. I love deliberate crossdressing and genderplay. I love intrigue, action, adventure, conspiracies, psychological thrillers, the mindbending, the surreal, romantic comedies, domesticity, families, even kidfic. I run the gamut in tastes here, it isn’t very hard to please me.
General Dislikes: No slaves, please! I’m also not particularly fond of meaningless angst. If there is angst I just generally prefer to be there for a greater reason. I can handle dubcon/noncon in fiction as long as it is not romanticized and does not verve off into victim-blaming territory.
Homestuck
I’m sorry this is going to be a bit longwinded because this is the fandom I’m most active in right now and the canon I’m currently most familiar with. Also, I just happened to have selected a buttload of characters. (Whoops!)
At of all these characters, though, I really only ship Meenah/Aranea and Porrim/Latula, both of those in the pale quadrant as well as the flushed. However, I will say that I am always open to seeing any of girls or women interacting with each other regardless of any lack of canonical interactions together. And I am very open about shipping even if the two pairings I mentioned before are the only ones I’m actively shipping at the moment. I’m more than fine with Latula/Mituna! In fact, the only ships I never want to see are any involving Cronus or Eridan and John/Karkat. Everything else, I’ll just leave up to you.
In case you haven’t noticed, all of the characters I’ve selected have parallel selves from an alternative reality. And I will admit I’m really interested in exploring those parallels. I’m interested in seeing the similarities and differences that comes with being the same people at their core but placed within radically different circumstances. If you could work that into your story, even just a little bit, I will absolutely adore it.
Meenah Peixes: The thing about Meenah is that she is driven primarily by Greed. I love that! And I also would love it if it was a characteristic that was placed on the backburner for a bit in order to bring other parts of her personality were brought to the forefront. For one thing, she considers herself to be the leader of a group of trolls who she obviously has mostly disdain for. Well, we know how well that worked out for her but it would be nice to see it as it plays out. She doesn’t seem like one for reflection or introspection so it seems like there is room for a lot conflict as she interacts with the rest of the Beforus trolls. I would definitely be interested in seeing her life on Beforus or her role in the game or both explored.
Aranea Serket: I’m way interested in seeing those traits that made her Mindfang in an alternative come through despite her apparent efforts to keep them at bay. While we may have some idea about why she decided to restrain herself in this way it would be interesting to see it explore more in a fic. Why exactly did she respond this way to the pressure she felt when Meenah was so willing to work against it? How will it affect her relationship with Meenah or the other characters now she is beginning to embrace it?
Porrim Maryam: For her, I would want all kinds of kissing fic with all kinds of pairings. She is a very sexual character and I want all the fics I can have about her exploits. I am shameless about this.
Latula Pyrope: I want fic about her relationship with Porrim the most, especially considering how she changes around Porrim. That said, you can also come up with a scenario where she forges a relationship with Alpha!Rose or Grandma English for all I care and I would adore it.
Redglare: So she was a follower the Signless and I would definitely like to see how exactly that came about. What was it about his ideas that resonated with her? How did she learn about him? And how did she reconsolidate those ideas with Alternia’s culture, particularly with her profession? These are just some of the things I would like to see explored if you’re going to have her in canon setting. Or maybe even in an AU, who knows?
Alpha Rose Lalonde: Oh, man. What do you think it was like for her when she first started getting visions of the future? When she came to realize that she would have a daughter she would never personally meet? Maybe you could explore the actual process of writing her books? Or maybe you could show how she worked the press while trying to deal with the Condesce?
Grandma: I would love to see more fic about her that deals with the business side of her company and the (pseudo-)science of the technology she dealt with. I would love to see her love of science and technology explored more.
The Disciple: For her, the most interesting fic for me would deal with her life after the Sufferer died and how she spread his teachings and whom she might’ve met along the way. Bonus points if you can somehow fit Redglare in there!
The Dolorosa: What do you think it was like for her to raise the Signless even though it went against troll nature and Alternian society? What kind of external challenges do you think she faced while raising him? Or what was her role while she followed him as he spread his teachings?
The Condesce: I think it would be really interesting to see her relationship with Alpha!John and Alpha!Jade from her point of view. Or maybe you could even explore her side of the conflict she had with Alpha!Dave and Alpha!Rose. Either way, I think it would be neat to see her side of things when it comes to her dealing with Earth.
Avatar: Legend of Korra
The thing you need to know about me is that I’m super big on families in fiction. So the only things I can think of that I would like to see in a fic revolves around that. Especially since LoK has some pretty fantastic families to work with.
I don’t necessarily ship any of these characters with anyone else, but I would definitely prefer it if throughout the fic Penma and Tenzin’s marriage stayed intact.
Lin Bei Fong: What was it like to be Toph Bei Fong’s daughter? Dang. That’s basically all I want for this character. What was it like for her to be expected to fill those shoes? What sorts of conflicts arose from their conflicting personalities, either while Lin was growing up or in her adulthood? That kind of stuff. If you can work in the other three characters I’ve requested, or even just one of them, and their experiences with their families, that would be fantastic - although hardly necessary.
Penma, Ikki, & Jinora: I’m going to group these three together because the fic I would most like to see the most for them is one that deals with their relationships with each other. That doesn’t necessarily have to be the case if you can think of something for just on of these characters, such as a character study dealing with Penma’s past or what she gave up to live with Tenzin or how different it is for her living with Tenzin than it was for her growing up. Or you could write futurefic for one of the girls as they grow up as a few of the last airbenders alive. But I would really love, love, love a fic that includes at least two of them and explores their relationship with each other.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Homura/Madoka is one of the major OTP4LYFE pairings of mine, and I greatly prefer it if they aren’t paired up with anyone else. But that doesn’t mean I won’t be happy with any fic that doesn’t have them paired up together. I’m fine with them being just friends! As long as, like I said, they’re not being paired up with someone else instead.
I am a big fan of Kyouko/Sayaka as well, albeit to a much lesser extent than Madoka/Homura. I don’t mind either them being paired up with Mami or maybe an OC instead, but this is by far my most preferred pairing for both of them. I’m sorry I’m so boring with my pairing choices! /o\ But it is how it is.
Since of these characters are extremely prominent in the series, I am more than willing to get an AU for them. If you want to, go wild! If that’s what you want to do, then you could probably disregard everything I’ve said below. As long as you keep them as in character as you can, I will be happy with any AU you can come up with.
Akemi Homura: She is my favorite! One of my favorite things about her story is that she comes to know the other girls through her many travels through time, and she has been relatively close to them in other timelines, but by the time we are introduced to her she is incredibly distant from them. I find that very interesting and, who knows, maybe you could do something with that? Another thing I would like to note is that that instead of being as equally devoted to Madoka as she was in the final timeline I’ve always thought that she grew to be that obsessed as she kept going back in time and found out more about the situation and got to know Madoka better. Maybe there is something you could do with that too?
Kaname Madoka: Madoka was very different when we first get to know her in what we come to realize is the final timeline than she is when Homura first meets her in the first timeline. I find that interesting and I think that gives us room to explore her characterization.
Tomoe Mami: We know that up till she met Madoka she was living a very lonely life. If you want, you can write about that period and I would gobble it up. You could also explore the differences between that lonely lifestyle she had led in a universe with witches versus the one she must’ve had in the newly rearranged universe Madoka created. I think that that would have the potential to be very interesting.
Miki Sayaka: What I love about Sayaka the most is her strong morals and how sticking to them so strongly has only seemed to have given her pain. But it also has given her a strong feeling of righteousness and that must've felt good. Anyway, I love the clash between her and Kyouko and how their ideologies grate against one another. I love her idolization of Mami and I love how protective, and resentful, of Madoka she has been. I also really loved her antagonism towards Homura and how fantastically she misses the point when it comes to her. I would adore it if you explored any of those relationships.
Sakura Kyouko: Kyouko! Oh man, it would be great to see some fic about her days as a magical girl before Sayaka entered the picture. It would also be great to see Sayaka alive in the new universe fighting alongside Kyouko and see how their personalities conflict even in a world without witches. (Or have Kyouko team up with any of the girls or even all of them in the new universe.)
Baccano!
I’m really only familiar with the anime, not so much the original light novels. So please keep that in mind. This section may be rather short but let me reassure you that it is not out of disinterest! Baccano! is one of my favorite anime of all time and I am definitely up to reading more fic for it. It's just that there isn't much fic for it so I'm willing to read pretty much anything for it!!
Ennis: She is probably my favorite character in the series. And if you must know, I do ship Ennis with Firo rather a lot! Gen fic with her and Issac and Miria would also be very much appreciated. Gen fic exploring her perspective on human emotions and how she views things as a homunculus would also be grand. Basically, anything you got would be absolutely great! I love her so much and there just needs to be more fic about her, imo!
Rachel: I would love to see some fic for her that works with her career as a freelancer! I would love to see what her work entails and what other sort of adventures or such she has experienced because of her work. It could even be somehow connected to what happened or to the characters we’ve already known in the series.
Fullmetal Alchemist
First of all, I’m only interested in fics that deal with the manga or Brotherhood’s canon. That shouldn’t really be a problem because I’ve only requested characters that only show up in those canons. It’s as if it was planned that way. :P
But, seriously, I am super invested in Xing and its culture and its politics, particularly that of the royal family, although it is far from the focus of the series. Although I do ship Ling/Lan Fan, Lan Fan/Greed, and Ling/Lan Fan/Greed, I would definitely prefer genfic right now.
You can write a fic with both of these characters and their relationship to one another or you can just limit your focus on just one. I will be happy with either.
Lan Fan: As I say before, I’m really invested in Xing politics and would love to see some fic expanding on Lan Fan’s role in that. What sort of training did she have to undergo at such a young age? What is it about her that causes her to hold onto her ideology so strongly? How has her beliefs changed throughout her lifetime?
Mei Chang: What I would really, really love to see is an AU where Mei becomes the Empress of Xing instead of Ling becoming the Emperor. If you don’t feel up to that, you could always write about her future with her clan. Or her role in the future of Xingese politics.