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kareenvorbarra · 7 years

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rarepair 2017 letter

Hello Author! Thank you so much for writing for me. I hope this letter makes sense and gives you some inspiration.

ETA: NOW COMPLETE, and I’m terribly sorry for the delay.

General Preferences

With a few exceptions that I’ll specify later, I don’t want any smut or sex-focused fics. In a few cases (also specified below), I’d prefer there not be any sex in the relationship at all, even if it’s just implied. I don’t want any of my requested ships to be portrayed as abusive or unloving - even where there is angst or confusion, I imagine that all of these people genuinely love and care about one another and are trying their best. However, some of the characters on this list have experienced canonical rape and/or other types of abuse in other relationships, and I’m absolutely fine with those issues being addressed. No alternate-setting AUs, please.

Silmarillion - Huor/Rian, Idril/Tuor, Idril/Tuor/Voronwe, Barahir/Emeldir, Finduilas/Gwindor/Turin, Beren/Luthien, Eilinel/Gorlim, Hurin/Morwen

Huor/Rían

This is one of the ships that I actually wish someone would write smut for. Vanilla, for sure, but beyond that almost any situation would be great. Huor and Rian having cute, slightly awkward first time sex between their betrothal and the wedding. Huor and Rian having angsty comfort sex the night before he leaves for the Nirnaeth. Anything else that you can come up with, as long as it also includes plenty of emotions and characterization.

If you don’t want to write a sex scene (it’s cool, I don’t like writing them much either) literally almost anything else would be good. Cute! Angsty! Both! Ideally I would like it to be set when they are both actually adults and start getting romantic, whether that’s at the very beginning of their relationship, or during their brief marriage. Some ideas:

Them talking about the bad things that have happened to them, about the impact that war has had on their lives, and helping each other deal with those memories.

Rian still has nightmares, though not as frequently as she did as a child. Write about the first time she has one after getting married.

Something about the two of them interacting with music? Is Huor musical? Does he sing, or play an instrument like his brother? Or does he just really love listening to Rian sing? Or something about them dancing together - what are Hadorian social dances like?

Idril/Tuor

First of all, if you end up writing a fic about these two, I’d like to request that Maeglin not appear in it. Other characters can mention him if you want, but I’d really rather the story not focus on him in any significant way.

As another general rule, I’m not interested in interpretations of these characters that gloss over their pasts, particularly Tuor’s - you don’t have to directly address the loss and abuse he experienced as a child, but please don’t write him in a way that doesn’t make sense in light of those events. I would also really love a fic where Idril and Tuor talk about bad things in their pasts for the first time.

Also, Idril and Tuor talking about Huor and Hurin! Bonus if it includes Idril singing a Hadorian song or speaking a bit of Hadorian that she learned from them, and Tuor being excited but also sad.

Again, a nightmare fic (that’s...going to be a bit of a theme in my requests) would be wonderful. Either Idril or Tuor has a violent nightmare and the other one has to wake them and help them calm down.

Idril/Tuor/Voronwe

Not looking for sex with this one, but cuddlepiles/bed-sharing would be excellent.

Three-way co-parenting after Earendil comes along.

Tuor gets some kind of non-life-threatening but very nasty human illness that keeps him off his feet for a while, and Idril and Voronwe freak out and dote on him a lot. He tries to get them to calm down, but once he’s managed to convince them he isn’t dying he rather enjoys the attention - it’s been a long time since anyone has fussed over him while he’s been sick, and he’d mostly forgotten how it felt to be so thoroughly cared for.

The three of them keeping each other going after the Fall of Gondolin and leaning on each other for support and comfort during the long, dangerous journey to Sirion.

Barahir/Emeldir

I’d be down for reading a sex scene with these two if you feel like writing one! I imagine they are both active, physically affectionate people who are really comfortable with each other and know each other’s bodies very well. They also like to dance and spar together, and I’d love to read a fic about them engaging in any of these activities, before or after their marriage.

As with Huor/Rian and Morwen/Hurin, I would welcome angsty pre-battle comfort scenes, with or without sex. Or anything about them relying on each other during the Bragollach.

I’d love anything that plays up the battle couple aspect of their relationship, whether that’s them sparring, teaching young Beren how to fight, getting caught in an ambush while on patrol together, or something else.

Finduilas/Gwindor/Túrin

No sex please, but I’d be on board for some awkward, angsty, emotionally-charged cuddling.

What would a genuinely happy moment between the three of them look like?

What would happen in an AU where they all managed to talk about their feelings for each other and work out some of their emotional issues together? Again, I am always here for cuddling and other forms of non-sexual intimacy.

I don’t have a whole lot of ideas for these three, but basically I want it to be emotional and at least a little angsty but where they all care about each other deeply, though not all in the same way and not always sufficiently expressed.

Beren/Luthien

As with Tuor, I’m not interested in characterization that doesn’t take into account the unimaginable trauma and suffering that Beren experienced in the years before meeting Luthien. I’d love to see any of that explored in their relationship - how does he readjust to speech after living alone in a forest for so long? When does he begin to tell Luthien details about his past and family members? What do they do on those days when Beren is overwhelmed by guilt and grief, even though he now lives a peaceful life with his wife and son?

I do want their relationship to be strong and loving and based on mutual respect rather than deference - they would do anything for each other, but they also disagree sometimes and don’t always act in ways they other approves of. They respect each other’s abilities even though they fear for each other’s safety.

I do think they had some forest sex in the months before Daeron outed them, but I also think it took Beren a while to be emotionally ready for that kind of intimacy (and I don’t think he’d had much sexual experience, if any, before Luthien). I’d love to read about that as a gradual process, where Luthien is the more experienced person and is kind of initiating things, but also being careful and respectful of Beren’s boundaries.

Literally anything about these two!!! I love them!!!! A fic exploring any point in their story between their first meeting and Thingol’s death would be great.

Eilinel/Gorlim

I’d love anything for these two, really. I’d say no sex in the interest of focusing on characterization, since these two don’t get much of it, but I really just want to read something that they both appear in as living people.

Anything cute about their lives together! When did they meet, how did they meet, when/why did they fall in love? How long had they been married when the war began? Did they want children?

In addition to or instead of the above prompt, some good pre-battle angst of the sort that seems fairly ubiquitous in my favorite Edain ships. What happened the last time they saw each other alive?

Húrin/Morwen

In my headcanons about these two, they were betrothed in their early teens to help tie the Beorian refugees to the Hadorian community, and didn’t get married until years later. If this idea appeals to you, I’d love to read something about them getting to know each other. Their personalities are very different, so how do they get along at the beginning? How do they come to grow fonder of each other?

I also imagine both of them not having had sex with anyone before they get married, and I’d love to read some cute/awkward first time wedding night sex.

Something about the two of them being super happy at Huor and Rian’s wedding (with maybe also an undercurrent of worry about the plans for the upcoming war, especially on Morwen’s part).

Morwen helping Hurin deal with the death of his father, and with the fact that he now has to assume leadership of his people at the age of 21.

And again, angsty pre-Nirnaeth comfort sex would be welcome.

Vorkosigan Saga - Duv Galeni/Delia Koudelka, Drou/Kareen Vorbarra, Harra Csurik/Lem Csurik

I love Duv and Delia and I think they’re pretty underrated! One thing I’d like to see is Duv first opening up to Delia about his family and the things he did during the rebellions on Komarr. At what point in their relationship did they finally discuss these things? Bonus points if you work in his birth name and his feelings about it in some way. I’d also love anything about them and their kids, with any combination of fluff and angst as they adjust to being parents and reflect on the ways Barrayar and Komarr have changed since their own childhoods. Another idea: Delia traveling to Komarr for the first time and actually seeing all the places she’s heard about, or Duv going to meet some of Delia’s extended family for the first time (maybe Drou’s father and brothers, or Kou’s sister?). I’m interested in stories about them exploring their cultural differences and learning more about each other.

Drou/Kareen is kind of a complicated one - I don’t imagine them ever having sex or really talking about their relationship in terms of romance, but still becoming intensely devoted to each other and basically being the most important people in each other’s lives, something that, in different circumstances, might have turned into a romantic relationship. I’d like something set any time during Drou’s years as Kareen’s bodyguard. The main thing I’d like to see for this ship is maybe-romantic-maybe-platonic physical intimacy, like hugging, cuddling, or bed-sharing. Some scenarios I’d love to see: one of them comforting the other for any reason, one of them brushing the other’s hair, Drou helping Kareen get dressed for some fancy event, Kareen accidentally waking Drou when she has a nightmare and Drou ending up sleeping in Kareen’s bed for the rest of the night, or any combination of those. Anything with them sort of co-parenting Gregor would be lovely, as long as they have a little alone time at some point in the story. I’d rather Serg not appear in the fic, but feel free to have other characters discuss him or address how his past treatment of Kareen continues to affect her. A fic about how Drou and Kareen react to hearing about Serg’s death for the first time would be super interesting.

For Lem and Hara, I really just want to know more about these two, especially their early lives. How did they develop feelings for each other? What was their courtship like? What kinds of strain did the events of “The Mountains of Mourning” put on their relationship, and how did they eventually recover from it? How did they feel when their second child was born? What did they tell their other children about Raina, and when did they do it? Just some ideas. You can mention Miles or other major Vorkosigan Saga characters, but I’d rather none of them appear in the fic.

Tortall - Francis of Nond/Raoul of Goldenlake, Lalasa Isran/Tianine Plowman

Basically, all we know about Francis is that he’s quiet, kind, and close friends with Raoul (he’s referred to as “Raoul’s blond shadow”). When I reread Alanna: The First Adventure recently, I came to the conclusion that Raoul (who is bisexual in my head) and Francis were each other’s first sort-of romantic relationship, very close friends who realized as young teens that they were also attracted to each other. Of course, then they both get the Sweating Sickness and Francis dies while Raoul is still very sick. Basically, I want a cute story about shy Francis and outgoing-but-insecure Raoul dealing with their feelings for each other, and/or a sad story about Raoul dealing with the death of his close friend and first passionate crush. I understand if you don’t feel up to writing the death part, though - the cute slightly-angsty awkward stuff will be fine on its own. No sex in this one, please, though kissing would be great.

For Lalasa and Tian, maybe a story about them telling Kel about their relationship for the first time? Or scenes from early on in their relationship as the romance is developing, when Lalasa begins to confide in Tian about her experiences with men and harassment. Or maybe their private reunion after Lalasa is freed from her kidnappers - what is their relationship like at this point, and does their fear and relief inspire any confessions of as-yet-unvoiced emotions. I’d love a little angst or hurt/comfort, but ending with the two of them made happier by their relationship with each other.

Clone Wars - Padme Amidala/Satine Kryze, Steela Gerrera/Ahoska Tano

For these two ships I’m mostly interested in AUs where they both survive TCW/the prequels. My dream Satine/Padme story is where they go into hiding together and raise Padme’s kids and fall in love - anything along those lines would be lovely. If AUs aren’t your thing, maybe a fic about them meeting as teenagers and bonding over their experiences of becoming political figures and being in danger from a very young age, and also developing crushes on each other but not really knowing how to deal.

For Steela/Ahsoka, I’d love to see them working together in the rebellion and going on missions as a couple, falling in love, being practically inseparable, something like that. Bonus points if people sometimes assume that the mysterious agent Fulcrum is a man, and are surprised to find out that Fulcrum is actually two 20-something lesbians. Extra bonus points if all four of them somehow meet several years into the Empire’s rule and little Luke and Leia are there???? Just some ideas. For something actually in the timeline of the show, I’d love a fic about Ahsoka narrowly saving Steela from falling off the cliff and the two of them spending time alone together after the battle, finally realizing/opening up about their feelings for each other.

DS9 - Kira Meru/Tora Naprem

I would sell my soul for some Naprem fanfiction that doesn’t erase Meru or portray Naprem/Dukat as some kind of passionate, misunderstood cross-species romance. I’d also love to see the two of them interact, and so the idea for this ship was born. I’d like all the canonical information we have about these two to be preserved, and if you feel like incorporating details about Meru’s continued relationship with Dukat from the non-canonical Terok Nor trilogy feel free to do so, but if you haven’t read those books then don’t worry about it. Also, it’s been a while since I read that series and I can’t remember if Meru and Naprem ever meet in it, but I feel like they don’t, and obviously they have to meet for this fic to work.

Some hard “no”s for me - Dukat can be in this fic a little, but I’d rather he not be a major character. I also don’t want his relationship with either Meru or Naprem to be portrayed as, for lack of a better word, unproblematic; the story must deal with the power imbalances inherent in the situation, and be sensitive to the fact that coercion (i.e. the things Dukat does to Meru and, by plausible extrapolation, to Naprem) is a form of rape. I don’t really want sex in this one, just a big mess of complicated feelings about Dukat, other Bajorans, the friends and families they may have left behind, and each other (cuddling and/or kissing optional but appreciated).

So, ideas and things I’d love to see explored: how and when might Meru and Naprem first meet? What do they think of each other? Does Naprem develop real fondness for Dukat, and how does Meru react to this? How does Meru die? I also want to know your take on Naprem’s backstory. For a more specific scenario idea, I’d love something with Meru and Naprem staying together for a few nights while Dukat is away from the station, and talking about him and the war and their old lives and (if you want) Naprem’s pregnancy/baby Ziyal. Meru and Naprem sleeping in the same bed in this scenario would be very very good.

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