#rare pair challenge

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

fanfic writers who write for rare pair ships are treasures and I hope they all know about the impact they have on fandoms. like… they’re the ones bringing these ships to lives, they’re one of the few people who saw the potential between two characters whose dynamics, whether or not they interact in canon, were overlooked by most fans, and they created something beautiful out of these potential dynamics. like??? hello???? that is pure genius.

not to mention how they’re the lifelines for other people who enjoy these ships but didn’t have any fics to consume until these tireless writers spent hours or days or weeks or months or years writing about these characters and their relationships, and just shared the worlds they created with their audiences for free.

or how they singlehandedly introduced the ships to new people who would’ve otherwise never thought about these ships before.

how they could just make people fall in love with the dynamics between characters who have little to no canon screentime together.

how they could just make people fall in love with the dynamics between characters who aren’t lovers in canon, characters who don’t indicate any clear hint of romance in canon.

how they see what most fans don’t and how they create such beautiful worlds for these characters are simply insane.

fanfic writers who write for rare pair ships are treasures.

shoutout to every fanfic writer who writes for rare pair ships.

[smash-the-champagne-bottle]

It's time to Smash the Champagne Bottle

Inspired by Launch The Ship*

Smash The Champagne Bottle is a low-pressure multifandom challenge to write the first fic for a ship in a fandom! Launching a ship on the seas has always been accompanied by ceremony, and our name comes from the tradition of smashing a bottle of champagne across the bow of a newly laid ship as the hull slides out of dry dock into the sea.

Have a ship you love that has zero fics on AO3? This is the challenge for you!

Simply choose your ship, and complete a fic for it before the deadline. Sign up on the linked Dreamwidth Sign Up Post (No Dreamwidth Account Needed!), and smash that champagne bottle!

Schedule: Signups Open: September 1st, 2024 Works Revealed: November 15, 2024

Dreamwidth Comm

FAQ

Sign Up Post

AO3 Collection

*Please note, we are not trying to step on any toes or replace Launch the Ship, which is a beloved event. However, since there has been no indication one way or other if the event will run this year- including attempting to ask on the LTS DW going unanswered, and people have been looking for it, so we decided to step in and create an event in the same vein with enough time for the event to take place before the year ends. We hope all is well for the LTS admin/s, and this will only become a repeated event if it should happen that LTS does not continue.

[tennis-kittens]

Andrey: ❝[Carlos] knows everything. He run like crazy, he hits back and forth, dropshots, volley, serve, mental part. He fights. He's a completely complete player. To have a chance against him you need to play a very good level.❞

Q: ❝Who is the funniest guy in your group?❞

Carlos: ❝It's Andrey, as you can see. The funniest one.❞

Q: ❝And in the other group ?❞

Carlos: ❝No. It's Andrey. In the whole ATP Tour, it's Andrey.❞

Carlos: ❝[Andrey] is power. He's unbelievable the way he hits the ball, you know. [...] It's unbelievable the power he has. His forehand is on another planet. He's really powerful.❞

Boomin Beaver collection • Andrey Rublev & Carlos Alcaraz

Merry Christmas @kingfisherprince 🎄🥰♥️

[ghaniblue]

Fic recs: June (HP + Challengers)

Fics I enjoyed lately. I'm making an attempt to get back into reccing fics, hopefully posting monthly lists of fics I enjoyed. Expect a lot of randomness. I'm all over the place currently.

🩸this strange effect by harDeehar / @dryrsheet (Drarry, M, 30k)

Harry hated his job, his cousin, and his inability to figure out how to fit into the boring, depressing world around him. He kept his peace until Draco Malfoy turned out to not be dead like Harry thought he was. Deadly, though? Harry was going to figure that out.

🏕 your braids like a pattern by @hoko-onchi-writes (Drarry, E, 31k)

Harry runs a camp. Malfoy is the new counsellor, and he's driving Harry to the brink of insanity.

🌿 Dragon's Blood and Meadowsweet by Musyc (Millicent/Draco, M, 16,5k)

Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble. For a charm of powerful trouble, Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

Draco Malfoy takes an apprenticeship with a potions master after the war, and discovers the way to make a brew he never expected with a component he never considered. Side effects may occur; results may vary.

🔮 Unfogging the Future by Naidhe (Tom/Lavender, E, 14k)

Lavender takes one step forward and – just like the snap of a finger, the blink of an eye, the drop of a pebble – Hogwarts is left behind. There's no jump, no flashes of light, no whirlwinds of disconnected images. Just one little step; behind stood her war and in front stands 1947. "Huh," she says to herself, "didn't see this in the tea leaves."

🫖 A Generous Minute by papermonkey/ @dracomort (Tom/Abraxas, E, 7k)

Abraxas Malfoy is in love with himself. Tom Riddle is planning a murder. Possibly ten.

Or: when one walking red flag meets another

✉️ The Letters From No One by strawberrybasil (Regulus & Sirius, Marauders gen, T, 38k)

An unexpected find in Godric's Hollow. While cleaning out the Potter cottage after Voldemort's defeat, someone discovers a bundle of letters addressed to Sirius Black.

🪴 sweet poison by @imdamagecontrol (Jegulus, E, 76k)

By the third week of school, Regulus’ crush is out of control. He’s always been a top student. Not to mention, law is his thing. He excels at it, but he can’t focus in class. Not when his professor looks this good in his suit, fabric hugging all the right places. Not when he runs his fingers through already messy hair and makes it messier. Tanned skin and broad shoulders, a brilliant smile paired with infallible kindness. Regulus has never wanted anyone more.

Or, Regulus offers to take care of a houseplant and ends up sleeping with his professor. Oops?

---

And 2 Challengers fics

brutalizer by spqr (Art/Tashi/Patrik, E 8,5k)

If you win tomorrow,” Tashi tells Patrick, "I’ll let you fuck him.”

i may destroy you by @oknowkiss (Art/Patrik, E, 3,4k)

Patrick Zweig was born with a lot. Art Donaldson’s always had more.

>> July recs <<

[lesbian-sunshim]

get early access or leave a tip!

rare pairs for your consideration 6/50 - twilight x night glider

[musicalmoritz]

Finishing the first episode of Interview with the Vampire only to get on TikTok and see ppl calling MITSUHANA of all ships abusive and unshippable and putting it in the same category as incest ships was truly a surreal experience. Anyways friendly reminder that I am fully on board with these two and I love them dearly. MitsuHana world domination, I just know they would bully each other so hard

[autumnmobile12]

When people say, 'You can't ship that! Those characters have never met!'

Those characters have never met.

...and???

...

I found a tiktok the other day where a bunch of people in the comments were going on about how stupid it was that people were shipping X with Y because those characters never met in canon or only shared one interaction in canon and how '...the fandom is unfortunately like that.'

So here's the thing:

My sister and I used to play a game where we would come up with ships based on names pulled from a hat and judging what random pairings came out of it. Didn't matter the fandom, didn't matter the characters. (Except age gaps that were too wide for comfort and underage-adult ships.) The crazier the better, and we came up with some pretty weird but wholesome ones. My sister also has an entire fic of one-shots featuring Soul Eater rare-pairs that are so rare, they are unicorns in that fandom.

Crossover ships (platonic or romantic or otherwise) are my jam.

One of my favorite ships is a crossover ship. Shizuo Heiwajima (Durarara!!) and Adult!Mai Taniyama (Ghost Hunt) sure as hell have never met, I’m pretty certain I’m the only one here, but I didn't let that stop me.

I've shipped Seras (Hellsing) and Lenore (Castlevania Netflix). No particular reason, I just like it.

The cast of D. Gray Man is so diverse and insane that you can put any two characters together and you'll get either an interesting ship, an interesting conversation, or at the very least, a very entertaining argument.

The My Hero Academia fandom likes to write fanfiction where Mirko and Hawks are besties. Those characters never talk in canon. They share maybe one or two scenes together and they don't directly interact. It's just vibes.

And 'just vibes' is pretty much the entire essence behind some ships.

The Castlevania Netflix fandom loves Trephacard so much that I once saw a post here on Tumblr where someone admitted they legitimately forgot it wasn't a canon ship. Alucard and Trevor interact quite a bit, sure, but the point still stands. It's fanon, people love it, deal with it.

The Harry Potter Drapple ship was a thing. (Or maybe it's still a thing, I don't know, I'm not in the Harry Potter fandom.) So don't tell me I can't ship X with Y because they've never met in canon when there is a literal person x inanimate object ship floating around the internet.

I. Don't. Care that X and Y never met. Maybe they have some niche thing in common was worth exploring. Maybe they have similar personalities. Maybe they're total opposites and that was the appeal. Maybe I just woke up and felt like it. The whole point of fanfiction is that does not have to be canon-compliant. Did you expect a word for word document of the source material?

X and Y have certainly never met. But what if they did? Is that not what fanfiction is for?

We're here to have fun, express ourselves, and maybe work through personal issues we got going on in private.

Personally, after coming from some smaller fandoms that primarily work with only one or two ships and nobody mixes it up, I like the variety of a multi-ship fandom. Or no ships at all. It’s nice to also avoid the drama when you don't feel like reading the shipping material.

At the end of the day, don't go shaming/harassing people for shipping what they like, whether it's a mainstream ship or a rare-pair that's so rare it's got an audience of one. If it's a ship you don't like or find problematic, just don't read it. Go find something you do like. (Trust me, there's a part of the Black Butler fandom I stay far away from.)

Let people like what they like, let people be weird, let people build their ships from scratch if they want.

Tag everything properly.

Have fun.

Or Reepicheep will pay you a visit.

And to anyone who says, 'You can't ship that, those characters have never met.'

[tw-anchor-down]

2024 Waning Crescent Round prompts have arrived!

Fall is here, and another round of TW Anchor Down is coming soon (aka less than a week from now!). This year's Waning Crescent Round prompts have now been posted up. You can view each one via the prompt card below:

>> (Oct. 1 - Dec. 31): 2024 Waning Crescent Prompt Card Prompts are available as a text only version for easy accessibility and for downloading if you’d like to plan ahead. You can also check out the ongoing TWAD Spotify playlist to listen to the song prompts. A reminder that creators can choose 1 prompt, a few, all of the prompts, or none of them from each prompt card. For more challenge info, please refer to the guidelines and FAQ. If you’re looking for other Teen Wolf or multi-fandom challenges to combine with TWAD prompts, feel free to check out the events directory. Creations for the Waning Crescent Round can be posted to TW Anchor Down’s open AO3 collection starting October 1st, when the new round officially starts. If you're still working on stuff for the Full Moon Round or any previous prompts, that's cool too. Keep going! You can post those works up at any time. Looking forward to seeing what people make for the rest for this year! Don’t forget to follow @tw-anchor-down and the tags #twanchordown2024 and #twadwaningcrescent24 or join the Discord to get the latest deets!

[withthekeyisking-writer]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: DCU (Comics) Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Dick Grayson/Roman Sionis, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne Characters: Roman Sionis, Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne Additional Tags: Unreliable Narrator, Hurt Dick Grayson, Teen Dick Grayson, Creepy Roman Sionis, Unhealthy Relationships, Conditioning, Emotional Manipulation, Possessive Behavior, Dehumanization, Angst, Blackmail, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Hurt No Comfort Series: Part 6 of Eating Away at What is Good Summary:

Dick wasn't ready to see Bruce again. But Roman said it was time, so here they are.

(Or, here's a little AU for my (No) Places of Safety series, in which Dick doesn't leave Roman when he's seventeen.)

@dick-rarepairs <3

[launchtheship]

It’s that time of year again!

Have you fallen for a ship with 0 fics? Have you even thought about writing it but decided there was no point?

Launch the Ship is a multifandom challenge to write the first fic for a ship! It provides a friendly little community during what can often be a lonely voyage.

All you need to do is choose a ship with 0 fics, and complete a fic for it before the deadline, Oct 20. Everything else is optional—although the event info is hosted on Dreamwidth, you don't even need a Dreamwidth account. So let's set sail, shall we?

Event Info: https://launchtheship.dreamwidth.org

Sign-ups for Round 3 are OPEN!

[smash-the-champagne-bottle]

Promo Your Ships!

Signups for Smash the Champagne Bottle are going strong! If you have a ship you love but lament the complete lack of fics for it, consider joining us on Dreamwidth here!

And for those who have signed up, tell us everything wonderful (Or not so wonderful as the case may be!) about your ships! Feel free to lament the lack of existing fics for them…we're all in the same boat (see what I did there?)

What fandom/s do they come from? What do you love about them? What gave you the idea to put them together? Do they make you smile? Do they break your heart? Do they make you laugh? Are they just idiots that make you roll your eyes? Do they do it all?

Promo Your Ships Here

[swrarepairs]

Results of the 2023 Community Challenge

So this year, in addition to doing an exchange, we also did a BINGO, where participants tried all together to hit a certain number of goals.

The results are in! Drum roll......

YOU DID IT - FULL BLACKOUT OF THE BOARD

Amazing work, the brilliance and hard work and enthusiasm were so amazing to witness. Huge love to this community, and now, go read those amazing works!

[dick-rarepairs]

Hey friends! Another DRPC Year is approaching its end. Time passes fast when you’re having fun pairing Dick in rare ships 😏

If you’re passionate about Dick rare pairs too, then you’ll be happy to learn that the current mod crew (@itsnyxkvistad and @ave-on-main) would like to grow again! If you'd like to work with us on the Dick Rare Pair Challenge, make sure to read up on what your mod duties are going to be all about. 💙

DICK RARE PAIR CHALLENGE MOD

DRPC Mods keep @dick-rarepairs up to date. Therefore, you need a Tumblr account you use regularly to apply. A Discord or Twitter (X) account is required too because Tumblr only supports group chats on the app.

📝 A Blog Mod’s main tasks include:

reblogging new fanworks

creating polls once a month

adding users/fanworks to the Hall of Fame

answering asks

writing announcements

🏆 Furthermore, once a year challenge participants can request a fanwork prize that the mods create. (Learn about prizes here.) 

🎨In rare cases, new graphics must be made and the Tumblr theme must be modified.

That sounds intimidating? Don’t worry, you won’t be alone 😊 All these tasks are worked on together by the mod crew!

If you're interested please apply, using the MOD APPLICATION FORM.

🚨Applications will be open for two weeks, until 23rd September. 

If you have any questions for us, we will happily answer them for you! 💙

[stars-forever]

Fellow writers and fanfiction enthusiasts! I'm excited to announce that claiming for the @character-a-character-b “Rare Pair Magic” flash fest is officially open!

Join us for a flash fest where we'll dive into the joy and the bonds of romantic and platonic rare pairs and the story they tell.

Our Discord Server Link is: https://discord.gg/pCjeXgV4VV

[hpshipuary]

💖 HP Shipuary Prompt List 💖

Here are your HP Shipuary 2023 prompts for each day in the month of February! This year we have TWO ways for you to take on this challenge:

Pick a Ship! We will provide you with a Het, Slash, and Femslash ship for each day. You only need to create works for 1 of the 3 ships listed. (i.e. Hermione/Sirius • Dean/Graham • Bellatrix/Luna)

BYO (Build Your Own) Ship! We will provide one Male and one Female character (canonically) for each day. Create your own ship utilizing at least 1 of that day's characters! (i.e. Percy Weasley • Luna Lovegood)

Remember: you do NOT have to create work for each day! If the listed ship(s) or character(s) aren't for you, feel free to skip them!

We look forward to everything you create! 💕

Rules • FAQ • AO3 Collection • Prompt Spreadsheet

Your 2023 Ships and BYO Ship Character Lists are available below the cut, or you can view the spreadsheet above:

2023 Ships (pick at least one)

01: Ginny/Tom (LV) • Marcus/Percy • Minerva/Lily

02: Cho/Ron • Harry/Sirius • Lavender/Padma

03: Draco/Parvati • Fred/Cedric • Pansy/Luna

04: Cedric/Fleur • James Sr/Lucius • Hermione/Molly

05: George/Pansy • Remus/Barty Jr • Katie/Fleur

06: Kingsley/Minerva • Draco/Bill • Cho/Parvati

07: Oliver/Alicia • Seamus/Gilderoy • Rose/Lavender

08: Harry/Luna • Ron/Severus • Eileen/Euphemia

09: Marrietta/Seamus • Evan/Regulus • Rolanda/Helena

10: Gregory/Susan • Abraxas/Tom (LV) • Hermione/Marietta

11: Hermione/Marcus • Charlie/Rubeus • Nymphadora/Pansy

12: Lucius/Andromeda • Ron/Scorpius • Dorcas/Lily Sr

13: Hermione/Sirius • Dean/Graham • Bellatrix/Luna

14: V-DAY FREE DAY (ANY SHIP)

15: Bellatrix/James Sr • Lorcan/Hugo • Astoria/Ginny

16: Lily Luna/Blaise • Fenrir/Vincent • Olympe/Minerva

17: Neville/Pansy • Draco/Kingsley • Susan/Penelope

18: Dolores/Firenze • Harry /Neville • Millicent/Parvati

19: Albus/Poppy • George/Colin • Myrtle/Olive

20: Lily Sr/Peter • Arthur/Vernon • Andromeda/Molly

21: Luna/Severus • Lucius/Cygnus • Hannah/Alicia

22: Harry Potter/Astoria • Frank/Severus • Daphne/Hermione

23: Lily Sr/Regulus • Ron/Zacharias • Bellatrix/Petunia

24: Percy/Angelina • Harry/Viktor • Lily Luna/Luna

25: Draco/Rosmerta • Albus/Percy • Alice/Andromeda

26: Lavender/Theo • Teddy/Bill • Ginny/Gwenog

27: Albus Severus/Hermione • Horace/Tom (LV) • Astoria/Narcissa

28: Molly/Remus • Dudley/Piers • Hermione/Lily Sr

-

2023 BYO Ship Characters (pick at least one)

01: Albus Severus Potter • Alicia Spinnet

02: Bill Weasley • Andromeda Black Tonks

03: Blaise Zabini • Angelina Johnson

04: Cedric Diggory • Astoria Greengrass

05: Draco Malfoy • Bellatrix Black Lestrange

06: Evan Rosier • Cho Chang

07: Fred Weasley • Daphne Greengrass

08: George Weasley • Dorcas Meadowes

09: Gilderoy Lockhart • Fleur Delacour

10: Harry Potter • Gabrielle Delacour

11: James Potter • Ginny Weasley

12: James Sirius Potter • Hermione Granger

13: Lucius Malfoy • Katie Bell

14: V-DAY FREE DAY (ANY SHIP)

15: Marcus Flint • Lavender Brown

16: Neville Longbottom • Lily Evans Potter

17: Oliver Wood • Lily Luna Potter

18: Percy Weasley • Luna Lovegood

19: Regulus Black • Minerva McGonagall

20: Remus Lupin • Molly Weasley

21: Ron Weasley • Myrtle Warren

22: Scorpius Malfoy • Narcissa Black Malfoy

23: Severus Snape • Nymphadora Tonks

24: Sirius Black • Pomona Sprout

25: Teddy Lupin • Pansy Parkinson

26: Theodore Nott • Petunia Evans Dursley

27: Tom Riddle | Voldemort • Poppy Pomfrey

28: Viktor Krum • Rose Weasley

[tw-anchor-down]

The Waning Crescent Round has kicked off!

Timeline: Oct. 1- Dec. 31, 2024

Happy fall and spooky season! Today marks the start for the last TWAD round of this year, which means we’ve got 15 new prompts from the 2024 Waning Crescent Round prompt card. Prompts are multimedia and consist of words, sayings/quotes, songs, tropes and photos. A reminder that creators have the option to choose: 1 prompt, a few, all of the prompts, or none of them from this prompt card. Feel free to dive into the mega challenge options (if you dare)! All works can be posted to TW Anchor Down’s open AO3 collection. As always, you're more than welcome to combine new prompts with older ones from previous prompt cards in the prompt card filing cabinet. If you're still working on stuff from the Full Moon Round or any other previous rounds, that's a-okay! Late submissions are always welcome, so you can submit those whenever you can! If you'd like your work to shared or reblogged, just tag @tw-anchor-down and include the tags #twanchordown2024 and #twadwaningcrescent24 for this current round. Looking forward to see what y'all make for the rest of the year. Happy creating!

Your Waning Crescent Round prompt countdown includes the following 15 selections:

FIVE Words: 1. Run 2. Whisper 3. Lantern 4. Impossible 5. Curious

—

FOUR Sayings/Quotes: 1. Blood is thicker than water 2. All cats are gray at night 3. Keep the wolves at bay 4. Too many cooks in the kitchen

—

THREE Songs: 1. Free by Florence + The Machine 2. Superstition by Stevie Wonder 3. Trustfall by P!NK

—

TWO Tropes: 1. One night stand 2. Time-skip

—

ONE Photo: 1. Wax Seal

MEGA CHALLENGE Here are two optional prompts to take on: 1. Incorporate the following mythical creature: Skeletons

2. Use 5 different prompt types in your creation (aka. a word, a saying/quote, a song, a trope AND a photo).