#tales of rarepairs exchange

[sciroccoorion35]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers (except me because obvs I have done it). Spread the self-love ❤

The Summer Garden - this was my attempt to write a novella set between TCS and TEG that read like it had been written by Stroud. I am unreasonably proud of it.

A Winter's Tale - all the Christmas tropes! And some other fun stuff thrown in as well. Yes, it's a modern AU and part of a series, but I've heard from several readers that it stands on its own.

After - after cases, Lockwood and Lucy keep finding themselves falling asleep together in increasingly odd places. Yes, this is a series. And yes, it varies wildly in style, because I wrote them at different times and wasn't trying to be consistent. But there's a lot of fun and fluff to be had here and it was a super fun project, so I'm not apologising.

We Mean to Go On - this is one I really wish more people would give a chance. It was a fascinating prompt and led me down a really interesting road. It was for a rarepair exchange, and I basically tried to hit as many pairings as I could (lots of angsty exes, everybody is in love with Lucy, sexual tension all over the damn place). I got to read this out loud in a discord party and people were screaming at the end of the prologue. It was so fun. Also bonus, made a really good friend in the beta process for this fic, so win! <3

Scripts for Seasons 2-4 - while we're at it, these scripts have never gotten enough love, but I humbly believe they are awesome and super fun to read. And I promise, the format is easier to read than you think.

[yume-x-hanabi]

#2 for the Ask meme, Tales of the Abyss :3

#2 What are your top 3 otps right now?

I feel that one's a bit too generic to fandom-focus, as I only have one Abyss OTP 😅

I guess I'll take it as top 3 Abyss ships:

Guy/Noelle: the OTP. Which is kinda ridiculous to OTP two characters who exchange maybe three lines of dialogue in total, but heh, my brain is wired for rarepairs most of the time lol. It's all about the potential 8)

Luke/Tear: love ships with good narrative balance and those two fit the bill. Their development is wonderful

Dist/Jade: @bibliophileemily converted me :p

[tantive404]

Dear Author- May the 4th Exchange 2024

Hello Author! I'm so excited for this exchange, and to see what beautiful work you have in store for me. I just know it will be a delight. Here are some of my ideas, likes, and dislikes to get you inspired! And by the way, treats are very, VERY welcome and loved!

DNW: Explicit sexual content (I'm ok with stuff of that nature being tastefully implied, but no descriptions of genitalia or sex acts. In short, M-rated content is fine, but E is not.) Sequel trilogy content Major Character Death of the requested characters (I'm fine with threats of death and side characters dying, but I want my mains to live.) Mundane/modern AUs For Leia-centric or Tarkin-centric pieces, I'd prefer for the pairings of Han/Leia and Tarkin/TK-421 not to be present.

Likes: Leia whump Angst, hurt/comfort Vader being protective of Leia Arranged/forced marriage Enemies to lovers tropes, villain/heroine ships Kidnapping Political intrigue (lends itself particularly well to Tarkin/Leia) Creepy Tarkin Feisty Leia, with all her sassy banter Skywalker Family Drama (especially when it centers on Leia and Vader's dynamic) Character studies Fake dating trope Soulmate AUs Omegaverse Fantasy AUs Spying/espionage

Character: Leia Organa

Leia has been my absolute favorite character since childhood for so many, many reasons... I adore her bravery in the face of danger, her commitment to her cause, and the unique combination of strength and vulnerability which she portrays. There are so many, many things you can do with her through fic... I really could write and read about her forever!

Fic prompts/ideas: -I love pre-ANH Leia stories, where we see the young reckless senator standing up to the Empire and going on her first missions of espionage for the rebels. Maybe she almost gets caught-- how does she deal with that and manipulate her way out of capture or detection? There's a delicious potential for suspense and drama there! As well as great juicy interactions with Vader and Tarkin... -Leia's relationship to Alderaan-- fond childhood memories, cultural and familial traditions, her drive to protect them from the Empire, and even the tragedy when they are finally lost. This lends itself well to any bittersweet fluff with the Organas and Winter... as well as character studies or coming-of-age tales.

-Anything to do with her capture and torture aboard the Death Star-- I'd love some whump or hurt/comfort related to her interrogation scene, or confrontations with Tarkin and Vader... feel free to combine with the Leia ships listed below.

-Dark Leia AUs are also really fun, as are those where she is discovered by Vader and must deal with the fallout of her heritage. It's a great route for character study and angsty exploration; how does she get to this point and where does she go from there?

Leia Organa/Wilhuff Tarkin

Ah, my twisted little rarepair OTP. The things I would do for them! Leia is the perfect embodiment of the Rebellion's cause, just as Tarkin is the perfect embodiment of the Empire... where she is hope and light, he is tyranny and darkness. They have so much sass and resentment for one another, and I'm sure there were many opportunities for them to butt heads in the time before A New Hope. And then that moment in the Destruction of Alderaan scene where he touches her face. *shivers* Feel free to get dark and creepy with them and to emphasize the power dynamics and their hate for one another. There's a LOT of potential between these two!

Prompts:

-I like to imagine that, pre-ANH, Tarkin may have had a sort of obsession with outing Leia as a rebel. I want to see a game of cat and mouse between the daring spy princess and the wicked governor and how they work to thwart each other.

-Fake dating trope as a conduit for espionage and political intrigue: Leia pretends to be seeing the Grand Moff in order to get information on the Empire's plans... and perhaps deeper feelings begin to blossom. I think Leia could get something out of the push-and-pull dynamic and the challenge of a dangerous and hateful man as the enemy she's trying to take down.

-Tarkin tries to force Leia into a relationship with him so that he can use her as leverage/a hostage against the rebels and their sympathizers.

-Tarkin evacuates the Death Star in time and is determined to get revenge on Leia for the loss of his ultimate weapon... whump and tension ensue.

Honestly, I would be happy just to see these two locked in a room and arguing for hours; any interaction between them makes my heart happy!

Leia Organa & Darth Vader

Vader finding out Leia is his daughter is always a classic fic premise, and one which can be exploited in many ways. Both of these characters are so strong willed and a force to be reckoned with, and watching them play off one another is really entertaining. I love the parallels between them, the way that Leia is unafraid to stand up to this powerful figure, and the angst and drama which their shared bloodline causes.

Prompts:

-"You weren't on any mercy mission this time": something where Leia runs into Vader in the pre-ANH time and narrowly evades his capture.

-Vader kidnaps Leia to raise her as his daughter and Sith apprentice. She resists every step of the way.

-The two of them are forced to work together for a common goal-- perhaps the cause of overthrowing Palpatine. Maybe Vader is compelled to defect to the Rebellion and redeem herself, or maybe Leia finds herself seduced to the dark side of the Force.

Leia Organa/Darth Vader

If there weren't related, I do think that Vader and Leia would make a rather compelling couple, being almost compatible in a certain twisted manner. Both of them are deeply passionate and determined to protect the ones they love, with rather fiery spirits and a commanding presence. There's also the aesthetic of black vs white and the cute height difference, as well as the twisted take on the knight and the princess motif. I can see him getting really protective and possessive of her and being reminded painfully of his dear Padme.

Prompts:

-Through some strange pull of fate, the two are placed in a Force bond. Vader feels a connection to Leia but doesn't know the truth of why and draws entirely wrong conclusions as a result-- (romantic rather than paternal).

-Palpatine arranges that Leia be betrothed to Vader as a manner of subduing the rebels and spiting the Organas and his wayward apprentice in one fell swoop.

-Leia becomes the consort of newly crowned Emperor Vader, as well as his apprentice in the Force, and struggles to come to terms with her new position.

Leia Organa/Wilhuff Tarkin/Darth Vader

A mixture of the above ships... just Leia being caught between the attentions of two powerful Imperial enemies who have competing agendas to possess her, and her efforts to resist them in every way. They can be the worst most dysfunctional love triangle ever.

Leia Organa/Wilhuff Tarkin & Darth Vader

Same as above, but with Vader being aware of his fatherly role and taking a more platonic role in his protections of the Princess.

Prompts: -Leia is raised by Vader as the Imperial princess, and is given to Tarkin in marriage to secure the family bloodline. However she has other plans...

-Vader notices the Grand Moff creeping on the young Senator of Alderaan and, due to some unknown urging of the Force, is determined to protect her.

Jyn Erso/Orson Krennic

A forceful and obstinate rebel girl and an equally forceful and obstinate Imperial officer, both sharing a messy past and a connection to her father. They compel me and I think their sparring would be delicious to watch.

Prompts:

-Jyn and Krennic survive the Battle of Scarif and begin an enemies to lovers arc. Perhaps they are forced into close proximity in order to survive and must learn to rely upon one another.

-Galen takes his family with him back to the Empire, and Jyn grows close to the mysterious man in white.

-Forced marriage where the Ersos are desperate to protect themselves from the Empire and must offer up their daughter as a last resort.

Sabe/Darth Vader

Sabe is an intriguing side character-- the girl who grew up in Padme's shadow, devoting her life to the protection of her Queen. In the time of the Empire, she becomes a rebel spy, and meets Vader in the comics. I think they could make a very entertaining, tragic, and dysfunctional couple, with Vader looking for the shadow of the wife he had lost but eventually falling for someone new, and Sabe trying to come to an understanding of the man her Queen loved and see behind the mask.

Prompts:

-SPY x FAMILY-esque AU where, due to some strange political shenanigans they have to raise the twins together.

-Fake dating or forced marriage

-Sabe tries to assassinate Vader, but it doesn't go as planned.

Character: Winter Celchu

Winter has a lot of fascinating possibilities, being a child of Alderaan and so closely tied to House Organa, acting as the more subtle and gentle half of Leia's fiery spirit. She's also quite intellectual and a cunning rebel agent, which is really fun.

Prompts:

-Something to do with her spy missions for the Rebellion, her ability to slip so easily into different roles and maybe some angst about her true self disappearing because of that.

-Her relationship to Leia... it's said that when they were young the two would swap places and Winter would play as the princess so Leia could run away from her duties or play pranks. I think that could be a fun little story.

-Reunion with Leia after Alderaan's destruction.

Character: Rivoche Tarkin

Rivoche is an obscure character, but she intrigues me. She's the niece of the infamous Grand Moff Tarkin, but holds sympathies for the Rebellion-- even using her position as a socialite to spy for them. I think there are a lot of places she could be taken.

Prompts:

-Something dealing with her relationship to Uncle Wilhuff

-How she becomes involved with the rebels in the first place.

[jaclynhyde]

12, 31, 65 for the writer meme

12. How does receiving or not receiving feedback/support impact you?

I tend towards rarepairs, often in rare fandoms, so it’s like “yes I reached the three other people who care about this!!!” I try very hard not to get in my head about low feedback and I’m not always successful, but I am so happy for enthusiastic responses/kudos/reblogging/etc. Getting people into a rarepair is the best feeling in the world. And I am crazy lucky to be married to a wonderful beta so I always get support while writing, which is good because I am incapable of writing WIPs and getting other feedback during.

31. Do you start with the characters or the plot when writing?

First thing I come up with is a hook. Most of my writing is for exchanges so I already have prompts and characters to work with; eventually I come up with a scene or emotional beat and the general trajectory clicks into shape. Characterization comes waaaaay easier to me than plot, but the fic doesn’t really get going until I figure out why it needs to exist.

65. Tell us about what you’re most looking forward to writing – in your current project, or a future project.

I have an epic BG3 Wyll/Emperor fic slowly taking shape in my head, but I need a) thorough canon review and b) to finish my origin Wyll playthrough so that will take approximately a billion years. Someone request it in an exchange in a few months, maybe it’ll get me off my ass Otherwise my old fandoms never really go away so someday I’d like to finish that Tales of Vesperia Yuri/Raven identity porn I started or that Starman Shade & Sadie or that FGO Gilgamesh/Kingu and I really wish I could write more consistently!!!

[talesofevents]

Happy Valentine’s Day! We're excited to announce this year's Tales of Rarepairs Exchange! The poll results were overwhelmingly in favor of keeping the same dates as last year, so nominations and sign-ups will be in March, assignments in April, and posting in May!

What kinds of ships can be nominated? Each game will have its own criteria regarding rarity of potential ships. We'll have more details when nominations open. Stay tuned!

[nqstick]

...And here was the gift I received! Thank you, Windian!

@talesofexchanges

[luriart]

Tales of Rarepair Exchange finally revealed so I can post my part!!

one pair of green boys for @patthephilatos

[kyoshi-lesbians]

Gen and Sapphic ATLA Fic Recs

I’ve been meaning for some time to put together a list of fics focused on under-appreciated characters, relationships, and pairings, and here it finally is! Split into gen and sapphic pairs, including some rarepairs, rangshi, mailee, yueki. I’ve mentioned just one story from each author for brevity's sake, but plenty of these writers have many awesome atla fics to check out

general, character studies, and worldbuilding

The Hand of Kyoshi by TehRaincoat, 23,000+ words 

MY FAVORITE SUKI FIC. You want in-depth, culturally appropriate worldbuilding of Kyoshi Island? Suki’s fleshed out backstory? Maybe a look into her relationship with her mother and how she became the leader of the Kyoshi warriors at such a young age? This is it. This is IT. 

you were never supposed to leave by windupclock, 2500+ words  

Exploration of Sokka and Kya’s relationship and Sokka’s grief. This fic makes me want to punch a wall. I love it. I hate it. It’s incredible and you should read it.

you are any way the wind blows by suzukiblu, 1000+ words

Beautifully written fic about secret airbender ty lee. I think about this story all the time. 

to hold the breeze by purplecresent, 4000+ words

“tiny vignettes about aang's tattoos, his culture, and those who love him”. This story is beautiful, and heartbreaking, and so loving. My favorite Aang fic.

(many more below the cut)

Encounters of a Swampy Kind by meetmeatthecottage, 1000+

Aang meets Ikki in the Swamp. Pretty sure I cried reading this. As ya do :’)

Long Long Time Ago by Lisse,  2000+ words

One of my absolute fave fics. The story features great OCs, worldbuilding, and Haru. It is part of a series called “Swampverse” that features an alt-universe where the war went differently (badly). Short series, worth reading all of it. I’m always in awe that this was published waaaay back in 2006. Cw for heavy subject matter, including some mentions of violence. 

Sands of Time by starsofgems, 64,000+ words

OH MAN. THIS STORY. IS. INCREDIBLE. Features amazing worldbuilding focused on the sandbenders, Toph and Zuko friendship, and the story of Avatar Yangchen and her girlfriend! Many moving parts, yet it all works together perfectly. Part of a larger series but I did jump into this without reading the previous parts and could follow the plot without trouble.

a tale I know well by undergrounddash, 6500+ words

My favorite ‘Zuko making amends and getting to know the gaang’ fic! Set at the Western Air Temple, Zuko reads a story to Toph, which becomes Zuko reading a story to everyone. 

rarepairs 

Tide Locked by ambyr, 9000+ words

One of my all time favorites. A beautifully written story about Kanna and Hama, and how war changes people.  If you’re at all interested in either of their characters, it is a must read.

The Eyeliner Incident by spacemagic, 14,000+ words

I can’t say I’m a Katazula fan, but this breaks the mold for me! Canon-divergent modern AU set in Ba Sing Se, wonderfully written, delves into serious themes, and all the characters are wonderfully written!    

Rangshi!!! 

all i ever wanted was a life in your shape by axsun, +3000 words

It’s sweet but not just sweet, ya know? Kyoshi and Rangi are so true to character. Somehow the author manages to pack in excellent modern worldbuilding in a little over 3000 words. Incredible, must read. (It is part 2 of a previous story which is also wonderful.) 

come back with gravity by frutescence, 7500+ words

THEE Rangi fic of all time. Her relationship with her father is fleshed out beautifully and heartbreakingly −  all Rangi’s relationships are explored so well. So so good!!!!!

Steel, Moon, and Fire by rivensilk, 3000+ words

A tag for this fic is “rangi is an assassin but still harps on about her honor”, what more can i say? What’s not to love???

where we go for each other, we go together by city_of_suns, 2000+ words

GOD. I think it was one of the first rangshi fics i ever read and it cuts me deep every time. Fic summary is “In which Koko grows up idealizing one mother and being raised by the other”. Yeah. YEAH. 

Mailee time! 

to the moon and to saturn by wearealltalesintheend, 10,000+ words  

Mai centric mailee story!! Love love love the exploration of Mai, it has a cool plot, great structuring, and JUNE makes an appearance <3 

bad girls by airnomadenthusiast, 11,500+ words 

So this is mailee but it’s also just the atla girls all together having a good time! They start a band! It’s hilarious and heartwarming, a great feel good story along with the cute mailee.

the language of flowers (aka- how you get the girl) by i_love_your_light, 3000+ words  

I am not immune to flowershop fics and if you aren’t either, this is for you! It’s inspired by the tumblr post about saying 'fuck you' in flower, and if that doesn’t scream mailee idk what does

second star to the right and straight on 'til morning by whattheelizabeth, 11,500+ words

MAILEE ROAD TRIP FIC. It’s cute, it’s fun, it’s sweet, and at times it’s hilarious. LOTS of pinning but they figure themselves out eventually :) 

hello yueki nation

A Tale of Love Letters and International Incidents by theknightlybisexual, 4000+ words

Another favorite! Chief Yue and Captain of the Kyoshi Warriors Suki become friends while exchanging letters. It's a great take on their leadership roles post-canon, and its SUCH a fun read; I laughed out loud so many times.

moonstruck by zeitgeistofnow, 1000+  

Also explores Yue and Suki's leadership roles post-canon. It's beautiful! And it kinda hurts! And I love it!

[just-an-old-blog]

The Tales of Rarepair Exchange is totally to blame for all the Velvet/Estelle brainworms I got that lead into this beast.

Title: One Step Forward

Author: Tis I the Velvet menace and fellow Vesperia writer Magicmetslogic beta read

Fandom: Vesperia/Berseria…that technically takes places in Ray’s setting but that ain’t relevant

Ships/Characters: Velvet/Estelle, Raven, Flynn, Phi shows up for 3 minutes

Chapters/Word count: 16,764 over 6/6 chapters *banshee screech*

Rating: T

Warnings/Content Tags: Starts off pretty light but the later chapters touch up on both characters’ trauma through (brief scene) self-harm, panic attacks, nightmares, and allusions to torture. Basically heavy spoilers for Vesperia so if you know what went down in Act 2 then you’ll probably know what to expect. As for Berseria, the spoilers are more vague aside from the prologue.

Summary/Commentary: A fun little crossover ship that turned into a deep dive…Estelle is paired up with none other than the Lord of Calamity and lighthearted shenanigans end up turning into actual trauma bonding.

**Link:**

One Step Forward

[aurantia-ignis]

In which Yuri gets tired of all the long, messy, troublesome steps involved in holding a wedding, so he sneaks into his bride's room and kidnaps her away. Estelle isn't too upset at the idea of eloping =D

For tea_notes on ao3 for the Tales of Rarepairs Exchange! 

[swfandomevents]

Multifandom Event List

This a general list of some multifandom events that people might be interested in. This list won’t be continually updated to have upcoming events. If you know of an event I’m missing (I’m sure there are many) or that is no longer happening, please drop me an ask or message. Some events might be 18+.

Bingos/Challenges/Prompt Events:

Perpetual

51 Plus Crossover Challenge

100 Ships Prompt Challenge

Yearly (approximately chronological based on event or signup date if there is one)

Febuwhump Event

Fixed That For You Fest

Fiberfic Prompt Challenge

Mermay

All About Fluff Challenge

Found Family Bingo

AUgust Writing Challenge

Sicktember Event

Troptember Event

Fictober Event

Comfortember Event

Across the Universe Bingo 

Exchanges/Big Bangs (approximately chronological based on signup date):

WIP Big Bang

Once Upon A Fic Exchange

Gen Freeform Exchange

Rarepair Fic Exchange

Unsent Letters Exchange

Multifandom 5K Exchange

Soul 2 Soul Exchange

Fairy Tale Inspired Fic Exchange

Multifandom Drabble Exchange

Multifandom Horror Exchange

Recursive Exchange

Wingfic Exchange

Femsub Exchange

Femslash After Dark Exchange

AU Exchange

Zombie Bang

Holly Poly Exchange

Pine 4 Pine Exchange

Fandom Growth Exchange

Dark Fic Exchange

Darkest Night Exchange

[tales-of-sweets]

At long last I've finished my animatic for the Tales of Rarepairs Exchange.

Now I'm just gonna extend my hiatus until after the weekend while I do stuff for my birthday ^^

[shortkingzuko]

title: love lines

relationship: mai/ty lee

no warnings that i can think of

summary: Mai tries not to think about how nice it was to feel Ty Lee’s hand against her own, tries not to think about how it would feel to have her press kisses against her palms or feel her eyelashes fluttering against her cheek. In some ways she feels nostalgic for when they were kids when Ty Lee was equally as touchy but before she learned to respect Mai’s boundaries. What a fool she was, to establish such firm boundaries in such harsh fashions. Mai hopes that Ty Lee will trip up, hug her for too long or too tight, press a kiss against her cheek in greeting as she does for so many others. Of course, Ty Lee never does. She’s too good, cares too much about Mai’s comfort, and tries so hard to make sure that she is never the cause of distress. Mai has never been described as touchy, and she made sure that everyone knew it. She wishes she could think of a way to tell Ty Lee that she might be the only exception.-- OR; Intricate Rituals Constructed To Allow Mai To Touch The Skin of Another Woman

this was a pinch hit that i fulfilled for @avatar-rarepair-exchange-2021 !! really fun to write :^)

read it on ao3 (and see all my tags and joshin around) or read it under the cut !!

“Mai, give me your hand,” Ty lee says, voice piercing through Mai’s concentration easily. She lets go of the edge of her book, languidly lifting it towards Ty Lee.

“Why do-” Mai’s question is cut off when a strong tug pulls her arm and her attention. “Ty Lee, what are you doing?”

Ty Lee holds Mai’s wrist, one hand pushing back her gently curled fingers, leaning over to eye at her palm closely.

“Stop moving!” Ty Lee says, wrestling Mai’s arm into a more convenient position. As quiet as they try to be, Mai can tell that other students are turning around in their seats, trying to get a glimpse of who’s breaking the silence of the library. “I’m trying to read your palm!”

Ty Lee finally has a grip she likes, cradling Mai’s now still palm like it’s something precious. One calloused finger traces over Mai’s skin, tickling it as the pastel pink nail follows some invisible shape. Mai swallows.

“Okay,” she says, trying to keep her voice even. She clenches her free hand into a fist and hopes that the hand that Ty Lee is holding isn’t getting as sweaty. Ty Lee studies the skin carefully, leaning in close at random.

Mai can feel her gentle breath on her hand, and against her best wishes, she finds herself leaning closer too, trying to see whatever is catching Ty Lee’s interest for so long.

After what feels like a thousand heartbeats, Ty Lee lets go. It takes a moment for Mai to realize that she can take her hand back.

“So, what’s the diagnosis, doctor?” Mai asks, trying as subtly as she can to wipe her hand on her jeans. Ty Lee giggles.

“Well the lighting in here isn’t great, so I didn’t get a perfect look, but it looks pretty good to me!” She grins, and Mai almost disagrees with her statement about the lighting, because the way her lip gloss shines and reflects in the fluorescent glow almost makes her brain short circuit.

Mai raises an eyebrow and looks at Ty Lee for a moment. Their staredown only lasts for a few seconds before Ty Lee laughs again.

“Fine! Fine! I’m still learning though,” she says, impassionedly, motioning to the various books and magazines that she’s spread out on their table, “but it looks like your success or money line was good-”

“It better be.”

“Yes, yes, I know, you’re in the sciences for the money. It looked pretty good, your lifeline looked  very  good, no breaks! And, uh,” Ty Lee almost looks bashful, with the way she looks away, cheeks going pink, “Your marriage line is pretty short, but your love line looks good.”

“Marriage is a sham,” Mai says, automatically. She doesn’t know why her heart is beating so fast at Ty Lee mentioning love. She always seems to feel nervous at the mention of love, or dating, or romance these days, though she tries hard to hide it. Ever since she came out as gay it  feels  like every mention is pointed at her, for some reason, like any whisper of love is meant to get a reaction out of her.

She knows it isn’t true, knows that Ty Lee of all people would never try to wind her up or make her uncomfortable on purpose. Mai’s certain that if she voiced these feelings to Ty Lee, armchair therapist that she is, that she would receive a long lecture about becoming more comfortable with herself and her desires, how she needs to stop repressing her feelings and ‘let her heart sing’ or something like that. Just the thought of it, makes Mai try to push the thought down even more.

“I know that you think marriage is a sham.” Ty Lee pouts and leans her chin on her propped up arm. The friendship bracelet that she forced Mai to make with her hands proudly on her wrist. Mai has to force herself to pull her eyes away from it and look back at the physics textbook that she should have been studying this entire time. “Maybe that’s why your marriage line is so much shorter than your love line.”

“I didn’t know that a marriage line existed,” Mai mutters, attempting to lose herself into equations and examples utilizing her ‘cousin Throckmorton.’ Ty Lee just hums in response, flipping back open a book of her own. They settle back into silence - a fact that those in their surrounding tables are surely thankful for - and it takes Mai a few more minutes to feel her heartbeat settle down too.

Mai tries not to think about how nice it was to feel Ty Lee’s hand against her own, tries not to think about how it would feel to have her press kisses against her palms or feel her eyelashes fluttering against her cheek. In some ways she feels nostalgic for when they were kids when Ty Lee was equally as touchy but before she learned to respect Mai’s boundaries. What a fool she was, to establish such firm boundaries in such harsh fashions. Mai hopes that Ty Lee will trip up, hug her for too long or too tight, press a kiss against her cheek in greeting as she does for so many others.

Of course, Ty Lee never does. She’s too good, cares too much about Mai’s comfort, and tries so hard to make sure that she is never the cause of distress. Mai has never been described as touchy, and she made sure that everyone knew it.

She wishes she could think of a way to tell Ty Lee that she might be the only exception.

Mai lets the thought swim around in her head as she waits for Ty Lee to finish her martial arts club. Other girls stream out of the practice room and changing room, and Mai does her best to sidestep all of them. She peers through the small crowd, trying to see the tell-tale high ponytail and pink scrunchy. The tea she’s holding is starting to burn her hand, and just as she’s about to turn to try and find a place to set it down, she sees a flurry of pink and then Ty Lee’s beaming face.

“Mai!” She cheers. Her cheeks are just as pink as her sweatshirt, and as she walks towards Mai she tries frantically to stab her dangly earrings back into her ears. It takes Mai a second to recognize them as the little daggers-earrings that she gifted her months ago. When Ty Lee gets close enough, Mai thrusts out her hand.

“I brought you that tea you like,” she says, hoping that her affection doesn’t seep into her voice. The way Ty Lee grins makes her think that maybe she failed. She doesn’t know if the thought upsets her or not.

“Aw, you’re so sweet!”

“No, I’m not!”

“Yes, you are,” Ty Lee teases, trying again to get her earring through its hole. She reaches out with one hand to save Mai’s hand from the hot cup, and Mai doesn’t allow herself to dwell on the feeling of gentle fingers brushing against her own.

“Want some help?” Mai asks instead. Ty Lee looks surprised for only a split second before she nods, passing her earrings to Mai’s outstretched hand.

A thrum of excitement courses through Mai’s body as she steps closer to Ty Lee. It isn’t cute or romantic, in fact, it’s kind of gross - Ty Lee still has sweat clinging to her neck and hair, and she smells vaguely of the university gym’s foam mats. Mai carefully pushes the earrings into each of Ty Lee’s ears, taking a moment longer than necessary to ‘make sure they’re both in.’

She steps back and sees that Ty Lee is smiling, but more softly, gentler than her usual beam.

“Thank you, Mai,” she says, soft enough that Mai almost has to strain to hear it over the ruckus of other students clamouring to get to their swim practice in time.

“Of course,” she chokes out, “Anytime.”

Mai is laying on Ty Lee’s laid out hoodie and is leaning her head on Ty Lee’s backpack. Her homework has been long abandoned as she watches Ty Lee run around with their friends on the unused field. Aang holds a frisbee, while Suki holds a baseball bat, and Katara and Sokka both seem intent to tackle each other and Zuko into the ground. Mai has long lost track of whatever game or objective they originally had but it’s still mildly entertaining.

She watches as Ty Lee jogs over, flopping dramatically on the grass next to her.

“Phew! What a game!” She says dramatically, not bothering to explain what the game is, and stretching in a way that reminds Mai of a cat. She turns to her side and props her head on a hand. “You doing okay over here?”

“Yes,” Mai says, flicking a piece of grass off her jeans. “I’m just resting. Class was… tiring.”

Ty Lee hums. “Well, make sure you don’t get a sunburn! It’s bright today, isn’t it?”

Mai looks up at the sky, the sun indeed shining brightly, occasionally intercepted by fluffy clouds that float lazily in the stratosphere. She looks down at her hands, curled loosely on her lap.

“Yeah, pretty sunny.” She purses her lips. “Since the lighting is good, want to take another look at my palm?”

“Huh?” Ty Lee says, and for a moment Mai wishes the ground would swallow her whole. Of course, Ty Lee doesn’t remember, she looked at Mai’s hand weeks ago. She’s probably moved on to a different hobby, has no clue what Mai is- “Oh, yeah! Totally!”

She quickly sits up and scooches over to press herself closely to Mai’s side, snatching Mai’s hand out of her lap, and cradling it.

“Oh, I can see all the lines much better!” She exclaims, tracing all of them gently with a manicured finger. Mai is thankful that Ty Lee is so preoccupied with her task because it allows her to close her eyes, bask in this closeness, trying to let herself feel okay with feeling. Her face feels warm, and though she knows that to a stranger she likely looks no different, she knows that if Ty Lee glances up she’ll be able to instantly see the faintest whisper of pink across her nose and ears.

She can tell Ty Lee is almost done with her examination when she hears her let out another hum. She snaps her eyes open and lets out a calming breath, tries to look nonchalant when Ty Lee glances back up at her.

“Money and life lines still look good,” Ty Lee says, smiling gently like she’s telling a long-con of a joke, “And look, your love line and life line are parallel to each other!”

Mai leans over and looks at her hand, eyes darting to Ty Lee’s sparkly nail polish. “What does that mean?”

“Oh, them being parallel means that you’re in control of your emotions, but since your love line starts  here-”  She taps just below Mai’s index finger, “It means that you’ll have a happy love life!”

“Oh… that’s nice,” Mai says.

“Totally nice! And look at your wisdom line, so clear! It says you're really careful and intelligent. Look at mine, all wavy. It tells you that I don’t focus on much.” She laughs and places a hand gently on top of Mai’s. Against herself, Mai reaches out, gently tracing lines on Ty Lee’s palm even though she can’t tell one line from another. She tries to look for a line that wavers, but the heartbeat in her ears distracts her.

All too soon, Ty Lee removes her hand and goes back to prattling away about different lines and their meanings. Mai can barely focus and doesn’t care much about the technicalities, but she enjoys the excitement that flows off of Ty Lee like an unpolluted stream and feels a warmth bloom in her chest as she cheats a few more minutes of comfort from her friend.

Ty Lee’s dorm is much messier than Mai’s is, and with anyone else, Mai would either bully them into cleaning or not bother entering. The pile of clutter, ‘mementos’, and undeniable garbage seems to lay claim to anything that leaves a person’s hand, hiding it away so that it takes at least a few minutes of searching to find anything. In contrast, Mai’s dorm is neat, orderly, minimalistic. Her first-year roommate once looked at Mai’s pristine desk and said it looked devoid of personality. It was easy for Mai to let people assume that no personality is her personality than explain every niche caveat of the point. The sheets she brings from home at black. She brings no posters, only hangs academic photos and graphs to help her study. Mai values privacy, values the protection that a blank face and dispassionate voice give her. It’s not that Mai lacks a personality, she thinks to herself, she lacks the need - or maybe the ability - to express it to everyone.

Ty Lee has none of those problems. Her personality drips off of everything she touches. Her room is a shrine to everything she loves in life. Ty Lee herself is a shrine to everything she loves. Mai sits at Ty Lee’s desk, shoving knickknacks to the side as she tries to make enough space for her hefty workbook. Ty Lee lays on her bed, legs kicked up in the air, staring boredly at her education textbook. When Mai can finally open her book without risking breaking any of the junk scattered on the desk, she starts working, sighing every once in a while as the work goes on and on.

They’re about half an hour into their work when Mai’s pen dies mid-equation. She furrows her eyebrows and tries to write again, getting nothing except a small rip in the cheap paper. She scribbles at the side of the page and only sees a faint indent. She groans.

“What’s up, buttercup?” Ty Lee asks, likely taking any excuse to push aside work for a few moments.

“Pen died,” Mai huffs, glancing around for where she put her bookbag. The number of blankets, sweaters, pillows, and scarves serve not only as a fire hazard but as excellent camouflage, even with the intense colour difference between their pink-to-orange-to-yellow hue and the dark, rich, burgundy of Mai’s bag.

“Just take one of mine,” Ty Lee says, “I have tons of ‘em.”

“Did you shoplift them?”

“Yeah.”

“Cool,” Mai says, reaching for the first pen she sees. Like many other things in the room, it’s pink, with a plastic star sticking on its end, bobbing with every movement. Mai does a test scribble and once she can tell it works, she dives back into her work, even as it becomes obvious that Ty Lee has gotten herself distracted.

After a few hours of studying and hanging out, Mai shoves her workbook into her now-found bag and walks across campus back to her dorm. When she takes everything out, she sees that she accidentally brought the pen with her. Walking all the way back seems pointless, and it’s not like Ty Lee would mind if she kept it.

She tosses her workbook on her desk, and carefully arranges the pen so that it’s square with the others.

Mai can feel her heart pounding as Ty Lee lays next to her, can feel her palms begin to sweat even as she rubs them nervously against her black sheets. Ty Lee watches the movie on the laptop screen while Mai keeps sneaking glances at Ty Lee.

She practiced what she wanted to say, how she was going to say it, but now it feels impersonal, cold, just as cool and bland as everyone thinks she is. She knows that Ty Lee would never think that, she somehow just  knows   how   much   and how   big  Mai’s feelings are even if she can’t show them.

Mai also knows that this won’t be a pointless venture. She’s repressed and scared but she’s not stupid. She knows that Ty Lee doesn’t spend the same amount of time with all her other friends, that she doesn’t try to reign herself in with anyone else, doesn’t try to wear black or burgundy or ‘edgy’ jewelry with the hopes of matching with anyone else, knows that she doesn’t send text messages with hearts for just  anyone.  Those are just for Mai.

As comfortable as  this  feels, as everything with Ty Lee feels, Mai knows that both of them want more. Ty Lee deserves more than just a friend with a crush. Maybe Mai deserves more too.

Steeling herself, Mai quickly leans over and flicks on the light, causing Ty Lee to blink rapidly and say, “Hey, what’s the big idea!”

“Ty Lee, can you read my palm again,” Mai rushes out, nearly stumbling over her own words. Ty Lee tilts her head.

“Why? Palm lines don’t really change, not like horoscopes or tarot cards or-”

“I want you to look at my love line again.” Mai can feel the tips of her ears warming and resists the urge to smooth her hair over them. She sees Ty Lee’s eyes - so calm and gentle - glance at the pinkening skin.

“Your love line?” Ty Lee repeats, a small smile appearing on her face.

Mai nods. “Yes.”

She holds out a hand, and Ty Lee gently takes hold. She takes her time to uncurl Mai’s fingers, to trace over the lines, pressing her body into Mai’s arm.

“Your love line looks good,” Ty Lee says softly, “Predicts a happy experience.”

“Any indication on when?” Mai asks, fingers twitching under Ty Lee’s gentle care.

Ty Lee pauses for a moment then shakes her head. “I think… that might be up to you.”

Mai nods. “Right, of course.” She takes a deep breath. “Yeah, that makes sense.”

Ty Lee looks disappointed for a moment, makes to pull her hand away when Mai reaches for it ever so slightly, lacing their fingers together. Ty Lee looks down at their entwined hands, looks back at Mai and smiles, gentle and warm.

It takes Mai another second to calm the short circuit of her brain before she turns her head and leans towards Ty Lee. She’s pleased when Ty Lee meets her partway, and Mai can taste Ty Lee’s strawberry chapstick on her tongue, can feel the tingling of sparkles in her lip gloss and the buzz and the flutter of Ty Lee’s eyelashes against her face.

She can tell Ty Lee is smiling. Mai thinks she might be smiling too. She surprises herself by chasing after Ty Lee’s lips when she pulls away for a moment and isn't surprised at the giggles she gets in response. Her face is warm, her heart is thudding in her chest, and she isn’t remotely in her comfort zone. Ty Lee’s hand is calloused and gentle and warm and soft, and Mai is  holding it.  

Mai thinks she can get used to expressing her wants a little bit more if this is the outcome she gets.

[pixiedane]

Fic Writer Review

Thank you for the tag, @ussjellyfish ! I don't know whom to tag so I will just say to all of you: TAG, you're it (scroll to the end to copy paste the questions).

how many works do you have on AO3?

187

what’s your total AO3 word count?

373,260

how many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

The count is 74, but they're not wholly individual (lots of "all media types" for example). I have pseuds for Star Wars (68 works), Star Trek (63 works), and Marvel (18 works). There are 38 works in other fandoms including Leverage, Killjoys, Harry Potter, The Hobbit, House MD, Game of Thrones, Once Upon a Time, Law and Order, Peter Pan, Willow...

16 more questions beneath the cut.

what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

512 kudos, Let's Go Steal a Family (Leverage), 2044 words | The Leverage team decide they don't need to settle down in order to start a family.

This was written for the "Leverage-a-thing-a-thon" run in August 2015 (making this fic almost exactly six years old). It's about found family in the most literal sense.

415 kudos, catch a glimpse of sunlight (Star Wars), 2324 words + a fanvid | What if Anakin listened to Padmé more than Palpatine and Obi-Wan listened to Anakin more than Yoda? tldr; galaxy saved

Created for the 2016 Star Wars Rarepairs exchange, a canon divergent au where Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Padmé work together to take down the Chancellor and raise the twins as a triad.

253 kudos, and a softness came from the starlight and filled me full to the bone. (Star Wars), 726 words | Luke wants to know about his mother.

Written for PadMay 2018, for the prompt "How should Padmé be remembered?". Wow, I'm surprised this is in the top five given it's a tiny ficlet in a giant fandom written for a challenge I made up myself. But I'm pleased! Padmé deserves to be remembered, that's why I started PadMay.

247 kudos, Serendipity (Star Wars), 1914 words | That time Padmé accidentally walked in on the wrong naked Jedi.

Another ObiAniDala AU written for the Star Wars Rarepairs Exchange, 2018 in this case. Two years earlier I'd made a random photo manip of Natalie Portman and Ewan Mcgregor drinking tea and it eventually inspired the fic.

221 kudos, Your Beating Heart Tonight (Star Wars), 3121 words | Padmé develops feelings for her other Jedi protector.

And another written for the Star Wars Rarepairs Exchange in 2016! And also another AU based in a storm of emotions between Anakin, Padmé, and Obi-Wan. I have a specialty.

All five of these are about family first and foremost. Three and a half feature polyamory. Three and a half are canon divergent AUs. None breaks 3200 words. All were written for an event/exchange.

do you respond to comments, why or why not?

For the most part. Sometimes I don't right away and it becomes awkward. And I generally don't respond to negative comments because who needs that.

what’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Probably Abduction, a mirror universe story vaguely inspired by The Handmaid's Tale. My author's note: "It is not a happy story for anyone and implies the extreme emotional abuse of a child, as well as the coercion and torture of adults."

do you write crossovers? if so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

I love crossovers! I've completed a few and have fifty more in wip folders. The most ambitious is War of Stars, a Star Wars/Game of Thrones fusion with 26,480 words, thirty chapters, and five different povs (Cersei, Anakin, Daenerys, Ahsoka, and Boba). Niche, but I am very proud of how it worked out.

I've also blended Star Wars with Mad Max, Kelvin Star Trek, Star Trek Discovery, Deep Space Nine, Sleeping Beauty, and Black Widow.

have you ever received hate on a fic?

I've had a few mean comments but they're basically "I don't like this pairing and I want you to feel bad about writing it" and I won't.

do you write smut? if so what kind?

No. Just not my thing.

have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I am aware of.

have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, I've had a few translated into Russian, which just adds to the headcanon that I'm secretly Black Widow.

have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes, back in the LiveJournal days I wrote many thousands of words with @vasnormandy. I am slowly posting those stories to AO3 under my Marvel pseud Amelia Danvers, my OC and main character.

what’s your all time favorite ship?

An impossible question because I multi-ship like my life depends on it. Anakin/Padmé is my most prolific ship followed by Rey/Ben, Kat/Lorca, and Carol Danvers/Peter Parker (the parents of Amelia above). But I've written alternate ships for all of the above.

You can read more about my shipping interests here.

what’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Oof. I have a lot of WIPs that I would like to finish but it's hard to get back to.

what are your writing strengths?

Dialogue. Introspection. I'm good at writing a specific point of view. Characters addressing their issues. I like to pull at threads so I've built up those skills. I love mixing and mashing fandoms and pairings. Complex relationships and the discussion thereof.

what are your writing weaknesses?

Action, like sex scenes or fight scenes, and anything plot heavy. I'm more interested in character and it shows in my writing.

I am also terrible at follow through and finishing things. It's why so much of my fic is written for challenges with external deadlines.

what are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I'm not fluent in any other languages and I wouldn't want to do it without extensive research.

what was the first fandom you wrote for?

Either Star Trek (TNG, mainly the adventures of Beverly Crusher - as a preteen, at the Academy, as a single mom, and because I'm me I also gave her a Romulan lover) or Star Wars (the adventures of Han and Leia's daughter who was ME but also Jaina Solo before Jaina Solo existed because she was a twin who wanted to be a pilot more than a Jedi). These stories were written on notebook paper in colored pen and I'd do dramatic readings in the backyard, in costume, with only the trees (all of whom I'd named, mostly after heroines in books, like Elizabeth, Jane, Anne, Alice, Mary, etc.) as the audience.

what’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Well, the one I imagine as something more is Pas De Deux, my Jedi Dance Academy AU. I can picture the senes in my mind and I really enjoyed the adaptation process, melding two things I love into one. The characters and events are recognizable, but also very different and that's something I enjoy.

Questions for anyone who wants to complete it:

Fic Writer Review

how many works do you have on AO3?

what’s your total AO3 word count?

how many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

do you respond to comments, why or why not?

what’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

do you write crossovers? if so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

have you ever received hate on a fic?

do you write smut? if so what kind?

have you ever had a fic stolen?

have you ever had a fic translated?

have you ever co-written a fic before?

what’s your all time favorite ship?

what’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

what are your writing strengths?

what are your writing weaknesses?

what are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

what was the first fandom you wrote for?

what’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

[talesofevents]

Nominations for the rarepairs exchange are now open!

To nominate a ship for the exchange, follow the link here and click on “Nominate”: https://archiveofourown.org/tag_sets/5331

(see below for explanations)

1. follow the link and click on “nominate”

2. fill out the form

3. click on “submit”

You will need an AO3 account to fill out the form.

You may nominate ships for up to five fandoms (games) and seven ships per fandom.

OT3s and crossover ships are allowed!

This exchange is for romantic ships, so please nominate them with “/”.

Nominating a ship does not mean you have to participate in the exchange, so if you’re not sure whether to sign up yet, you can fill out the nominations form anyway.

Q: Which ships are considered "rare"? 

A: A ship is eligible if its number of fanworks on AO3 do not exceed 10% of the total number of fanworks for its game as of 1 March 2021. (Exception: when the game has under 50 works in total, then all ships are eligible.) 

Here is a list of the maximum number of works ships must have to be illegible.

(You can check how many works a ship has by going to the game's AO3 page and clicking on the "Relationships" category in the filter menu on the right to show the top ten ships.)

For example, for Tales of Vesperia, there are 1296 works. 10% of that is 129.6, rounded up to 130. There are 533 works for Yuri/Flynn, 116 for Estelle/Rita, and 109 for Estelle/Yuri. That means Yuri/Flynn is not eligible for this exchange, but Estelle/Rita and Estelle/Yuri are (as well as any other ship with fewer than 130 works).

If you have any questions about whether or not a ship is eligible, please ask the mods.

Nominations will close on 14 March, so get those rare pairs in!

[nqstick]

So I participated in the 2021 @talesofexchanges Tales of Rarepairs exchange. This was the fic I wrote, as a gift for MonochromePhoenix on AO3...