rarely written dear author letter.
Rarely Written, formerly known as rarewomen is a fanfic exchange focused on characters of underrepresented genders and sexes; women, female-identified, trans, gender-fluid, non-gendered, fluid, ect ect ect. Everyone except the cis hetero men. Some come join, signups open until March 3.
Dear Writer-person,
Hi! Welcome to my DA letter! Thank you for offering to write in one or more of my requested fandoms. Means you love these ladies as much as I do! I'm pretty easy to please and I'm sure I'll love whatever you decide to write for me. Don't be frightened off by the length of my letter, it's just sorta grown over the years of exchanges and I throw a bunch of stuff in. I always like it when my assigned DA letters are long and rambly, lots of different ways to get inspired, get a feel for my person, so I hope this letter gives you that. Feel free to go wherever you want to go, you don't have to follow my prompts.
General Stuff I Like
[under a cut for length]
General Stuff I Do Not Like
[under a cut]
Lunar Chronicles - Fateen, Michelle
Oh this series. I adore this series and its one of the most refreshing ones I've read in years and I'm in love with them, granted, I'd like them to focus more on plot than on finding boyfriends, but I digress.
I loved Fateen from the moment she appeared on the page, this badass feminist scientist calling Dr Erland out on his misogyny (this was before we knew why he only tested on young women). I'd love to know more about her history, her family, her going to school, etc. What brought her to science? Did she choose to study Letumosis or is that where all the funding is so that's where she works? What are her dreams and aspirations? What's it like for her growing up/living as a brown woman in China? How else does she be so politically active? Maybe something future-focused where Cinder and Kai are happily married and Fateen and Cinder become great friends who have in-depth discussions and laughter; where Fateen is all assertive about politics and social justice. Or something smaller and canon-based where its her thoughts on the cyborg testing, the draft, on Cinder herself, on the Lunars invasion, on Kai as king, etc.
Michelle is a badass. A fucking badass. I'd love to know more about that mission of hers to Luna, what was she thinking/feeling when she signed up to do it, on the flight there, on being there, on getting involved with a Lunar man. Did he show her his true face? How did she find Cinder? What was it like trying to stabalize her life, to rebuild her, to raise this girl knowing she wouldn't remember it, to give her away? How did she meet Garan? What was it like giving Cinder over to him?
As you can probably tell, I'm super into Cinder herself, so feel free to include her and any of the other "princesses" as well.
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Leah Brahms, Katherine Pulaski
Leah like *literally* designed the heart and soul of the Enterprise. All that awesome, that's all her. How fucking badass is that. She's *the* foremost expert on interstellar engine design. Yet gets no credit. Sadz. So naturally I want to know all about her; her time in school, what inspired her to design a better engine, is she always tinkering with her designs even after they've been installed, what's it like when she meets the engineers who claim to know her engines better than her, etc, etc. I do ship her with Geordi, so some nerd-gushing over engines and science would be adorable, but I think I'd prefer gen, but whatever.
I actually really liked Dr Pulaski and it irritates me how much hate she got/gets. I love her dedication to science; she's a Doctor but she's not a healer in the same way Beverly is. Katherine got into medicine for the mystery, the research, for the high-pressure time-sensitive environment of it. And that's badass. I'd love to see anything about her time at the Academy, in medical school, of any of her cool research missions into space. Character studies bits on literally anything. I'd prefer gen, but I ship her with everyone so if you want to go that way go right ahead (Riker, Worf, and Lxwanna stand out but again, whomever). I love how she *flirted* with everyone; she got right up into Worf's space and made all these aggressive innuendo gestures, was always winky-winky with Riker. I love that side of her, the side that's always open to new experiences and is just curious about the universe.
You can mix any of the ladies in the tagset in if you want, I love them all, and also blend in anything from the ST universe that you like, particularly female characters(no new film stuff please). I have an obsession with post-Occupation Cardassia and I think it would be super fascinating for either of these women to travel there for science purposes, especially since on Cardassia, its the women who primarily do all of the science and medicine so I feel like both Leah and Katherine would thrive working in that environment.
Arrow - Laurel Lance
Laurel is my favourite character on Arrow and it makes me so sad and angry when I see how much hate she gets from the fandom. To me, Laurel is such a relatable character; she's had so much tragedy in her life and she's had to work pretty hard for the things she does have, say nothing of her own sobriety and just getting up in the morning. I love how dedicated she's always been to helping people, and her transition to the Canary feels really honest an in character considering her past. It feels like not only a way to honour her sister, but the actions of a social justice activist driven to the brink of frustration with the very system she works within. Hahaha ya, so I have no idea if that helps you or not.
I'd love a character study piece about her, her thoughts and feelings and what she thinks of her future. Or something with her and Thea, like training together, bonding, Laurel being amazing in her not-blaming-the-nonconsenting-participant in Sara's death. The two of them suiting up and fighting crime together. Yeah. Or something more low-key like a girls night in, with Felicity too (and feel free to throw in any of the gals from The Flash in too). As for shipping, I ship her with Thea, Joe West, Sisco, and Nyssa. Whatever inspires you but I think I'd prefer gen.
Dear Writer-person,
Hi! Welcome to my DA letter! Thank you for offering to write in one or more of my requested fandoms. Means you love these ladies as much as I do! I'm pretty easy to please and I'm sure I'll love whatever you decide to write for me. Don't be frightened off by the length of my letter, it's just sorta grown over the years of exchanges and I throw a bunch of stuff in. I always like it when my assigned DA letters are long and rambly, lots of different ways to get inspired, get a feel for my person, so I hope this letter gives you that. Feel free to go wherever you want to go, you don't have to follow my prompts.
General Stuff I Like
[under a cut for length]
- strong female characters doing badass things
- friendships between women
- women saving the day
- men in touch with their feelings
- strong men who support the women around them
- nuanced explorations of "strength" and the various ways it can be expressed
- desires for/claiming/reclaiming power
- time travel
- robots, cyborgs
- aliens
- literary fusions/allegory
- team bonding
- found/chosen families
- stuck in an enclosed space together (elevators, boats, planes, etc)
- humour/laughter
- exploration of identity and it's factors
- fun vintage clothing escapades
- people enjoying meals together
- angst with happy endings
- plotless character studies
- conversations between people
- first time
- established relationship
- couples finally getting together after being forever apart and denying their feelings
- AUs of all flavours (historical, coffeeshop, slayers, royalty, military, space, etc)
- kinks I enjoy: light/humour sex, a/b/o, knotting, rough sex, size kink,
- tropes: aliens-made-them-do-it, fake boyfriends, undercover, everyone else knows except them, matchmaking,
- enthusiastic consent!
- plots shamelessly stolen from other films
- integration of Jack Harkness (Torchwood) or Helen Magnus (Sanctuary) into every and all fanfic worlds and shipping them with everyone
- happy people
- loving, kind families
- older women & cross generational friendships
- queer positive spaces & futures
- left wing politics and discussions of politics
- enjoying the outdoors
- nerd culture
- traditionally female spaces/activities being valued and passed-on through generations
- snow
- warm beverages
- feminism
- race
- Canadian stuff
- friends teasing each other and having fun
General Stuff I Do Not Like
[under a cut]
- noncon (unless character has experienced it canonically and it is being discussed)
- violence against women/misogyny/racism/homophobia/ableism
- self harm/suicide
- women hating each other/ "cat fighting"
- incest
- kinks: bodily fluids not normally associated with sex being used in sex, bloodplay/knifeplay (unless in vampire setting), food insertion into body cavities (except like eating of course haha), submissive behaviour, anal in het pairings, daddy kink. Please note that if you do enjoy these kinks I fully respect that and pass no judgement. We all have our flavours eh :)
Lunar Chronicles - Fateen, Michelle
Oh this series. I adore this series and its one of the most refreshing ones I've read in years and I'm in love with them, granted, I'd like them to focus more on plot than on finding boyfriends, but I digress.
I loved Fateen from the moment she appeared on the page, this badass feminist scientist calling Dr Erland out on his misogyny (this was before we knew why he only tested on young women). I'd love to know more about her history, her family, her going to school, etc. What brought her to science? Did she choose to study Letumosis or is that where all the funding is so that's where she works? What are her dreams and aspirations? What's it like for her growing up/living as a brown woman in China? How else does she be so politically active? Maybe something future-focused where Cinder and Kai are happily married and Fateen and Cinder become great friends who have in-depth discussions and laughter; where Fateen is all assertive about politics and social justice. Or something smaller and canon-based where its her thoughts on the cyborg testing, the draft, on Cinder herself, on the Lunars invasion, on Kai as king, etc.
Michelle is a badass. A fucking badass. I'd love to know more about that mission of hers to Luna, what was she thinking/feeling when she signed up to do it, on the flight there, on being there, on getting involved with a Lunar man. Did he show her his true face? How did she find Cinder? What was it like trying to stabalize her life, to rebuild her, to raise this girl knowing she wouldn't remember it, to give her away? How did she meet Garan? What was it like giving Cinder over to him?
As you can probably tell, I'm super into Cinder herself, so feel free to include her and any of the other "princesses" as well.
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Leah Brahms, Katherine Pulaski
Leah like *literally* designed the heart and soul of the Enterprise. All that awesome, that's all her. How fucking badass is that. She's *the* foremost expert on interstellar engine design. Yet gets no credit. Sadz. So naturally I want to know all about her; her time in school, what inspired her to design a better engine, is she always tinkering with her designs even after they've been installed, what's it like when she meets the engineers who claim to know her engines better than her, etc, etc. I do ship her with Geordi, so some nerd-gushing over engines and science would be adorable, but I think I'd prefer gen, but whatever.
I actually really liked Dr Pulaski and it irritates me how much hate she got/gets. I love her dedication to science; she's a Doctor but she's not a healer in the same way Beverly is. Katherine got into medicine for the mystery, the research, for the high-pressure time-sensitive environment of it. And that's badass. I'd love to see anything about her time at the Academy, in medical school, of any of her cool research missions into space. Character studies bits on literally anything. I'd prefer gen, but I ship her with everyone so if you want to go that way go right ahead (Riker, Worf, and Lxwanna stand out but again, whomever). I love how she *flirted* with everyone; she got right up into Worf's space and made all these aggressive innuendo gestures, was always winky-winky with Riker. I love that side of her, the side that's always open to new experiences and is just curious about the universe.
You can mix any of the ladies in the tagset in if you want, I love them all, and also blend in anything from the ST universe that you like, particularly female characters(no new film stuff please). I have an obsession with post-Occupation Cardassia and I think it would be super fascinating for either of these women to travel there for science purposes, especially since on Cardassia, its the women who primarily do all of the science and medicine so I feel like both Leah and Katherine would thrive working in that environment.
Arrow - Laurel Lance
Laurel is my favourite character on Arrow and it makes me so sad and angry when I see how much hate she gets from the fandom. To me, Laurel is such a relatable character; she's had so much tragedy in her life and she's had to work pretty hard for the things she does have, say nothing of her own sobriety and just getting up in the morning. I love how dedicated she's always been to helping people, and her transition to the Canary feels really honest an in character considering her past. It feels like not only a way to honour her sister, but the actions of a social justice activist driven to the brink of frustration with the very system she works within. Hahaha ya, so I have no idea if that helps you or not.
I'd love a character study piece about her, her thoughts and feelings and what she thinks of her future. Or something with her and Thea, like training together, bonding, Laurel being amazing in her not-blaming-the-nonconsenting-participant in Sara's death. The two of them suiting up and fighting crime together. Yeah. Or something more low-key like a girls night in, with Felicity too (and feel free to throw in any of the gals from The Flash in too). As for shipping, I ship her with Thea, Joe West, Sisco, and Nyssa. Whatever inspires you but I think I'd prefer gen.