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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Characters ♡ The OTP & Pairing Thread ♡ | Challenge #33 is up: How They Met! (1/28, p. 90, #2231)

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction and Writing Resource' started by Captain Rakkaus, Oct 5, 2015.

  1. Captain Rakkaus

    Captain Rakkaus Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Oct 4, 2015
    All right, everyone, it's time to VOTE on OTP Challenge #17: Our Song! And what a smashing success it was! Here are the nine (9) great stories we have in the running, along with the songs that inspired them, which I invite you all to read and enjoy:

    Manhunt by Anedon and Adalia-Durron (OCs Adrian Malek and Marie Firestone)
    Song: “Manhunt” by Karen Kamon (from Flashdance)

    You Decorated My Life by WarmNyota_SweetAyesha (Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade)
    Song: “You Decorated My Life” by Kenny Rogers

    Battle Scars and Bloodstone by Adalia-Durron (Kyp Durron and OC Adalia Tehannis)
    Songs: “Battle Scars” and “Bloodstone” by Guy Sebastian

    Seeds of Love Growing in Dark Soil by devilinthedetails (Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala)
    Song: “The Rose” by Bette Midler

    Dance Me to the End of Love by Briannakin (West Wing, OCs Marc Lyman and Leo Lyman)
    Song: “Dance Me to the End of Love” by Leonard Cohen

    How I Met Your Mother by Kit’ (OCs Kithera Rinani and Del D’ladame)
    Songs: “Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, and “To Love Someone” by Ben Abraham

    High Hopes by Bel505 (Mara Jade and Luke Skywalker)
    Song: “High Hopes” by Pink Floyd

    Roll Down the Window and Let the Wind Blow by amidalachick (Stranger Things, Steve Harrington and Billy Hargrove)
    Song: “Thunder Road” by Bruce Springsteen

    I’m a Believer by Raissa Baiard (Kazuda “Kaz” Xiono and OC Wren Ordo)
    Song: “I’m a Believer” by the Monkees

    And, once again, here are the non-competition entries, under a spoiler cut. Not votable, but do read and enjoy them, too:
    Simply the Best by Briannakin (Schitt's Creek, David Rose and Patrick Brewer)
    Song: “The Best” by Tina Turner

    Long, Lonely Time by Findswoman (Garazeb “Zeb” Orrelios and OC Shulma Trilasha Orrelios)
    Song: “Unchained Melody” by the Righteous Brothers

    Here's what to do: PM your vote to this sock by 11:59 pm PST on Thursday, December 3. That’s two (2) weeks to make your choice.

    Here's what not to do: vote more than once, vote for yourself, vote using a sock as well as your normal account, vote for something that's not on this list or that is not votable, etc., etc.

    Here's when the winner will be announced: on or about December 4 or 5 (barring all RL catastrophe).

    Happy reading and voting to all! :)
     
    Last edited: Dec 2, 2020
  2. Kit'

    Kit' Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Oct 30, 1999
    Um...I think mine got missed out of the index :)
     
  3. Captain Rakkaus

    Captain Rakkaus Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Oct 4, 2015
    Ohmigosh, you’re right, and I am so very sorry about that! [face_blush] It is fixed in both lists now—I think I got it in the right place order-wise, too. So we have nine entries, not eight! Apologies once again for that oversight; my bad, @};-
     
  4. Kit'

    Kit' Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Oct 30, 1999
    All good. It's been one of those weeks and there is so much stuff going on. I appreciate everything you do in running this thread. I can only imagine how hard it is keeping track of it all!
     
  5. Captain Rakkaus

    Captain Rakkaus Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Oct 4, 2015
  6. Captain Rakkaus

    Captain Rakkaus Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Oct 4, 2015
    Hi again, everyone! Sorry to double-post, but this is just another friendly reminder to vote by this coming Thursday, December 3. Only two votes have been cast so far, and I would love to see more! :)
     
  7. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    The More Things Change...

    How has writing your OTP(s) has changed or not since you started writing
    and what do you attribute that to?

    Secondly, whenever you go back through your older fanfictions which ones make you groan good-naturedly, smile with pride, and which if any would you consider reposting?

    And if your OTPs have changed as to pairings, describe that too? That can be interesting to see which ones have stood the test of time and which pairings have fallen by the wayside.
     
  8. Adalia-Durron

    Adalia-Durron WNU/Costume/Props/EUC Mod. star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jun 3, 2003
    Voted
     
  9. Mira Grau

    Mira Grau Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    May 11, 2016
  10. devilinthedetails

    devilinthedetails Fiendish Fanfic & SWTV Manager, Interim Tech Admin star 6 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Jun 19, 2019
    Some great conversation sparking questions here. Thank you for asking them:)

    The subject of OTP's and how we write them is always a fascinating one.

    In answer to your first question, I'd say that my writing for most of my OTP pairings has changed over time as I want to explore new ideas and aspects of their relationship and generally grow in my understanding of them as a couple. The more time I spend with a couple, digging down into what shapes and defines them as a couple, the more depth I discover and have to try to channel into my writing.

    For Han/Leia, I think the more I write them, the more comfortable I get writing the banter between them and hopefully communicating the love that is the undercurrent to all that banter. Banter is such a big part of their relationship in the OT that it is nice to gradually become more confident integrating that banter into my own Han/Leia stories.

    For Owen/Beru, I think my instinct at first was to explore their sorrows as a couple (such as Beru's inability to bear a child) but over time I've also wanted to explore what their relationship would have been like when they were younger such as when Owen might have been a wild man racing around on his speeder bike and Beru might have been a sweet young woman meeting Shmi and Cliegg for the first time. There's a sorrow to this couple, especially given their deaths in ANH, but also some innocence and sweetness to them that can be nice to explore as well.

    For Cliegg/Shmi, I feel that over time I have fleshed out a backstory for this pairing and also just developed a comfort writing this pairing with their sort of practical, everyday ways of showing how much they love one another. Writing this couple has come to feel like slipping on an old pair of shoes that fit just right. The shoes may not be fashionable or new, but they are a perfect fit anyway, and that is what matters.

    For Anakin/Padme, I think that when I first wrote about this couple, I was primarily interested in diving into the tragic nature of their relationship--their doomed love and the disturbing aspects of their relationship. While I still like to explore those themes and concepts, I've also come to enjoy writing more romantic and cuddly moments between them. There is a sort of beautiful, classic romance to their relationship, and also it can be poignant to explore what good things were lost and sweet moments corrupted when Anakin fell to the Dark Side in ROTS. Their relationship seems even more tragic when some of the sweeter times can be coaxed out in story.

    Stories I've written for OTP challenges in this thread that make me most proud are probably the following: Barren Wasteland, since it was my first story written for these challenges and I liked how I explored Beru's infertility in conjunction with Tatooine's desert landscape; Two Worlds Colliding and Conjoining since I actually wrote a multi-chapter fic about Ben/Vestara which I had wanted to do for a long time; Messages from a Mos Espa Love Story that was told in an epistolary format I had never experimented with before and found hugely satisfying; and my latest entry Seeds of Love Growing in Dark Soil because I think it was able to tell a sweeping story that explored many pivotal moments in Anakin and Padme's relationship in a dramatic way. The story I've written for one of these challenges that probably gets the biggest good-natured groan from me is the one I wrote for the all-dialogue 500 words or fewer challenge because it's hard for me to write in all dialogue and with 500 words or less apparently:pBut I'm still glad that I participated in the challenge since it was a good way to stretch myself and grow as a writer. I don't tend to go back and rewrite stories I've finished because I tend to want to move onto other projects and stories because that seems to be how my muse works best, but my muse is a fickle creature of course, so there could come a day when my muse wants to rewrite or revise these past stories. Only time and my muse will tell...

    I think writing Cliegg/Shmi and Owen/Beru has more deeply entrenched them as OTPs of mine, but I'd also really like to get around to writing Obi-Wan/Siri and Qui-Gon/Tahl stuff one day. As well as more Ben/Vestara stuff.
     
    Last edited: Dec 2, 2020
  11. Bel505

    Bel505 Jedi Grand Master star 2

    Registered:
    Jul 4, 2006
    So, I'm going to focus on this one because I have the most to say. Mara and Luke have been my OTP since I was about eight. I came out of reading the Thrawn Trilogy for the first time around that age convinced that they should be together forever, and going on to read Jedi Academy was a confusing and heartbreaking and infuriating experience (to be then compounded by the Callista trilogy, with Luke and Callista becoming involved while on Mara's ship, which tremendously angered pre-teen me). I then monopolized my library's copy of Vision of the Future for about four years.

    They're still my most beloved pairing, in part because Star Wars was my second most-loved universe growing up, but mostly because I've always loved both characters and especially loved them together. (Seeing Luke in the Disney sequels, miserable because there's no Mara in that universe to kick him in the ass, is both horribly infuriating and fitting.)

    So... that pairing has lasted? And doesn't seem to be going anywhere? And I'm currently writing an (almost finished) novel-length fanfiction about them to help soothe the pain of COVID isolation?

    I'm nowhere near as devoted to other Star Wars pairings, though. I'll be honest, as a kid I never liked Han, and while he's grown on me as I've gotten older that's mostly because of how he's depicted in EU sources, and so never really felt strongly for Han/Leia. I'm fond of Obi-Wan and Siri Tachi (and that leads us into past fanfic and past fanfic failures, but that's another story altogether), and I very much liked Jacen and Tenel Ka (that's another one that's lasted but the Denning-verse has put a bad taste in my mouth for anything involving Jacen, which I hope eventually to remove by re-reading pre-Denning SW novels and writing my own fics).

    Now... back to the Kessel Spice Mines with me. *sighs*
     
    Last edited: Dec 2, 2020
  12. Captain Rakkaus

    Captain Rakkaus Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Oct 4, 2015
    OK, everyone, just a reminder that this is the LAST DAY TO VOTE! [face_dancing]

    Also, it’s so good to see folks taking up on the wonderful discussion topic begun by @WarmNyota_SweetAyesha ! I’ve added links to it in both the OP of this thread and this sock’s signature. :)
     
  13. Captain Rakkaus

    Captain Rakkaus Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Oct 4, 2015
    Good day, all! :)

    The voting results are in for OTP Challenge #17: Our Song! I know this was a tough one, with a whopping nine (9) awesome stories to choose from—but there was ultimately a winner, and that winner is:

    I’m a Believer by @Raissa Baiard
    (with Kazuda “Kaz” Xiono and OC Wren Ordo)​

    Please join me in a very hearty congratulations to Raissa! =D= [face_party] And please also join me in thanking all who participated and contributed to this absolutely wonderful crop of stories. Again and again you folks deliver—again and again you make each challenge a truly wonderful experience! :) (And the next one is on its way to you very soon! ;) )
     
  14. WarmNyota_SweetAyesha

    WarmNyota_SweetAyesha Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2004
    Congratulations!!! =D= This is unfailingly a most wonderful source of yummy reads. :D
     
  15. Raissa Baiard

    Raissa Baiard FFoF Artist Extraordinaire star 4 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Nov 22, 1999
    Oh, wow! This is completely unexpected! There were so many great stories in this challenge; I know I had a hard time choosing. I want to say a huge thank you, and thank you to everyone who read and commented. I truly appreciate it. [:D] [:D] [:D]
     
  16. Mira_Jade

    Mira_Jade The (FavoriteTM) Fanfic Mod With the Cape star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jun 29, 2004
    Woo hoo! Congratulations on an awesome job well done and a much deserved win, @Raissa Baiard! [face_dancing] =D= And for everyone else who participated in a challenge, too! Picking a favorite from that lot was so hard, but that's a wonderful problem to have as a reader. [face_mischief] [face_love] [:D]
     
    Last edited: Dec 4, 2020
  17. Mira Grau

    Mira Grau Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    May 11, 2016
  18. devilinthedetails

    devilinthedetails Fiendish Fanfic & SWTV Manager, Interim Tech Admin star 6 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Jun 19, 2019
    Congratulations, @Raissa Baiard [face_party]

    And a round of applause to everyone else who added to the wonderful stories produced for this challenge=D=

    Good job, everybody!

    I'm already looking forward to the next challenge and what stories it will inspire.
     
  19. Kit'

    Kit' Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Oct 30, 1999
    Congratulations [mention]Raissa Baiard [/mention]! That was such an amazing story!!


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  20. amidalachick

    amidalachick FFoF Hostess Extraordinaire star 5 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Aug 3, 2003
    Congratulations on a lovely story and a well-deserved win @Raissa Baiard! =D=[face_love]

    And a big round of applause to everyone who participated! All of these stories (and songs!) were so awesome, and it made voting really hard! [face_laugh]=D=
     
  21. Captain Rakkaus

    Captain Rakkaus Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Oct 4, 2015
    It’s now time for our next OTP Challenge, which has been very kindly and awesomely been provided by @Kit'. Thank you so much, Kit’!

    OTP Challenge #18: 5+1

    What’s a 5+1? It’s a series of short scenes or sections that are related to each other in some way, without necessarily being in the same chronological timeline. In each of the first five scenes or sections, the same “thing” has to occur, and then in the last scene or section the opposite (or kind of opposite) happens. For example, your fic might be...
    • ...that for the first five scenes Mando fixes a meal for the Child and in then in the last scene he fixes a meal for himself.
    • Or the five times Luke kisses Mara and then Mara kisses Luke.
    • Or the five times Ron ignores Hermione’s advice and the one time he actually listens to her.
    The options are limitless and totally up to you! Your fic can go anywhere and use any events you want. However, just in case you're stuck, here is a list of possible options:
    • Five times [x] kissed [y] and one time [y] kissed back
    • Five times [x] apologised, and the one time [y] did something about it.
    • Five times [x] said 'I love you' and one time they didn't need to.
    • Five times [x] told [y] to go to bed and the one time [y] listened.
    • Five times [x] tells [y] they love them, and one time [y] believes them.
    • Five times [x] made it obvious that they liked [y] more than as a friend and one time [y] returned the favour.
    • Five times [x] makes dinner for [y] and the one time [y] actually eats it.
    • Five times [x] and [y] almost got married and one time they did
    • Five times [x] told [y] that they missed them and one time [y] said it back.
    • Five times [x] really didn't need [y]'s help and one time [x] did.

    As usual, the challenge will run for eight (8) weeks. Stories will be due on January 30, 2021, at 11:59 PM PST.*
    *A quick bit of clarification on these deadlines: “11:59pm on the 30th” means at the very end of the day on the 30th. It’s not to be confused with “12:00am on the 30th,” which is the very beginning of the day on the 30th. Having until 11:59pm thus basically means that yes, you do in fact have that entire final day to submit your story!

    Have fun and happy writing! [face_dancing]

    Main Index
    Love Spoken and Unspoken by devilinthedetails (Bail Organa and Breha Organa)
    Yes, She Was Counting… by Adalia-Durron (Kyp Durron and OC Adalia Tehanis)
    The Courtship of Jacen Solo by Anedon (Jacen Solo and Tenel Ka Djo)
    Things I Just Had to Say by WarmNyota_SweetAyesha (NSWFF: Star Trek; Amanda and Sarek)
    Driving Lessons: The 5 times Estra tried to teach F’kisi to drive and the one time he actually succeeded by Kit’ (OCs F’kisi and Estra)
    What If This Storm Ends? by ViariSkywalker (Allana Djo Solo and OC Darth Festus)
    The Simplest Gesture by Gabri_Jade (Kanan Jarrus and Hera Syndulla)
    Conversational Mando’a for Beginners by Raissa Baiard (Kazuda “Kaz” Xiono and OC Wren Ordo)
    Stumbling To Bethlehem by amidalachick (NSWFF: Stranger Things, Joyce Byers and Jim Hopper)

    Out-of-Competition / Ad-Hoc
    Good Boi, or, The five times Blu saved Zallie's life and the one time she couldn't do the same by Kit’ (a pet story inspired by the challenge, featuring OC Zallie and her dog Blu)
    Sixth Time’s the Charm by Findswoman (Kanan Jarrus and Hera Syndulla)
     
    Last edited: Jan 31, 2021
  22. Kit'

    Kit' Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Oct 30, 1999
    I have an idea for this but the problem is that it’s not an otp...ah well.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  23. Mira Grau

    Mira Grau Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    May 11, 2016
    Have an idea as well, though I think its a bit too weird...
     
  24. Kit'

    Kit' Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Oct 30, 1999
    [mention]Anedon [/mention] - I’ll write mine if you write yours


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  25. Mira Grau

    Mira Grau Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    May 11, 2016
    Would have to check a few things first. To see if it even can work.