Rare Pair 2025 Letter

[thebansacredband]

Dear Creator,

HI! I'm a big fan of rare pairs, and also of receiving gifts ;) so I know I'll love whatever you create for me! I'm putting some prompts here (and honestly some are less prompts and more inane rambles about my Thoughts), but if any of the pairings I've requested set off a spark in your brain please do write literally anything about them. My prompts are likely to be more fic-centric than art-centric because I'm a writer, but I would enjoy receiving art also!

General likes:
- gender politics, anything exploring the way people of different genders experience things. I also love anything that plays with gender eg cisswap, trans characters, and bonus fantasy gender dynamics like omegaverse (I also like mpreg! with or without omegaverse)
- whump, angst, hurt/comfort, dark!fic - but I also enjoy fluff and humour as well! I just make sure to emphasise that I enjoy the darker side of things because you kind of need to for gifts
- alternate universes within canon(ish) place and time – whether its canon divergence or everything’s the same but they have wings or etc
- found family
- arranged marriages
- ace and/or aro characters

DNWs
- Alternate Universes that change the time/place (eg modern aus)
- graphic descriptions of eye trauma

Some notes:

- I’ve largely (like 1 exception) tried not to request canon pairings or the main ships in the fandom for smaller fandoms, because in my heart it goes against the rules even if they do technically qualify

- I opt in to remixes/sequels of my own/you the author’s own fic

- Any fandom that had multiple canons (novel, live action show, animated show, etc etc) or where there are prequels and sequels that are technically different fandoms I’m fine with any combination of canon within the fic, even if it’s requested only for one specific version of it. Life’s too short to get stressed about canon

- I am just as fine with the pairs being one-sided, or not end game, as I am with them ending up in a long and happy relationship. I fully subscribe to the idea that sometimes shipping is about ‘wouldn’t it be fucked up if…’. So feel free to like kill one half of the pairing and have the other try to move on with their life, or have the pairings be no-strings-attached friends-with-benefits situations that aren't intended to last for a long time. Or have them be happily-ever-after married that's also good I do also like that


 

少年歌行 | The Blood of Youth

• Sikong Qianluo/Wu Xin | Ye Anshi/Xiao Se | Xiao Chuhe

  • Xiao Se has 2 hands and a thing for brats (he is also a brat himself). This could be all three of them dating or Xiao Se dating both of them and the other two just wind each other up on purpose

• Ji Xue/Lei Wujie/Sikong Qianluo/Tang Ze/Xiao Se | Xiao Chuhe (The Blood of Youth)

  • ok but like. Hear me out. What if the Guardians gained extra strength by fucking? (Doesn’t have to be romantic)

• Ji Xue/Xiao Se | Xiao Chuhe/Ye Ruoyi; Ji Xue/Ye Ruoyi; Xiao Se | Xiao Chuhe/Ye Ruoyi

  • I’d be really interested in a look at some combination of these 3 pre-canon. First crushes or just teenagers hanging about and discovering themselves. I don't really see it lasting into their twenties but if you have an AU where that happens I would love to see your vision

• Lei Wujie/Sikong Qianluo/Tang Lian/Wu Xin | Ye Anshi/Xiao Se | Xiao Chuhe/Ye Ruoyi (The Blood of Youth)

  • The party is a polycule in some shape or form

• Tang Lian/Xiao Se | Xiao Chuhe (The Blood of Youth)

  • idk what it is about these two as a pairing but it just makes brain go brrrrrrrr. Maybe because they’re the oldest of the Youths and they both take on a lot of the responsibility? Could be interesting as a subset of party-as-a-polycule

8. Mu Chungfeng/Xiao Lingchen (The Blood of Youth)

• Sorry it’s the rare pair exchange so I had to nominate my crackship. They both want to bunk off their family responsibilities So Bad they should sail away into the sunset together. Sorry dad/emperor I can't inherit the company/throne I have this wildly inappropriate lover xoxo

• Xiao Chong/Zang Ming (The Blood of Youth)

  • I’m not always into ‘prince and his loyal bodyguard’ but I’m obsessed with these two. Something about how neither will ever be able to see how the other looks at them just Gets me

• Baili Dongjun/Tang Lian (The Blood of Youth)

  • I am not immune to shizunfucking. I’ve not entirely worked out how this would even work given Tang Lian’s whole being Like That. Maybe some kind of au where shizunfucking is expected? I don't know but I would enjoy it

少年白马醉春风 | Dashing Youth

• Ji Ruofeng/Li Xinyue/Sikong Changfeng/Tang Lianyue/Xiao Ruofeng 

  • ok but like. Hear me out. What if the Guardians gained extra strength by fucking? (Doesn’t have to be romantic) (this is slightly weird in the Dashing Youth canon to be fair. The version in my head before Dashing Youth gave them canonical ages was less so) (I also think it would be funny if one othe other guardians was Li Hanyi's father but they don't actually know which one and that's why she takes the name Li

• Lei Mengsha/Li Xinyue/Xiao Ruofeng; Lei Mengsha/Xiao Ruofeng

  • I just think that Xiao Ruofeng is in love with Lei Mengsha and I don’t know if Lei Mengsha hasn’t noticed or if he’s pretending he doesn’t see. Li Xinyue may solve this problem because she’s very blunt

• Xiao Ruojin/Ye Dingzhi/Yi Wenjun

  • something something polyamory solving love triangles. Or potentially making love triangles much much worse *ominous smily face*

伪装者 | The Disguiser

• Ming Cheng/Ming Jing; Ming Cheng/Ming Jing/Ming Lou/Ming Tai; Ming Cheng/Ming Lou 

• anyway the Mings are a totally normal family. Nothing to see here. (lies) (eyes emojis)

• Ming Cheng/Ming Lou/Wang Manchun; Ming Cheng/Wang Manchun; Ming Lou/Wang Manchun

  • It's all about that proxy-fucking. That scene where ah-Cheng is putting the pearls around Wang Manchun's neck. Augh. They're both fucking him but she's pretending he's Ming Lou

• Ming Tai/Wang Tianfeng (The Disguiser)

  • as aforementioned I am not immune to shizunfucking

君子盟 | A League of Nobleman

• Lan Jue | Lan Peizhi/Wang Yan | Wang Mowen; Lan Jue | Lan Peizhi/Wang Yan | Wang Mowen/Zhang Ping; Wang Yan | Wang Mowen/Zhang Ping
  • these guys are so very Polycule, to me. I mostly see it as Peizhi and Mowen have been together for a long time and then Peizhi gets a crush on Zhang Ping, but Mowen is the one who has to actually make that happen because he's the practical one. I would also be happy for the pairings not being in a polycule (I only nominated the Mowen ones because he's my favourite)

春花焰 | Kill Me Love Me 

• Mei Lin/Murong Jinghe

  • This is my one exception to the ‘no canon couples’ because a) there is literally no fandom and b) the ending of this show made me weep and I love them. Maybe they can just live in the village the rest of their lives and forget about revenge and be happy (I mean in canon they would literally never but MAYBE IN AN AU)

琅琊榜 | Nirvana in Fire

• Lin Chen/Mu Nihuang; Meng Zhi/Mu Nihuang; Mu Nihuang/Yan Yujin; Mu Nihuang/Xiao Jingyan
  
  • I'm a big fan of AUs where the Emperor forces Nihuang to marry someone, and I think these are all fun options. Whether the relationship ends up being particularly romantic or not is up to the author's discretion

• Lin Chen/Xiao Jingyan; Lin Chen/Meng Zhi 
  • I just think both of these pairings are great because they have nothing in common except bonding over bullying Mei Changsu to look after himself (or mourning him if you want the sad version) (and I'm always happy to receive the sad version *eyes emoji*) and yet I think in an opposites attract kind of way I think they'd be so fun

• Lín Shū | Méi Chángsū | Sū Zhé/Mù Níhuáng/Xiāo Jǐngyǎn 
  
  • It's not really 'polyamory to solce love triangle' because it's not really a love triangle but also. I love the idea that all three of them were romantically together as children but after Lin Shu died Nihuang and Jingyan fell apart. Does MCS' return bring them back together, or have they become too different?

• Lin Shu | Mei Changsu | Su Zhe/Xiao Jinghuan
  • This lends itself to dark/manipulative/dubcon/noncon fic for me, either MCS manipulating Jinghuan or Jinghuan getting his revenge on MCS

• Meng Zhi/Xiao Jingyu

  • I'm so sorry I came up with this rare pair on my rewatch and I'm literally just obsessed with them. MCS called Meng 'da-ge' because he was dating Jingyu-gege (I'm aware this isn't how it really works but AUGH)
  • There's just so much Tragedy going on. Stalwart Commander Meng spending a decade loyally serving the Emperor who killed his lover. Or maybe he did save him and he lives in disguise in Meng-dage's house.

莲花楼 | Mysterious Lotus Casebook 

• Li Lianhua | Li Xiangyi/Shan Gudao
  • If there is one thing you should know about me its that I think Shan Gudao is a really interesting character. Like he's fucked up and evil but honestly. I get it
  • HAVE YOU SEEN THIS POLL. I would love and appreciate any fic inspired by any of the options of this poll.

• He Xiaolan/Li Lianhua | Li Xiangyi; He Xiaolan/Li Lianhua | Li Xiangyi/Shang Gudao; He Xiaolan/Shan Gudao
  • I would love to see more about Shan Gudao relationship with He Xiaolan (Fang Duobing's birth mother). Like in canon she very much chases after him and then leaves before he finds out she's pregnant. Or you could go for him actively grooming her. And then if Li Xiangyi gets added into the mix?? damn Fucked UP (affectionate)

• Di Feisheng/Jiao Liqiao 
  • Jiao Liqiao gets everything she wants and Di Feisheng suffers. I don't really see him reciprocating at all. Dark fic all the way here!

• Fang Duobing/Qiao Wanmian 

  • I saw something once about them falling into each other when mourning Li Lianhua and I haven't been the same since
    
     

• Jiao Liqiao/Shan Gudao; Jiao Liqiao/Shan Gudao/Yun Biqiu; Jiao Liqiao/Yun Biqiu; Shan Gudao/Yun Biqiu
  • Complicated and weird and probably fucked up shit going on in the Nanyin revival squad. Yun Biqiu is so easily manipulated and Shan Gudao is also an expert manipulator, so I don't think he stands a chance if both SGD and JLQ are after him

• Li Xiangxian/Shan Gudao

  • everything could have/would have been different if Li Xiangxian hadn't died. Either Shan Gudao would not have turned out evil or they would have both turned out evil, and I'd love to see other people's takes on it
    
     

飞狐外传 | Side Story of Fox Volant 

• Cheng Lingsi/Hu Fei/Yuan Ziyi; Cheng Lingsu/Hu Fei; Hu Fei/Yuan Ziyi
  • I'M SORRY ABOUT THE TYPO
  • They all lived happily ever after together and no one became a nun or died. Or maybe they did become a nun or died but still lived happily ever after together because this is an AU

• Hu Yidao/Madam Hu/Miao Renfeng
  • Something something Miao Renfeng had the best sex of his life for a week and then spent the rest of his life grieving them
  • OR they could LIVE and raise Hu Fei together and fundamentally change the narrative. Or something

• Miao Renfeng/Nan Lan
  • NAN LAN DESERVES BETTER

• Miao Renfeng/Tian Guinong
  • Perfect opportunity for hatefucking

陈情令 | The Untamed

Reminder that I’m happy with frankencanon! The Untamed and MDZS are separate because they were nominated separately, but I’m fine for things to be combined and any version of canon to be used for any pairing under these fandoms

• Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin/Wen Xu; Jiang Yanli/Wen Xu; Lan Huan | Lan Xichen/Wen Xu; Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji/Wen Xu; Meng Yao | Jin Guangyao/Wen Xu; Nie Huaisang/Wen Xu; Niè Míngjué/Wēn Xù; Qin Su/Wen Xu

• Look. Wen Xu is just so not present in canon and that makes him SO interesting to me from what little we hear about him

• AU where A Character is married to Wen Xu to prevent the war from happening/to stop the effects from being so bad to their sect… does it work? Does Wen Xu still die as per canon leaving a widow(er) in the Nightless City? Do they grow to love each other? Or is Wen Xu a horrible torturer like his father?

• AU where character is taken by Wen Xu as a war prize

• AU where Wen Xu survives the war and is taken as a war prize

• I’m a big fan of ‘Wen Yuan is Wen Xu’s son’ which could go various interesting ways if the other parent was also a character that we’d heard of

 

魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù (32)

Reminder that I’m happy with frankencanon! The Untamed and MDZS are separate because they were nominated separately, but I’m fine for things to be combined and any version of canon to be used for any pairing under these fandoms

• Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín/Mèng Yáo | Jīn Guāngyáo (MDZS)

  • I actually think these two would be very well suited (to be clear, NOT because I think they’re evil or villains or something: I like both of these characters more than I like Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, I think they react to things reasonably and proportionally)

  • I’d be interested in this happening in an AU where everything doesn’t go off the rails (so like Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan don’t die) or maybe these two getting together means that everything doesn’t go off the rails