Event Announcement: Rarepair Week!
Hey farmers, it's that time of year again. We're so excited to be bringing back Rarepair Week! Some of the pairings that qualified as rarepairs last year don't even qualify anymore which is so cool. People are really showing up for their OTPs and challenging themselves with wild possibilities for pairings. Why don't you join the fun? ;D
Can my farmer be included as a background character in the fic? Yes, we just aren't allowing OCs to be a part of the main pairing since this event is focused on pairing NPCs together.
What do I use when checking to see if my pairing is a rarepair? Just the ship tag, eg Alex/Elliott. No other filters, just the ship.
What if there's no relationship tag on AO3? Then congratulations, you are first in the tag, and this would count as a rarepair, as long as it fits the character criteria mentioned above.
My ship is in over 100 fics, but most of those are just in the background, can they still count as a rarepair? First of all, this sucks. We really wish there was a way to differentiate between main and background ship on AO3. Unfortunately since they're all under the same stat and there is no way for us to easily check, they would not count for this event.
Do I have to have something for every day? No, you can pick and choose, write them out of order, put them all into one fic, whatever you want to do!
Is there a word count limit? Nope, your entries can be as long or as short as you wish!
Is art welcome? Hell yes!
Can I use background characters? Yes, definitely. Travelling Cart Lady, Mona, Clara, Welwick… all welcome.
Platonic pairings? Platonic love is love, and is valid and welcome.
Can I write the same pairing all week? Yup, go for it.
What if my rarepair is established in canon, but has fewer than 100 fics? For the purposes of this event, any canon couple like Pierre and Caroline would NOT be considered a rarepair regardless of how few fics they have. That being said, if you want to add a person to the pairing and make it poly, that WOULD be a rarepair. Just note that all members of the poly should have equal importance to the story.
Are the flower dance pairings considered established canon relationships? They are not! So knock yourself out, just make sure they have fewer than 100 fics posted, since a lot of them are popular.
Do I need to post on the relevant day? Post your fics at anytime and we are happy to reblog, however if you want your work showcased on the day in our roundup posts you will need to join the Discord (see the pinned post for more info) and send your fic in to the submissions channel.
Add your fic to the collection on AO3!
Feel free to use the hashtag #SDV rarepair week 2026 and tag this blog to have your posts reblogged :) Happy rarepair week, everyone!
thanks to @saradika-graphics and @usernamemybeloathed for the graphics on this post
