Letters (Star Wars: TPM series)
| Zine | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Letters |
| Publisher: | "A Lupine Lizards Production," Fredicated and Zortified Productions (first and second run), later AWIT Press |
| Editor: | |
| Author(s): | Lori and Wolfling |
| Cover Artist(s): | |
| Illustrator(s): | |
| Date(s): | 1999 (online), January 2000 (print zine) |
| Medium: | online, then print |
| Size: | |
| Genre: | |
| Fandom: | Star Wars: TPM |
| Language: | English |
| External Links: | Letters Series (Hawksong.com); single page, Archived version |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Letters is a slash series by Lori and Wolfling (two "guest authors" are listed in the print zine: James Walkswithwind and Kalykat).
It was written and posted online in 2000 as a work in progress, together with illustrations by BlackRose, and republished in zine form in 2001 by "Zortified & Fredicated Productions, and then AWIT Press."
The main pairing is Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan, but there are different arcs of the universe and depending on the arc, there are different warnings and pairings. The original arc has plenty of angst, injury, violence and hurt/comfort. The 'foursome' arc has the same but is m/m/m/f.
The Letters series has 60 parts and was completed December 10th, 1999.[1]
Series
- Letters
- Foursome: A Letters AU (optional to the timeline, considered a side story but fit in the gap between Letters and War Chronicles)
- War Chronicles
- Rebellion Missives (which was not zined) (online here, Archived version )
Letters index page
linking banner from the Jedi Discipline archive
Print Zine
The zine has the subtitle: "An Epistolary Romance." It has 447 pages, 10 interior illos, color front and back cover. Cover art by X. Interior Illios by: BlackRose, Barbara, Kimdy, Lilith, Wolfling and Lori. It sold for $25 US plus shipping.
Description from AWIT Press: "[It is] one of the first big on-line AU stories where Qui-Gon survived Naboo, but almost did not survive estrangement from Obi-Wan."[2]
From One of the Authors:
After War Chronicles came out I was done with being a zine publisher and gave the reprint rights to AWIT press so they could stay 'in print'. Letters was exceptionally heavy to ship and expensive to print. That, as well as the rise of online archives and faster modem speeds led to the stories going out of 'print' but the PDFs were always available online and are a duplicate of the text that was in the zines. [3]
An online flyer is here.
Authors' Foreword
From Wolfling: It started out simply enough back in August 1999 with the comment, "You know we should really write a Q/O story together."
We brainstormed and came up with a plot for an AU set during the Clone Wars. It promised to be rather involved and we both had other projects we were working on so we decided to put it off for a little while.
Still, we wanted to do something right away so we decided to do a short prequel. Lori suggested doing it as a series of letters so we could fit it around our other projects and Real Life Just a little something to get a feel for the characters and establish some background.
Little did we know...
Four months and over 250,000 words later, we finally finished our "short prequel." In all that time only two days went by that we didn't work on it. Other projects we had been working on when we started still sit unfinished.
From the beginning Letters was one of those rare stories that seemed to write itself, the plot almost growing organically. Frequently the characters seemed to take over, going in directions neither of us planned. It often left us in the rather strange position of writing to see what would happen next. "That definitely gave us an added incentive to keep writing, not that we needed one by that point.
Writing this was a wonderful experience for me, not the least because of my co-writer, Lori. Every writer should have a chance to collaborate with someone whose style melds so well with their own and who pulls their own work to new levels. There is nothing like writing something and having your co-writer take it and build on it, before giving it back to you to build even higher. When it works, it makes the writing seem effortless.
I've, been graced with the chance to write with two such people (the other, James Walkswithwind also wrote a couple of letters in this series) and am extremely grateful for the privilege. Writing with them has made me look good and I thank them for the opportunity.
Many people who followed this series when we posted it online spoke of getting addicted to it. I'm as hooked on this universe and the characters as they are and not to speak for Lori, but I'm fairly sure she has a continuing fascination with them as well. We've continued writing stories with these characters and we have yet to get to that original plot we came up with all these long months ago.
And I am looking forward to seeing where Qui and Obi and Jess and Rill are going to lead us next.
From Lori: Wolf said most of what I wanted to say about how we got started on this story. It sort of snuck up on us and demanded to be written. The best part for me was seeing the characters change and grow along with the story. That none of them were perfect and they all made mistakes like the rest of us. I yelled and rolled my eyes at the screen along with the rest of you when they did dumb things.But that's how people, I mean characters are. You see things they can't because you have a perspective they don't. That's what this story was like for me from beginning to end. A change in perspective and growth. A year ago I would have never thought I had this many words in me to put to paper and share with seven hundred of my closest friends, let alone print and have buried in the back of your closet for the next twenty years or so.
We sincerely hope you've enjoyed the ride. And maybe there will be a companion volume to this one called War Chronicles and maybe there won't. I don't know. Obi-Wan and the rest of the gang haven't told me yet.
Print Zine Gallery
"General Kenobi" - Lillith
"Death Reading" - Black Rose
"Official Mission Portrait" - Kimdy
"Qui-Gon's Universe" - Lori
"Counselor Qui-Gon" by Kimdy
"Rilka on the Rampage" - photo manip by Lori, a fan casted Sela Ward
Black Rose
"Lonesome Recovery" - Barbara
"Jess Lashar" - photo manip by Lori, a fan-casted Michael Praed
"Waterfall" - Black Rose
Recs and Reviews
When Qui-Gon survives the events on Naboo, he and the newly knighted Obi-Wan are separated, until a personal letter Obi-Wan wrote but never intended to send “accidentally” finds its way into his former master's hands.When it comes to the Star Wars fandoms, most authors tend to feel that you need to 'go big or go home' and The Letters Universe is a prime example of just how 'big' that can be. Beginning almost a year after the events on Naboo with Obi-Wan fully knighted and stationed far out in Rim Space, well away from Qui-Gon, who has (finally) accepted a position on the Jedi Council, and very much alone in a sea of non-Jedi, the first arc in the universe is a lovely look into what can happen when a nosy communication ensign takes an interest in some private (and revealing) correspondence.
I’ve always loved stories that focus on one character finding out another is in love with them, whether by accident or design, and this one builds an entire epic universe on that premise; though, to be fair, TLU is much, much more than that. With a backdrop of war playing out around them, Lori and Wolfling do a good job of exploring Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon’s relationship without forgetting that they both have duties that can and will outreach their own wants and desires. While I admit that with any series of this size there are some issues, they aren’t overpowering and the relationship and action definitely outshine them in the end.[4]
Slash/Fix-it. This is a beautiful series of letters written between Qui Gon and Obi-Wan in an alternate universe where the former has survived and the latter has continued on to meet his real-universe destiny of becoming 'General Kenobi'. Touching, loving, and warm enough to melt the coldest heart.[5]
Long series. Post TPM, AU (Qui-Gon survives) After his knighthood, Obi-Wan is sent by the council to a mission on the Rim. Several months later, he wrotes a love letter for Qui-Gon he don't intends to sent, but it's sent by error. That starts one of the best fic series I've read.[6]
I was hooked from the first letter when the angst of Obi-Wan's unrequited love is accidentally revealed to Qui-Gon, who wholeheartedly responds with his own passionate feelings. The story slowly expands from a series of personal letters into a complex epic covering their bonding, their training of Anakin, their matchmaking for friends, their disputes with a tainted Council, and the battle against the Sith. The story develops several interesting original characters and expands canon characters like Anakin, but happily, they all enhance the boys' interaction rather than dominating the fic. The heart of the story always remains with Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, who are depicted as strong, dedicated Jedi, but with flaws and imperfections, a characterization that draws me into regular re-reading. Letters was followed by War Chronicles and Rebellion Missives, as well as the AU Foursome, but Letters itself remains my favorite. The boys' initial yearning for each other, followed by their first kiss, first sex, and the evolution of their partnership as bonded knights... *happy sigh*[7]
When Qui-Gon survives the events on Naboo, he and the newly knighted Obi-Wan are separated, until a personal letter Obi-Wan wrote but never intended to send “accidentally” finds its way into his former master's hands.When it comes to the Star Wars fandoms, most authors tend to feel that you need to 'go big or go home' and The Letters Universe is a prime example of just how 'big' that can be. Beginning almost a year after the events on Naboo with Obi-Wan fully knighted and stationed far out in Rim Space, well away from Qui-Gon, who has (finally) accepted a position on the Jedi Council, and very much alone in a sea of non-Jedi, the first arc in the universe is a lovely look into what can happen when a nosy communication ensign takes an interest in some private (and revealing) correspondence.
I’ve always loved stories that focus on one character finding out another is in love with them, whether by accident or design, and this one builds an entire epic universe on that premise; though, to be fair, TLU is much, much more than that. With a backdrop of war playing out around them, Lori and Wolfling do a good job of exploring Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon’s relationship without forgetting that they both have duties that can and will outreach their own wants and desires. While I admit that with any series of this size there are some issues, they aren’t overpowering and the relationship and action definitely outshine them in the end. [8]
Lori and Wolfling... Letters, Foursome, War Chronicles and now Rebellion Missives are all the works of these amazing writers. I'm only recently initiated into this series which seems to move in a spinning cycle of humour -> hot sex -> angst -> humour -> very hot sex. *happy sigh*[9]
If you are a Qui/Obi fan and you haven't read this series, I'll have to ask you if you've been hiding under a rock somewhere. But if for some reason you have missed them, run, don't walk, to this URL and get reading. This is absolutely the best, most romantic, Qui/Obi series I have read yet. The idea is that after Naboo, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan go in different directions, each thinking that the other doesn't want them. Until a letter happens to be sent to Coruscant....completely by accident...[10]
References
- ^ Letters. (Accessed 29 March 2013)
- ^ AWIT Press, February 2003 (oldest Wayback capture) or before. (Accessed 29 March 2013); Dec 2000 WayBack ink.
- ^ from personal correspondence between Mrs. Potato Head and Lori, used with permission, June 1, 2013
- ^ slyprentice in epic_recs. The Letters Universe by Lori and Wolfling (NC-17), 31 May 2009. (Accessed 29 March 2013)
- ^ "JR's Parlor: Fanfic Recommendations Page 4 -- BSG(Classic and New Series), SG-1, SW:TPM". 2013-06-20. Archived from the original on 2013-06-20.
- ^ andromeda at Whispered Words. The Letters Series. (Accessed 29 March 2013)
- ^ elayna88 in tpm_flashback. Letters by Lori and Wolfling, 26 September 2004. (Accessed 29 March 2013)
- ^ slyprentice in epic_recs. The Letters Universe by Lori and Wolfling (NC-17), 31 May 2012. (Accessed 21 April 2015)
- ^ Padder's Messy Room. Recs. (Accessed 28 November 2015)
- ^ Amy Fortuna's Recs Page, Wayback: 16 June 2000. (Accessed 13 December 2015)