So a weird thing happened to me during a conversation with a fan of 'The Cord' and 'Bind Them'. She brought up a couple of terms I'd never heard before, namely Dusis and Thusis. This made me do a double take. She went on to tell me that this was Dora and Rora now and a lot easier to say.
It took me a moment to realize this was the Folded Earth version of Brangelina. Which had, in turn, been The Mirkwood Royals version of, well... you get it. I'd never really thought about these characters in this way. I'd written lists to the effect of 'Ora x (his name here)' before, but mostly for the purpose of plotting something out. Suddenly, I was thinking of other series, like Cardinal Machines, where Zoey holds sway. Her love-life is complicated and handled at greater depth. She travels from Zowen, to Zerrick, to... my main concern being Rick and Ocean. Suffice it to say, thinking about this had me in knots, which was a really welcome distraction given long-term quarantine (where I am healing up nicely)!
As silly as these smooshed-together names are, it does call to mind Ora and her relationships. Clearly, there had been an Airora at one point. He talked about it during Folded Earth. But those days ran their course, and, quite honestly, it would be hard for Airic Awns to move someone to first place in his heart ahead of his twin -- the one person in his life who, through thick or thin, has always trusted and cared for him. It makes me wonder what's ahead for tough and capable Aurora Buckmaster. Dora and Rora aside, I used to get, and still get, mail in praise of these connections. Recently, I've had 'their pairing feels forbidden to me', and 'my precious bb' re. Dora. My all-time fave is 'there is an interesting dynamic there... why would you do that to me?' Oddly, that's not the kind of feedback I get about the King, where, I swear, there are some truly startling replies, like 'I actually think he and I would make wonderful music together' (and I think the writer means herself)!
Is there support for Thusis/Rora? I have no idea, but a lot of folks like our boy
Dorondir/Dorath. What it comes down to, though, is my figuring out how Ora feels!
