#but after my current wordgirl project I have like 2 other ideas to keep me busy

[ghostboy-art]

Just want to see what people think...

Wordgirl Timeloop AU???

Staring a 14 year old Tobey and Wordgirl??

[fountainpenguin]

34 & 38 for the fanfic meme? [Can skip 38 if you're uncomfy posting it ofc]

[Current Ask game]

34. Was there any fic that you wrote that really surprised you in the fandom reaction? Was it just by the numbers or did they take it an entirely different way?

The stories that are my favorites frequently go unloved, and the stories I don't care for are more likely to be popular, which I'm sure can be largely attributed to me liking obscure characters instead of popular characters, and my taste of liking long, raw emotion 'fics with relationship drama more than I like my surface-level one-shots.

My three most popular (in terms of kudos) stories for the 130 Prompts project are "Mama's Boy," "End of the World," and "Weakening" which are all near the top of my personal "'fics I don't like" list. I personally think they're poor examples of my writing abilities, but people like them, so to each their own. I'm glad people like them enough to leave kudos on those pieces so that if I choose to ignore their opinions and move forward with my own, at least I'm aware of what I'm doing /lh

(The love for "Sunk Too Deep" always surprises me too, but I'm happy for it and I do feel it's deserved even if I "don't get it," ha ha).

I was also very touched when I returned to writing 'fics again after an extended hiatus and discovered that my most popular 'fic on AO3 is "AlgoRhythm." I wrote it in 2018 and it got its first AO3 comment in November 2020, plus it received multiple comments in 2022. I was on hiatus at the time and not keeping up with my 'fic feedback, so that was a very cool thing to see when I came back and already had the urge to write WordGirl again.

It was just kind of a /pikagasp moment that was really cool to me, because I always loved this 'fic and it was so cool to realize it had become the fan favorite in my library without me knowing. I'm really sad that I missed the resurgence of WordGirl popularity in early 2022, but I'm glad my 2018 'fic was there for people to enjoy even if I wasn't around to be involved.

I wrote a 'fic once years ago - I won't say which one - and a reader commented on it saying that they loved it, it made them cry, etc. Excitedly, I explained that I didn't like the way the show writers had pulled off X scene and so this was my fix-it for that, and I loved my angsty scene and I was so happy they loved it too.

The reviewer pulled a 180 on me and completely changed their POV, saying that my story was ruined for them now because they found it disgusting that I had written such a middle finger against the show creators and their canon.

It was a big slap in the face to me that hurt a lot at the time, especially since my entire brand is canon compliancy, but it's not something that still hangs over me today. Just an interesting story to keep around as a reminder that not everyone's going to love your ideas. I'm glad I have other nice comments on that story I can enjoy because man... sometimes you just get comments that bite. One of the risks you take in posting writing online.

38. Have you ever purposefully written something you know your readers would find uncomfortable/would not enjoy? If yes, why?

I'm going to assume that people who choose to read things like angst desire the angst, so this isn't about that.

I do like to set expectations, especially in long 'fics. Case in point: Frayed Knots Chapter 2 is Chapter 2 for a reason. If you can't get through Infant Marsupial Rescue Mission, you're not gonna like the rest of the 'fic, so just drop off now.

Like... seriously. Frayed Knots GOES PLACES and delves into THEMES. We've got an evil villain of a protagonist who is gonna do some upsetting stuff like manipulate his S/O into dubious consent situations, willingly put HIMSELF into situations of dubious consent as he tries to flirt his way through politics, and also he's a chronic cheater whose entire backstory is built around the idea of betraying others in pursuit of science, so... chances are high that it is not your type of 'fic if the dead marsupial mom scene is too much for you.

That said, I still think that scene was objectively tame because it's blood-free, it's the death of a character we don't have a connection to, and the characters talk about what they're about to face before they arrive at the scene, giving the reader time to bail early if they start growing uncomfortable. I tried to make it as un-upsetting as I could while still setting up this idea of "Buckle up, because we're only in Chapter 2 and I want you to be aware that the content warnings are there for a reason and this story's okay with discussing dark topics and non-human biology."

As a fun parallel along the lines of setting expectations, the opening line of Origin of the Pixies seems absolutely wild: "On a daily basis, it still baffles me to remember how many people don't know that squids keep libraries."

Perhaps an odd move for a Fairly OddParents 'fic that explores the Head Pixie's backstory, but it's important to me. The Yugopotamian library holds a lot of meaning for H.P. because he's stationed there during the war with the Anti-Fairies. He's in the eye of the hurricane, the universe falling apart around him, and... this is his little safe space where he has his pixies around him, and the library keeps them safe. He reads, researches, and it becomes a meaningful place to him.

I like to think of this as an exercise in patience. Those who remember the opening line might be chomping at the bit for a while, wondering when we get to see the squids and the library, but reading the 'fic requires you to slow down and absorb the little moments, which is exactly how H.P. learns to live his life.

By the time you get to the Yugopotamian scenes, chances are that you've completely forgotten this was the opening line of the 'fic. But Origin is a 'fic that's full of secrets that you'll only catch upon a reread, and this is one of them. It's a secret little nod to the fact that H.P. values the library scenes even when it's not obvious... which is the overall theme of the story. Not sure if that counts as upsetting, but it counts as deliberate.

I have a lot of private opinions about my headcanons that I don't normally talk about unless asked directly, because I'm very aware that my opinions are unpopular. I've seen some widely accepted fandom headcanons that certain fandoms like to hold up as canon, and I don't agree with those headcanons, which is sometimes awkward. I often ship rarepairs, and some of my rarepairs are so rare that I've never seen anyone even discuss them in a fandom space, let alone actually draw or write for them.

A lot of my favorite characters are ignored, poorly treated, or outright bashed in 'fics. I've been nipped at over the years for enjoying X or Y part of someone's characterization - tbh I left one of my fandoms because a ring of people were talking behind my back about how they thought my character analyses were stupid - so a lot of the time I just sort of... surface skim past the things I want to delve into. One day I'd like to get into the stuff I really enjoy, but for now I'm just playing out some tamer storylines.

I'd really like to work more on writing emotions, especially angst. I consider myself as someone who writes very tame content that might tickle your brain "logically," but doesn't really touch emotions (as far as I know; as the writer, everything falls flat to me because I already know what's coming and don't get to be surprised, so I just have to go off what readers tell me to know if something is hitting right or not).

I'd love to write some hard-hitting angst one day and (separately) I'd also love to write some enthralling romance. Some people who follow my current work might find some of that upsetting, but someday I'd like to start a new project where I do this sort of thing.

[Current Ask game]