#hadopelagia

[rcmclachlan]

i know naruto is no longer really a thing for you, but i got back into it and i keep thinking ab that fic you wrote ab Iruka's heritage all those years ago and i just need you to know it still reverberates in my soul. the atmosphere of it!! whatta story!! thank you for writing it!!!

Naruto will always have a special place in my heart and I will never ever stop reading KakaIru, so no worries on that front!

And thank you so much for your kind words about Hadopelagia! I still think about that story a lot and I truly wish I could have finished it. It simply spiraled out of my control; the scope of it was just too big, and by that point it was easier to just stop writing it altogether. But I promise you it would've ended happily.

[rcmclachlan]

#Yes except I'm the author

Do you ever remember an unfinished and abandoned fic from years ago which touched you so deeply that it still sometimes resurfaces and lingers in your mind?

And you’re just like, dear unknown author, i hope you are doing well, wherever you are. It wasn’t finished but i loved it, thank you for your words.

[magnustesla]

Hi! Was wondering if I could get some KakaIru fic recs? I have a craving.

Of course! In no particular order and no summaries because tbh, I am too tired to do so... here's some of my fave kakairu fics:

Water Runs Red - @scribblesinthemargins

Order And Obedience - @sparkswithyou

Solace - @sparkswithyou

Now I Lay Me - @sparkswithyou

Notes From An Undertaker - chuchisushi

Morning Meetings - hands_off

Take Me As I Am - chibi_zoe

Mating Season - @crazylabrat

Show Me - @crazylabrat

Had A Feeling That I Belonged - justdoityoufucker

Scent And Sensibility - @flailinginlove

What Doesn't Kill You - Stark_Black

Fuck Cops(Then Marry One) - upset_and_confused

Hadopelagia - @rcmclachlan

Night At The Aquarium - @ladyxxdaydream

I'll Fall If You Do - @ladyxxdaydream

Lust, Love and Everything In Between - @aviss

You Suck At Love - masc_malfunction

Eye Of The Storm - @raendown

In My Head (And In My Heart) - @raendown

A Measure Of Company - megyal

Warforged - @tea-blitz

General State Of Affairs - Caeseria

A Road Leading Home - emlof

The Peacock Club - gryvon

Iris - @trans-kxkashi

Chakra Depletion - @hexadecimal00

Honest When It Rains - @subtextually & panda shi

Playing With Fire - Liralenli

*****

As always, I want to link my kakairu fics because I am proud of them and hope you might enjoy them.

Plz reblog this post if you enjoyed any of the recs so that others can enjoy them, too ♡ Also, go follow the writers tagged and show them some love.

[jeromecreative]

This is an alternate cover for Hadopelagia. https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/kaioni/id853139640

[rcmclachlan]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

I was tagged by @screamlet, @liminalmemories21, and @cliophilyra! Thanks, y'all!

1. How many works do you have an AO3? 81, but I orphaned all my YOI fic a few years back (and regret it like crazy).

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 556,317

3. What fandoms do you write for? Currently 911 (and whenever the mood strikes I pick away at a random Cardcaptor Sakura fic that I'll probably finish in 2029)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? + Long Live The King (DBZ) + Stopgap (Good Omens) + 100 Zeni (DBZ) + Named (Supernatural) + Pillow Talk (DBZ)

5. Do you respond to comments? I've gotten much better about this! I really do try to respond to every one I get these days, but I will admit that there have been a few fics where the comments ballooned out of control and I couldn't keep up. I promise you I've read every comment I get over and over and I appreciate them more than I can say!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Definitely Oneiroi, and 13 years later it's still one of my favorite endings.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Heritage Site, I think. It ends with resolving years-old misunderstandings and a marriage proposal.

8. Do you get hate on fics? I've been publishing fic since 2003 and since then I've gotten maybe two or three nasty comments, which is statistically negligible!

9. Do you write smut? Not as often as I'd like! Working on that.

10. Do you write crossovers? They're normally not my bag, but I've written one! Like old swords still are trusted best is my little DBZ/MCU crossover, because once I got the idea of Tony Stark and Bulma Briefs growing up together stuck in my head I couldn't get it out.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not to my knowledge, but I've had a fic summary stolen, which was kinda funny.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Yes! Into Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, and Russian

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? No. I'm such a control freak when it comes to writing and I refuse to inflict that on someone.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Hadopelagia. It haunts me.

16. What are your writing strengths? Dialogue, and people keep telling me humor (I'll take y'all's word for it!).

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Starting a story. My WIPs folder is a wasteland littered with the bodies of a hundred thousand false starts.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I've done it once (with the help of a native speaker) and it really adds another level to the story. I love it when I come across non-English languages in stories; I wish it happened more often.

19. First fandom you wrote for? Technically it was Animorphs in 1997. I was 10 years old and it was a self-insert fic that I wrote on a legal pad at my Yiayia's house. The first fandom I published something for was Fruits Basket in 2003.

20. Favorite fics you've written? + A Twist of the Knife (MDZS/The Untamed) + The Thin Red Line (911) + Resonant Frequency (Beyond Evil) + Heritage Site (CCS)

No pressure tags: @dadvans, @alchemistc, @ripeteeth, @stitchyblogs, @firehose118, @newtkelly, @leashybebes, @epiphainie

[rcmclachlan]

20 questions for fic writers

Tagged by @microcomets. Thanks, friendo!

1. How many works do you have on Ao3?

71 currently. I've orphaned a bunch, though.

2. What's your total Ao3 word count?

526,242

3. What fandoms do you write for?

These days I write for whichever fandom strikes my fancy—it might be a new one, or it might be one that I fall back into every so often. My most recent fics have been a mix of new (Beyond Evil, Good Omens, Loki) and old (Cardcaptor Sakura).

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Long Live The King (DBZ, bulma/vegeta)

Stopgap (Good Omens, crowley/aziraphale)

100 Zeni (DBZ, trunks/goten, bulma/vegeta)

Named (Supernatural, dean/castiel)

Solve for X (MCU, tony/loki)

5. Do you respond to comments?

I've gotten better at this! I now make sure to reply to every comment on my newer works (sometimes it's a bit overwhelming, but I think the effort is worth it).

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Probably Oneiori. Like, Cas gets a happy-ish ending, but it's not going to last. Womp womp.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

These days, I try to end all my fics on a happy note! The happiest that comes to mind is Heritage Site.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I think I've gotten hate maybe twice since I started posting to AO3 in 2010? That's statistically negligible, which is kind of amazing!

9. Do you write smut?

Not often. I don't mind writing it, but it really needs to serve a purpose to the story for me to make the effort.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you have written?

Nah, not really my thing.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of, but I've had a fic's summary stolen! That was a trip.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! I'm floored people like my work enough to put that kind of time and effort into translating it!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nope. I tried, but it ultimately didn't work out (mostly due to writer's block and scheduling issues).

14. What's your all time favorite ship?

This is like asking me which of my children I love more. It'd take me a month to answer this question and I'd need someone at CERN to check my work.

I will say Kakashi/Iruka is my most enduring fave; I started reading them in 2005 and fall back into them every 3 or so years. I'm currently in a kakairu cycle (as if y'all couldn't tell).

15. What is a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Speaking of Kakashi/Iruka.... Hadopelagia. It was just far too big in scope for me to even think about finishing. I think I frightened myself out of it! For the best, though. I re-read it the other night and it's a MESS. This is why betas are so important, kids.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I've gotten a lot of comments about how I use metaphor effectively, as well as comedy. I don't think I'm particularly funny compared to other writers, but it always fills me with joy when someone mentions my dumb sense of humor.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Definitely smut. There's nothing worse than trying to keep track of where everyone's legs are.

Me: "I used the word 'cock' fourteen times in this paragraph......... well, maybe no one will notice."

18. Thoughts of writing dialogue in another language in fics?

I've done it! Named had a whole scene written in Spanish (I tried my hand at it and then had a native speaker edit it). I think when done well, it adds something really meaningful to a story.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

The first fanfic I ever wrote was before I even knew what fanfiction was. It was an Animorphs self-insert fic and I wrote it on a legal pad at my grandparents' house in like 1997. The first fandom I officially posted fic for was Fruits Basket in 2003, followed by QAF in 2004.

20. Favorite fic you have written?

Probably A Twist of the Knife. I had an absolute blast writing Nie Huaisang, and I'm really proud of the story as a whole (which is rare for me).

Tagging: @sonatine, @lemonistas, @stitchyblogs, @dadvans, @ataraxetta, @nandalorian, and anyone else who wants to get in on the action. :-D

[rcmclachlan]

WIP Wednesday: Hadopelagia, chapter 7

Positively beaming, Naruto sits up—kneeing Iruka in the gut again—and surveys his conquest. "It's so weird to see you in handcuffs like this, like you're a bad guy." Suspicion sparks on his face and burns his smile to ash. "Iruka-sensei, he hasn't done, y'know, anything weird to you, has he?"

Iruka blinks. "Who?"

Leaning down, Naruto reminds them that he failed every stealth assessment that Iruka ever gave him by scream-whispering, "Everyone knows that Kakashi-sensei's a total perv, and you can't escape. You're sure he's been on the up-and-up?"

"Hey," Kakashi says flatly.

"Naruto, that's just plain insulting. If Kakashi-sensei tosses your ass out the window, I'm not gonna stop him."

The threat of bodily harm means nothing to someone like Naruto, who rolls his eyes. "You're cuffed to the bed, you're not gonna do diddly squat."

"If we're done casting aspersions on my character," Kakashi begins slowly.

Naruto puffs up. "Never!"

[rcmclachlan]

Hey!!!! I just finished re-reading Hadopelagia and I just flipping got it! Watatsumi is a flipping Dragon Water God it took me three goings bc I simply thought that the transformation in ch6 was simply for the aesthetics but then I googled watatsumi and most results I got were a dragon. fffffff how could I miss it?? what a great fic >°>

[rcmclachlan]

I'm sorry!!! While reading your kakairu fic I can't help but imagine shumo looks like the purple haired guy from comartie high school and I giggle everytime!

I had to google that but, dude, you’re absolutely dead on. Shumo looks exactly like that guy!

[rcmclachlan]

WIP Wednesday: Hadopelagia, chapter 7

hadopelagia | naruto | canon au

"So I… I'm not under arrest?"

Under the mask, Kakashi's nose wrinkles with rueful humor. "Not technically, no."

"'Not technically'?"

"To be honest, no one's sure what to do with you," Kakashi admits and scratches the back of his head. His hitai-ate rustles ominously with the movement, teasing the horrors hidden beneath, and Iruka sucks in a breath. "This is sort of… without precedent."

"... How bad is it?"

"Well, it's not terrific." But Hatake Kakashi hasn't found a dire situation that he couldn't make light of, so he waves away the near-destruction of their village at Iruka's hands like he's trying to get rid of a particularly annoying fly. "Half the village is calling for your execution."

Iruka closes his eyes as another few tears eke out, and exhales. He can't muster up the effort to be affronted. If it had been someone else, someone with whom he'd placed the safety of his children and they had nearly destroyed the village, Iruka would be the one leading the angry mob. 

"And the other half?"

"Trying to erect a temple in your honor. The plans have already been sent to the Budget Office. I managed to get a look, and I've gotta say that it's pretty nice… if pillars made of pure gold are your sort of thing."

Iruka opens his eyes and stares at him, because what.

"There's going to be a wave pool," Kakashi says with great relish.

[rcmclachlan]

It's 5am and I have stuff to do in the morning but staying up to read Hadopelagia was worth it. I'm blown away at how good a writer you are

If it’s any consolation, I constantly lose sleep over how long it’s been since I updated it. Three years.I really should finish the next chapter. 

Also, thank you so much! *gently kisses your forehead* Now go to bed, bb. 

[rcmclachlan]

htsm replied to your post “WIP Wednesday: Hadopelagia, chapter 7”

Oh no, don't you do this to me. It's fall and a long weekend, which would be ideal for curling up and reading Ninja Dad fics. BUT I have things to do RC! RESPONSIBLITIES.

Oh, don’t worry. This chapter won’t be done this weekend. Or even next weekend. It just keeps getting longer. 

[rcmclachlan]

Oh my god I just read the entirety of Hadopelagia in one sitting and it's almost 5AM. Can I just yell loudly in your ask box about how gorgeous your writing is and how amazing this fic is?! Holy crap.

OH MY GOD GO TO BED

I’m so flattered that you sacrificed sleep to read this. It’s literally been three years since I last updated, but the next chapter is almost finished and is gonna clock in at 11k words, so there’s that! This message is the kick in the ass I needed to get ‘er done. I am BOUND AND DETERMINED to finish it.

But seriously go to bed.

[rcmclachlan]

not to be THAT person but are you ever going to finish hadopelaga?

Nonny, your frustration is my frustration is your frustration. 

I have every intention of finishing Hadopelagia, I promise! I think about it literally every day. I have the doc open literally every day, and I’m proud to report that I’ve made progress on it! Recently, even! I completely re-wrote the first part of the next chapter a week ago and I’m so much happier with it. I’m trying to get past a dialogue exchange that is crucial (and I’m 120% a linear writer so I can’t skip it and come back to it) and once I do I’m sure it’ll be smooth sailing from there.

I can’t believe it’s been over two years since I last updated that thing. Time flies when you’re slacking off!

(For any of my new kakairu peeps, this is the fic in question)

[rcmclachlan]

Hadopelagia, chapter 7: Coming soon

"Aren't you going to ask?" Iruka whispers, and he feels Kakashi's attention snap to him, feels that one eye like a hand around his throat. "Don't you want to know w-what I—"

But he can't finish it, because he doesn't know what to plug into the silence. Do words exist for the whisper of old power inside him, the endless deep that once swallowed the sun to prove a point? How does he describe the slosh and churn of water in him, crashing against the shores of his body, his mind, looking for a single crack to exploit so it can finally be released? Can he really confess that he's drowning in something too big to name, too old to face, and that on some level he knew something was wrong with him all this time and still kept it quiet? That in doing so he nearly destroyed everything they hold dear?

It takes a moment for him to blink the tears away so he can focus on Kakashi, begging him to understand, to know that he never meant for any of this. They have never been friends by any stretch—barely cordial is about as good as they've ever managed—but they have always had the same goal: the safety and protection of Konoha. Surely that has to count for something.   

Kakashi stares at him for a long moment, and Iruka watches as he silently chooses his words, because the master of a thousand ninjutsu leaves nothing to chance. Exhaling, Kakashi says again, slowly, "There will be no execution."

Iruka sucks in a breath and tries to release it, but he fumbles it, chokes on the heart trying to escape by way of his throat, and it wheezes out of him almost like a laugh. "You can't promise me that."

"No, I can't," Kakashi agrees, gentle as the sun-soaked breeze that follows a storm. "And yet, here we are."

from chapter 7 of Hadopelagia

[rcmclachlan]

SO UH, I JUST FOUND YOUR IRUKA IS THE SON OF A MIGHTY SEA GODDESS FIC AND I'M ONLY ON CHAPTER FIVE BUT THANKS??? THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO WRITE WHAT YOU HAVE SO FAR, IT'S REALLY GOOD

Oh man, thank you so much! ... This really makes me guilty for abandoning it. Here are some snippets of dialogue from the chapters I planned to write but probably won’t:

Naruto: How do I know you're the REAL Iruka-sensei? Prove it. What's my least favorite ramen? What was the first question I ever asked in class?

Iruka: You don't have a least favorite and you asked if ants have assholes.

Naruto: (overjoyed) IRUKA-SENSEI!

*

Tako: Sakura. That boy just disrespected you. Destroy him.

*

Shumo: You like him.

Iruka: What? No! H-He’s a colleague, an acquaintance, and Naruto's teacher--

Shumo: And you're telling me that if he started giving out prostate exams, you wouldn't be first in line, bent over with your cheeks spread?

Iruka: Oh my god, you let him TALK like that?!

Tako: Hm? He say something?

Iruka: You didn't hear that?

Tako: I tune in and out. What'd he say?

Iruka: I'm not repeating it.

Tako: Learn to ignore him. It's what I usually do.

Iruka: If you're listening at all.

Tako: Hm? You say something?

*

Iruka: "Never turn your back on the sea..."

Shumokuzame: Never stick your hand in a ceiling fan. (At Iruka's unimpressed look) Sorry. I thought we were giving random, yet helpful advice.

*

Danzo: I say we execute him {Iruka} as a traitor to Konoha!

Tako: Oh, please do. (rippling into view) Give me an excuse, any excuse, to wash this pitiful village from the world.

Danzo: You--arrest her--she's compromised security--!

Shumokuzame: (forces him to sit) Grab some bench, lumpy.

*

Kurenai: I need your help. I can’t do it because they know me here and--and look, I need you to buy me a pregnancy test.

Tako: Are you pregnant?

Kurenai: I-I'm almost sure.

Tako: Then why do you need the test?

Kurenai: To be sure!

Tako: You sound sure.

Kurenai: I'm not 100% sure. The test will... confirm it.

Tako: (reaches out and touches her belly, concentrates for a few moments) You're pregnant. Congratulations. No test needed. Bye.

Kurenai: ...

Tako: What?

Kurenai: ... (face crumbles)

Tako: N-No. No no no!

Kurenai: ... (starts crying)

Tako: (horrified) Do that somewhere else!

*

Sasuke: Sakura... She didn't even look at me.

Tako: What makes you think you even deserve to be looked at?

Sasuke: She always looks at me.

Tako: From what I've heard, you've spent the last 8 years ignoring her or telling her to leave you alone. Congratulations. Dreams really do come true.

*

Sasuke: What you did for Sakura... Do to me. Give me that power.

Tako: No.

Sasuke: What? Why?!

Tako: You really want to know? Because you don't deserve it. Your entitled, poor me attitude makes you a foolish choice, not to mention the way you disrespect Sakura, who has shown you nothing but compassion and kindness, tells me that you wouldn’t recognize a good thing when you see one anyway. You’re loyal to no one and you would gladly cast away your village if it meant getting your way. I could admire those traits if I were not trying to win a war. But I am, and giving you a way into this kind of power will not secure us a victory. Also, your brother is the most irritating person I've ever met and I'm not doing him any favors.

Sasuke: I need it! You don't understand what I've lost!

Tako: You've lost? You've LOST? Oh my god, you fucking CHILD! EVERYBODY LOSES! I've lost, Shumo's lost, Iruka, Kakashi, Naruto -- everyone's lost and will continue to lose. It's all everything is. Loss and strife -- that's why it's called 'life'.

*

Iruka: Hound... Oh, Kakashi-sensei. I'm sorry. I thought you were someone else.

Kakashi: I don't know how to be anyone else.

*

After the big reveal of Kakashi’s identity:

Kakashi: (brushing his fingers under Iruka's right eye) Hello, Iruka-kun.

Iruka: (captures Kakashi's hand in his, kisses it, then punches him in the face with his other hand) I CAN’T FUCKING BELIEVE YOU!

Kakashi: (on the ground) You know, this is exactly how I pictured this going. 

*

Tako: (surveying a big group of genin) What the hell am I looking at?

Tsunade: The finest genin that Konoha has to offer.

Tako: And I'm doing what with them, exactly?

Tsunade: Preparing them for what's to come, of course.

Shumo: YES.

Tako: No.

Tsunade: You're exponentially stronger than any jounin. They can only benefit from learning from you. 

Tako: Except I am in no way qualified to teach kids.

Shumo: That's actually true. She tried once. A boy lost his legs.

Tako: He shouldn't have been standing there.

Shumo: Now he can't stand anywhere at all.