#i can accept some things in order for the premise of the fic to work. but there are other times where its like. no.

[waffliesinyoface]

*shaking the FMA-tag on Ao3* cmon, I know you have good content in there somewhere for me, where is it. show it to me!!!

[anneapocalypse]

It didn't have to be you.

I'm not just okay with it, I actually really like the fact that the Warrior of Light and their companions take a more supporting role in Dawntrail. I enjoyed the Scions' role in the story and was happy to see all my faves onscreen, I just didn't mind them taking the backseat to some new characters. I really loved Wuk Lamat and also enjoyed Erenville and Koana and Bakool Ja Ja and even Zoraal Ja as a villain a great deal. But it's more than just the fact that I loved the new characters and the focus on developing them and their setting.

So much of the Warrior of Light's story has been about... the burdens of being the Warrior of Light. How awful and exhausting and isolating and even depersonalizing it can be to be the only one who can solve the problem, again and again and again. It's such a thing in ARR that the patches kind of lampshade the dehumanization your character faces, the way the Scions kind of take the WoL for granted early on, something I've written about before. It's still present as late as Shadowbringers, being a major point of that story's plot that only the Warrior of Light can do this thing, and they very nearly die as a result. This theme finally finds its resolution in Endwalker when you meet Hydaelyn face to face, you learn of the promise made in another time, you learn why it had to be you.

That story arc is finished now. You've done what only you could do. You know why you were the Warrior of Light. If you were at Carteneau, you know why you survived and came back. You know why Hydaelyn had to keep you alive, even as so many of your friends died around you. (That last thing in particular is such a major part of Ariane's story arc; it's the central thing she's wrestling with in the fic I'm currently working on, so it was at the forefront of my mind playing Dawntrail.)

It doesn't have to be you anymore.

That's not a downside for me. That is the appeal. It felt so appropriate to me after the tremendously heavy, world-ending stakes of Endwalker. My character could be invested without everything riding on her shoulders. She could help, voluntarily (in-universe, obviously the game asks you to accept this premise in order to like, play it), without everyone looking to her and going, "Well, it has to be you, so you'll do it, right?" In fact, had that continued, it wouldn't have felt right to me. It would have felt like it undid some of the narrative and thematic closure that Endwalker offered.

So this felt like the natural progression of the Warrior of Light's role in the story following Endwalker to me, and I thought it worked for the story, while allowing me to still feel invested and see a cool new setting and meet some great new characters.

[anghraine]

I don't know if it's true for most (or any) others in fandom, but I've been thinking about how, despite being a nitpicky and opinionated person, the difficulty of accepting an obviously improbable AU fic premise often depends more on the framing than on the actual premise.

I mean, yeah, there are some premises that are so hard to buy for the characters or relationships that I can't wrap my brain around them enough to read or write the fic. But I've read and written plenty of AUs with premises I don't really find all that believable, and enjoyed them. What makes them typically work for me is a framing something like this:

Okay y'all, I know the premise of this one is out there, and there's a character who likely wouldn't actually do [Thing], but they have to for the story to happen and I tried to keep everyone in character otherwise! If you can't accept [Thing], that's fine, but then this fic probably isn't for you.

me, fairly often: hmm, intriguing situation for this particular cast to deal with! Let's see how it goes; it might be really interesting if it's done well.

There are different ways this can work more or less successfully for me personally (it can help if the break in plausibility is confined to a fairly minor figure to the fic/canon—but I have loved a few fics where my own blorbo is a main character in the fic and is the one who does something I find pretty wildly OOC to precipitate the plot). In general, though, "[Thing] wouldn't really happen but had to for the fic to exist" is something I can roll with as the price of entry. Sometimes it's an interesting challenge, even, to read or write something based on a concept that fundamentally beggars belief and think, "okay but if somehow it did happen, what could I believe of these particular characters?"

Basically, these AU scenarios exist in order to throw one or more characters into a specific situation that might well be vanishingly unlikely or impossible, and the fun is imagining what the cast might then do/think/evolve towards in this unfamiliar, improbable circumstance. Yes, there can come a point where I'm so puzzled or affronted by what's demanded for the proposed situation that I nope out immediately. But I can follow AU premises a fairly considerable ways before I hit that point.

On the other hand, a framing like this?

Okay y'all, I know the premise of this one might seem out there, and you might think [Character] would never, but he's just a man, after all/it's important not to stereotype women as one-dimensional ideals and let them have flaws/I actually see the character as less than perfect/etc, so that's why I made them a domestic abuser/sexual predator/murderer/whatever. It's not really out of character, just a different interpretation!

me, almost invariably: *backs away slowly*

[crabsnpersimmons]

hi @uwuinhell!

i have a bit of a long answer to this, so i hope you don’t mind me replying as a post, just in case anyone else is curious

the tl;dr is: i'm planning to write a fic for this AU, but i'm happy to read your fic as well with proper credit

first thing is: i’m overjoyed by the positive response to this little AU! it’s definitely been occupying my mind as i’ve been studying (Eclipse is notably the most distracting) so i’m glad there’s an interest in such a simple premise—i was honestly hesitant to call it an AU at first by how simple an idea it is

that being said, i’ve been hinting at it a bit in some of my tags, but i am planning to write a fic for this AU it’s still in the planning and drabble stage, but there is definitely a story that i’m hoping to share. unfortunately, i am currently attempting to speedrun a 2 year program, so my time is short—and my leisure time is split between my other competing ideas and inhaling other people’s creative works to revive me after my daily readings

i will say that the AU has evolved quite a bit since my initial drawings—new designs, more background info, and a healthy dose of lore and trauma for the entire main cast—so there’s a lot i’m excited to share with you all

THAT BEING SAID, i am always eager to encourage other people’s creativity and i am so honoured that my little doodles can inspire people to be creative. so i would absolutely love to see your fic, i just ask that you:

credit me if it uses my designs and ideas; and

send me a link so i can read it, because i will read it and i will treasure it and do a silly little dance

in case anyone's curious, here are some not-too-spoilery notes about what i’m planning:

the working title is “New Do, Same You” (honestly still iffy about it—it fits the story but it doesn’t quite ring well, we’ll see if i keep it)

it’s a slice of life story about how we respond to change, dusting ourselves off and moving forward, while carrying the baggage and fragile trinkets that define us

off the top of my head, these are some relevant tags: Slow Burn, Romance, Polyamory, Hurt & Comfort, Drama, Slice of Life, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Kissing (eventually), Humour, Possessive Behaviour, Healthy and Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Inferiority Complex, Body Dysmorphia, Existential Dread, Fluff, nothing NSFW

will likely default to a T rating, but will bump up to M for heavier topics

it will definitely be more than 5 chapters long. i don’t have an estimate on how long the fic will be. it's nothing too grand but i do know it will need quite a bit of time in order to properly explore all 3 of the boys and Y/N

there will be a Y/N, and Y/N has some lore, but other than some key backstory and key areas of development, i try to keep them gender neutral and as ambiguous as possible

i’ll be sharing the updated designs and some drabbles here when i have time—as soon as i can! (a little sneak peak is actually scheduled to post sometime today!)

i’ll also admit that this is my first time planning to write such a big fic and the first time i’m considering sharing it with other fans! my writing muse is very shy, so please be patient with me

in the meantime, please accept this (admittedly outdated) doodle of the boys:

[cacodaemonia]

For the WIP game, To Live Like a Ghost? 👀

Heeeey thanks for the ask :D

This is the longfic I've been working on for a while, and one that I got stuck on last year so I had to set it aside until I figured out what had me stuck. But the basic premise is that the war ends shortly after Geonosis, and the clones sort of fall through the cracks for a while as the Republic is dealing with not only millions of new people that its suddenly responsible for but also, you know, the fallout from a secession movement and finding out your leader was a Sith XD;

Of course, young people who have been brainwashed their whole lives to obey orders and accept their lot in life are very easy to take advantage of in certain ways, so some of that systemic mistreatment comes in the form of partial citizenship and a mandatory employment program.

Naturally, the fic is Waxer/Boil, and it follows Waxer as he makes his way to a new job building trails in a wilderness area. He finds out that another clone is working at the site along with a collection of nat-born species, but Boil is a tough nut to crack.

Because of the circumstances in the fic, the Jedi are trying to help the clones—especially the cadets—but also don't have a particular bond with them. And the fic opens several months after the war ended, so both Waxer and Boil are more jaded and cautious than I imagine they would be if they were still living among other clones in the GAR etc. So it's a really slow build that focuses on Waxer's mindset and relationships, but also I think spends a lot of time on the overall mood of the setting as well as the themes of poverty, worker exploitation, and how people can't be expected to 'pull themselves up by their bootstraps' when they don't have any boots.

I have 20 of... maybe 24-25 chapters drafted and partially edited, and the thing is over 60K now, so... 😅

Thanks for the ask! And sorry for the super long answer. There's a lot going on in this fic, and can you tell I don't have a summary written yet? *nervous sweating*

[hismercytomyjustice]

Just realized I never officially shared my Radiodust fic (aside from the WIP snippet) on here! Radiodust fandom, please accept this humble offering! ╰(°ㅂ° )╯ 

The premise: Alastor meets Angel for the first time shortly after his arrival in Hell. They strike up a conversation and later strike a deal.

If you're so inclined, you can find it on ao3 at Leave Your Inhibitions at the Door.

Preview below!

---

“Mind if I help ya out with some of this?”

Alastor shivered at the pain mixed with…pleasure? It was getting rather warm… But the thought of being undressed by another…

It did not appeal.

“I’ll see to it myself,” he replied, leaning back to work his bow tie loose. He let it hang there, undone.

Angel’s brows darted toward his hairline. “…how the fuck is that hot?” he grumbled more to himself than to Alastor.

Funny, he’d nearly caused a riot in Cannibal Town the one and only time he’d done the same in public. Rosie had made him swear to never do it again. He’d had to negotiate even being able to remove his monocle in order to clean it!

Oh, the depravity of man!

“Ya want me to undress myself too?” Angel asked.

As if there was much to undress…

“Hmm… I do have some experience in that area.”

His eyes widened. “Ya do?”

“But of course! Needs must when it comes to butchering!”

Angel blinked once. Twice. “…butcherin’ like killin’ or butcherin’ like…?” He waved a hand in the general direction of Cannibal Town.

Alastor smiled.

“…right. Stupid thing to ask. Well, undressin’ can be part of sex too. Not like that, but in a more tittilatin’ kinda way.”

“I don’t follow. Unless you’re referring to stripping?”

”Sorta. Sometimes it’s more about what ya can’t see than what ya can.”

He tilted his head, his frequencies fluctuating again as he tried to make sense of any of the nonsense the spider spouted.

“Then why are you half dressed?”

Angel rolled his eyes. “Cuz I’m advertisin’. But ya don’t see me walkin’ around in the buff. Gotta give folks just enough of a look so they let their imagination do the rest.”

“Why?”

Angel leaned in, stopping just before their lips met. He lingered there and Alastor arched a brow. Was he expecting him to close the remainder of the distance?

Angel snapped his teeth just shy of his lips and he jumped, despite himself.

“An-ti-ci-pa-tion,” he sounded out, leaning back with a wide grin.

“I see. But isn’t the point to perform the act in the end?”

Angel absently toyed with the end of his bow tie. “Yeah, but most folks consider it a better experience if there’s a lead up. Mosta my clients only last a few minutes, if that. Which is great when I’m lookin’ to make a quick buck. Not so great when I’m hopin’ for a tip.”

“So you’re saying your clients enjoy the opening act more than the headliner?”

“The openin’ act is what keeps ‘em comin’ back. They can get the headliner anywhere, but the openin’ act, well, that’s a whole ‘notha thing.”

Anticipation.

Hmm. He supposed the kills where he got to fully experience the terror of his victims tended to be far more satisfying…

[zeroducks-2]

So, you've inspired me to add some scenes that lean into the Eobard/Barry element that I accidentally wrote into my big long fic Chained, and I figured you might enjoy thinking about it (without having to wade through the whole dang fic lol I have no idea if you've read it/if it's of any interest to you, but I'm assuming you haven't/it's not)

The story revolves around a contract that grants genuine omnipotence. The catch is that it requires two people to sign it - the person who actually gains the power must be permanently bound into the service of their cosigner and the power is only gained through carrying out their commands.

Flash and Reverse Flash were highlighted as prominent figures battling it out over this thing, both being potential signers. Hundreds of iterations of them overlapping in time were ever present across the whole of the battlefield in arcs of light as they fought each other on a scale that no one else could hope to match. I was really only pulling names out of a hat back then (it was supposed to be a silly crack fic one-shot) but now that I've read a lot of your stuff about them, tricking/forcing Barry to sign the contract with him really strikes me as an Eobard thing to do!

Neither Barry nor Eobard signed it in the continuity the fic is going with, obvs, but there could be an off shoot branch where they did! And idk it feels like this premise might could really work to bring out their particular hangups with themselves and each other!

I'm super curious as to whether you think Eobard would try to be the one commanding an omnipotent Barry or if he'd want to chain Barry to him by becoming the power he needed to wield in order to save everything (- and maybe what circumstances might make Barry say yes to either one?)

-redhoodinternaldialectical from the "main" blog

Also pls have the words of the binding ritual for imagining Barry and Eobard saying them to each other purposes:

“I dedicate myself to submission. I shall bend my will to that of another. I relinquish my control so that I may be a vessel for the glorious ambitions of my Master. I shall be made unstoppable through obedience to my Master’s unslakeble will. I am the ultimate weapon. I am the ultimate tool. I am the hound which shapes the world to its Master’s whims. I mark myself with a collar made from liquid soul.” ... “Now I sit in waiting for the one who will be my Master.” “I seek to provide the glorious ambitions which will fill you and empower you. I seek to ascend beyond the fate decreed to be mine by forces more powerful than even the highest gods. Am I worthy of you, O’ ultimate weapon? Am I worthy of you, O’ ultimate tool? Will you accept me for now and all eternities beyond eternity, as your only Master?”

Hello hello, I had no idea you were redhoodinternaldialectical from the main blog and just followed you here because your blog is cool as fuck LMAO

I have not in fact read Chained, but from what I'm seeing here it seems interesting. I do ship Jaytim even if casually, I'll gladly go give it a look :)

I can see Eobard trying to manipulate Barry into signing the thing and belong to him forever. Eobard wants Barry to want it. He is canonically faster, stronger, with more powers up his sleeve than any other speedster - he could force Barry to do whatever if he tried hard enough, but he doesn't because ultimately he wants Barry to understand and be willing. That being said he's not immune to using very low tricks to get Barry to say yes to things, and if he managed he'd surely be overjoyed and would also go on a power trip about it because finally Flash belongs to him indissolubly, there's nothing which can come between them for the rest of eternity, he's his and only his forever - but.

But if Barry asked Eobard to sign, and to belong to him? "Be omnipotent and be mine, forever" ? Eobard would drop to his knees, cry and say yes. He might regret it afterwards, he might have a hard time coping with the loss of freedom because freedom is so very important to him. But if Barry asked it would feel like trust, like love, like he's wanted. It would feel like Barry - which could have chosen to spend eternity with anyone else - chose him.

I also think that in the face of an incredibly powerful enemy which will destroy/subjugate the multiverse, and with no other option, Barry would give himself to Eobard. He would need a clause to the contract which specifies that he won't be forced to hurt any of the people he loves or something along those lines, and then he would "sacrifice himself" with his head held high. He did it already after all! He killed himself to prevent the Anti-Monitor from using him to power his weapons, and effectively saved everyone, and stayed dead for a whopping 23 years (until Eobard brought him back that is). And that one time Eobard said "run away with me" and Barry said "yes if you leave my family alone"? That's also pretty indicative of how self-sacrificing Barry is. Or maybe indicative of how he wouldn't be so opposed to running away with Eobard after all, but don't tell them I said that.

Honestly all the options would be super interesting. I think ultimately they would fall into the right rhythm regardless of which one is the "bound" one, even if it would surely take some trial and error. It's really fascinating to think about, thank you SO MUCH for sharing this with me! I will rotate it in my head for a while and let you know if anything else comes to mind!

[hijinks-n-lowjinks]

tell me abt the gasoline jjk wip 🙏

GLADLY.

It all started by listening to Halsey's Badlands album for the umpteenth time and there was just something about Gasoline that suddenly hit different. It gave such distinct apocalyptic vibes that I was instantly inspired and tried to write down as much exposition and plot outlining as I could before I forgot.

And thus the jjk/itafushi vamp au was born!!!

The general premise is that vampires are the ruling class in the modern world. They take blood tithe offerings in order for humans to keep their lives. It's not exactly uncommon for vamps to kill recklessly, but this provides them with some incentive not to kill their main source of food with each feeding.

Megumi's role in this au is... complicated. He works as a poacher, a term used by humans and vampires alike to describe humans that hunt down other humans to feed to vampires. He's enlisted by different vampires and covens to find and capture humans that fit the specific desires of the vamp in question: blood type, gender, age, etc. Think of it as a fucked up comparison to how people have specific foods they prefer.

Now, Megumi isn't playing to role of the good guy in this fic, but he also doesn't want to be doing what he's doing. The only reason he does this is to keep his comatose sister alive and safe, as he's made a deal with coven leader Mahito to keep their hands off of the Fushiguro siblings if he hunts people down when they ask.

The essential plot is that one day Mahito has a specific request for Megumi: capture one boy and Megumi will no longer have to work as a traitor to humanity while still remaining safe from vampires. This boy, Itadori Yuuji, has stolen something from Mahito and he needs it back, but he also needs Yuuji alive so Megumi can't just kill him.

Megumi sees this as his one opportunity to get out of this shithole of a situation and hesitantly accepts the offer. He sets out to find this thief and ends up forming a friendship with him, first to try and gain Yuuji's trust so he can manipulate Yuuji into doing what he wants, but obviously things don't turn out the way he plans.

Yuuji is very much a mystery throughout the story, his background and motives hidden until much later in the story when shit goes down. He and Megumi have a sort of instant chemistry/connection in this fic that throws both of them off, as neither have much experience with forging human relationships. Their dynamic is something I'm so excited to explore!

And that's the basic plot! There's a lot more shit involved that I have and have not written out yet, but I am SO excited to finally get to this one aibtntfi is finished! I've been talking about this fic with @kattythingz forever and she knows how long this shit has been in works lol. The title of this fic has been at war in my head as I can't choose between a simple title like "Gasoline" or if I should go with the good old lyric title "my heart is gold, but my hands are cold", but honestly I'm sort of leaning towards the former? Feels more distinct that way and it's a bit different from my usual fic titles.

[flame-of-tar-valon]

I haven't been super active in my writing lately. If I want to get everything fanfic-wise posted, I'm going to have to write ten thousand words this week.

I'm confident I can do it, but the hard part will be the research. I have to get the character voices and details just right. I'm excited though.

I've teased that something big is coming for How to Go Home Again, and I can finally announce that (as long as all goes well) I will be posting a 1k-word snippet every day from Saturday, 21 December to Tuesday, 31 December. These snippets will be from — in order — chapters 14, 2, 6, 10, 16, 19, 25, 28, 32, 36, and 40.

"But wait!" you may interject. "Why is 14 first? Did you mean to type 1 instead?"

No, that's not a typo. Chapter 1 was just a prologue: a teaser of my protagonists. Chapter 14 will be our first look at the protagonists all in action together. It's also the first scene I wrote for the fic! ...Or at least outlined.

"But, but—" you may still protest. "You've already published chapter 2 and chapter 6! Why post excerpts like they're something new?"

I'm glad you asked! Because I enlisted the services of my wonderful beta reader @nongunktional just before I started working on Chapter 4, the first 3 chapters are basically the raw first drafts I scrawled during slow hours at my summer job — back then, I was challenging myself just to publish something without getting too hung up on whether it would be good, so I really wasn't revising my work at all!

Now that I've gotten more into the swing of things, I'm itching to update them a bit more that polishing my words isn't terrifying anymore. So: Chapters 2 and 3 — the Lleidspaer chapters — will be receiving some brief but fairly significant updates. Chapter 1 — the prologue — will also be receiving a few minor touch-ups.

You may accept this answer and move on to your next question: "So do you have the whole fic written? How do you know that those scenes will end up in those chapters?"

I've written out a first draft of each of the scenes I plan to use in the countdown EXCEPT the ones for chapters 14 and 40. I've outlined the whole fic, but who's to say whether it'll obey my plans for it. All of these scenes are subject to change. I might move them around — maybe the Chapter 25 one will actually be Chapter 23 — and I might heavily change them by the time I publish the chapters in full. If I'm spending this much time on them, though, I'm almost definitely going to keep them.

"Wait, hold on," you might say. "If you've already drafted all these scenes, why do you have to write ten thousand words this week? What hard research do you still have to do?"

Ah, well... actually, that's for a different fic for a different fandom that I'm ALSO going to be posting this week. I've spent most of the month brainstorming a premise and plot, and outlining what I want to say, but I need to do a fair amount of PoV research and immerse myself in the state of things as of the end of canon so that my writing is factually perfect. Or at least good enough.

[greensagephase]

Hi Alondra!!! I absolutely love your Miguel fics; the way you write from his character to the descriptions of everything basically. I wanted to ask if it’s not that much trouble if you could share some tips for someone (def not me🤪🤪) who wants to start writing a slowburn as well? I feel like my way of writing is stiff and also English it’s my first language so I feel I’m in a worse position 😭

ALSO HOW DO YOU START A FIC ISTGGG that has to be the worst part about it. The fucking start.

Anyways I LOVE YOUR WORK!!! I LOVE YOU!!! MUAK 🩷🩷

Hi, anon!! YOU’RE TOO KIND!! Thank you!! 🥹🩷

And of course, it’s no trouble at all!! If I can offer some kind of advice or tips to someone who wants to start a slow burn (I see you 👀😌 consider me intrigued!), I’m more than happy to!!

I’m going to start off by telling you that this is my first time writing a slow burn, so I’m no expert! I’ve done a lot of writing, at this point 11 years (I feel old), and this is the first time I’ve written a slow burn, so I was hoping for the best in regards to it!! Also, I wasn't aiming for slow burn but the story decided that's what it was going to be, so I just went along with it, tbh😭💀, but I have learned some things and hopefully it helps you!!

The first thing that immediately jumps to my mind is to make the interactions between the characters gradual and small. Start out slowly by having your characters learn about each other. Maybe they’re already acquainted but they realize they’ve only known each other on a surface level, so give them little interactions to start out and build on them, making them more significant and vulnerable as time goes.

Tensions and obstacles are great for slow burn! Maybe one of your characters is oppose to relationships because they were hurt in the past and are afraid to let someone in, or they simply are not interested because they’re super busy and think they won’t be able to dedicate appropriate time and attention to a relationship. This can be anything from internal tensions to external ones, like someone trying to stop the characters from being together, or there's some big threat to take care off. This is where you think of the reasons why they can't be together right away!

Emotional intimacy! Something I’ve really loved from writing a slow burn is discovering that two characters can be soooo intimate with each other without there being physical intimacy, like, not even placing a hand on their shoulder, or a pinky squeeze. Give your characters little moments of this, make them emotionally vulnerable! This really builds trust between the characters and deepens their connection little by little.

Give sprinkles of what their future might look like! I’m very guilty of this, especially with the last few chapters of NC. I love teasing my readers with small glimpses of their future (lowkey also a way to tranquilize my need to make them be together already😭)! It adds to the suspense and keeps readers intrigued!

Let the story unfold on its own! I've mentioned this many, many times but NC was originally only going to be 3 to 5 parts, but then with the third part, the story was kind of like, "actually, there's more to tell here" and I decided to explore what that "more" was. So now we're here, and I'm satisfied with how the story has unfolded on its own. Accepting this actually helped with the slow burn a lot! So, don't be afraid to see where your fic takes you!

How to Start A Fic

As to how to start a fic - something that helped me was think about where the characters start and where I want them to end. What is the premise of the fanfic, as in what direction is it going? What are you trying to achieve? What needs to happen in order for your characters to reach all their goals? What internal or external issues do they have to face or resolve first?

I also want to add, which I’ve mentioned already in another ask, to use some sort of planning tool, like an outline! This helps keep your thoughts and goals organized!

And to end, just write, my friend! Everyone who writes started out somewhere and I think most of us weren’t immediately great at it. Tbh, even with some experience some of us still struggle at the beginning of a new fanfic because it might be a new fandom, a new trope we’ve never tried, or we’re applying a different tone and mood we’re not used to, but let me reassure, once you start and figure out where you want to take your story and you begin to feel more comfortable with writing, your writing will begin to feel less stiff and you’ll find your voice.

Also, just because it feels like that to you, doesn’t mean it’ll feel like that to your readers!

I felt like that when I first started writing for ATSV and still feel like that about some of my writing when I look back at it. The other day I went back to a post to make layout changes and let me tell you, I still feel like it was stiff, but a lot of readers enjoyed the writing! So, what I’m trying to say is, sometimes it’s just us perceiving our writing like that but it’s not actually like that!!

I hope this was somewhat helpful and that it’s not just me yapping and yapping lol!

Also, once you post your fanfic, I’d love to read it!! If you’re open to it, pls tag me!! I’ve been trying to read more fanfic these last few days because I haven’t done so in a few months due to life, and I’d love to read yours!!

Thank you so much for the ask and love!! I LOVE YOU TOO, ANON!!!! 🩷🩷 Please take care and I hope you’ve had an amazing weekend so far!!! MUAH!

-Alondra 🥰

[poochiray]

10 OffGun-ish fics you should read

So I’m coming up on my anniversary soon. This month it’s been a year since my first OffGun story I’ve published. Within this year, I’ve read and wrote a ton of OffGun. So I thought I’d celebrate the occasion by recognizing some of my favorites from the fandom. These are not really in any particular order, so please keep that in mind. I’m not ranking one over the other. And each story has its own special things I like about them. Some of my favorite tropes I tend to gravitate towards are slow burn, pining, angst, smut, humor, switching (be it sexual position or partner), happy endings, & getting together stories. Almost all of these stories have a couple of these things in them. So without further ado, the list~

1) Picking Flowers by allourheroes | 13.3k, Explicit, Pick/Rome

Ya’ll, it was so hard to pick a story by this author. I like a lot of their stories and honestly anything you read by them is going to slam. But there are two stories I think back on even months later. This is one of them. The synopsis of this story is that Pick (as a veterinarian) sometimes has to take care of supernatural creatures. And as such, he comes across a half-pixie named Rome. It’s just such a unique take on Pick/Rome and even though it’s a fantasy AU, their personalities still shine through. It’s cute, romantic, a little angsty, and honestly I remember it being a little slow burn too. Just a very very cute story and definitely worth the read.

2) our hands speak for us by Rioana | 12.1k, Explicit, Off/Gun

K this author has three works, and honestly you should read all of them. I’m not even kidding here. Rioana just gets Gun. Her first story is basically an extensive character study on Gun and as you read through it, you just accept it as reality. Her stories just make sense as plausible explanations, and the same can be said for our hands speak for us. The premise of this story is set during Puppy Honey era, and Gun casually decides to give Off a blowjob to get him to be more comfortable to work with. Then things go from there. I won’t spoil it too much, but be forewarned, Off is not painted in the best light here. This is during his earlier filming career with Gun. As such, there is real situations referenced and the whole thing feels like we’re just going back in time. It’s very real. But very good. 

3) A Savage Gang by piningbisexuals | 53.4k, Explicit, Khai/Third

Maybe an unpopular opinion, but this is my favorite Theory of Love story. It’s definitely a darker, more gritty tale. This was inspired by the Not Me trailer and what resulted was an amazing story where the Savage Gang are actually...well, a gang. There’s drugs, there’s sex, there’s the typical Third pining over Khai. It has everything I ever wanted in a story and the slow burn is just ughhh. So well done. This is a story that sticks around and stays in your head for weeks later. If you’re going to read any Theory of Love story, read this one.

4) make a wish by Feyrelynn | 7.7k, Explicit, Off/Gun

This was the very first OffGun story I bookmarked, so it kinda has a special place in my heart. I’d been dabbling in the fandom, going absolutely feral over edits of these two clingy men, and then I stumbled across this story and that was pretty much it for me. This is a birthday fic, with a very simple concept. Off places a wish on his birthday to see what life would be like if he was really with Gun. And then he gets his glimpse into that reality. Short, simple, and adorably sexy.

5) Provocation by hedgielettuce | 5k, Explicit, Third/Khai

Ok, if you are at all familiar with the things I write/read, this one won’t come as any shock to people on why it’s listed here. This is by far the sexiest Theory of Love story I’ve ever read. And why? Because this author embraces BOSSY THIRD. One of the reasons I love Third so much is because he calls the shots. He instills fear into his hot shot playboy boyfriend. He’s not playing.  And this story expands on it, going so far as to show a jealous dom side to Third that makes perfect sense and leaves Khai in shambles.    

6) love and eggs are best when they are fresh by pancakelady | 10.7k, Teen, Sean/White

Making this list made me realize I’m sorely lacking on Sean/White stories to recommend lmao. I think the reason being is that I just love their canon story so much. So, I don’t feel the need to read more about them? Does that make any sense? I dunno. But either way, this story stuck out more than any other for this particular pairing. It’s the classic high school AU where they are partnered to take care of a “child” for a school project. The “child” being an egg. This is just a very fucking cute story and pretty wholesome too. I think it’s the only story not rated E that I’ll be reccing, so there ya go haha. 

7) The Initiation Series by pallidvixen | 30k+, Explicit, Pick Your Not Me Pairing, it’s all there

Now for the complete opposite of wholesome because I’m fucked up like that lmao. Wow. What’s there to say about this one? Well, for one, it’s a series. You have to read each story because it gradually builds up and gets crazier as it goes. But the basic premise is that Gumpa has an initiation ceremony that all the members of the gang must undergo to prove their loyalty and devotion to the cause. The ceremony? Group sex. It’s everyone fucking everyone. Gumpa with big dom energy, Black just pissed off and not wanting to be there, Gram being an eager fluffer for Black, Sean the virgin, Yok the slut...it’s just. It’s so fucking amazing. And shocking. And I could write so much more but I’ll stop. I get it’s not everyone’s cup of tea but ya’ll. This is the story I think about more than any other, it’s so fucking messed up and perfect.

8) Meant to Be by lililyyli | 76k, Explicit, Maetee/T-Rex

Ya’ll. I have a specific need, and it’s more of this pairing. I started this story because on the word count alone, ngl. Finding longer OffGun stories in general is such a rare treat. But to have one for this pairing too? Sign me the fuck up. The plot on this one was super cute too. Maetee has magical powers and is an exorcist, meanwhile T-Rex is a demon. Together they run into each other as kids and grow up as friends. Things happen, they part ways. They come back as adults and slowly fall in love with each other. I just remember binge reading this entire story in a day, it was so interesting and cute and lovely. And I still think about Maetee getting to dress up as a princess.

9) How Old My Heart by Xagan | 44.3k, Mature, Khai/Third

Ok one of my favorite tropes to read is pining. The thing is with this story is that all the pining is off screen. It's in the background. And it's fucking brilliant. As the reader, you get to piece it all together. You get to watch Khai wait and wait, always playing off as this fuckboy friend. You get to watch Third fall in and out of love with someone else. You then finally get to watch them both come together and create something beautiful, only for one to think it's all casual, the other not. It's a slow burn story, but well worth the read, and the ending was just perfect.

10) there’s a word for it by smyx | 8.7k, Explicit, Yok/Everyone

Lol so this story isn't even technically OffGun focused. This author has written some spicy stories that do feature more OG pairings, but, y'all. This story has a special place in my heart and there's a reason I'm reccing it over the others. It has charm. It is hilarious. Yok is basically a flirty slut who works his way around the gang. Yet in the end, he ends up attempting a threesome with SeanWhite and lol. It's so bad. I just like how sometimes the sex isn't omg amazingly mind-blowing. There is a realness there that I appreciated reading. And Yok's casual approach was just adorable and had me roaring with laughter throughout.

💚 If you've gotten to the end, thanks for reading my list! I'll probably be creating a new list for next year. Drop your recs in the comments! I'm always looking forward to reading new content of OffGun and their associated ships. 💚

[snickerdoodlles]

For the ask game: f, m, and n!

:D! ty friend <333

F: Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

i!! spent a silly amount of time choosing a scene for this!!

from Silver for Truth fic:

“You actually thought we bought your bullshit? You thought Kinn did?” Kim sneers. “You know what? Why the fuck not? If you can convince us you’re telling the truth, we won’t hurt you. But Tawan…” Kim smiles, thin and sharp, eyes as cold and wild as a shark’s. “Khun and I have had six years to think about what we’d do to you for breaking Kinn’s heart. So please. Keep your fucking trap shut.”

tbh i just love all the dialogue in this fic. brothers looking out for brothers! brothers being shy about loving each other! kinn and vegas having a dick measuring contest while the guards stand on edge! tawan's reality check!

this fic was really tricky for me to write because, well 1) tawan is the femme fatale of his own story and so fucking obnoxious lol, 2) i was deep into some chinese political dramas while writing this and definitely inspired by the court politics/layered discussions that would happen in those, but the thing about a mafia setting is that for all kinnporsche's violence gets dressed up in family politics, there are no actual politics to any of it. mafia politics are either an excuse for the violence they already wanted to inflict or a coverup for a power/territory grab. there's a funny brilliance to the specific chess metaphors the writers chose because while i think the intention was to show Korn as a mastermind puppet master, the specific moves and game mechanics overall work far better as a metaphor for how out-of-place Korn is in a mafia above street-level operations and how he bulldozes his way to victory vs any proper or decent planning/scheming.

GETTING BACK ON TRACK, i won't bore you with my kp chess meta lol, but in writing silver for truth, i had a lot of push and pull between wanting to write high tension, veiled barbs, political double-speak confrontations vs the far more blunt and abrupt violence of a mafia setting. i'm really pleased with how the story came out in the end. i had so much fun writing kim and khun work off each other and the way they schemed together to protect kinn, i had even more fun writing kinn and vegas poking at each other every chance they got regardless of how inappropriate it was, and i had the most fun delivering tawan's reality check to him in the form of vegas shooting him in the head. and ultimately this entire fic happened in the first place because of the line shown above-- kim telling tawan he's here to hurt him because he hurt kinn, and there's nothing tawan can do that would make him stop 🥰

M: Got any premises on the back burner that you’d care to share?

oh gosh u know me, i'm only ever working on one fic at a time!!

since we're talking about talk shit, get hit series, my current plan for the next fic is a Porsche POV that's more of a coda to silver for truth. because in silver for truth, kinn makes up a lie about porsche having run off with vegas on his orders as a way to protect him, but i think porsche would absolutely hate that. porsche always chafes when his personhood and freedom to choose is stripped away, either acting out in an extremely bratty, "i fucking dare you" sort of way ala ep2, or internalizing his conflict so hard he becomes a quiet shadow while he works through it ala ep5.

i always knew that i wanted the end of silver for truth to have kinn and khun finding a cover for porsche as a jab/punishment for tawan -- tawan seems to genuinely care about vegas in a way he doesn't for anyone else, but he doesn't care for vegas so much that he'd be willing to reveal their lie at his own expense. but then i wanted their lie to come back and bite them/kinn as well from the person they never expected it to, which is porsche himself, because porsche can accept and handle his stupid decisions, but he hates when people try to strip away his choice in making stupid decisions, and i love that about him.

however, since i first wrote and posted gone fishing, i have desperately wanted to throw kimchay into the jungle for their own romantic vacation. and i realized that the direction talk shit, get hit series is going gives me a very good reason to have them thrown in there beyond just me wanting to do it. there's a car chase to throw them in there! painful mafia reveals and kim swallowing his own foot! kim having to cling to chay despite it all because chay can like, survive nature, and kim is a precocious little city boy wildly out of his depth! kim is going to have heart eyes to the max over chay's nature survival skills while ALSO being in the metaphorical doghouse because he's tried to claim he doesn't care about chay. the end is going to feature them both killing the goons that originally chased them into the forest for the other and kim desperately pleading for chay to stay despite his awful offerings. kinn and porsche are downright frantic when they finally get to them and kim tiredly plops his head against kinn's shoulder from relief and they both have a crisis about it for the next three fics in the series.

kimchay jungle fic was an idea i had a year and a half ago and think about SO MUCH and somehow it keeps getting pushed back on the writing docket.

RIP ME

N: Is there a fic you wish someone else would write (or finish) for you?

i've technically already done this!!! well, okay, i've done this several times actually, but all of you should go give so much love to @bisexualbard-writes soulmate AU fic the sweet invention of lover's dream !!

i don't want to talk too much about bard's fic because it's her fic, definitely go yell about it with her (<3333), but the premise of kim having a very distinguishable soulmark vs chay's very vague/open one came out of a groupchat convo that was...mostly me complaining about the soulmark AU/trope come to think of it 😅

i can rarely seem to find soulmate/soulmark AUs that hit any of the beats i'm looking for. i supremely Do Not Like when two characters choose each other specifically because they know they are soulmates. similarly, i haven't really liked when two characters don't know if they're soulmates, choose each other, and then in a twist it's revealed that they were soulmates all along! either because. well. it's just a lot more interesting to me if they never soulmates in the first place 9.9 times out of 10.

there's a lot more than just those two things that i dislike in this trope (and ofc nothing to say that they haven't been done well, even if not to my tastes) but those are two aspects of what's probably my ultimate issue with soulmate AUs: the attitude that because something is temporary, it’s not worth experiencing, or that because something might be temporary, it’s not worth committing to for even a short time.

the draw of any soulmate AU is the comfort of not being alone and presumably a guarantee that you(/the character) will find someone who will stay, but a lot of soulmate AUs don't unpack the issues that come with an "i'm waiting for The One" attitude. we're a sum of our experiences, the painful and the good, and having a compass to a ~one true destined~ doesn't change that any relationship is still built together and not having any experience in being in a relationship is going to cause problems.

...this is a very long ramble to say bard took my trope complaints and my initial lob of "what if kim chooses chay because of a soulmark but chay would choose kim anyways" and came out with an absolutely delightful ~10k fic of kim and chay falling in love despite what the universe says and you should all absolutely go read it and give it some love <3333333333333 (story link again for easy clicking!!)

[[ fic writer asks ]]

[qqueenofhades]

On the topic of unreliable narrators and nonlinear timelines- would you be able to play around with both to a greater extent in fanfiction than you would otherwise because your readers are more familiar with the reality of events and probably can grasp onto what they can trust the narrator about and what they can’t better? Like you were saying with some of your Sandman fics, even when everything is very different from canon like in UASS, we as readers can still specifically pick up on what happened to Robyn more so than we might in a regular book because we know Robyn’s fate in canon and how it differs from Hob’s supposed memories of it, giving us almost a touchstone for his unreliability? Same thing with an inconsistent timeline, if it still follows a similar plotline to canon but in a different order, would you be able to mess with it more since your audience would already know the order of the canon plotline? Sorry if this is a bit rambling, I had some late night thoughts and wanted to ask you to see what you might think or be able to clarify. Thanks!!

It depends on what you're doing and how. Obviously, fanfic does allow more room to play around with your readers' pre-existing knowledge of the story; they're coming to your work for a transformation or rework of an existing canon, rather than an entirely new one. So you have a lot of latitude in fic to play with the form/premise/plot, without having to do the work of introducing characters, world, and conflicts. Your reader will already know this, so you can skip past it and get to the good stuff.

With original fiction, however, you have to do that work in establishing the "baseline" reality and how the narrator is adhering to or deviating from it. For example in one of my original novels, which I really should get off my ass and publish one of these days because it's complete and ready to go and I'm just procrastinating, I have a first-person narrator who is fully aware that you just have to take her word for what's going on, and that plays into the larger themes of the book (a dark reworking of the #MeToo movement with an EXTREMELY feral female protagonist who does a little murder as a treat), and thus highlighting how women's claims alone are rarely taken as an acceptable standard of "proof." She also becomes increasingly gleeful in pointing out her unreliability as the story progresses, but where and how that happens, or if she's lying about her unreliability and is actually telling the truth all along, becomes a crucial part of the narrative.

(Anyway, yes. Somebody should give me a kick in the ass to do it. Trigger warnings out the wazoo, but still.)

Likewise, in one of the most famous original-fiction unreliable narrators in recent pop culture, Gone Girl, you spend the first half of the book learning one set of beliefs through the narrator's voice, and then the second half of the book pulls a COMPLETE bait-and-switch on you. You find out the reason for the first half of the book being written as it was (i.e. a total and deliberate lie), and that the narrator, Amy Dunne, is up to something totally different than what she first told you. So while in fanfiction you can come in with some of the premise ready-made and then play around with it, you can certainly think of different ways to do it in original fiction. It will require more legwork on your part and thinking how you want to structure the story and the reveals, and who's to be trusted and who shouldn't be, but that's part of the fun in figuring it out.

[veliseraptor]

for the fic meme, would love to hear about 😎 and/or 📗

What fics do you prefer on a scale of canon compliant to wildly original?

I tend to read mostly canon divergent or canon compliant fics - these days often canon divergent so that my favorite characters get to live (womp womp) but canon compliant is also good for me. I prefer fics overall where maybe one major event or outcome gets tweaked and then exploring the ripple effects of that change; when alterations start to get too drastic such that the characters drift way away from their original context, I tend to get less interested, because as I think I've said before often a lot of what I like about a character has to do with their context and how it shapes/impacts them. change the context, change the character, I'm somewhat likely to be less interested because now it's a different character and that's not what I read fanfiction for. I like fanfiction for exploring different scenarios, or different facets of a character, but the point at which they feel transformed beyond recognition for me I lose interest.

this is why I tend to not read a lot of modern/non-magic aus for fantasy settings (with the weird exception of yi city, still don't know what that's about), but also don't read a lot of genre aus (i.e. sci-fi/fantasy/royalty/etc.). if things feel pulled too far outside of the canon setting/context it starts to feel less like reading fanfiction and more like reading something, well, original - and that's just not the what I go to fanfiction for.

however, that can also go for canon divergent aus if the divergence is significant enough or in a place to drastically change something about a character. it just depends on how likely that change feels to change the character at core as opposed to bringing out a new side of them; it's why I'm not actually terribly interested in aus where Xue Yang is saved/rescued off the streets as a kid, particularly if it happens pre-hand maiming.

there are exceptions, of course! I'm speaking purely in generalities.

Do you want to write something outside of fanfiction? If so, what about?

puts face in hands. yes, yes I do, periodically I stare wistfully at my own original project and then I get scared off by my nemesis (worldbuilding) and the fact that I have to figure out a bunch of things that are proving difficult to untangle in order to make a premise I really like with characters I'm already very fond of work. I'll - get back to it at some point, or at least I really hope so.

until then I've kind of accepted that this is just kind of what I like to do and I might as well do what I am enjoying regardless of the little hissing voice that tells me I should be trying harder to do my real writing (bleh).

oh I do also periodically enjoy writing overly verbose essays about things. it doesn't happen all that often but I do it sometimes and I enjoy it a fair amount when I can pull my brain together for it

[cedarbranch]

okay so: Playing With Matches, Sweet Tooth, Truth or Dare (my beloved), Convicted Criminals of Thought (my beloved!), Moth To Light? sorry i'm pretty much obsessed w all of your fics. humiliating . send ask

omg this is extremely flattering... i have stans... stroke my ego some more why don't you anon /j

this is going under a cut, i'm about to YAP

sweet tooth: i wrote this one for a holiday exchange in the gm server i was part of at the time! (cat, if you're out there, i think about your story about being mistaken for a lush corporate tester every damn time i walk into that store). i used to really dislike writing for prompts so it was a mark of how much i loved that little community (and how much it energized me) that i worked up the nerve to write something like this, lol. i had also never written a coffee shop au before. michael's dislike of coffee and subsequent anxiety over what to order was 100% a projection from me, LMAO, i was like how can i write a coffee shop au when i hate coffee and have no idea how coffee shops work?? (oh, i can make that the whole premise!) i had to watch a few youtube tutorials on how to do latte art so i could make sure i was describing it well. oh, and the hot chocolate gerry gives michael is my personal spice blend that i love to use in hot cocoa! protip: hot milk, melt a heap of chocolate chips directly into it (with a sweetness level of your choice) then top with cinnamon, nutmeg, and just a little bit of allspice. god tier.

also, i'm writing this while drinking a latte, so needless to say I've Changed.

truth or dare: okay this is hilarious to look back on because i... CANNOT remember for the life of me what possessed me to write it. i think this was something i started spitballing in the gm server and then everyone went "CEDAR IF YOU DON'T WRITE THIS I'LL AAHDHSFHDFHSGJK" so, i got enabled, basically. i'm pretty sure this was also written when the trans gerard keay AO3 tag wasn't an official archive tag yet and i was trying to brute-force it into existence... there were a couple tags i did this for (see also: it/its pronouns for michael the distortion, monsterfucker gerard keay). i was kinda making it my mission to churn out enough fic under these tags that they got recognized by the tag wranglers, lol, especially trans gerry. because i started writing gm SO early i was like "i have the opportunity to shape the fanon dynamic here and i am making SURE everyone sees gerry as trans, dammit!" this fic was also a milestone for me because i think it might've been the first pure pwp i ever wrote :) still not something i do very often because i am so frequently led astray by Plot, but it's nice to have in my skill set!

moth to light: MY BELOVED!! excluding current wips, this is the fic i am most proud of. it definitely marked a shift in my writing where i was starting to introduce relationships that felt less fanfic-y/easily romantic, and more akin to the dynamics that compelled me so much in the various source materials i interacted with. i've already discussed the main points of what i was doing with this story in various ask/ao3 comment responses, but the core of it was about monstrosity and self-acceptance, how gerry could fall in love with a monster, and the uneasy space where trust and fear coexist. there are definitely some things i'd change about it if i could - i think certain bits are a bit choppy and rushed, scene transitions were not a fully developed skill for me - but overall i think the dynamic between gerry and michael is what makes it hold up so well. and i also can't help but look back at it fondly because that kind of dynamic is SO characteristic of my writing now, and i consider this fic to be the first time it really emerged.

i also think it has some neat prose and exchanges of dialogue... at this point i'd already written several fics that captured the mind-breaking physicality of the spiral, and it was a challenge to keep finding new ways to express that in words without it becoming repetitive - but a very fun and stimulating challenge! i laugh because this, too, is something that's become characteristic of me. turns out i just really enjoy trying to capture fantastical, overwhelming mental-physical sensations on the page. i think physicality is a big part of my narrative voice and i also enjoy writing in extremes, so it makes a lot of sense why i like it so much!

there were a few points that everything else in this fic grew around. the entire exchange leading up to "i could change your mind, i think" was one of them. see also, "it's not the spiral i belong to, it's you." "that doesn't make you a monster" / "doesn't it, though." michael and gerry being protective of one another. gerry lost in the hallways - it was very important to me that michael actually come close to killing him at least once, and that the reader felt that danger. it was something that i felt was missing from gm fic at the time (and there was barely any fic to begin with - moth to light was the second ever gm fic on ao3 that broke 20k. i'm not sure how long you've been around, anon, but MAN those first couple years of being a gm shipper were wild).

i also had a ton of fun setting up gerry's complicated pull toward michael!! it's romantic, but there's so much psychology beyond that. like, when he first finds out who michael used to be: "There are a hundred new questions bouncing around Gerry’s brain—what did Michael think of Gertrude, before she betrayed him? Why hasn’t he tried to take revenge on her now? Does he remember his descent into the Spiral? Did he know what was coming? Did it hurt to lose himself?" it's his own future he's scared about, and if he'll end up just like michael. i hope that came across.

ah... so fond of this one. i crack myself the hell up with how obvious it should've been that i'd wind up writing hannibal fic. a character who drives every conversation by responding with some indirect, metaphorical bullshit and a distinctive speech pattern? a character whose descent into monstrosity is well underway but he can't stop agonizing over whether he can tolerate that part of himself, much less embrace it - but his love interest's presence allows him to? a relationship dynamic where it's constantly uncertain whether one's intentions are lethal, and the answer always feels like "obviously yes" but also "obviously no"?? they're literally hannigram. hannigram is the fucking BLUEPRINT of this dynamic, i just didn't know it yet. i actually caught myself in one of my current wips a while back accidentally fucking recreating the michael-at-gerry's-throat "please don't" scene damn near word for word, and i thought to myself, HOLD ON,THIS VIBE FEELS A LITTLE FAMILIAR...

so yeah, uh, if you like the vibe of this fic, maybe watch hannibal?

convicted criminals of thought: i felt fucking insane when i was writing this one fr. it took me like 4 days, i think?? NEVER have i banged out 19k so fast.

the fic was mossstly just born from me loving the concept of beholding avatar powers used for smut and really, really wanting to write that with gerry, LOL. i didn't expect it to be so long and plotty, but the dynamic i wanted ended up requiring more setup than i originally thought it would... i was really trying to push the sexual tension and i was also taking a step into writing much more explicit kink than i had in the past. like moth to light, i would say this fic represented a turning point for me, because these days explicit d/s makes up most of what i write haha. turns out i'm just super into exploring power dynamics in fiction and using sex as a vehicle for said exploration. there are some things i'd write differently if i did it now... i wrote criminals during the era in which ~safe and communicative sex in fanfic~ was really being pushed online, so i made sure to include detailed discussions of boundaries. the fact that i wrote in the stoplight system makes me cringe a little now, but the saving grace that allows me to not care too much is that i do think it's in character for that version of gerry and michael. it's a very reasonable choice for a young man who's naive when it comes to both the supernatural and the sexual, and a more experienced dom with a protective streak. (these days, i'm firmly in the camp that no matter how insane the sex is, characters should not be negotiating their kinks onscreen unless it is in-character for them to both a) have the knowledge of kink required for such discussions in the first place, and b) initiate those discussions. obviously in REAL life these things should always be prioritized! but if i see a fanfic scene interrupted for two characters who are normally wildly emotionally stunted and non-communicative to go "wait, what's your safeword!!" it'll completely take me out of it... i also think this is just one aspect of a much broader issue with people being unwilling to make their characters (even morally gray/straight-up cruel characters) take actions that they view as unacceptable. i certainly struggled with this for a long time (more on that later) but thankfully i've gotten over it.

an unrelated detail for this one - the flesh monster gerry and michael encounter was inspired by the mindflayer in season 3 of stranger things :)

anddddd... yeah, there was supposed to be a sequel... technically there is, it's just that only ~75% of it exists. it features: workplace sex and edging, michael being a brat, collaring, new beholding abilities, and a new appreciation for degradation. i say this purely to be evil, because it's unlikely it'll ever get finished (oops). onto the pile of incomplete wips it goes, along with all the stranger things fics... i promise this pains me as much as it does you.

playing with matches: oh my darling magnolia verse, always on my mind. fun fact, the original title of this fic was "a journal of the plague year," one of the leitners referenced in tma. naturally, Certain Events Happened while i was writing the fic, and that title took on... new, unintended connotations!!! so i changed it (though i did keep referring to it as 'plague year' in my head for quite a while). i'm actually happy i changed it, though. obvious blase is such a great song for this gerry, and (if i ever FUCKING finish it!!) the agnes fic is titled after the very next lyric in the song, which is perfect for her + the fact that it tells much of the same story from her pov.

where to even start with this fic... there's so much going on. one of my lasting impressions was that it was a DEVIL to get gerry's characterization right... this is where i mention how i used to be really, really bad at letting my characters be bad people, haha. gerry thinks of himself as sooo prickly and mean in this fic but he really... isn't? very much at all? lmao. i literally had to go back in after the first draft and make him meaner and i STILL don't think i did enough. he was meant to be a lot sharper than he actually turned out to be. (Yet Another reason i hope i can return to the agnes fic eventually - we'll get to see more of a different side of gerry. honestly, with the way things unfolded, a lot of him being an asshole became just because he's stupid and inconsiderate rather than because he's mean. and i think that works, ultimately).

some scenes that came to me early and made me decide this fic needed to exist: gerry and agnes smoking on the roof, talking around jude. gerry laying in the road at night and stargazing. agnes burning woodchips. shaving agnes's head. the exchange between agnes and gerry leading up to "i'm tired of being angry" (this might have been the source of it all, though i can't quite remember now). breaking into chapman hall (this is something that my friend group actually did around the time i was writing the fic - i wasn't there, but i was so delighted by the photos that it ended up in the fic).

overall, a LOT of this fic was relishing in writing the first-year college experience after i had just gone through it. (well, more like 60% of it). i was writing it in my freshman year - spring 2020. the fall 2019 semester was honestly a highlight of my life that i'll always be nostalgic for... i found a family near-instantly and felt true joy and acceptance for possibly the first time, and then it was snatched away from me in the spring with covid evacuation. writing it out allowed me to kind of re-live it through the characters. magnolia university is a BLATANT copy of my own uni - to the point where multiple people from my school ended up reading the fic and commenting that they recognized it. zeeeero subtlety from me, lol. a lot of the physical settings and details are thinly-veiled adaptations from real life. the queer frat our gang attends parties at is, in fact, the one i was part of (with its name changed) - it may be a stretch characterization-wise, but it was too big a part of my college experience to leave out. (and yeah, the buzzcut queer who welcomes gerry in the first time he visits was a self-insert. just couldn't resist).

ex altiora, too, is heavily based on my own experience being in a band with my friends during college. i've been pretty upfront about that, haha. when they reference a song which is about "murder as a metaphor for internalized homophobia," that's a real song, it just has a different title and hasn't been released yet. should i have linked my irl music in my fic notes? mmm, maybe not, but i do like the idea that someone out there could enjoy my music after discovering it through my fic. if only we had more than 2 songs on spotify... the EP is about three years late now, but it SHOULD be out very early next year :')

anyway. as you may have guessed based on the scenes i highlighted earlier, agnes and gerry's relationship is reeeaally important to this fic (and the 'verse as a whole)... which is why i feel so damn bad that i've left what was really supposed to be a duology as just one fic!! the incomplete/unpublished agnes fic fills in so many gaps, it drives me crazy. i keep getting dragged into other hyperfixations and i really don't control what my ADHD lets me work on, but there is so, SO much more of this 'verse that hasn't seen the light of day. nearly every character has a ton of unpublished lore. melanie and georgie almost got their own fic. tim and sasha almost got their own fic. don't get me started on oliver - i get so mad at the gang when i think about him, he's got SO much going on that nobody ever notices just because he puts on a good front of being well put-together. obsessive perfectionism, borderline substance abuse, and situationship drama... (when he takes care of mike crew tripping balls at that one party? yeah, that's the start of something much bigger). julia and her relationship with her dad. the conflicts between julia and gerry because they're so upfront with the way they fight, but end up missing all the important underlying issues in the process. agnes. agnes. AGNES. HER INSANE RELIGIOUS TRAUMA. the undiagnosed autism and legitimate compulsive pyromania. her gender expression issues, her fucked relationship with jude... 15k of it in my google docs and that's not close to half the story.

i'm getting distracted as always being vague about what's not out there, so let me clarify some of what is. first and foremost, agnes's lighter is her coping mechanism. the first time gerry meets her, she's forced herself to go to a party because her parents demand her to be social, and gotten so drunk she threw up. humiliating. time to start a fire. when she goes to the first punk show with gerry and he tells her she looks like a catholic schoolgirl, it makes her want to scream. Unresolved Issues There. at that show, jude is rude to agnes, agnes nearly fights her in the pit, and jude is immediately enamored with her. the toxic yuri begins. their first hookup happens after the chapman hall break-in. jude is the one who shows her the rooftop spot where she later smokes witth gerry. she has very little sense of identity and jude gives her that, in the most destructive way possible. eventually, shaving her head is a desperate attempt to do something for herself instead of jude (she knows jude will hate it), but afterwards, she doesn't actually like it, and it feels like just another way that jude has driven everything in her life. jude cannot take responsibility for a damn thing, and she blames agnes's growing distance on the band, hence their later fight at band practice. after that, when julia follows agnes, agnes has her first real vulnerable conversation about it - which she's been trying to do with gerry for a while, but gerry's fucking awful at talking about feelings and has barely even picked up on it. this is what pisses julia off so bad, she feels like he's been a bad friend to agnes. agnes and julia get very close after this, especially over the summer. (agnes isn't mad at gerry at all, to be clear - julia is mostly projecting because she also wants more intimacy in her relationship with gerry, but he never gives it to her. around michael, he's warm and open and communicative... but he doesn't show the same growth with his friendships. rip julia).

ugh, they're all so REAL to me. thanks for giving me the excuse to rant, i always love to <3 feel free to ask me whatever you want or message me directly, i'm an open book!

[discet]

This is a fair take, not one I agree with, but I think a fair interpretation of events. Though I don’t think we disagree as much as you think we do. I don’t think Marcy is unsympathetic.

But I also cut corners in my original post cause I wrote it with the assumption that people had read my fic. Don’t know if you have or found this in the wild, but I’ll do a more thorough job this time. Also I’d hope this goes without saying, and I don’t really have enough follows to like, mob someone. Just to be safe though, don’t any rude messages to thaarb

That said, some counter points:

New Wartwood: I think this is just comes down to how we view New Wartwood. The core moral of that episode is ‘I put my own desire to be liked ahead of anything and anyone else’. I think the Marcy consciously deciding to roll the dice on the town flooding to expediate her own acceptance into the community makes that moral stronger and having it be a fact that just slipped her mind makes it weaker. 

Marcy at the Gates: Agreed, the barbariants are dangerous creatures and should be exterminated. In retrospect this one was a bit of a stretch. Still think she should probably have given A+the Plantars a heads up about how potent the shrooms were. 

Maddie & Marcy(Abomination): Abomination as just a throw away joke is fair, (even if I think the creation and subsequent abandonment of life is you know a fair thing to bring up in a conversation about moral ambiguity). 

Maddie & Marcy(Necromancy): What wasn’t a throw away joke was the premise of that episode. Maddie and Marcy subvert the natural order and bring a creature back from the dead. Now I think there is an interesting debate to be had about the moral use of necromancy in a world where magic exists, but Marcy and Maddie don’t even mention it in passing. I think ripping a soul from its final resting place, for any reasons, is something that warrents a moments consideration. Which is, you know, seems pretty ethically dubious to me

True Colors Reveals: Alright this is a spicy one so lets break this bad boy up.  Taking the Box: I agree. Taking the box was an understandable decision made under duress. Definitely sympathetic. Also? Definitely selfish. What is less defendable was almost certainly pressuring Anne into stealing the box! Marcy would have probably waited 20 minutes? Minimum for Sasha and Anne to show up after finding the box. She could have taken it herself. Instead the implication is that she (likely helped) pressure Anne into stealing the box on her birthday which hey, not great thing to do! She Wanted it to Work: Your motivations for doing a thing are really important when talking about morality. She decided to grab the box BECAUSE of the line in Dr. P’s Book about it taking you to other worlds. She was hoping it would work, which again, I don’t think that damns her but by the same brush ‘not knowing it would work for sure’ doesn’t absolve her. It’s morally complicated.  Not Telling Anne or Sasha: I think we can both agree at least that Andrias is a bastard. He definitely made the problem worse. However Marcy also didn’t tell them from jump. Before they went to Amphibia she could have shown Anne and Sasha the page about the box be magic. She could have told them in a light ‘haha found this weird legend about this box‘. But she doesn’t she doesn’t cause deep down she wants it to work and knows that Anne and Sasha probably wouldn’t if they had all the information. That pattern is encouraged by Andrias but started by Marcy the moment she keeps them both in the dark after masterminding stealing the box. 

Marcy is Selfless: Disagree. Marcy Loves her Friends. Marcy is Helpful. Marcy would do (almost)anything for her friends/loved ones. But that is not ultimately the same as being selfless. They are great qualities to have, but for Marcy they also are trumped by the things she wants. Namely for her friend group to stay together. Lets put aside the whole box plot since with Andrias’s manipulations muddle culpability. What is all on her though is that Marcy refuses to side with Anne, even when Sasha is in the wrong. This is implied in the show but made extremely explicit in the journal, is Marcy basically excuses Sasha’s controlling and how it made Anne feel, even when Anne explicitly tells her. 

That’s pretty dismissive. Almost like she wants them to just make up and stop fighting. Despite on this particular issue, Sasha being in the wrong, Marcy never takes Anne’s side. Just insists that she has to make up with Sasha. When Anne first brings up her fight with Sasha in Marcy at the Gates, Marcy brushes right past it, doesn’t press for details. She doesn’t want to hear that there might be problems in their friend group. Even in Battle of the Bands and True Colors, Marcy doesn’t pick a side. Both times Sasha chooses to align herself against Marcy and Anne. A dynamic I suspect extends to before Amphibia. 

If it could cost something she values (and Marcy values pretty much nothing over her friendship with Anne and Sasha) then she is unwilling to to be selfless. Even if that means keeping them in the dark and ignoring the toxic sides of their friendship.

Conclusion: Personally, I think Marcy is a sympathetic character. I think her decisions are understandable. But sympathetic and understandable do not mean justified. I think she generally does the right thing because, as you said, she wants people to like her! And people like those who help them. But once something she values is threatened those morals are quick to bend.

Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't Marcy originally envisioned to be a much meaner or at least a much more blatantly morally ambiguous/"darker" character then the one we ultimately got, right?

Any thoughts on that and any other ultimately scrapped concepts or designs that you thought were particularly interesting?

I've read that, I think it was in an interview somewhere?

I think the change was a good move. Having her be a mean or rude friend would overlap too much with Sasha. Her being edgier could have been interesting but I think giving Anne a more likable friend in the trio gave their canon relationship a lot more texture.

I haven't really delved too deep on the behind the scenes stuff. Just picked up bits and pieces from the fandom.

Though on a note related to your ask: I think Marcy is pretty blatantly morally ambiguous in canon. It's just harder to notice cause she's also adorable.

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