#one is the prequel to the other which is the big magnum opus fic

[tarantula-hawk-wasp]

It’s fall which means my brain suddenly has the urge to work on the DAI horror western au fics I thought I would be done writing two years ago

[trans-cuchulainn]

hello and welcome to the niche corner

hello i'm néide and this is my blog, which mostly consists of me being grumpy about niche things. i have multiple degrees in medieval irish literature and while sometimes i use these to be vaguely educational, more often i use them to write incredibly specific fic about characters nobody else cares about, and this fic can be found on ao3 (for logged-in users)

so this is a guide to my incredibly specific fanfiction, which i feel also gives a reasonably good introduction to the kind of thing i'm likely to be yelling about on this blog

i am reliably informed that you don't actually need to know anything about the source material to have fun with these fics (or suffer from the angst), but also they can be more fun if you do. some have bibliographies/refs/explanations so i also know a few people have used them as a way to get started with medieval Irish lit which will never not be extremely funny to me

current WIP: chasing someone else's dream (16k, WIP): a cú chulainn/láeg reincarnation fic. they have been reincarnated, not for the first time. they've also been cursed, and thus, unlike in every life before this one, they've never met. ngl this fic contains some of the best prose i ever wrote, please read it

group chats of the ulster cycle, or, the in loco parentis series

a modern AU of the ulster cycle. sort of a college AU, turned into a ballet AU halfway through. consists of:

in loco parentis (135k, complete): my magnum opus. cú chulainn and láeg are university flatmates; group chats featuring all your favourite ulster cycle characters and also some you probably never gave a shit about; cú chulainn as a tiny trans ballet dancer and ferdia as his pas de deux partner; baking; everybody hating on conchobar; nobody dies; way more feelings about both ballet and shostakovich than anybody was expecting, including me; and much more. comes with explanatory notes / bibliography because i'm just Like That

getting the dee (9k, in progress/abandoned): a prequel to ILP, sort of a longes mac nuislenn fic except nobody dies and there are more sex toys. naoise/deirdre with guest appearances from conall. one day i'll go back to this but also i'm a coward

valentáin's day (4k oneshot, complete): a prequel to ILP, featuring láeg and cormac in the pub on valentine's day making fun of all their friends in relationships. they make out, fortunately their friendship survives the experience.

and when you move, i move (2.5k oneshot, complete): a sequel to ILP. just a horny lil cú chulainn/ferdia oneshot set a few months after ILP wraps up.

miscellaneous ulster cycle oneshots

i will be honest, most of these are sad fics of oidheadh con culainn ("the death of cú chulainn") because i just love writing angst, but there's a couple of others in there

a moment's silence (3k): smutty cú/láeg fic set during táin bó cúailnge, inspired by this picture. the most explicit fic i've written

to walk this world alone (6k): extremely niche fic featuring láeg after cú chulainn's death. some otherworldly happenings. sad but not as sad as it was originally going to be.

counterweight (3k): cú chulainn/láeg during oidheadh con culainn, anticipating cú chulainn's death. this one's pretty sad too.

dindsenchas (3.5k): missing scenes between cú chulainn and láeg during táin bó cúailnge. narrated by the landscape of ulster and addressed in second person to cú chulainn himself because the best sex scenes are the ones narrated by a tree.

in one dwelling place (2k): láeg/cú chulainn/emer. vaguely smutty, vaguely fluffy.

we'll say goodbye, today (2k): cú chulainn and láeg during oidheadh con culainn, anticipating cú chulainn's death. big sad hours.

glorious as the sunrise (3k): this is just angst. cú chulainn/láeg during oidheadh con culainn again. not particularly shippy but they love each other very much.

a marriage of inconvenience (3k): modern AU. cú chulainn wants to marry emer but unfortunately never bothered to get divorced after he married láeg for househunting purposes. a very silly fic.

of grief and glory (1.7k): cú chulainn deals with the aftermath of táin bó cúailnge, especially fer diad's death. more sad times lol.

flight risk (2.3k): teenage cú chulainn and láeg steal a spaceship. they get caught. fun scifi AU.

other medieval lit fics (non ulster cycle)

patron saint of toasties (2.5k): finn cycle fic. oisín took time out of uni to travel and now all his friends have graduated and he's lonely enough to text the christian union's "text a toastie" hotline. which is how he meets patrick. very silly modern AU gen fic mostly taking the piss out of st patrick

two birds of a feather (2.8k): yonec (marie de france) | togail bruidne da derga crossover fic. bird dad support group. conaire and yonec hang out and bond over their dads having maybe been birds. stupidest thing i ever wrote and i adore it.

quiver and shake (1.8k): fourth branch of the mabinogi fic. gwydion and gilfaethwy's special brotherly bonding time. canon typical content warnings apply.

other

absent thee from felicity (11k, WIP): hamlet | romeo & juliet crossover modern AU in which horatio and benvolio attempt to deal with the aftermath of their respective tragedies. sad at first, will gradually get sillier. haven't updated in a couple of years but that doesn't mean it's permanently abandoned, i'm just busy

a guild doctor and an abolitionist walk into a bar (5.5k, complete): mortimer sark/daragh vernant (the butterfly assassin by finn longman). in which they become friends while coparenting their fucked up assassin child and pretending they're not doing that. blatant pro-mortimer propaganda tbh and i'm not sorry

if you've never read any of my fics before and are wondering where to start, i firmly believe the reincarnation fic (current WIP) is a good one because it has a solid mix of angst, shenanigans, and weird fuckery, so you can experience the tonal whiplash of the rest of my fics all in one place! but it is a WIP and i make zero promises about upload schedule, it happens when it happens, so not so good if you're impatient haha. plenty of others to get you started though

[the-far-bright-center]

I don’t mean to sound desperate here, but I really need some happy, positive SW and Luke Skywalker related things, there’s been such a lack of them lately…😞 Do you have anything that might help me out? Any help would be appreciated.

Hey there! first of all, *big hugs*. Secondly, sincerest apologies for my delayed response. While I’m not quite sure what you are specifically looking for, I will try to help as best as I can… 

When it comes to positive and uplifting material regarding Luke Skywalker, I have always relied mostly on canon. And by that I mean real, original canon, which ends at RotJ. There is no happier thing than the ending of RotJ, in my humble opinion. :) That said, I realize that is not always helpful or adequate for everyone, so here’s a little list: 

Fanfiction: 

*please note: these fics are quite angsty, but still with hopeful tone. I don’t read much SW fic in general so apologies for the limited selection. 

- two incredible fics by irnan

- The Guiding Winds and Nature Nurture Heaven and Home by fialleril 

- A Time For Everything and Reverberations by steelneena (@muldertorture) 

Other fanworks: 

- fan poetry: 1

- fan vids: 1, 2, 3

- fan art: 1, 2, 3, 4

- edits, tags, gifsets, etc: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

- Twin Suns: Anakin and Luke as the Dark Sun and the Light -  an illustration of Lucas’ saga as the embodiment of the alchemical/Jungian concept of the Magnum Opus.

Meta: 

- The Chosen One, the Hero’s Journey, and Breaking the Cycle of Enslavement in Star Wars - I’m sure everyone’s seen this one by now, but including it just in case…

- Why an unequivocally positive and heroic interpretation of the OT generation is essential to upholding the original intended meaning and mythic function of the Skywalker saga. 

- Star Wars as the complete saga, or how I personally define Star Wars. (Sorry, this one is more Anakin-centric, but still provides a positive perspective of the original saga and its meaning). - For some meta that goes into detail about my understanding of the Skywalker saga as it exists in the PT and OT, see this masterpost of excerpts on the subject of ‘Anakin as a tragic hero’ (contains related meta about Luke and the Skywalkers in general). Basically a compilation of several years worth of meta posts, but with my anti-sequels rants filtered out in order to make them more widely accessible (contains some repeats from the above). 

- The Creation of a Modern Myth - @muldertorture‘s excellent essay on the original intended purpose and function of the Prequels and the Original Trilogy. 

For more, see the following tags: 

Happy AU

Anakin and Luke

Skyguy I and II

Father and Son

RotJ!Luke is the best Luke

The Skywalker saga (see also: The REAL Skywalker saga)

Death yet the Force

the barest flicker of persistent light

In my opinion, the best way in which all things relating to Luke and the Skywalkers can immediately be seen as completely and unquestionably positive, is to understand that their (REAL) story ends after RotJ (the saga’s original and most cathartic conclusion), and to likewise view anything else that attempts to negatively continue or retcon it as being the false imposter that it is. ;) 

But for anyone who finds that difficult to do, hopefully some of the above content will help. ♥

[thunderpetal]

YAY anon asks!! Anyway I would love for you to answer hmmm 19, 29, 32, 33, and hehe 37 please. :3 (feel free to omit any of them, I choose violence by choosing not to choose but you don't have to!) <3

Still can't believe I never realised I have anon asks off when I've been on here since like December. ANYWAY,

19 - Stephen King once said that his muse is a man who lives in the basement. Do you have a muse?

I don't know. I get inspired by lots of things. Music being one of them - I come up with a 'what if every character played an instrument' AU for every fandom I've in, even though most of them never see the light of day. I'm also inspired by songs from time to time, but not as often as other writers, I don't think?

My family also visits Italy every year, and I always get sooo many writing ideas when we're there, it's ridiculous. I think just being in a wildly different place to miserable England shakes up my brain enough that plot bunnies start falling out left right and centre.

29 - If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?

Ooh, this is an interesting question. I went through my recced bookmarks on AO3, aka my absolute fave fics collection. In the end I only found one I would want to add to, since most of them ended in the perfect place. But Kids Protecting Kids by quirkle is a fic that's really stuck with me (everyone should read it), and I would want to write a little mini sequel after Wild wakes up where him and Legend just get to have a little chat and breathe out. together. Just another dollop of comfort atop the hurt/comfort.

33 - How do you feel about crack?

I love crack! And honestly I don't write enough of it nowadays. I'm really good at dialogue so crack used to be my forte, I wrote lots of silly fics back in the day. Now I've moved onto more serious horizons, I suppose, but writing serious fics is still kind of a struggle for me. I miss writing crack. My closest fic to actual crack is probably Five Teaspoons, but that probably counts as more just general humour.

37 - Talk about your current wips.

Oh, you've unleashed a monster by asking me this!!

Someday We'll Stand Here By The Sun (TOH, ongoing) - My magnum opus tbh. It's like 80% written rn, and I'm able to keep up a weekly updating schedule on AO3 because of that. But it's still far from done! Anyway, after S2 finished I was full of post King's Tide ideas, and most of them have made their home in this big multichapter. The main plot is the story of Luz, Amity and their trauma /lh. I have so much brainrot for them and their relationship, and S2B builds on their mutual confession so well. As we know there are two episodes in which Luz shows the same character flaw - hiding things from Amity/her loved ones due to a belief that her problems aren't as important as theirs, and wanting to protect other people's feelings. The fact that Luz doesn't seem to grow out of this flaw despite 2 EPISODES focused on it says to me that it's 100% something ingrained in her that isn't going away anytime soon. But I'll stop before I write a whole Luz character essay.

Point is, with the whole 'helping' Belos thing, Luz totally blames herself for the Draining Spell and is gonna spiral post S2, feeling like she has to get back to the Isles asap and fix all her mistakes, and MAYBE that will make up for how much of a horrible human being she thinks she is. So why did I choose to write from Amity's POV, when I started writing this to explore Luz's emotions? Well, at first I was worried about SWSHBTS being a 'Amity is Luz's therapist' fic, but Amity has so many issues herself that that was not a problem lmao. And I deliberated on doing alternate POVs - even made a pros and cons list - but in the end I went with Amity's POV only because she has a lot of things to say! (But there may be a chapter of Luz's POV... you'll just have to see)

I just love this fic so much, it is my baby, and uploading it is kinda the highlight of my week rn. There is so much in future chapters that I am excited for the world to see. Also, when I started writing it, it was out of motivation to make more Lumity Post King's Tide angst, cause there REALLY wasn't enough, but there have been many more fics in that genre uploaded since I began, and I inhale each one like they're my life force. Cause they kind of are. WOW that was a lot of words too bad I'm about to infodump about another 2 wips

Untitled Music AU (TOH, unwritten) - So I said that I come up with a 'what if every character played an instrument' AU for every fandom I'm in, and TOH is no exception. This was going to be a silly oneshot and now it's expanded into a whole multichapter universe that mostly exists only inside my brain. When I have the time to actually write it, it'll be great I'm sure lmao

But essentially Amity plays clarinet, Luz plays oboe, and they're put in the same woodwind quartet by Raine, their teacher at Hexside. This leads to them starting to become friends, but as they do, Amity starts seeing certain weird/supernatural things around school. (This is a human/no magic AU, to clarify). She thinks she's just going crazy, but she decides to confide in Luz. Luz is of course overjoyed to learn there's a potential mystery to be discovered in their school, and immediately joins Amity in playing detective. Yes I want there to be mystery in this AU, but I really have not worked out the finer details yet.

Other character roles include - Raine as Head Of Music. Lilith as their second in command in the music department - but she was also Amity's clarinet teacher until Amity was like nine/ten. One day, she suddenly dropped all of her private students and joined Hexside as a teacher instead. Why? Who knowsss! (You'll find out I promise). Eda runs the wackiest corner shop that sells Everything You'll Ever Need, and Luz is her employee and also her only oboe student. She's a longtime family friend of Camila, too. She took in Hunter, who plays bassoon, and Luz still considers Hunter her brother in this AU. Willow plays flute. She and Amity have a similar arc to canon, but it plays out a bit differently in this. And - this is my fav part - Blight Industries is a well-known company, and engage in copious amounts of rainbow capitalism every year. Meanwhile the Blight kids still genuinely have no idea if Odalia is homophobic or not.

And last but not least - the LU multichapter where Time dies and Twilight picks up the ocarina to go back in time and save his life (working title). But Time keeps dying, so Twilight keeps using the ocarina, and before he knows it he's in a Majora's Mask nightmare scenario of his own. This is one I was planning to write this summer before SWSHBTS came in and demanded attention. Lots of attention. So, I'm planning to get to this when SWSHBTS is done. I'm just so excited to write it - it's really going to push me as a writer, but I'm ready for that challenge if it means i can provide juicy Twi angst. The poor lad. I'm really going to put him through the wringer. And Time too, considering he's gonna die many times in the fic, but that's kind of just the plot.

This question really enabled me, so I'm impressed if you actually read all of this. But thanks for sending this ask in, anon!

[welplookslikethisblogisdeadtoo]

(for the fic writer meme) 1, 4, 8, 13, 20, 29, any or all that you feel like!

Thank you so much! I’m putting it under a cut bc its Long but please read as it includes fic recs, possible upcoming fics from myself and a whole lot of other author appreciation!

1. Describe your comfort zone—a typical you-fic.

Hm…Fantasy AUs, Mundane AUs with a REALLY GOOD twist (either mentioned or as a surprise), Canon-Divergent fics that either delve deeper into a character development and ‘what-ifs’, and stories with more to them than ‘character A + B (+ C, etc) get together - I like stories with relatable or interesting plots.

4. How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Care to share one of them?

Hm…I have MANY ideas tbh, but if I were to write them I’d need to fill out the plots a LOT more! 

I think that my fav idea that I would have the most to work with rn is my Nart Pitch Perfect AU (Which sounds a little strange but me and @artlessictoan have worked out the entire plot and its Good Shit) but I don’t know whether I just wanna make redraw scenes and write up a few snippets or draw a few comics of the plot and stuff? Idk, I’m still debating on that one, lemme know what you think!

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

‘ November 5th was certainly going to be remembered by every one of their classmates, but for all the wrong reasons. It was no one’s fault, the firework had simply been a faulty one. Accidents caused by them happen by the thousands every year.

But the memory of Sakura, still only in her second year of Uni studying to be a doctor, saving Naruto’s life with a blanket and plenty of pressure, the ambulance rushing him off to A&E for emergancy surgery, huddled as a group of eleven in a crowded waiting room with nothing but hope and fear until the early hours of the morning… It was a memory that would haunt them their entire lives.

And as for their failure of a relationship, that was the last straw. It wasn’t as though Hinata wasn’t supportive of Naruto, of course she was - all of their friends were, but the stress tore the two apart. But what was even scarier, was the fact that, apparently, if you break up with someone, it’s impossible to stay friends with them. But how could they not stay friends? They were simply too important to each other to loose.

As Hinata staired at Naruto, the golden light bouncing off the frost dusted windows catching in his hair and highlighting his olive skin in an orange glow, real arm reaching down to change his car’s gear, face alight with new hope and happiness… The content warming her heart like a fire in a harth told her that she wouldn’t have life any other way.” ‘ - Exeunt, Chapter 2.

I think this is my favourite piece of writing that I’ve done recently because it starts of very jarring, really the first angsty/darker part of this fic - and there will be more of that to come, just some warning - but it ends in a really peaceful, warm way that I think really ties that section of the story up nicely. I’m also really happy of the way it flows and builds back up from the trauma into something lighter.

13. What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever come across?

Make characters flawed, conflict one of your best plot-bunny devices, find yourself a Writing Alpha bc Artless is The Best tbh and my writing is improving tenfold after just a few sessions with them talking abt my stories.

20. Describe your perfect writing conditions.

I’d say when I’m REALLY in the Mood to write something/the scene I’ve been stuck on, or if something has just Clicked in trying to work out how to progress with a fic. In my bed with comfy clothes and fairylights on in the evening after dinner. Listening to a playlist that immerses me into the story and scene I’m writing and no distractions.

29. If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?

If I could then I would re-write, or continue (because the sequel hasn’t updated in 3 years) the Coming To Terms series. It was actually one of the first fics I completely fell in love with and its super mundane and there are lots of different plots for various characters while still keeping the pace and keeping track of various storylines. It had a REALLY GOOD ending to the 1st part but there was SO MUCH more potential for the sequel and there was a lot of unresolved things and it was all leading up to one big bang which it didn’t get around to. Honestly I highly recommend it though, its super nostalgic for me and still one of my fav works of all time!!!

(my choice!)

15. If you could choose one of your fics to be filmed, which would you choose?

Exeunt, without doubt. It’s the Magnum Opus of all my Naruto AUs and something that I want my writing to develop with as it is created. I think it has the most potential too seeing as it is completely different to the original Naruto series so it has the potential to be a stand-alone thing.

27. How do you feel about collaborations?

Oh boy, oh man I LOVE collabs. Have you even read A Time For Change, holy shit that AU is just like my Happy Place and its SO NICE to talk about the plot with someone else without spoiling anything bc you’re both in on it?? Its just a really special experience!

28. Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much.

Hooo boy here we go.

@artlessictoan, holy shit, their works are just. Goals. Absolutely, this isn’t even coming from a ‘i work with them a lot so i have to be nice 2 them’ this is a legit thing like their fics are some of my favourites of all time and their characterization is SO SPOT ON. They’re REALLY GOOD at writing dialogue and they really delve into the root of the story when it comes to writing them, their research shows through so well and they cover things that you wouldn’t even think of. They’re one of those writers where you have to just step back after reading one of their works and think ‘Oh my god. Oh my god what a wild ride why didn’t I think of that oh my gOD.’ Check out their work, seriously guys!

@linddzz Oh my god, their writing, where do I even begin. They NAIL the characters completely and utterly when they write them, they really bring to light Credence’s personality and the problems and issues he had to face and faces still, especially in my favorite of their fics A Study on the Habits of the Adult Obscurial. I really like the way they represent Newt also, he doesn’t know how to People very well and he’s just so very in-character that once you read their fic you just accept it as canon honestly.

@jinglebellfic Listen up folks if you haven’t read Riptide Lover then you ABSOLUTELY SHOULD, its one of my favorite works and it’s been updating for YEARS and its still being updated bc they talk abt it all the time and this AU just gives me LIFE. Just a warning for those who aren’t keen that it is Very NSFW but the story just has SUCH A GOOD PLOT and it starts BANG in the middle of the action, no messing around, it’s so well-written that I was sucked into the story (and the fandom, this fic is what got me into it in the first place!) so quickly and I enjoyed it so much that I spent abt a week reading it whenever I had the spare time to. It’s very nostalgic to me now and it makes my entire month when it updates.