#writing the curse of monterrey

[goldeneyedgirl]

2020 Fic Meme

It happens every year like clockwork. The Fic Round-Up Meme. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t looking forward to it this year because I’ve written so much. As usual, compiled from ancient Livejournal fic memes. I like doing it as kind of a time capsule of my writing. If anyone else wants to take a crack, feel free. I love reading writers’ throughs on their own work. <3 No tagging because that is PRESSURE. 

Twilight

12 Days of Fic-Mas (Twilight, WIP) Day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 + Christmas Eve Twelve days of fic extracts, previews, and drabbles focusing on Alice Cullen and Jess/Jasper Hale: Anathema, the KidFic, Married in Vegas, Daemons, Memento Vivere, Human Alice Kills James, Jess and Alice do Prom, Forgotten, Vampires in Vegas, Shadow to Light Missing Scene, Hybrid, Cowboys and Angel Solstice, and All These Broken Things

Afterglow (Alice/Jasper, AU, Romance, G)  There were three things of which she was certain. The first was that her name was Alice. The second was that she was born an angel. And three, she was getting ready to die.

Against a Wall (Alice/Jasper, Human/Vampire AU, Romance, Angst, PG) If you asked anyone with the surname ‘Whitlock’, they’d tell you that the family was cursed. It was the Whitlock Curse to blame the day the bank took the ranch away from Jasper’s own father.      

And Found (Alice/Jasper, Soulmark AU, Romance, PG) The soul mark appears when Alice is six. It is a twisted ribbon of a mark, from the inside of her left elbow, up her arm, over her shoulder, along her clavicle, over her right shoulder and down to her right wrist. What ugly, soulless individual could inspire such a mark?

Jar of Hearts Pt 1 Pt 2 (WIP) (Alice, Emmett, Seth, MCU xover, Angst, PG) The snap came for everyone - “He said he’d never leave me,” she says in a wobbly voice. “He promised me.”“It wasn’t by choice,” Emmett rushes to tell her. “You were his last thought; he tried so hard to get home before he…”

Never a Question (Alice/Jasper, AU, Angst, G)  Carlisle is quite sure that he’s watching his son’s heart break into a million pieces as he stares at his human mate, slowly dying alone, not a single person allowed to hold her hand.

Hand in Hand (Alice/Jasper, AU, Fluff, G)  “Never,” he swears, pressing a kiss to her cheek that makes her beam -  “There’s not a single moment I can think of that cannot be improved by your presence, darlin’.”

Love & Duty (Alice/Jasper, AU, Romance, G)  A trainee witch is sent to treat a wounded cowboy from her brother coven. 

Shadow to Light (WIP) (Alice/Jasper, AU Angst, PG) In 1918, Jasper lures the newborn known as Mary-Alice back to Monterrey. He is lost to her before it even begins. (Ch 6-8)

The Way of Things (Alice/Jasper, AU, Drama, M)  She truly doesn’t know what comes next. He truly doesn’t know if it will be good or bad. They will live this life for as long as it lasts, long may it last, surrounded by the people they love and trust. 

What You Say (Alice/Jessamine, Canon, Angst, M)  Edward might have thought Aro was their reckoning, but Alice knows for her, it is Jessamine’s hurt.

Total number of completed stories: ELEVEN. 

Total word count: 90,155 words were formally posted - not including snippets, previews (aside from FicMas) or anything that was shared on the Discord server. 

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d predicted? I fucking nailed it. Like, seriously. THREE chapters of Shadow to Light? Every single day of JaliceWeek AND FicMas? I mean, I think the lockdown definitely helped with free time, and not going to lie, the iOS shutdown of Fortnite probably assisted my productivity. 

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January? The Discord has so much to answer for. I wrote porn. Like, what. What. What. What. I find this bizarre and did not have ‘let’s just go full NC17 in 2020′ on my bingo card, but it happened. In fact, 2019 Lexie has just gone full spit-take and yelled, “WHAT?!” at the top of her lungs. 

And to make it more surprising, it’s both het and f/f porn. Like, mind-blown. Who am I anymore?

What’s your own favourite story of the year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you happiest? The Way of Things, What You Say, And Found, & Afterglow. All fics that came together really well, that felt like *me*, and had hopeful endings. I’m really proud of them. 

STL doesn’t get an opportunity to be apart of this til it’s finished. 

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them? The porn. 

Apparently, I can write it. Who knew? 

I definitely threw caution to the wind with JaliceWeek and just went for whatever crossed my mind and stopped worrying so much. Like, whatever, this is what I want to write so I will. I mean, the MCU crossover is happening in a slightly more obscure way than I initially envisaged it, it’s definitely a better fic for it.

I joined the Discord, and that’s been amazing. I’ve spent my last few fandoms existing in kind of a vacuum because of bad experiences and the fact I’m usually doing something niche, so having people to talk to who are so nice and welcoming and are happy to ignore my special brand of obnoxiousness is so lovely and has had such a good affect on my mental health. Sometimes you need people you can be your dorkiest self with. 

My instincts are pretty good as far as fic goes, people are awesome, and I can write sex scenes. It’s been a learning curve, let me tell you that. 

Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the New Year?  I have to balance grad school, my business, and my writing, so that’s going to be interesting. I think I need to look at my fic more as downtime than a high-stress ‘job’ because I LOVE writing it. I love writing. I love reading. But I get in my own head and overthink. So my goals are BALANCE and RELAX. 

My best story of this year: Oh man, that’s not something I can judge. I am so incredibly proud of how Afterglow, And Found, and The Way of Things turned out. Especially considering I was so behind with JaliceWeek, and I think I was putting out a fic a day, and freaking out because I was lacking ideas, so when these three just came together exactly how I wanted them, it was a good moment. 

My most popular story: Shadow to Light. Look, if that’s my legacy to fandom, I’ve done pretty damn well. I’m really, really appreciative of how enthusiastic people are about this ‘verse. I don’t always understand it, because I can see how my writing has changed and how the story has evolved massively (first it was supposed to be a one-shot, then five chapters.) I hope that it ends up being satisfying for everyone because I have LOVED writing it, even if I am slower than molasses. 

Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: Everyone is always so damn enthusiastic about my writing. I think maybe Hybrid is kind of a big question mark for everyone at the moment because there are so many questions and no answers yet. 

And any of the Jessamine/Alice. That’s a new niche, I get not everyone is into it. But it’s happening and will continue into 2020.

Most fun story to write:  What You Say or Jess and Alice at Prom. Jess is a little snarkier than Jasper, less controlled, and the girls are super fun to write, even high-tension scenes. 

Most Sexy Story: Oh, I can answer this now! Um, maybe The Way of Things or Jess and Alice at Prom? Yup, those are my picks. 

Story with the single sexiest moment:  The Way of Things. This happened before the Discord Intervention, and I’m genuinely not sure if I’m happy with the end of the Prom fic, so it might be reworked slightly in the future. But The Way of Things I was really happy with because it covered so many ideas I had in a way that fit together well. 

That’s where she makes good on her unspoken promises from aeons again, of their private victory celebration. She sits astride him, her hips rolling hard against his, drawing out his groans and growls as he grips her thighs almost tight enough to crack. Their gazes are locked the entire time, her tongue skimming over her lips, as she lets her emotions tell him everything that she wants and everything she plans to take.

He remembers fucking her in the dirt in Dacia; his mouth between her legs as she hollered obscenities in a Paris attic; and the urgent, passionate loving-making of a marriage finally consummated.

She remembers bloody emeralds looped around her throat and resting between her breasts as she gets down on her knees and takes him into her mouth, his fingers tangled in her hair; the delicious weight of him on top of her, their sweat mingling and cooling in the frozen night as their flimsy bed creaked against the wall; and his soft encouragement in her ear as he grasps her around the waist, their hands resting together on the gentle swell of her stomach. 

Most “holy crap, that’s wrong, even for you” story: I think I restrained myself from anything too dark or twisted this year, actually. Oh, wait, Vampires in Vegas. That one has some pretty dark implications about Alice’s life, about the vampire underworld, and Jasper’s behaviour, especially as it goes one. No fic that deals with someone being put into sex work without educated consent is going to avoid being dark, and I think it’s logical that vampires would have their hands in a lot of illegal yet profitable areas. 

Story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters: Anything with Jessamine/Alice because, like, Jess isn’t a name-swap of Jasper, and the relationship dynamic shifts with the slight personality shifts. And then you have to consider the family and social dynamic of two women in the relationship, so working all that out was fun. 

Jar of Hearts is another one, because I had to work out who the fic was going to follow and what was lost. And Emmett and Alice pretty much don’t interact in canon, but they were chosen for a reason. I’ve stripped them down to their worst, most isolated selves without their ‘true north’ (Rose and Jasper) or their moral center (Carlisle and Esme), or even their secret weapon (Edward). Seth, too, has been isolated from his family and friends, and is especially ‘other’ in this situation. This is an MCU crossover, so we’re kind of following a heroes’ journey with the last of Forks’ supernatural creatures.

Hardest story to write: Shadow to Light because of the way I have to use language, because of the plot strands from canon when I hate writing canon material, and how the characters have changed and how this new version reflects the old version. 

Against a Wall, as well, because of the in-verse time crunch I had - I needed Jasper damaged, military-minded, and changed by age 19. And I needed the boy broken. I’m happy with it, the story is done and dusted, but it didn’t quite turn out how I planned. And that’s okay, because I like this version. But I think I tackled something a lot bigger than I anticipated with it. 

Most disappointing:  Look, I love the verse and the set-up, but I think Love & Duty could do with another 2k words for build-up. I just ran out of time, honestly, to build up that mutual attraction between Alice and Jasper. 

Easiest story to write: Anathema, because Alice’s voice was so clear in it. Anathema!Alice knows exactly who she is, and that’s always fun. And the Shadow to Light Missing Scene; it wasn’t as long as I hoped, but it turned out exactly as I imagined it happening. 

Biggest surprise:  Everyone really, really liked Forgotten. And Vampires in Vegas, which I honestly thought were the weakest offerings during FicMas. 

Most unintentionally telling story:  The Way of Things. There’s so little dialogue, and it’s covering such a massive amount of time and story that it’s intentionally written to tell. 

Story I’d like to revise: Love & Duty, and Married in Vegas. A little polish, a little shine, it’s fine. For Love & Duty, it’s definitely the time crunch I need to go back and fix; for Married in Vegas, it’s just reflective of how long ago I started it. I’m a better writer, I know the characters more, and I’m less prone to overly dramatic plot twists. 

Story I didn’t write but will at some point, I swear: Look, let me lay the groundwork now so that no one who isn’t on the Discord isn’t startled. 

There’s going to be a Jess/Jasper/Alice threesome fic, and I regret nothing. 

I really, really want to get All These Broken Things redone and posted because it’s getting silly how long it’s just been sitting there. 

I want to actually write Monster, which is a fic I don’t talk about much but I want to write. It’s a question about who the monster of the story is, and I’m not sure I’m as skilled as I should be, to write it, but I want to try. 

And one of my numerous attempts at a Haunted House Cryptid fic. It has to happen, I have so many ideas!

[soyunaprofesora]

Lessons from Semester 1

So I’m finishing out my first semester here in Monterrey at San Roberto. Good time for reflection and sharing what I’ve learned so far.

1. Immigrating to a new country is a paperwork nightmare. I’m still waiting to receive my official temporary resident card, which will allow me to move in and out of the country freely and open a bank account. For my trip home for Christmas, I had to apply for special permission to leave in the middle of the paperwork process. Had I left without getting that permission, I would have needed to start the entire process over again. As for the bank account, the HR department is tired of hearing me complain about having no way to send money back to my accounts in the states so they are working on a direct deposit process for me and the other foreign teachers without bank accounts to start in January. On one hand, that is awesome and I can finally put some money into my savings. On the other hand, that doesn’t help me with the cash I’ve earned during my first 6 months here. I really need to find a way to deposit that somewhere. I’m running out of sneaky hiding places in my apartment for it.

2. 9th graders are 9th graders. I have been very happy to discover that my 9th graders here are not all that different from 9th graders I’ve worked with for the past 4 years in the US. Obviously some things are drastically different, but usually in a good way: no cell phones, immediate respect, NO FIGHTS, no cursing, actually completing work, etc. I attribute those things to this being a private school not because I’m in Mexico, but it is a welcome change regardless. But the similarities have helped me: they love to joke around, they have interesting lives that I get to learn about through their writing, they ask fascinating questions, they are super creative, they love to talk and when I can guide that productively, they say some amazing things. There are other similarities that are not quite as helpful, but make me laugh. I think some of them say more about my previous school’s population than my school here though: I constantly have to remind students to speak English in class, I often help them translate things from Spanish into English, I have to deal with students asking to go to the bathroom at ridiculous times (like 5 minutes after I gave the entire class a bathroom break), there is always that one student who asks about the directions right after you have given them making the entire class laugh at them, they are often completely oblivious to everything going on around them. After having taught 9th grade in some capacity for the last 5 years, I’ve decided I really like this age. It is challenging, and never boring. Sometimes that is a good thing and sometimes it’s bad, but its never dull.

3. Tacos are the perfect meal always. Doesn’t matter what time of day. Lunchtime? Tacos. Dinner time? Tacos. Pre-gaming before going out drinking? Tacos. Need a snack at 3 AM after drinking? Tacos. Breakfast? Tacos. There truly is no unacceptable time to eat tacos. It’s fascinating. On Friday, we are having a class party. Instead of ordering pizza (like I know many teachers do back in the US), we will be ordering tacos. Yum!

4. I drastically overestimated my Spanish-speaking abilities. The good news is, I understand most of what is said to me. The bad news is, it is delayed. So when I’m at the grocery story and the cashier asks me a question, it takes me longer than he or she is expecting to understand and formulate a response so he or she often moves on without my answer. That also holds true in school meetings. The 9th grade team gets together each Tuesday to discuss things that impact all of us. The meetings are usually held in Spanish. My coworkers like to make jokes and have fun, but I usually don’t get the jokes until about 10 seconds later. So I look like an idiot laughing after everyone else has finished. I’m also still not comfortable or confident speaking Spanish. To anyone. Part of the issue is, when I try to speak around people I’m mostly comfortable with (my landlady or coworkers), they laugh at me. Part of it is the general shock of hearing someone who looks like me try to speak a language that is clearly not my own. I know that on an intellectual level. But on an emotional level, being laughed at when I make an attempt to speak Spanish makes me scared to try again. I’d prefer if people would correct me if I make a mistake (kindly) rather than laugh at the mistakes I make. It is very damaging. Hopefully I work past that soon. I’ve been taking a couple of online courses, but the issue is that I haven’t found a course at my sweet spot: many courses are either too basic or too hard for my current level. It’s frustrating but I’m trying. I refuse to give up.

5. Being away from my friends and family is both easier and harder than I thought it would be. As I get closer and closer to my first visit since July, I’m struck even more with homesickness and longing for something familiar. But surviving this semester hasn’t been as challenging as I expected. I’ve been able to stay in regular contact with most of my friends though email or WhatsApp or Viber or Facebook or any other number of communication forms. It’s hard and gets lonely, but it is ultimately worth it. I’m very excited to return home and visit with my friends and family this weekend, though!

6. With time and experience comes ease. This year, I have more planning time than I ever have before, but I also don’t find myself needing it as much. Part of it is the fact that I have only one prep (one class to prepare for instead of two or three or four different classes in past years) and only 90 students (as opposed to the 120 in past years). But part of it is that I can spend less time planning because I already have a bag of tricks to pull from. I’ve learned what works and what doesn’t. I’ve learned the most effective ways to grade or plan or run a class. With so many changes this year, there have been a ton of challenges as I figure things out. But it has been really nice that I can feel mostly confident in my teaching.

7. Moving to a new place does not automatically change a person. I say this because I was somewhat hoping that moving to a new place would help me be a little more outgoing. I would have to make new friends quickly and find new ways to have fun to experience my new home. While living in Mexico has had an impact on me, it hasn’t changed who I am as a person. I still struggle with making friends, mostly because I struggle with trust and self-esteem. I still prefer to stay in on a Friday night reading as opposed to going out bar-hopping until 4 AM. I still want to go out and experience life until I am actually doing that; then I just want to be at home curled up in my bed with some Netflix. I am an introvert through and through. I’ve gotten out more recently, and I’m working on the friends thing, but I haven’t found someone who enjoys the same things I do: quiet activities, exploring my new city in terms of history and culture, walking through nature, etc. Most people I’ve met like going out every night and staying out late and drinking a lot. I do not judge any of them, but I know that is not and never will be me. I’m hoping that with confidence in my Spanish, I’ll also gain some confidence in being able to experience things by myself.

8. Getting away from the US’s political climate has been really healthy for me. I am still very much aware of what is happening in the States, especially regarding politics. I still read news sites and watch videos about current events, but there is a beautiful distance between me and the events. I still have to care because the events do impact me, but I can remove myself from them when they get too upsetting. I also don’t have to try and explain them to 14 year olds, which is something that was extremely draining for me last year. Having a class discussion about gun rights after a school shooting hurts many parts of you. While I have had to answer some questions about my experiences teaching high school in the US for my students here, there is a sense of detachment that helps. They are asking out of morbid curiosity, not a desire to survive and prevent. Having to talk about Trump’s deportations with students who had immediate family members who had been yanked out of their homes in front of them was emotionally scarring. Trying to explain the Me Too movement to young girls and boys put so much pressure on me as a teacher. It was a lot to deal with on a daily basis. And I absolutely felt it was my place as an educator to give my students an opportunity to talk about those things in a healthy and productive way. But it was draining. Especially because I felt like I never had a break from it; every day there was a new current event that my students needed to be aware of because it was impacting them. Now I imagine that is true here in Mexico, but I am removed from it. I also have not heard of anything that is quite as impactful as things that happen regularly in the US. Students here also have a class designed for them to discuss these issues: LSGI (Leadership Skills and Global Issues). This class goes a step further in having students talk about things impacting the world and making a plan to actually do something about the problems. It is a total cop out, but I’m grateful someone else gets the responsibility of sharing those things with students. I couldn’t do it anymore. I’m sure someday I will return to teaching in the states and take up my post as current event mediator again, but I’m very appreciative of the mental break.

Overall, I’m extremely grateful for the opportunities I’ve had so far in Mexico and I look forward to even more amazing experiences during the next year and a half that I’m contracted to be here. After that, who knows where I will end up. I’m just focused on soaking up as much as I can from where I am now. Thank you to my friends and family back in Virginia for the support and confidence you send my way. As much as I miss you all, know that I am here because of you, because you gave me the belief that I can do this and do it well.

Can’t wait to see some of you next week!!!

[donfadrique]

Really nice WDZ fanvids by @allerod 🌵🍊

Once again. I'm not going to write an article about my fave Captain Monastario (like this one https://elzorro.net/en/the-best-of-the-worst-the-phenomenon-of-capitan-monastario/), I'll just translate my fanfic dedication into English :)

'And I also wanted to somehow, let it be in an entertaining way, honor the memory of Britt Lomond—a talented theater and film actor, screenwriter and writer, Olympic-level swordsman, professional designer and artist, and an award-winning participant in WW II and the Korean War.'

I don't think I need to explain why, besides Monastario I'm interested in Zorro :)

But I want to emphasize that although I read romantic stories about this couple, I write about their relationship on background of real historical events (in 1820 there was a Civil War in Spanish America). Any kind of relationship. Some people don't understand me, some ppl don't see the 'chemistry' between the actors, but all the actors (and Guy Williams personally, if I'm not mistaken) said that there was magic on the set (I mean, when Britt Lomond was in the show).

I say this so that no one will say that I'm fascinated by Comandante's blue eyes xD The eyes are beautiful, of course, and I'm bisexual, but that's not the point :) Anyway, nevermind xDD

P.S. Still, good fanfiction about Enrique/someone or Diego/someone I read. But now I try not to do this, I'm writing my stories unforgivably slowly :(

[donfadrique]

Suddenly wrote two flashbacks about Diego (WDZ, AU) in Madrid. In the 1st one he is 16 years old and learning the candle trick, in the 2nd he is 19 and participates in the Spanish Revolution of 1820.

OMC, Diego's first swordsmanship teacher, is inspired by Tyrone Power's Zorro/Diego :)

[donfadrique]

I've been told about my OMC, Lieutenant Ramirez (Monastario's deputy, it's AU after 13ep01s), 'he is very interesting person. Only such a Spanish officer, it seems to me, will cope with this hot woman' (talking about Monastario's mistress, whom Ramirez fell in love with).

[donfadrique]

To be fainthearted, to be bold, possessed,

abrasive, tender, open, isolated,

spirited, dying, dead, invigorated,

loyal, treacherous, venturesome, repressed.

Not to find, without your lover, rest.

To seem happy, sad, haughty, understated,

emboldened, fugitive, exasperated,

satisfied, offended, doubt-obsessed.

To face away from disillusionment,

to swallow venom like liqueur, and quell

all thoughts of gain, embracing discontent;

to believe a heaven lies within a hell,

to give your soul to disillusionment;

that’s love, as all who’ve tasted know too well.

©By Félix Lope de Vega y Carpio (1562-1635)

©Translated by David Rosenthal

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Varios efectos del amor

Desmayarse, atreverse, estar furioso,

áspero, tierno, liberal, esquivo,

alentado, mortal, difunto, vivo,

leal, traidor, cobarde, animoso.

No hallar, fuera del bien, centro y reposo.

Mostrarse alegre, triste, humilde, altivo,

enojado, valiente, fugitivo,

satisfecho, ofendido, receloso.

Huir el rostro al claro desengaño,

beber veneno por licor suave,

olvidar el provecho, amar el daño;

creer que un cielo en un infierno cabe,

dar la vida y el alma a un desengaño;

esto es amor, quien lo probó lo sabe.

[donfadrique]

After the publication of the new chapter of "The Curse of Monterrey", the fanfic's rating for the "het" tag rapidly increased again. No, there is indeed a het in the chapter, and there was before, but the cover... the cover, I would say, is not heterosexual. However, as they say, "do you complain or boast"?🤣

[donfadrique]

My ongoing AU maxi-fanfic 'The Curse of Monterrey' once again took #1 in heterosexual category. Having escaped from arrest, Captain Monastario didn't waste time xD

[donfadrique]

From hate to love – one step©😁 A cool fanvid & an excellent song cover, I dare to advise it even to Tyrone Power haters.

And the idea of the chapter of 'Monterrey' was born spontaneously – I'm afraid I won't be able to cope, but I'll take the risk.

[donfadrique]

All of a sudden, my Zorro fanfic "The Curse of Monterrey" took 2nd place on Wattpad for the "bisexuality" genre. Previously, there was 1st place in "het". Strictly speaking, there is bisexuality initially, because same-sex UST + romance with a woman.

And on FF.net my "The Orange" was called "romance" in comments. I was surprised, there is bromance as maximum.

Actually, I started an exclusively heterosexual chapter, the POV of Monastario's mistress doña Antonia. I haven't been writing fiction on behalf of a woman for a very long time, it is difficult for me.

[donfadrique]

Ok, I'll try to ask you something else, hoping they haven't already asked you. XD

🤡 What's a line, scene, or exchange you've written that made you laugh?

The last time I laughed was when I was writing the beginning of the draft of the next chapter of my 'The Curse of Monterrey' xD And yes, it's the WDZ series' reference :-)

...'Don Diego, do you find me attractive?', Enrique asked, still chuckling.

'We seem to have already clarified this matter,' said Don Diego, whose voice seemed to Antonia tense. Sure!

'You might agree because of politeness', told Monastario.

'Madre de Dios! Every women in the capital city consider you a handsome man, Comandante, is it not enough for you?', de la Vega laughed nervously.

[donfadrique]

Last Line Tag

Tagged by @aragarna, thank you :-)

Drop the last line you wrote from your WIP.

“Are you really suggesting that we sit with our hands folded?”

“No, Diego. I suggest... 'pretend to be a fox.' For now.”

“You are not Riego,” there was a reproach in de la Vega’s voice.

“¡Mierda!” de Valda suddenly cursed, clearly touched to the quick. “I would like to be him! I, perhaps, admire him! But he risks laying down his head before he lives to see better times. Do you understand, querido mío?”

“I understand...” Diego answered quietly. "So, let's be foxes? Pour me some wine too, mi amigo.”

This is a dialogue from the ninth chapter of my fanfic "The Curse of Monterrey".

This is, of course, an excerpt and not the last line, but one sentence would be incomprehensible to you.

This is a flashback: young Diego (WDZ), a student at the University of Alcalá, is talking to his older friend, Sebastian de Valda (OMC based on Tyrone Power, in particular his Diego from the 1940 movie). Diego had been living with Sebastian and he had taught Diego everything Zorro could do (fencing, etc). And, of course, they are talking about the revolution in Spain and its leader General Riego :-)

Sebastian will be the second Zorro (during his visit to LA), and I was hesitant to write about it (I was afraid that I wouldn’t cope). This is probably why the idea of two Zorros was realized in "The Toledo Blade".

Tagging whoever wants to share pieces of their WIP.

[donfadrique]

For the fanfic ask meme: J, M, Z :-)

J: Write or describe an alternative ending to [insert fic].

Hehe, it was in the Zorro fandom for the first  time that I wrote an alternate ending to my fanfic :) A reader asked me 'what would happen if...'—and I wrote an alternate ending. But if the original fanfic, my main Zorro fanfic, 'The Curse of Monterrey', is supposed to be long (it's in progress), then 'The Whip' is short. In fact, this is an etude. I'm very happy when readers understand why I wrote this whipping scene without sex, why Zorro lost his temper—I always liked to read (and write) psychology genre (and liked passion, emotions). And in the original, this little fanfic is written in a rather poetic style, I usually don’t write like that now.

And I think this is not the first such experiment ;)

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

I'm not sure I've understood the question correctly, so please correct me if I'm saying something wrong. If I'm not mistaken, I should talk about my stories/drafts/ideas that I don't write now because I write Zorro fanfics.

So, I have 4 long unfinished stories, three original ones (the first one is partly inspired by the Hornblower TV series, but it mostly about our time and the time of William Shakespeare, the second tells about the events of the Napoleonic wars in France, Europe and the Russian Empire, and the third, in the genre of mystical realism, at the beginning is similar to  'Dangerous Summer' by Hemingway, that is, in its first part there is a lot about bullfighting, but this story goes back to the time of the plague pandemic in Italy in the 14th century, and I was inspired by the French fairy tale 'The Raven King' for my major character) and one AU-crossover (Mikhail Bulgakov's novel 'The Master and Margarita' about an alternative image of the devil + the film 'Van Helsing' with Hugh Jackman + angels, demons, gods, historical figures).

I also have plots for the story about America in 1931 (mafia, arms trade, love triangle), the post-apocalyptic one a bit in the style of Stephen King's 'Dark Tower' and the plot of AU fanfic about Vlad Dracula, in which all parts of the franchise, including Van Helsing (2004) are mixed.

Oh, and I also have an unfinished fantasy story that is a gift to a friend of mine, but I have not published it anywhere *facepalm*

Z: Major character death–do you ever write/read it? Is there a character whose death you can’t tolerate?

Yes, I definitely read about it and one of my major characters will die when I finish my original historical novel. (When I wrote short stories or fan stories in medium size, I always had only one story in progress and I always finished it. But when I began to write long stories... :)

For now I can't tolerate the death of Captain Monastario, perhaps :) And Diego's death too, of course.

[donfadrique]

I don't have time to answer questionnaires like @aragarna did recently (and I'm not as popular as she is, besides, I haven't found yet someone to edit my English translation yet, so you need to use Google Translate to read my stories), but I want to say a few words about my 'literary kitchen'. And, more specifically, about the WDZ fanfiction.

1) If I could, I'd make fanvids. Many, many fanvids (I do love pics/visual, as you remember). In particular, the idea of crack (humorous) vid on Elvis' song 'The Devil In Disguise' doesn't let me go, the finale of which would be this moment xD

2) I rarely write PWP (I mean 'porn without plot', and 'porn with plot' I write also rarely), but most of my stories started with bed scenes xD But the 1st thing I started writing on WDZ was 'The Curse of Monterrey', and for the 1st time in my life I'm writing in the UST (Unreleased Sexual Tension) genre. To be honest, I was counting on a female audience that loves this genre, which means that at least someone will read me x) Later, after watching the series, I was convinced that UST is the maximum in this story. (If you start the story from the scene with sex, it will turn out like in my 'El Día de los Enamorados' - Diego or both of them won't get along in character, and this is either a drama or a maxi-fanfic about the grinding of the characters and how they ran all over New Spain one after another with swords xD)

3) Heterosexual pairs? Firstly, a pairing of Diego + Monastario led me to the fandom (I didn’t even know what they both looked like then, but the antagonist with a guitar under Diego’s balcony attracted my attention, 'cos I'm curious, ironic and ex-guitarist xD) Secondly, perhaps my perception of characters is very much influenced by the perception of actors, and if Monastario (Lomond) gives me the impression that he prefers women (but, it is possible that he 'prefers variety') and is capable of Shakespearean feelings, so I'm writing het about the Captain and it's possible that I'll write more of it in future, then Diego (Williams) gives the impression that he is 'oh, family man, two children' ©'Queer As Folk', that is, with him 'it's clear that the matter is dark'. The moral boy, but temperamental one. I can imagine him in a het pair, but I feel uncomfortable for some reason. So it's best not to write het plot lines with him at all, although I'll have to do that in 'The Curse...' in future chapters.

I wonder if my perception of the characters will change over time.

P. S. The song =)

https://youtu.be/emjLXdsj6xA