anghraine | Entries tagged with fic talk: edge of darkness

I'm taking a brief break from my dissertation to ... uh, amuse myself by figuring out my readers' ranking of my genderbending fics on AO3.

Rules I'm applying: 1) I'm only including fic verses that are collectively at least 2000 words long because, well, I do have to go back to the diss, 2) verses comprised of multiple fics are ranked according to either the popularity of the series as a whole or the most popular individual fic (depending on which is higher; not combining them because there's a lot of overlap), 3) I'm considering both bookmarks and kudos in my judgment—we'll see if it makes a difference, and 4) I'm ignoring everything with less than 30 kudos and 5 bookmarks.

1. First Impressions | 215 bookmarks | 876 kudos | genderbent characters: Elizabeth Bennet (-> Henry Bennet) and Fitzwilliam Darcy (-> Catherine Darcy)

This is a genderswapped retelling of Pride and Prejudice set in its original period (not really a true "what if"). All stats are specifically for the original (completed) 36k fic. It individually beats out every possible stat for every other fic in the series as well as the series as a whole. (Note: The overall series is 44k words long.)

2. Lucy Skywalker series | 163 bookmarks | 406 kudos (The Jedi and the Sith Lord) | genderbent characters: Luke Skywalker (-> Lucy Skywalker)

This is a genderbent AU that mostly, but not completely, sticks to the rails of canon until the end of the ESB timeline, at which point it swerves into the "real" AU. The Jedi and the Sith Lord is the sequel to The Imperial Menace/the ESB plot, and the third fic in the main series, focusing on the consequences of Vader capturing Lucy. It's technically completed at 70k, but only in the sense that it explores what happens to/with Lucy and Vader until the nature of her captivity fundamentally changes, and everything after that will be a separate fic but hasn't been written yet. Although none of the individual fics have as many bookmarks as the series as a whole, my #2, #3, and #4 most bookmarked genderbent fics are all for the Lucyverse. (Note: the overall series is 129k words long.)

3. Love, Pride & Delicacy | 25 bookmarks | 163 kudos | genderbent characters: Fitzwilliam Darcy (-> Catherine Darcy, for convenience)

This is an actual Elizabeth/f!Darcy "what if" femslash AU rather than a retelling, though a slow one—it's still early in the overall story at 25k. It's also placed in the original P&P setting. There is no wider series.

4. The Lady of Gondor | 25 bookmarks | 119 kudos (we also are daughters of the great) | genderbent characters: Faramir (-> Fíriel)

This is a deeply self-indulgent Aragorn/f!Faramir/Éowyn AU, though it's not only a WIP but split into different vaguely related fics (some of which are also WIPs!) about some aspect of the verse in relation to Fíriel. I think the norms of Gondor and Middle-earth make the gender change particularly significant (in some ways more than any other verse), so actual plot and relationship changes tend to be the focus. The kudos are for the specific linked fic, which is a WIP at nearly 5k and the most Éowyn-centric of them. (Note: the overall series is about 9.5k words long.)

5. The Edge of Darkness | 17 bookmarks | 106 kudos | genderbent characters: Tarrlok (-> Taraka)

This is a genderbent f!Tarrlok AU, though told entirely from Noatak/Amon's perspective, and to some extent more about the impact on him than on Taraka herself (though she's extremely important to the fic). Even more than that, the linked fic is focused on the effect of the change on their family dynamics as children, until teenage Noatak leaves her behind per canon. The fic can look like a retelling à la First Impressions, since the basic plot points don't change, but the larger series is on course to swerve into full "what if" territory as well. However, like First Impressions, these stats are all for the completed opening fic (18k) and not the longer WIP series (32k), which is temporarily paused at the point where 37-year-old Taraka openly identifies Amon as Noatak. CW: child abuse.

6. Blood and Fire | 16 bookmarks | 67 kudos | genderbent characters: Tarrlok (-> Taraka) and Noatak (-> Nataka)

This is a dark(er) AU of The Edge of Darkness in which Noatak/Amon is also genderbent, and the bloodbending siblings never separated. Taraka fled home with Nataka back in the day, they only grew closer (...too close), and although Taraka still ended up on the Republic City council, her true loyalty is to Amon. She promptly turns Korra over when Amon shows up, which is where the fic begins; it's told entirely through Korra's attempts to navigate her circumstances as a prisoner of the Equalists. CW: incest, complicated F/F/F dubcon??? emotional bonding kink with occasional violence yet little overt romance and no sex. I am what I am. The stats are for the completed (though deliberately ambiguous) main fic, which is 10k, and not the side fics or the series as a whole (13k).

7. The Queer Rogue One AU | 12 bookmarks | 57 kudos (the words we've both fallen under) | genderbent characters: Cassian Andor (-> Cassia Andor)

This is, on one level, a relatively straightforward genderbent!Cassian AU that is more or less complete at 13k. The underlying concepts are: a) what if my male fave was a hot lesbian and my ship was f/f and b) what if we headcanon every single member of the main team as queer in some capacity :D and c) the SW universe is so blatantly patriarchal in the films that it's a particularly interesting setting for exploring the effects of the gender change on someone like Cassia, a female revolutionary and spy :D :D. It's a little challenging to properly evaluate where it sits wrt stats because I revised the scattered, vaguely connected scraps of the universe into a single fic through both sentence-level revisions and significant additions, but that revision is only on Tumblr (where the link currently goes to, sorry) and my GoogleDrive, not AO3. It's not even a series in my heart! But it is on AO3. Evaluate as you will, but when I finally get around to converting the AO3 version to the correct format this may or may not change. For now this is where it goes by AO3 stats.

8. Daughters of Númenor series | 5 bookmarks | 33 kudos (the voices of the sea) | genderbent characters: all Númenórean throwbacks in LOTR, but specifically Aragorn (-> Aranor), Faramir (-> Míriel), Denethor (-> Andreth), and Imrahil (-> Imraphel)

As might be guessed, this is an AU where every Númenórean throwback mentioned in LOTR is genderbent (in the backstory, this also includes Ivriniel and Finduilas of Dol Amroth, who become Túrin, Prince of Dol Amroth, and Gwindor of Dol Amroth). It's Aranor/Míriel and definitely focused on them despite the broader change (where Arwen is a non-factor for the OT3 in The Lady of Gondor because she went to Valinor with Celebrían, she actually is present in Middle-earth in this series, though unfortunately very straight). While Fíriel in The Lady of Gondor was never expected to be a warrior and gets on reasonably well with Denethor, this AU is more about the broader effects—so even though we rarely see f!Denethor/Andreth, it's significant that she was a trailblazer as a female warrior, loremaster, and ultimately the first female ruler of Gondor, inadvertently laying a foundation that Aranor could build on later (which would have horrified Andreth herself!). The specific fic with the most kudos in the series, linked above, is a nearly 2k fic about the effect of Faramir's canonical visions on Míriel. (Note: the overall series is currently 3k words long.)

Current Location: Washington
Current Music: Livin' On A Prayer (Bon Jovi)

I'm unsurprised but still pretty touched that Catherine Darcy crushed all opposition in my which-genderbent-character-of-mine-should-I-write Tumblr poll and that every single one got at least some votes. I suspected that nobody would vote for Taraka, say, but someone must have. And Lucy (f!Luke Skywalker) took second while Fíriel (f!Faramir) actually got into third, which also makes me happy.

Current Location: Washington
Current Music: You Give Love a Bad Name (Bon Jovi)

I got a wonderful long, thoughtful AO3 comment on one of my least popular genderbent fics, which I originally wrote pretty much solely for me because I knew very few other people would care. The comment got into what I was trying to do with gender and how it affects the character's family dynamics vs canon and so on—like, multiple paragraphs. It was amazing.

I do get comments like that now and then (not often these days, but periodically). But I almost never get them on fics like this—backstory for a genderbent AU version of a secondary antagonist in one of the most disliked seasons of a children's cartoon that's been over for years. Peak fandom experience!!!

Current Mood: happy
Current Location: Washington
Current Music: Chronicle of Heroes (Epic Score)

I had another burst of inspiration (aka I was taking breaks between grading exams), so here’s the next chapter:

“You led the fight against the Equalists. You know benders’ tactics, their hiding places. Any information you have could make your stay here more comfortable.”

Taraka’s eyes narrowed. She closed her hands around the bars of her cell.

“I’m not giving you anything, you monster!”

“You bloodbent the Avatar and kept her in a box,” he said. “You might not be the best judge of what’s generally considered monstrous.”

Current Location: Washington
Current Music: Ironheart (Two Steps From Hell)

professional-superhero replied to this post:

„Top-tier“ problematic fave indeed. Man good stuff! I love reading his pov

I said:

Oh, thanks! It’s a blast to write :D

Current Location: Washington
Current Music: This Is Gallifrey: Our Childhood, Our Home (Murray Gold)

I posted the next chapter of one more tomorrow!

“Should we take her out now, sir?” the Lieutenant asked.

“No.” The answer came without thought.

He’d given it before, though always accompanied by some excuse or another. She was so well-guarded that capturing her would entail the sacrifice of good men and women; it wasn’t worth it, not yet. Or it was too early to attack such a public figure. Or—well, there was always something.

But as her measures had become more and more aggressive, he knew he’d only delayed the inevitable. And however he justified himself, he understood what must happen. He had no business delaying it out of nothing more than a boy’s sentimentality. He knew that. Knew that anyone else’s sister would already have paid for her actions.

And so must Taraka.

Current Location: Washington
Current Music: The Calm Before (Elijah Bossenbroek)

I’m passing the time productively between leaving feedback on essays:

Amon took a deep breath.

“My followers and I will not rest until the entire city achieves equality, and once that goal is achieved, we will equalize the rest of the world.” It might well take the rest of his life, but so be it. Yakone had been wrong, so incredibly wrong; this was the purpose to his existence.

He clenched his fist, then raised it into the air.

“The revolution has begun!”

(I love him so much. Top-tier problematic fave tbh!)

Current Location: Washington
Current Music: Pulse of Life (Future World Music)

greenrainbownerd replied to this update of the Amon-centric f!Tarrlok fic:

Thank you. I love your fic. It’s so interesting.

I replied:

Oh, thank you very much! I’m so glad to hear when people like it :)

[2021: this is pretty much what I always say, but I am particularly gratified to hear it with genderbent fic, and especially this one.]

Current Location: Washington

An anon said:

I just binge read the Edge of Darkness series, and... Yes. Good. More, please!

I replied:

Thank you, anon! I know it’s of … sharply limited appeal [note from 8/2/21: it's a f!Tarrlok fic following Noatak/Amon], but I really enjoy writing it, so I’m very glad to hear that you like it! :)

Current Location: Washington
Current Music: The Final Countdown (Europe)

I updated the Amon fic for the third time in five days. >_>

“I’m Korra, your new Avatar,” she said. He didn’t care about her name, but he paid close attention to her voice: a young woman’s, rather strained and awkward.

Voices crackled in the background. Reporters, he imagined.

“Uh … yes,” said the Avatar, “I am definitely here to stay, but honestly, I—I don’t exactly have a plan yet. See, I’m still in training—”

Ah. He felt almost disappointed. She’d be an inconvenience to be sure, but probably not much of a challenge.

Probably.

Current Location: Washington
Current Music: Victory At All Costs (Epic Score)

An anon asked:

hey, are you ever going to write more for 'blood and fire'? i really enjoyed it! no pressure, of course, i was just wondering.

I replied:

Oh, thanks! It’s not one that I usually expect people to care for/want more of, so I’m doubly glad to hear it.

Hmm, it’s hard to say yes or no at the moment. It would have been no a month ago, but now it really depends. I recently re-read it and … while I meant it to sort of stand alone at the time, it doesn’t really conclude (Korra never even realizes Amon and Taraka are sisters!) and it certainly doesn’t get to the point of the art that inspired it.

It’s hard to write by the nature of its content, but I also really like the fundamental premise. So I might get back to it, esp now that I’m working on the main ’verse that it’s specifically an AU of (the edge of darkness). But I can’t say for sure.

(This is rambling, but ... I'm afraid I can't be clearer than that! That one's probably my most #problematic fic, so to me it's got "handle with care" stamped all over it. I do still like it anyway, though.)

Current Location: Washington
Current Music: Jolene (Dolly parton)

The Amon backstory fic has finally almost gotten to B1:

He didn’t know if it would work. Like Hiroshi, he’d have to experiment. He almost laughed at the idea of Hiroshi’s face if he heard his efforts compared to bending. But it was a necessary evil in this case.

Amon returned to his fights with the triads, this time with rather different intentions.

He needed live subjects.

(This is also the f!Tarrlok fic, but moved from "f!Tarrlok and young Noatak from Noatak's POV" to straight-up Amon backstory last chapter. And I think this is where all of my bloodbender feelings are going. Obviously, it has ... limited appeal, but some people are still reading, and it's fun, so :D)

Current Location: Washington
Current Music: Hellfire (Patrick Page)