Fuck King Zenoheld, all my homies HATE King Zenoheld!

From @violet-gleam

What was your favourite scene to write? And was there any chapter you procrastinated on? The fun thing about getting this question from more than one person is that I get to choose a different scene for every question (because I have multiple favorite scenes to write and it's hard to choose). One of my favorite earliest scenes to write was the dinner scene with Hydron and Dan in chapter 4. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife hahaha - but also I was kicking my feet and giggling while writing Hydron trying to flirt. He's never had genuine crush-y feelings for someone at this point and what little he does know about romance comes from books. He's mentally racing through every diplomacy lesson he's ever had trying to find common ground with Dan and Dan's just:

Dan: You thought this was a date??? Did you forget about all the crimes you did and the reasons I have to not like you??? On the other hand, the chapter that was teeth-grindingly difficult to write was chapter 23. I don't know what it was but I felt like I was slamming my head into my keyboard every time I looked at this chapter for weeks until it was finally written. I think it was because I wanted to jump straight to the climax of Dan and Shun rescuing Hydron from Zenoheld and the visions (heh) that were plaguing me about that, but b/c I write very chronologically, my brain wouldn't let me skip the glue. Chapter 23 is a glue chapter. (The chapter title also went through an inordinate number of song changes).

Oh also forgot about it in my first ask. But what was the inspiration behind vestal biology/lore in DitG? My initial inspiration was the Connection series by LiterallyThePresident - I thought it was cool that they made an effort to make the Vestals unique from humans, and I wanted to do my own spin on the differences between humans, Vestals, Gundalians and Neathians. I think the only detail I kept the same about my version of the Vestals was that they can photosynthesize and that they don't dream. The Oracle gene (which gives Hydron and his mother psychic powers) was originally inspired by this post by @eseli, though I came up with my own lore as I developed it. Overall I just wanted to flesh out worldbuilding that was missing in the anime, which I also did by taking little bits from the anime and running with them. Like, Mira's bike is pretty cool - maybe bike racing is a popular sport on Vestal! There's a scene of a rave that's interrupted by Spectra's broadcast to Vestal - what if raves are the main party scene on Vestal? And Spectra and Ace both wear stylized masks - maybe those aren't just for anonymity in Bakugan battles, but also at the club if you're rich? What about the Vexos backstory? Can we get a little more on them, please?

And what was the reason/origin for small cosmetic changes in other characters? Like I noticed that also in your art that you give Dan freckles

Mostly just headcanons! My headcanon for Dan is that he comes from a mixed Japanese / Jewish / Italian family, and he's shown to be quite active in the anime, so I think during the summer he actually tans quite a bit. But when he isn't tan (and even when he is) - freckles! Hydron's braids were more of a thematic wardrobe change and a way of showing that time passed in the fic. Hydron strikes me as a person whose appearance was very strictly regulated by his father and by society. When he started recognizing his trauma and abuse as trauma and abuse, he started letting his hair grow out longer than Zenoheld would allow, but still hid it. Then, he stopped hiding it when both society and Zenoheld no longer cared about appearances - hence the braids.

Shun. . .didn't really get a wardrobe change. Though if I ever get the urge to edit DitG a bit, I might give him back his sexy ponytail. From @natsuki-akio

Hiya! Love reading Devil in the Garden. Legit got me back into reading Bakugan fanfics.

AAAAAAAAAAAA that makes me happy to hear!!!!!!

Here's my questions: What part of the story did you enjoy writing the most? My next favorite part of the story to write was chapter 8. Chapter 8 is where it all falls apart for Hydron, and where he also takes the first step to undoing the harm he caused by kidnapping Dan in the first place (and also I guess the Bakugan). The entire chapter from Hydron's POV is a paradigm shift for him, where he realizes that everything he's ever believed has been a lie except that Dan was kind to him when he had every reason not to be. For Dan, it's the chapter where he subconsciously acknowledges that he has feelings more complicated than friendship for Hydron. For Shun, it's the chapter where his perception of Hydron is challenged by Dan's effect on Hydron's morals/behavior, and again by speaking to Hydron himself. And it's all wrapped up in the chaos of the New Vestroia arc finale and raaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!! It was a perfect storm!! A perfect and beautiful storm!!! Complete with the emotional support plot-relevant MP3 player!!!! And what inspired you to start shipping Dan/Shun/Hydron together? cus like I hadn't even thought about them as a ship until you opened my mind to it and now I'm obsessed. I talked about how I ended up shipping Dan/Shun/Hydron in this post but TLDR: Dan/Shun/Hydron was not the original plan. Dan/Hydron was supposed to be one-sided, and Dan/Shun was endgame. But then you see, the characters had chemistry and I'm a chronic multishipper baby. Dan has two hands and love in his heart <3 and Shun and Hydron can trauma bond.

Thanks for the delicious fic <3

Thank youuuuu <3 From Anon: Anything that changed drastically in the writing process?

God, everything from dialogue to pacing to headcanons to relationships (see above). There were bits I wanted to write that just didn't work when I tried - like comparing Hydron and his parents to the Skywalkers of Star Wars fame (Zenoheld is Darth Vader and the Alternative is the Death Star), Dan and Shun having a play-argument about Death Star vs Death Egg and which was a more accurate comparison to the Alternative, the S1 girls + Mira throwing Hydron a 'Welcome to Earth' party, Dan crashing out on Spectra for wanting to battle while Hydron was in danger, Zenoheld beseeching the Gundalians for assistance to kill the Resistance (hey that rhymed). I also did have to make some post-mortem edits, specifically chapter 3 and the song Dan sings in the phone recording that gives Hydron a gay crisis. Also, I originally planned to stay closer to the anime episode events, and then I decided that sucked and I would rather just cut out half of the Alternative arc. So no samurai Volt vs ninja Shun fight, no Marucho vs Shadow and Hydron, no stupid Spectra shenanigans. Instead : ) Hydron's first date : ) Hydron's first. . .kiss? : Oc From @mycomni

Questions for AMA:

What are major or minor inspirations for DitG?

@eseli's Servant Dan AU & Hydron Gehabich AU's both feature Dan/Hydron on both ends of the yikes - wholesome spectrum and got me wise to the potential for the ship in general. I talked about some other inspirations above. Also, if it wasn't obvious by the playlist and the songfic tag and the - you get it - music!! Specifically the hypochondriac album by brakence, as well as POSTTEENANGST :: Ryan Hall, please put me in a medically induced coma :: carolesdaughter, Retrovision :: Honey Revenge, and Malcolm Todd :: Malcolm Todd. So many scenes were written while listening to songs from these albums or were directly inspired by them.

Did you have any scenes in mind before writing anything? Like something that was formed even before you figured out how you're getting there?

The dinner scene between Dan and Hydron, the entirety of chapter 8, Shun's love confession to Dan, Hydron getting tortured, Shun and Hydron's impromptu first date that Dan conveniently crashed, Hydron getting rescued by Dan and Shun, the three of them falling asleep and cuddling together.

Conversely, was there something you planned that got cut before final draft?

Haha. You think. I write drafts. . . .just kidding XD I mean, I really don't write drafts. I edit a little before I post sometimes, but for the most part what I write in my google docs is what goes onto AO3. That being said. . .I did want to write Alice & Masquerade kicking Shadow's ass, but it just didn't fit. I'll just have to write a separate Alice & Masquerade centric fic instead.

Did you write more or less than you expected for this fic?

Wayyyy more. I don't usually pay attention to word count except in the loosest does-this-feel-good-for-the-chapter/story kind of sense, but by the time I got around to. . .actually posting the fic on AO3? I was like, woah, this is way longer than I was expecting it to be. Which was really exciting! I haven't hit this level of fic writing since high school (uhh 9 years ago damn) and I never wrote this much in high school.

Also, is this one the only one for now, or can we expect to see these disastrous boys being cute and mushy in another fic?

I have lots of cute and mushy ideas for oneshot fics in the Devil in the Garden AU (I want to write them going on dates! and Hydron learning the OG battle rules!) and I also have a sequel idea getting pushed through the blender of my brain. And also like four other AUs. Five. Maybe.

And slightly unrelated to DitG but is related to your writing, any other fics planned? Here's a short list: Ship of Theseus - AU where Hydron is trapped in a time loop after he dies at the end of NV, maybe will feature Ace/Dan/Shun/Hydron??? Soft Hearts Need Protection (Knightposting) - fantasy medieval AU that I'm writing largely for smut reasons, featuring Prince Hydron and his sworn Knights, Dan and Shun, and also a mystery figure from Hydron's past >: 3c flower languages (not posted yet) - Ace/Hydron AU where Ace was betrothed to Hydron before he ran away from home; Ace saves Hydron at the end of NV and they become roommates (oh my god they were roommates) and they must learn to love coexist Ace/Dan/Shun/Hydron soulmates AU where you see in black and white until you meet your soulmate but if you have multiple soulmates you only get some colors back until you meet them all. They're adults for smut reasons. And also given the plot of New Vestroia the soulmates thing causes more problems than it solves.

New Vestroia AU where Hydron's mother escapes with him and raises him on Neathia, and he's a little weird b/c his stepmom and sisters were/are birdfish people and also he has psychic powers but also he's here! to help the Resistance! and fall in love(?) Alice/Runo/Masquerade centric version of Bakugan Battle Brawlers (season 1)

Aforementioned Devil in the Garden sequel that will have MaruRen!!!!

Fic trade w/ @ratiorxtio where we each write our version of Shun failing his Doom Dimension trial and Dan going to get him : )

And finally: when you wrote the angst did you at least kiss the brick before you threw it /joking That boy better get all the love in the future

I did in fact kiss my knuckles before I punched you all in the face, yes. You're welcome : ) From Anon:

Will there be any additional content to your fic?

Like extra chapters, comics etc?

See above - I want to write date fics, asides, missing scenes, etc. Also, I still want to draw a cover for DitG, and I was thinking about doing some art based on the chapter titles/songs. Or maybe just scenes I really liked. . .like Hydron's dream after he was tortured. . . (but lowkey if anyone (besides me) drew scenes from my fic I would actually lose my mind. . .i would be inconsolable (affectionate)) From @coldwatermelon78

Idk if I'm like super duper late for the Devil in the Garden ask game and I've only made it to chapter 11 but I still wanted to ask a few fun questions: (You were just in time lol)

- If you had *THE* song for Dan x Hydron x Shun, which one would it be?

There's a reason it's the last song in the Devil in the Garden playlist. - Between Skyress and Ingram, who's your preferred Guardian Bakugan for Shun? I really like them both, but if I had to choose, it would be Skyress.

- Is Dan also good at brawling Ventus, like how Shun was able to brawl Pyrus when storming Gamma City?

Well. . .strategy wise? I think he could pull off a win, if he had to. He is shown battling with Hawktor, Shun's Ventus Bakugan in Gundalian Invaders, but by the time we get to Gundalian Invaders any sense of a battle system is completely thrown out the window in favor of the political/war drama and the Bakugan are mostly there to look cool. S1 Dan would not understand and/or like the Ventus moveset for sure - too evasive for him. S1 Dan battles with Pokemon strats - that's why he's so aware of the lack of strategy in S2's battle system, he has experience "buffing" the HP stat to zero. XD