2) I'm really just so glad someone put this idea to words. Also really cool that it's an AU you'd already been thinking about even before getting the prompt. I saw where you said you wanted to rework what you originally submitted and tbh I'm a little on the edge of my seat wondering what's gonna be next (this is in no way me trying to pressure you to write more of it, just to show my enthusiasm). Just whatever you feel you need to do to get the story to where you want it. :D (2/5)
The film & the original story by Angela Carter just really stuck with me and I guess hunger being somewhat synonymous with sexual awakening, I needed to see it Everlarked. Part of it was also that, much as I enjoyed the film, I was a bit bummed out Rosaleen didnāt meet her wolfman until towards the very end and I thought, okay which of my OTPs are the best candidate for a version where theyāre actually together for more of the story?? And it was like K&P flashed me their proverbial (3/5)
bat signal I guess lol. Also I found it really interesting how you incorporated the death of the sister with giving Prim a twin. Iām kinda curious to know more about Ms. Third Everdeen Sister Amaryllis. As well as it being an arranged marriage where Katniss takes Primās place to be engaged to her sweet baker boi. The tea scene when Peeta takes a drink to show his mom itās not poisoned is kinda my fave so far haha. Overall, just needed to shower some love on this since it was my prompt and (4/5)
that youāre so graciously committed to putting forth the best version of the story you derived from it. Also bc itās just so long overdueā¦3 yearsā¦once again I apologize for that bc I really dropped the ball on that one. Anyways, Iāll stop crowding your inbox with this long-windedness now. ^_^; (5/5)
*************************
Hey there @codenamesailordarillium The first of these never showed up. Not sure if you just never got the chance to send it or if tumblr is still being a message munching monster. I think Iāve got a decent idea of what was in the first part, although my brain did come up with a couple options. Sorry if this answer is way more than you were expecting since Iām gonna try to address a couple options.
Anyways, I wanted to go ahead and answer what I did receive rather than keep you waiting because I was actually really stunned to receive it. You are of course, in no way obligated to send messages like this to a writer but I am beyond thrilled that you did. I donāt care how late you think it is, it isnāt. One of the really weird things about writing fanfic, at least in my mind, is that when an Anon comes to my inbox with a prompt or a request, I operate on the assumption that they already like my writing and my style, and my usual rating levels, trust me with the content, etc. So I donāt really feel guilty if I deviate from the prompt or donāt deliver exactly what they had in mind, as long as I slap the warning labels on it. Likeā¦you knew the risks coming into my box asking for fic so here ya go! This is what I came up with.Ā
When itās an anonymous prompt through something like @everlarkficexchange, I always feel a lot more anxiety about filling a prompt from an anon. This person has put out a prompt to literally dozens of writers and they may very well be someone who avoids my writing or doesnāt like it, because letās face it, not everyone is always going to adore your (meaning mine in this case) writing. Iāve taken quite a few anonymous prompts through efe and Iāve always, always wondered if anon ever read it and liked it. You are literally the first one to come and say āHey that was my prompt!ā so this is newā¦ and Iām still fangirling a little bit, especially since itās about one of my much older efe fics. When was that? 2017? Man alive time does fly.
So, Iām not sure what prompted your visit to my inbox, whether it was my note on my latest efe piece, Maybe Tomorrow, or if you were actually the anon who sent that prompt in too, or if itās me suddenly posting older stuff to AO3 because Iād been holding on to it hoping to expand but did not, EDIT: or if itās because one of the plot points of the story is a pandemic (yikes even I forgot about that bit until i just scanned over the first chapter again). Either way, let me just go ahead and say that In the Waiting Dark is most definitely not abandoned. Itās on my list of fics I absolutely want to finish, mainly because as youāve pointed out my saying, Iāve pretty much wanted to write an Everlark Red Riding Hood AU for ages, since about the time I discovered AU was actually a thing!
Iām actually really stoked that you sent all of this to me and it makes me feel like even though Iāve not been actively working on it lately, I had the right ideas in my head to sort of meet what you were hoping to see. Yes! for the whole movie being a metaphor for sexual awakening. Itās one of the things that drew me in so completely. And the more I dug around in versions of Red Riding Hood, the more I realized that was literally the roots of the tale. āTo see the wolfā used to be an expression for kissing your virginity farewell, so to speak. And same here, the whole metaphor SC uses with āhungerā for sexual desire had me seeing all kinds of fantastic connections.Ā
Although, I do feel the need to say that itāll probably take a slightly different path than Rosaleen and her wolfman do. Part of that is definitely the fact that like you, it was kind of sad to me that they only got the last maybe twenty minutes or so of the movie together. Part of it is the influence of other RRH tales.
I basically stopped working on it because I got to a point where I felt like I was being too ambitious with it? It was falling prey to a really bad case of āand then this!ā So I took a step back from it. Then I started to realize just how many Everlark fics are out there involving wolves of some kind. Seriously. Thereās a ton of them. And I myself fell prey to a case of āHow do I make this mine?ā My writing doesnāt exist well in a vacuum, I know that. It can easily be influenced by exterior factors. Iāve unfortunately been assiduously avoiding reading any kind of Everlark wolf au for almost three years now for that exact reason. :( Iām slightly terrified that in waiting this long, when I do finally post it, Iāll be alienating or angering a lot of other Everlark writers by inadvertently writing something similar to what theyāve already produced.
Weirdly enough, Iāve been kind of itching to get back to In the Waiting Dark, out of all my long neglected fics to snare my attention right now, of course itās that one, lol. Maybe itās because it is yet again another round of @everlarkficexchange and Waiting Dark is one of my outstanding prompts from previous years. The self-imposed guilt trips are in full force, lol.
Thatās not to say that I feel pressured by your message. Iām actually kind of tickled by it. Moreover, the story will probably look a little different when I finally get around to actively posting it. Things that will not change are the core metaphor; the use of the stories, fables, and dreams (similar to what you see in the movie); the weirdly creepy/darkish vibe to parts of it juxtaposed with a more modern pastoral take on fairy tales; and the cast obvs. There are reasons for Prim having a twin in this AU, but weāll get to that. The arranged marriage part may change, because I feel like Iāve written so many arranged marriage Everlark stories. Then againā¦the scene that you mentioned with Peeta drinking the tea to show his mother that it wasnāt poisoned is definitely one of my favorite scenes so far. If nothing else, I have got to find a way to keep that in the final product.Ā
And now Iām the one who has wandered into long winded-ness. Thank you again for taking the time to send this to me!
Ā <3 kdnfb
