#dirtypuzzle

Oh gosh, so many questions! Here we go!

1. What fic of yours would you recommend to someone who had never read any of your work? (In other words, what do you think is the best introduction to your fics?)

I think the best introduction is going to be Warpath, tbh - it's got that good good whump that I love, while being less experimental and also not The Very First Thing I Wrote After Coming Back To Writing. Y'know?

17. What highly specific AU do you want to read or write even though you might be the only person to appreciate it?

I don't really have anything highly specific, BUT. I want to give my blorbos the kind of all-consuming burnout I'm currently dealing with. All of them. Make them miserable. And then force them to take some time off to recover like I want to take IRL.

31. What’s your ideal fic length to write?

I'm a writer of extremes - I either want to write tight one-shots with no spare words, OR I want to write 20-50k. I think I'm at my best when I'm writing the tight one-shots, but I enjoy luxuriating in the longer ones.

41. Link a fic that made you think, “Wow, I want to write like that.”

/eyes you

/rolls up sleeves

OH YOU WANNA FIGHT ABOUT WHICH OF US HAS MORE TO CITE, DO YA, DO YA

Okay, so, that’s something that you should talk to someone about, because that’s absolutely wrong, and he’s in conflict with the OED and Merriam-Webster, ffs. Do you have a campus ombudsman, or someone you can go to for these kinds of conflicts? Can you talk to someone in the department who outranks him?

My mom handled a lot of stuff like this before she retired, because she was a department head. That kind of conflict, there’s often someone whose specific job there is to help you sort through it, but if you don’t have someone like that, talking to the department head is a good idea. You shouldn’t need to bring sources, but bringing them shows that you come with facts on your side, and that you’ve done your research, which usually goes in your favor.

Thank you to @dirtypuzzle for the tag! This was a genuinely amusing one to think about. Also, I JUST tried to find you last night, only to realize you changed your username. Perfect timing!

“Then Perish”: Medea. She’s the Goddess of Death, did you expect anything else? She understands the need for sacrifice, as do her soldiers. Half the kingdom says this to her every day. But death is not as grievous a thing in Al-Hasan as it is in other cultures. To die a glorious death serving your goddess? That’s the best way to go, and Medea’s all too happy to help you get you there.

“You Will”: Oeden. He’s literally a prophet, you guys - he could actually foresee you dying for him. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not happy about it. But defying fate hasn’t exactly gone well for him thus far.

“Please Don’t”: Solomon, ever the paternal figure, just wants all of his children to stop fighting and get along. In truth, he’s fought in wars before, seen plenty of men lay down their lives for him. He understands the cost, but he no longer sees the point in the price tag. 

“Cool”: Farukh and Carmila. Farukh would probably give you a high five and welcome you to the club of misfits that also swore their probably-overager promises of fealty to him. Carmila’s much more cold about it. She sees it as an asset - someone to trade, to barter, to expend if need be. You’re a resource now. But this would change dramatically if her brother, Cesar, or her lover, Emerico, said this to her. She would never let them die for her.

“I’d Die for Your First”: Kasumi and Royan. Kasumi’s occupation entails that she lay down her life for her mother, the Exalt, if need be. Think like the Secret Service, but in a fantasy world...with ninjas. If her mother would ever say this to her (unlikely), she would automatically respond with this. Royan? Oh no, he’s spurred almost entirely by the innately competitive nature of the statement. While not exactly the same as the prompt requires, he would almost immediately scream back “NOT IF I DIE FOR YOU FIRST!” and then realize the implications of his statement about three minutes too late.