#ffwf answer

happy ffwf peaches! and OOF that's a good question

unfortunately, i do not have an FMAB fic ideas because i haven't even finished watching the anime or reading the manga 🥲 altho weirdly enough, recently i was randomly feeling ed x winry for some reason. idk why. SO im gonna answer the second half of the question

i'll be honest... i've fallen off pretty hard from reading fanfic 😅 most of my time had been dedicated to playing my video games. lol. but one specific fun idea to write would be something @chocomd actually brought up in a recent ask game.

for the game, she sent me an ask wondering if i would write any of my favorite characters going insane. and i'll be honest, i don't really have any favorites so far HAHAHA. but there is one character from Wuthering Waves, one of my video games, that i think would actually be really, really easy to write as going insane. it has a lot to do with the setting (post-apocalyptic world), a lot with a certain... characteristic of said world (rain that flows upwards in reverse and causes hallucinations of past events; the stronger the emotional connection is to an area, the more intense the hallucinations), and a lot to do with the background of said character (a young general who was forced into the role after his predecessor passed during a battle and watched countless soldiers under his command die). also the toll of a bell. because of course.

i played through this character's story quest, and imma be honest... there were a lot of elements in there that could be horror. so knowing all this, it's very, very, very easy for me to imagine this character going insane had he not had the strong will we see in-game. or mayhaps he is on the brink of insanity, and we just can't see it.

happy ffwf choco!! it's def been too long since i've done one of these

in terms of past fics i've written, i remember that whenever @itsmoonpeaches sent me a writing prompt i could be sure that it'll push me out of my comfort zone hahaha. the most prominent one i can think of is leaves let go (to fall from the vine), in which iroh meets lu ten in the spirit world and learns to let go of his grief. the other one i can think of is these sleepless nights we spend (waiting to come home), which is the "hakoda adopts aang" fic where the two of them learn to live with their grief. these two were difficult cuz it's hard to write old men lol

(ironically those might be some of my better fics, so ty peaches... i guess...)

now in terms of fics recently written, i would say i was pushed out of my comfort zone structurally! my most recent fic bleeding heart was written for Punishing: Gray Raven, a visual novel-style video game about a self-insert protagonist who fights in a post-apocalyptic world to take back Earth.

this was def different from what i've usually written, because 1. the story is told through 2nd person POV to emulate the video game's visual novel structure, and 2. it was kinda like a self-insert despite being moreso a character study for one of the main characters of the game, esp cuz you can see the interactions as romantic. so while this fic is filled with my usual trademark angst, it was a different structure than what i'm used to

heyo choco! amazing question!

i think right now the fanfic idea im most excited to write is my video game fix-it fic for wuthering waves! i was genuinely so upset seeing how the beta version of the story went versus the actual story, as well as how the characters got absolutely butchered from the beta to the version we have now. it just sucks, seeing characters that actually feel like people with their own motivations, flaws, doubts, etc. turn into flat, one-dimensional tropes that's just there for fanservice and falling head over heels for the mc, and the story to go from an intriguing worldbuilding lore and fascinating stylistic choices to an isekai harem story. like WHY 😭😭😭

oh yeah happy ffwf

someone nearly dies and someone else sobs while it happens 😌

happy ffwf hotwife! and oof, good question.

generally any portrayal about Aang being "childish" or "immature." because... he's not. he's fun-loving and carefree, yes, but certainly not childish or immature. and it bugs me when certain parts of fandom try to push that characterization onto him, usually to justify why their preferred ship works better than their "rival" ship.

you know how i write Aang, all the explorations of his grief and his love for the Air Nomads and whatnot. but the thing is, i don't think i'm even doing it consciously. i'm not doing it out of spite for fandom, nor am i doing it to spite certain ship wars. i'm doing it because that's the canonical portrayal of Aang. at this point, it's very much all intuition; i don't even have to think too deeply about how he's characterized, i just... write.

okay, but here's also another character whose portrayal in fandom has made me want to tear my hair out: Zuko. when you look at him objectively, he is a good character, and the strength in his arc lies in how he slowly learns his role in the overarching Fire Nation imperialism and learning how wrong his nation was. and realistically, that's not something you unlearn overnight, especially when you include all the racism the Fire Nation surely pushed onto its people about the nations they're conquering, from the Water Tribe "peasants" to the "Air Temple preschool" comments and no i am still not over that. like Zuko is a good character but he has a LOT to (un)learn.

BUT. for some reason, certain parts of fandom think that Zuko apologizing is enough to compensate for the damage he (and his nation as a whole) has done to the other three nations. you can apologize all you want, but in the end, the Air Nomads are still gone, the Water Tribes are still colonized, and the Earth Kingdom is still suffering. and even forgiveness from the people who were affected by the war isn't going to rebuild it all and return it back to the way it was before. (i also resent the idea that Zuko is owed forgiveness by the Gaang because he apologized but that's another rant for another time)

i've only really written two, three fics that feature Zuko prominently, but they all carry the theme of him reconciling with his own role in the imperialism of the Fire Nation and his role in harming the Gaang, his new family. heck, even my platonic Zukaang fic that's an AU involves him dealing with the fallout of his own actions. and it's always Aang, the one who arguably has the most reason to hate Zuko, who helps Zuko learn to forgive himself and to heal. and i'm planning on writing a Zuko-centric fic sometime in the future that will serve partly as a spinoff to @chocomd's To Owe an Ostrich Horse and explores him continually learning how the Fire Nation's imperialism affected the people from the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom, and even to some extent his own people.

ironically enough, writing Zuko this way has helped soften my own bias against him. i'm not usually a fan of Zuko-centric fics, due to the horrible takes about him, but writing those fics has helped me see that he really is a good character, he's just done dirty by fandom as well.

Tell us more about your Kataang forbidden lovers AU wip! What makes this wip different from fics with a similar premise? What about this wip is very YOU (or why is this a wip a story written by you)? And tell us anything else you want to talk about for this wip!

HAHAHAHA I KNEW YOU WOULD SEND THIS AS YOUR FFWF ASK HAHAHAHAHA

*ahem* anyways.

so as most of you probably know already, my next upcoming fic idea is a kataang forbidden lovers au. there are a few (and far in-between) drabbles and even a few fics that have the forbidden lovers premise, but almost none of them have the exact premise i'm working with. i've mentioned that the inspiration for this fic, however, is very similar to @itsmoonpeaches's The Air Meets the Trees, in that it's about the Avatar and the perception of society on how the godhood of the Avatar cannot be balanced with the humanity of the Avatar; it must be one or the other. i rarely (if ever) see anyone talk about the duality of the Avatar in fic. i think it makes for a very intriguing concept to explore, however, and it will serve as the baseline for why kataang can't get together... even though it's not really the focus, per se, of the fic

oh, this fic you can definitely tell it's a wip by me, considering how... someone gets injured. i have a track record. i will not say more.

in all seriousness, i think another aspect of it is that i tend to try and weave in a few themes here and there that are embedded in the story. it's not really an in-your-face kind of thing, but if you look for it, it's there. not to mention the romantic aspect of it. i ship kataang, but i'm not really a shipper, per se; i try to write the romance as though it's the bedrock of the story, not the forefront. and even though it's definitely a little more... obvious in this story than i usually write it, i never try to write it overly romantically. they exist in the story and just so happen to be in love. that's really all there is to it.

now, things i want to talk about for this wip... well. it's long. really long. like oneshot-turned-to-two-chapters-turned-to-three-turned-to-five-maybe-even-six long. i never intended for it to get this out of hand, but. here we are.

i am excited to release it, though. it's the first genuine kataang idea i've had in a long, long time, and i'm excited to be back and writing for them!

now i know you want a snippet 😌 so here it is:

In the pale moonlight that alighted upon his face, Katara could see his face turn beet-red, redder than she had ever seen it before, and she had to stifle a laugh as he was the one to bashfully duck his head down this time, the blush creeping to his ears.

But he clearly wanted to have the last laugh, because he glanced up at her with a smile that somehow managed to be both sly and shy. “Well, if that’s the case…” His lips quirked. “Is he handsome?”

Katara couldn’t help but bark out a laugh, swatting at his shoulder. “Aang!” she chided, hoping the darkness could cover the heat flaring in her face.

Aang laughed, melodic and light and free, and all at once the premise of a faux-serious conversation lifted; Katara could hardly believe how utterly ridiculous this all was. “C’mon, you had all those nice things to say about your friend!” Aang protested. He leaned forward conspiratorially, smirking mischievously with a cocked eyebrow. “He must be at least a little good-looking.”

She shoved at him as he burst out laughing at his own antics, giggling herself. “Okay, okay!” When their laughing fits subsided, Katara suddenly found the grass between them very interesting. “You know what?” she said with faux thoughtfulness. “He is good-looking. Very good-looking.” She peered up at him through her lashes. “But if I told him that to his face, his ego would never come down from that.”

so ig i'll be talking a bit about my very very niche AU that superimposes the lore of another media onto atla lol ty hotwife for this opportunity luv u 💖

so my most recent fic that i posted just yesterday and is sitting at 19.2k words (help me 🥲) is The Darkened Path, which is the prequel to a fic i wrote one and a half to two years ago, The Dishonored Blade. these two fics are set in an AU that combines the ATLA worldbuilding and characters with the lore of two League of Legends characters. in particular, it centers around Aang and Zuko and deals with themes of regret, shame, guilt, and forgiveness. while "The Dishonored Blade" focuses on Zuko and how he grapples with his guilt over killing Aang, "The Darkened Path" focuses on Aang, his journey through the Spirit World, and how he manages to come back to life.

the number one "inspiration" (nothing short of copying lololol) for the plot of this fic was this animated cinematic, similar to how TDB was derived from another animation. however, the main reason why i was finally motivated enough to write this prequel was because @chocomd read TDB and really enjoyed it. i’ve always wanted to write the prequel for a while now, but then life and other ideas pushed their way to the forefront so i put it on the backburner. not to mention, since this au is really only for me, i was never expecting a lot of engagement on these fics anyways; i’m even surprised i managed to accrue 26 kudos on the first fic. so to see someone enjoy something that i enjoyed as well really helped in terms of motivation and inspiration 🥺

as for my favorite line, i’ll have to add a paragraph preceding it for context:

At some point, he realized, firm arms that could only belong to Sokka had wrapped around him, but this time, it was not to restrain him. This time, it was to hold him. To let him fall apart and break to pieces before he inevitably had to put himself back together. Because that was what the war had made of them.

i think i just really enjoy that last line because in addition to the shameless self-indulgence, it really hits home the stakes of war. because when you’re fighting in a war, there’s no time to grieve properly---you can only let yourself mourn for a brief moment before you had to shake it off and get the job done. i just think that’s really tragic, and that last line really hammers down on that thought.

finally, strengths this piece showcases... i think this fic really shows how i can weave in various themes into something that can be very action-packed and plot-heavy and self-indulgent. in addition, i also think that it shows my ability to be able to write various relationships with different characters, since there are flashbacks that feature Aang’s relationship with Sokka, Toph, Katara, and Zuko individually. also fight scenes, because i really enjoyed writing the fight scenes here lol.

anyways i really did enjoy writing this fic, and while i’m not expecting much in terms of engagement, it’s still thrilling to see a universe i created from my mind have two fics already existing and out there.

happy ffws on the last saturday of 2022 haha! and daaaaangggg, choco, that's a great question!

i think one thing i enjoyed most about writing fanfic this year is expanding my array of fics and delving deep into intropsection and other various themes. i mean, i most definitely had a few fics from last year that were introspection, but this year i had waaayyyy more of these fics, most of which are based upon Aang's grief of the Air Nomads because for some reason that's my favorite thing to explore (lol...). but i also began exploring more niche themes that i don't think many people in the atla fandom tend to explore, such as Katara's changing perception of Aang as the avatar (gods don't bleed (except you do)) and Zuko's guilt on his role in the Fire Nation's imperialism (dreamless dreams).

this year, i also learned that i enjoy writing other relationships that aren't Kataang! i really did enjoy writing Iroh's and Lu Ten's relationship in leaves let go (to fall from the vine) and Hakoda's and Aang's potential father-son relationship in these sleepless nights we spend (waiting to come home). even in my current in-the-works multichap see the sky and sea (and remember me), i love writing Sokka's and Katara's sibling relationship just as much as the Kataang. these things are definitely something i enjoyed the most when writing these fics this year, and i'm waiting to see what next year will bring!

now, three fics i read this year... hmmm....

Monarch by @itsmoonpeaches. it's a sin to say i've only read this amazing fic this year (and yes it's still a Work-In-Progress) but OML this is so good!! the court intrigue, the characterization of Azulon, the various nefarious motives everyone has, the backstabbing... ugh i would most definitely recommend it to the atla fandom!! this deep dive into the imperialism of the Fire Nation through the eyes of the royal family would be one that's very very tricky to do well, and Peaches wrote it masterfully!

Unspoken, Undeniable by @flameohotwife, which is her fake-dating au for Kataang. there’s a lot of amazing fluffiness and pining and even a little bit of angst as Katara and Aang dance around each others’ feelings HAHAHA. would definitely rec it for a good ol’ fluffy romantic time! (also yis there is a sequel to that if you’re horny LOL)

and finally, your fic Drag You Down, which was just completed this past thursday! this is a kind of Kataang fic i have seldom seen in the fandom, a Kataang fic that’s more than a Kataang fic! it addresses Aang and Katara as who they are, down to their core, and their flaws and fears as the reason why they had to split up--and not because of a “simple miscommunication problem” either. it weaves in a storyline that is not just about Kataang, but it works in such a way that it affects how Aang and Katara each navigate the barrier between them before they can finally get together. in essence, the fic isn’t putting Kataang as the sole focus, but as the foundation of the story, with each event affecting it in some way, even if it’s not directly related to the relationship. it also addresses themes of The Guru and The Crossroads of Destiny that i rarely see in the Kataang fandom, and it’s done so well and so in-character for the both of them! overall, such an amazing fic i would definitely recommend to anyone who wants to bite into its themes and character-building!