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Fanfiction narrow-down: the "yeses"
Sep. 26th, 2024 10:55 pm("Yeses" looks like a garbage fake word.)
Continuing my cataloging of fanfiction ideas for personal posterity...
After narrowing down the top 20 fic ideas I'd selected, I whittled it down to eight that I want to actually try to get outlined:
Kingdom Hearts: Cyberpunk AU
This is one of those ideas that keeps coming back, ha. The KH series explores a lot of different themes that I feel like sync up well with cyberpunk as a genre, especially exploring identity and self and what it means.
The plot is regarding the nobodies of KH2 as clones of the “somebodies” in question, and people who want to control them vs. their desire for control over their own lives, plus how much it matters to the people that they’re clones of. The main trio are hired to investigate a supposed “break in” at Kairi’s father’s lab, and are told to get stolen tech back... but it turns out it was more of an escape than a break in, and some of those escaped clones include genetic material taken from Kairi and Sora. At one point I’d intended for this to parallel the canon as closely as possible, while shifting to a different setting and genre, but that’s not really my intent any longer.
Pros: It’s a genre I like but haven’t ever tried to write for. I like the ways in which the themes intersect and think it will be fun, and as mentioned above, I think it's a really suitable genre. I hope that I can make this a fairly mid-length story, though that’s maybe debatable. I’ve thought about this one on and off for long enough that I have at least a little bit of a plan in place.
Cons: There are aspects of this that are very similar to the conceit of Potentials; that there are alternate versions of the mains. But that’s basically the canon, so I’m not too worried about that. I’m not extremely well-read in the cyberpunk genre, so I know it is possible that I could trip over in-genre issues/cliches that I’m unaware of. I do want it to suit the cyberpunk aesthetic, but I also want to try and make sure the thematic underpinnings are there too, but I think those are. Somewhat unfortunately, I’m given to understand that there are a lot of applicable themes that are explored differently and with different characters later in the KH storyline... after the point where I’d sort of noped out. I did at one point put this idea on hold in the hopes of catching up with canon and using those future bits as further fodder for this fic, but at this point I don’t think the canon catch up will ever happen, so I have to risk my story feeling as if it’s “missed” obvious connections.
Silent Hill: Documentary
This one is intended to be a longer SH fic. The main character is a young woman planning to do a documentary on the weird history of Silent Hill. She brings her brother along, an urban explorer looking for new places to explore, plus their mutual friend who is focused on a more traditional local history. The three quickly wind up drawn into bizarre happenings of their own within the town.
It’s probably the one that’s the most “game” like, as in it’s about a specific character coming to the town and experiencing the classic fog and otherworld horror aspects. It’s also fairly self-indulgent in terms of how much I want to look at my favorite bits of lore. Though because it is somewhat similar to the games, I wanted to incorporate some sense of the multiple outcomes that the games offer, which originally I figured would just mean having a couple different endings, though I wasn’t completely sure how I’d make that work for the story.
The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like maybe I should incorporate more of a choice system... as in ultimately making this a Choose Your Own Adventure story, to at least some degree. However, I’d need to figure out how to design it to both make the choices feel like they matter, while also not making any of the paths miss the bulk of the plot. I don’t want it to require a bunch of read-throughs to get all the bits, but also don’t want the choices to be meaningless.
Pros: The fun and challenge of writing a CYOA story! The more I've thought about it, the more I find that to be an exciting thing to attempt. I also really enjoyed writing the last Silent Hill fic I did, and want to write another horror-focused story. It is fairly self-indulgent in terms of liking to explore all the fun settings and lore bits that I like, and I count self-indulgence as a positive. And I am really proud of one specific game setting that I adapted to the fic setting.
Cons: The challenge of writing a CYOA story! It’ll require some research on how best to structure those. It’s also a little bit of a “risk” because if the paths branch too much, it’s possible a reader would completely miss large parts of the story... which with a fandom that’s as small in terms of fic reading as SH, could mean it basically doesn’t get read at all. I also feel a bit like I already wrote my “better” SH fic idea in Outbreak, which makes me feel like this is a step backwards. Though I hope it’s more just different. (Outbreak did feel more unique, though.)
Silent Hill: "Ghost Town"
Another Silent Hill fic! This one was inspired by a very specific place we used to drive through (abandoned train tracks!) and some idle daydreaming about it. I was initially planning to nix this one, because the idea for it was so small... but in looking at it, I sort of found a plot that interests me more. Basically the idea is about the influence from Silent Hill spreading farther beyond its borders, in this case, via a missionary from the town who traveled out west, spreading the early cult’s message. Now there are still lingering traces of his presence and the corruption that it spread.
Pros: Again, some more horror writing, which is something I find fun. I’m also pretty happy with the newer version of the plot, which has some shiny and new vibes still.
Cons: This one probably needs some research, because I want to make the history of the missionary feel appropriate to the time period. I think that is very doable, but again... needs research. Looking into spiritualism and occultism in the old west will be an interesting topic, but that still takes a lot of effort and time commitment for something that's not likely to have any real readership. I also would need to work to make it fit within the lore of the series, though it may just have to get a bit handwavey.
Kingdom Hearts: Angels and Demons AU
This story idea has been rattling around in my brain for several years now. I think it probably came about right around when the first season of Good Omens dropped, though it’s not at all based on it. The angels and demons of this story are more like... I don’t know, that CLAMP series “Wish” or something. That sort of... utterly not-accurate-to-any-religious-portrayal sort of thing that at least felt pretty popular in the anime of my teenhood. Really, I just like pretty people with wings. I’ve got Riku, Kairi, and Naminé as my angels, with Axel as a demon trying to thwart them, while they’re sent to watch over mortal Sora and Roxas, plus Xion when she shows up. Riku has a lot of particular angst because he’s afraid of falling. All three of the guardian angels wind up falling for their charges, and so does demon Axel. I need to sort out the ending, because I’m all about my happy endings, but I don’t want it to feel TOO contrived for everyone to get theirs.
Pros: Pretty people with wings! This is one that has a lot of iddy potential that I want to really lean into. I’m perfectly happy for it to be basically blasphemy all around. I get to write a ship I haven’t ever actually written for (Axel/Roxas/Naminé/Xion) in addition to my usual.
Cons: I have some strong angst about how much I hate the over-prevalence of Christian iconography and such, and the whole general “culturally Christian” country we’re stuck with, and I feel like using angels and demons, even as just what amounts to romance tropes, is furthering it in some tiny way... but then again, it’s angels and demons having threesomes and moresomes with humans and each other, so this is pretty fucking blasphemous, and I kind of enjoy that.
The other big con of it for me is that second ship is going to be a HIGHLY controversial one to write in this fandom. Axel/Roxas is super polarizing - it was one of the absolute top ships in the fandom back when the second game came out (what with lines like “he made me feel like I had a heart” and all), but sometime after that, it became the pet target of the fandom antis. They have decided that it’s an unconscionable age gap (even though canonically both characters are fantasy!clones who have existed for the exact same amount of time, and even the "somebodies" they're clones of don't have an age gap of more than a few years), or the fact that there's arguably a "found family" vibe to Axel, Roxas, and Xion, that means Axel must be their "father", which creeps me out about 100 times more, to be honest. But that also means the ship gets derided as “basically incest” despite them... not being related. SO it’s quite possible that this would be the first fic I’d write that could be the target of some pretty nasty and vitriolic antis, which is a thing I’ve watched happen to people I know in the fandom, and that does make me nervous. I know I can archive lock and all, and if it bothers any of my “regular” readers, then they should mind the pairing tags.
Sparrow Hill Road x Alice Isn't Dead crossover
I love this idea, and I’ve wanted to write it for years now. Sparrow Hill Road was a really fun book (I liked the second and third books as well, though I enjoyed the first one being a set of self-contained short stories about Rose, rather than the bigger plot of the second and third.) Alice Isn’t Dead was a fun podcast. Both of them have great spooky road trip/liminal spaces vibes, and I think having the two of them intersect would be great! It’s not a long or involved plot, and would probably be a pretty short fic, with Keisha picking Rose up as a hitchhiker, and then encountering some sort of monster. Probably at least one mention of “your Alice better not be Alice Healy...”
Pros: How great a crossover I think this would be! It’s also a short fic, which is nice. I had a pretty complete outline already, I think.
Cons: I need to do a canon refresh on both of these. It’s been a while since I read the book, and while I’m happy to set this fic sometime around that time (so not taking into account all those later plot developments), I still need to remember what all the norms for Rose *are.* Ghost abilities, limitations, timeline, etc. It’s also been a long while since I listened to Alice Isn’t Dead, and I feel like I have chunks of that canon I don’t remember as well either. But... for a fic that’s going to be a few thousand words, probably, it’s really hard to justify listening to a whole three-season podcast and reread a novel when I struggle so badly to find time for either of those things as it is.
Kingdom Hearts: Fantasy!Bachelorette
This was one of the AUgust ideas from the first round of the challenge that I did. The prompt was "arranged marriage," but the idea sort of went sideways, ha. I functionally wrote chapter one of this fic: Kairi is set to marry someone from Destiny Island to cement some sort of alliance. The idea of an arranged marriage is abhorrent in the culture of Destiny Island, so they send an assortment of eligible partners, trying to make sure Kairi has a choice. Hence... high stakes fantasy!The Bachelorette. Wakka, Tidus, Selphie, Riku, and Sora all have decided to offer themselves up as potential partners. They wind up disqualified one by one, until Kairi winds up with both Riku and Sora.
Pros: this one is pretty light-hearted, and should be fairly fun and straightforward to write. I do already have a first chapter (though I’ll likely rewrite it, should I go with this one.) I think it should be a relatively direct story to outline, without too much in the way of subplots or complicated twists to keep track of.
Cons: I don’t generally *like* straightforward romance fics; I love romantic subplots, or some additional component to the romance that makes it interesting. This has the whole alliance type thing, but that’s really more of the b-plot for this one, which I don’t know if I’ll enjoy as much as I hope. It’s also several characters I’m not used to writing, whose characterizations in the KH series don’t necessarily match up well to their original canon characterizations from FF, which I am *also* not wildly familiar with. I feel like my wanting to match most of the others up with their canon love interests (Tudus with Yuna, Wakka with Lulu) is kind of a boring choice.
Kingdom Hearts: Holiday RomCom
A sort of dumb idea about “how would a holiday rom-com be made to appeal to me?” (Along the same lines as "what would Twilight look like if it were geared toward my id?") Because I don’t love holiday stuff and I don’t love rom-coms, I especially do not tend to care for holiday rom-coms. (Sometimes I like them in theory, because I get the appeal of fluffy, comforting romance! But in practicality, I’ve yet to find one I actually enjoyed.) So I tried to figure out what WOULD make me like one, and the answer is usually “poly romance.” So here we are.
Pros: again, a fairly light-hearted story, probably of short to middle length, which would be a nice change from some of the much longer ones. This is also another one that’s really intended to just appeal to me, and leaning into that should be enjoyable.
Cons: it’s an example of something that I don’t typically care for, so I’m hopeful that I DO find a way to enjoy it. At the same time, I don’t want it to come across as being nasty toward the genre as a whole (though I don’t think it does; if anything, it might play some of the tropes almost too straight. But I do really hate when someone decides that a genre sucks so they’re going to “do it right”, because it’s almost always a really douchey take, haha.) This is also one that has a pretty obvious posting window, because I would want to make sure that I can post it at the holidays. However, that means I have to write it pretty significantly before the holidays, which is tough, because I struggle to keep up the holiday spirit at the holidays, so how do I try to feel it that early?
Kingdom Hearts: Worldhopping Fairytale Monstrosity
The big one! This one is my biggest source of idea debt, and has been in various stages of progress/at least thinking about it for close to two decades now. (Embarrassing!)
It started as my version of a Kingdom Hearts 3, but catering to my interest in traditional fairy tales in place of Disney stories.
Then it went through a big replotting in a foolish attempt to appease people in the fandom that I didn’t even know (because there were a handful of people who were at the time annoyed that the Disney side of the game was largely ignored when it came to fan fiction, with more of the fandom focusing on the main trio, the Final Fantasy characters, and the Nobodies).
Then it got another big replot when I decided to trim down on the parts that did not “spark joy” (because I am real burned out on Disney as a company and general entity, and writing “Disney worlds” into the fic felt like a drag the whole time, which wasn’t fun for me, and probably wouldn’t be fun for the people who wanted those worlds).
Then Kingdom Hearts 3 did come out, so this was now firmly in AU territory instead of “speculative continuation branching out from canon so far.” I’d always known it would stray into being an AU, but at this point it’s inescapably so. SO… the current thought is to leaning into that, and just making it an AU altogether, with canon events just not having ever happened.
Pros: This idea won’t leave me alone. Almost two decades on, it feels like it’s worth going for, if I’m still wanting to work on it. While it hasn’t been something I’ve been “obsessively” thinking of the way I once did, it IS one of the stories that really captivated me at a few different points, and I miss that energy and excitement. Giving myself the freedom to just make it a full AU should be enjoyable.
Cons: This will be a very long haul. The last outline I did come up with I’d estimated would turn out around 150k words, which is roughly twice the length of the longest fic I’ve posted so far. Writing that out - twice, if I’m going to do two full drafts - is a dauntingly long process. This is also that huge source of idea debt in terms of how much energy I have put into it over years, and it really has reached the point where I either need to get the project done or turn that attention and effort to something else. I had sort of made peace with putting it aside, but as soon as I did, the interest flared up again, and I unshelved it.
I also have a few aspects that I’ve been wavering on and need to make decisions about. Originally I wanted to try and utilize fairy tales from all over the world, rather than just European ones. However, there’s a lot of pushback against western retellings of stories from other cultures. I certainly don’t feel like I’m doing anything world shattering, or that I’m a super exception who is doing these stories special justice or anything. It seems easier in a lot of ways to just not worry about it, and focus on the stories that I do have a bit more cultural context for... but is "easier" the way to go? Is it worth trying to incorporate at least a couple from other cultures? I’m still deciding.
Continuing my cataloging of fanfiction ideas for personal posterity...
After narrowing down the top 20 fic ideas I'd selected, I whittled it down to eight that I want to actually try to get outlined:
Kingdom Hearts: Cyberpunk AU
This is one of those ideas that keeps coming back, ha. The KH series explores a lot of different themes that I feel like sync up well with cyberpunk as a genre, especially exploring identity and self and what it means.
The plot is regarding the nobodies of KH2 as clones of the “somebodies” in question, and people who want to control them vs. their desire for control over their own lives, plus how much it matters to the people that they’re clones of. The main trio are hired to investigate a supposed “break in” at Kairi’s father’s lab, and are told to get stolen tech back... but it turns out it was more of an escape than a break in, and some of those escaped clones include genetic material taken from Kairi and Sora. At one point I’d intended for this to parallel the canon as closely as possible, while shifting to a different setting and genre, but that’s not really my intent any longer.
Pros and Cons of this fic:
Pros: It’s a genre I like but haven’t ever tried to write for. I like the ways in which the themes intersect and think it will be fun, and as mentioned above, I think it's a really suitable genre. I hope that I can make this a fairly mid-length story, though that’s maybe debatable. I’ve thought about this one on and off for long enough that I have at least a little bit of a plan in place.
Cons: There are aspects of this that are very similar to the conceit of Potentials; that there are alternate versions of the mains. But that’s basically the canon, so I’m not too worried about that. I’m not extremely well-read in the cyberpunk genre, so I know it is possible that I could trip over in-genre issues/cliches that I’m unaware of. I do want it to suit the cyberpunk aesthetic, but I also want to try and make sure the thematic underpinnings are there too, but I think those are. Somewhat unfortunately, I’m given to understand that there are a lot of applicable themes that are explored differently and with different characters later in the KH storyline... after the point where I’d sort of noped out. I did at one point put this idea on hold in the hopes of catching up with canon and using those future bits as further fodder for this fic, but at this point I don’t think the canon catch up will ever happen, so I have to risk my story feeling as if it’s “missed” obvious connections.
Silent Hill: Documentary
This one is intended to be a longer SH fic. The main character is a young woman planning to do a documentary on the weird history of Silent Hill. She brings her brother along, an urban explorer looking for new places to explore, plus their mutual friend who is focused on a more traditional local history. The three quickly wind up drawn into bizarre happenings of their own within the town.
It’s probably the one that’s the most “game” like, as in it’s about a specific character coming to the town and experiencing the classic fog and otherworld horror aspects. It’s also fairly self-indulgent in terms of how much I want to look at my favorite bits of lore. Though because it is somewhat similar to the games, I wanted to incorporate some sense of the multiple outcomes that the games offer, which originally I figured would just mean having a couple different endings, though I wasn’t completely sure how I’d make that work for the story.
The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like maybe I should incorporate more of a choice system... as in ultimately making this a Choose Your Own Adventure story, to at least some degree. However, I’d need to figure out how to design it to both make the choices feel like they matter, while also not making any of the paths miss the bulk of the plot. I don’t want it to require a bunch of read-throughs to get all the bits, but also don’t want the choices to be meaningless.
Pros and Cons of this fic:
Pros: The fun and challenge of writing a CYOA story! The more I've thought about it, the more I find that to be an exciting thing to attempt. I also really enjoyed writing the last Silent Hill fic I did, and want to write another horror-focused story. It is fairly self-indulgent in terms of liking to explore all the fun settings and lore bits that I like, and I count self-indulgence as a positive. And I am really proud of one specific game setting that I adapted to the fic setting.
Cons: The challenge of writing a CYOA story! It’ll require some research on how best to structure those. It’s also a little bit of a “risk” because if the paths branch too much, it’s possible a reader would completely miss large parts of the story... which with a fandom that’s as small in terms of fic reading as SH, could mean it basically doesn’t get read at all. I also feel a bit like I already wrote my “better” SH fic idea in Outbreak, which makes me feel like this is a step backwards. Though I hope it’s more just different. (Outbreak did feel more unique, though.)
Silent Hill: "Ghost Town"
Another Silent Hill fic! This one was inspired by a very specific place we used to drive through (abandoned train tracks!) and some idle daydreaming about it. I was initially planning to nix this one, because the idea for it was so small... but in looking at it, I sort of found a plot that interests me more. Basically the idea is about the influence from Silent Hill spreading farther beyond its borders, in this case, via a missionary from the town who traveled out west, spreading the early cult’s message. Now there are still lingering traces of his presence and the corruption that it spread.
Pros and Cons of this fic:
Pros: Again, some more horror writing, which is something I find fun. I’m also pretty happy with the newer version of the plot, which has some shiny and new vibes still.
Cons: This one probably needs some research, because I want to make the history of the missionary feel appropriate to the time period. I think that is very doable, but again... needs research. Looking into spiritualism and occultism in the old west will be an interesting topic, but that still takes a lot of effort and time commitment for something that's not likely to have any real readership. I also would need to work to make it fit within the lore of the series, though it may just have to get a bit handwavey.
Kingdom Hearts: Angels and Demons AU
This story idea has been rattling around in my brain for several years now. I think it probably came about right around when the first season of Good Omens dropped, though it’s not at all based on it. The angels and demons of this story are more like... I don’t know, that CLAMP series “Wish” or something. That sort of... utterly not-accurate-to-any-religious-portrayal sort of thing that at least felt pretty popular in the anime of my teenhood. Really, I just like pretty people with wings. I’ve got Riku, Kairi, and Naminé as my angels, with Axel as a demon trying to thwart them, while they’re sent to watch over mortal Sora and Roxas, plus Xion when she shows up. Riku has a lot of particular angst because he’s afraid of falling. All three of the guardian angels wind up falling for their charges, and so does demon Axel. I need to sort out the ending, because I’m all about my happy endings, but I don’t want it to feel TOO contrived for everyone to get theirs.
Pros and Cons of this fic:
Pros: Pretty people with wings! This is one that has a lot of iddy potential that I want to really lean into. I’m perfectly happy for it to be basically blasphemy all around. I get to write a ship I haven’t ever actually written for (Axel/Roxas/Naminé/Xion) in addition to my usual.
Cons: I have some strong angst about how much I hate the over-prevalence of Christian iconography and such, and the whole general “culturally Christian” country we’re stuck with, and I feel like using angels and demons, even as just what amounts to romance tropes, is furthering it in some tiny way... but then again, it’s angels and demons having threesomes and moresomes with humans and each other, so this is pretty fucking blasphemous, and I kind of enjoy that.
The other big con of it for me is that second ship is going to be a HIGHLY controversial one to write in this fandom. Axel/Roxas is super polarizing - it was one of the absolute top ships in the fandom back when the second game came out (what with lines like “he made me feel like I had a heart” and all), but sometime after that, it became the pet target of the fandom antis. They have decided that it’s an unconscionable age gap (even though canonically both characters are fantasy!clones who have existed for the exact same amount of time, and even the "somebodies" they're clones of don't have an age gap of more than a few years), or the fact that there's arguably a "found family" vibe to Axel, Roxas, and Xion, that means Axel must be their "father", which creeps me out about 100 times more, to be honest. But that also means the ship gets derided as “basically incest” despite them... not being related. SO it’s quite possible that this would be the first fic I’d write that could be the target of some pretty nasty and vitriolic antis, which is a thing I’ve watched happen to people I know in the fandom, and that does make me nervous. I know I can archive lock and all, and if it bothers any of my “regular” readers, then they should mind the pairing tags.
Sparrow Hill Road x Alice Isn't Dead crossover
I love this idea, and I’ve wanted to write it for years now. Sparrow Hill Road was a really fun book (I liked the second and third books as well, though I enjoyed the first one being a set of self-contained short stories about Rose, rather than the bigger plot of the second and third.) Alice Isn’t Dead was a fun podcast. Both of them have great spooky road trip/liminal spaces vibes, and I think having the two of them intersect would be great! It’s not a long or involved plot, and would probably be a pretty short fic, with Keisha picking Rose up as a hitchhiker, and then encountering some sort of monster. Probably at least one mention of “your Alice better not be Alice Healy...”
Pros and Cons of this fic:
Pros: How great a crossover I think this would be! It’s also a short fic, which is nice. I had a pretty complete outline already, I think.
Cons: I need to do a canon refresh on both of these. It’s been a while since I read the book, and while I’m happy to set this fic sometime around that time (so not taking into account all those later plot developments), I still need to remember what all the norms for Rose *are.* Ghost abilities, limitations, timeline, etc. It’s also been a long while since I listened to Alice Isn’t Dead, and I feel like I have chunks of that canon I don’t remember as well either. But... for a fic that’s going to be a few thousand words, probably, it’s really hard to justify listening to a whole three-season podcast and reread a novel when I struggle so badly to find time for either of those things as it is.
Kingdom Hearts: Fantasy!Bachelorette
This was one of the AUgust ideas from the first round of the challenge that I did. The prompt was "arranged marriage," but the idea sort of went sideways, ha. I functionally wrote chapter one of this fic: Kairi is set to marry someone from Destiny Island to cement some sort of alliance. The idea of an arranged marriage is abhorrent in the culture of Destiny Island, so they send an assortment of eligible partners, trying to make sure Kairi has a choice. Hence... high stakes fantasy!The Bachelorette. Wakka, Tidus, Selphie, Riku, and Sora all have decided to offer themselves up as potential partners. They wind up disqualified one by one, until Kairi winds up with both Riku and Sora.
Pros and Cons of this fic:
Pros: this one is pretty light-hearted, and should be fairly fun and straightforward to write. I do already have a first chapter (though I’ll likely rewrite it, should I go with this one.) I think it should be a relatively direct story to outline, without too much in the way of subplots or complicated twists to keep track of.
Cons: I don’t generally *like* straightforward romance fics; I love romantic subplots, or some additional component to the romance that makes it interesting. This has the whole alliance type thing, but that’s really more of the b-plot for this one, which I don’t know if I’ll enjoy as much as I hope. It’s also several characters I’m not used to writing, whose characterizations in the KH series don’t necessarily match up well to their original canon characterizations from FF, which I am *also* not wildly familiar with. I feel like my wanting to match most of the others up with their canon love interests (Tudus with Yuna, Wakka with Lulu) is kind of a boring choice.
Kingdom Hearts: Holiday RomCom
A sort of dumb idea about “how would a holiday rom-com be made to appeal to me?” (Along the same lines as "what would Twilight look like if it were geared toward my id?") Because I don’t love holiday stuff and I don’t love rom-coms, I especially do not tend to care for holiday rom-coms. (Sometimes I like them in theory, because I get the appeal of fluffy, comforting romance! But in practicality, I’ve yet to find one I actually enjoyed.) So I tried to figure out what WOULD make me like one, and the answer is usually “poly romance.” So here we are.
Pros and Cons of this fic:
Pros: again, a fairly light-hearted story, probably of short to middle length, which would be a nice change from some of the much longer ones. This is also another one that’s really intended to just appeal to me, and leaning into that should be enjoyable.
Cons: it’s an example of something that I don’t typically care for, so I’m hopeful that I DO find a way to enjoy it. At the same time, I don’t want it to come across as being nasty toward the genre as a whole (though I don’t think it does; if anything, it might play some of the tropes almost too straight. But I do really hate when someone decides that a genre sucks so they’re going to “do it right”, because it’s almost always a really douchey take, haha.) This is also one that has a pretty obvious posting window, because I would want to make sure that I can post it at the holidays. However, that means I have to write it pretty significantly before the holidays, which is tough, because I struggle to keep up the holiday spirit at the holidays, so how do I try to feel it that early?
Kingdom Hearts: Worldhopping Fairytale Monstrosity
The big one! This one is my biggest source of idea debt, and has been in various stages of progress/at least thinking about it for close to two decades now. (Embarrassing!)
It started as my version of a Kingdom Hearts 3, but catering to my interest in traditional fairy tales in place of Disney stories.
Then it went through a big replotting in a foolish attempt to appease people in the fandom that I didn’t even know (because there were a handful of people who were at the time annoyed that the Disney side of the game was largely ignored when it came to fan fiction, with more of the fandom focusing on the main trio, the Final Fantasy characters, and the Nobodies).
Then it got another big replot when I decided to trim down on the parts that did not “spark joy” (because I am real burned out on Disney as a company and general entity, and writing “Disney worlds” into the fic felt like a drag the whole time, which wasn’t fun for me, and probably wouldn’t be fun for the people who wanted those worlds).
Then Kingdom Hearts 3 did come out, so this was now firmly in AU territory instead of “speculative continuation branching out from canon so far.” I’d always known it would stray into being an AU, but at this point it’s inescapably so. SO… the current thought is to leaning into that, and just making it an AU altogether, with canon events just not having ever happened.
Pros and Cons of this fic:
Pros: This idea won’t leave me alone. Almost two decades on, it feels like it’s worth going for, if I’m still wanting to work on it. While it hasn’t been something I’ve been “obsessively” thinking of the way I once did, it IS one of the stories that really captivated me at a few different points, and I miss that energy and excitement. Giving myself the freedom to just make it a full AU should be enjoyable.
Cons: This will be a very long haul. The last outline I did come up with I’d estimated would turn out around 150k words, which is roughly twice the length of the longest fic I’ve posted so far. Writing that out - twice, if I’m going to do two full drafts - is a dauntingly long process. This is also that huge source of idea debt in terms of how much energy I have put into it over years, and it really has reached the point where I either need to get the project done or turn that attention and effort to something else. I had sort of made peace with putting it aside, but as soon as I did, the interest flared up again, and I unshelved it.
I also have a few aspects that I’ve been wavering on and need to make decisions about. Originally I wanted to try and utilize fairy tales from all over the world, rather than just European ones. However, there’s a lot of pushback against western retellings of stories from other cultures. I certainly don’t feel like I’m doing anything world shattering, or that I’m a super exception who is doing these stories special justice or anything. It seems easier in a lot of ways to just not worry about it, and focus on the stories that I do have a bit more cultural context for... but is "easier" the way to go? Is it worth trying to incorporate at least a couple from other cultures? I’m still deciding.
