"After the veil shattered, everyone feared it would mark the end of the world; but humanity didn't just survive... it thrived."
This blog explores my multi-work project "Beyond the Shattering", from the rough drafts, to the worldbuilding and more.
Whether you're a fellow writer, a reader, or simply curious, you'll find insights, updates, and reflections along the way.
Nobody was injured, and nothing worse than a flat tire happened; but still felt I could share the story here. If anything, I can use what I felt as inspiration, I wonder if that is how someone racing against the clock feelsā¦ I feel it is weird that in hindsight I find the story interesting rather than worryingā¦
Soā¦ Friday night I was 1 hour into a 4 hour drive when I saw an orange light appear on my dash. Imagine my dread when I had to watch in real time, second by second, as the front-right wheel pressure decreased. The dread of feeling your car tilt forward. It went from optimal pressure to almost zero in less than a minute.
All of this while I was going at the speed limit on the left most lane on a four lane highwayā¦ My heart was at my throat while I had to merge four lanes to the right, with a limping car.
Luckily, this all happened by a truck-stop so I was able to get it repaired easily, but the trip to meet up with my parents was cancelled.
In the end it was a spent rivet. While a nail or other such debris would cause a hole, the debris itself would partially plug it. In the case of the rivet however, it left a perfect tube for all the air to escape out of.
That ācomment on your a03 workā email hits like a line of cocaine every time. unmatched dopamine increase. shoutout to everyone who leaves a comment on fics. you deserve the world
It can literally make or break my day. Every time I post a new chapter I am waiting for that email to hit, even just one comment makes it worth itā¦ except bot comments, FUCK bot comments
Soā¦ I always try to keep consistently writing the same projects, but I had this idea for a fic stuck in my head and couldnāt continue writing either my main fic or my original works, so I just went ahead and wrote it.
Truly a weird experience. I usually like to take my time, set the mood and scene but I was so desperate to get back to my usual I just went to writing with a barebones outline. The fic doesnāt even have over 10k words, and at times writing it felt like a fever dream. I did it in one sitting, and around 3-4 in the morning when I published it I was almost sleeping at my desk.
If anyone is interested the fic is titled āHer Biggest Fan, Her Only Fanā in ao3, and it is F/F BkDk. It is exactly what it says on the tin. Gender-bent, MHA yuriā¦ Were it not for the fact that I donāt drink or do any kind of drugs I would almost be suspicious about my sobriety at the moment of writing, it is not that crazy or spicy, but it is so unlike the way I like writing or what I like writing about.
As I'm writing my Bioshock MHA crossover fic, 'A Hero Chooses, A Deku Obeys'; I have come to realize that there are a lot of themes and topics that overlap and contrast between the two. Individual vs society, power and how it corrupts, following along or choosing for yourself, etc.
In the notes for one of my recent chapters I arrived at a comparison between the two series and their relation to the supernatural powers within each, and felt it would be nice to share here (Slight Rant Ahead)
"I orginally wanted to give Izuku a suite of vigors that were completely different to the quirks of MHA so no 'shock jockey' no 'incinerate' no 'winter blast'. But as a testament to the sheer variety of quirks I quickly realized that it was harder to do than I thought. I mean 'Return to Sender' is like Fatgum's quirk but without the fat, so instead I just decided to go with powers that I felt fit the tone of the story and still were cool. Vigors aren't quirks, they aren't meant to be cartoony heroic powers, they are literal drugs that you can become addicted to. So they make you feel powerful, they writhe and churn just beneath your skin, some even go so far as to horrifically change your appearance. A quirk might make you feel like a hero, but a vigor makes you feel like a methhead in a dark parking lot and brother, that homeless man just took the catalytic converter you were eyeing." taken from my notes of chapter 17
I feel that Bioshock explicitly supports such an interpretation. In Rapture you are constantly injecting yourself with stuff, in Columbia Booker can have some adverse reactions to unlocking new vigors. From pulsating orbs of flesh in Raptures 'Hypnotize big daddy' to the trypophobia triggering 'Insect Swarm'. From Columbia's 'Devil's kiss' burning you to the bone, to 'undertow' gouging holes through your arms. Powers in bioshock are pure body horror, you are not a hero, you are a freak of nature. Hell, despite Infinite's more clean aesthetic you are still huffing bath salts to recharge your powers.
I'm fascinated by this, specially because I hadn't explicitly thought about it until I had finished writing that chapter and decided to explain my choice of powers to give Izuku. A kid that grew up quirkless, and when he finally gets powers, they are from the Bioshock side of the aisle. And it circles back to MHA with their discourse about quirks not being good or evil. What about plasmids and vigors?
I know that when talking about fan fiction people usually talk about putting characters into or out of situations.
For me there is a spectrum of how compelling the world or the characters are, and whether the source material does them justice.
For clarification there are only three main fandoms I read fanfics about, whether they crossover with others is superfluous. Those three are My Hero Academia, The Saga of Tanya the Evil, and Apothecary Diaries. They are placed on different ends of the spectrum, and the type of fics about them I like are directly related to that.
For the sake of this post we will focus on the first two as they are the two extremes of the spectrum.
For me The Saga of Tanya the Evil, or Youjo Senki; is a good story that centers around one of the most compelling characters in fiction (In my humble opinion). Tanya Von Degurechaff is the kind of person that upon meeting capital G God, tells them they are running reality inefficiently if they have time to complain to some random atheist. Upon getting rightly screwed over, Tanya doubles down, because it is better to be dead and right, than alive having conceded a point. They believe themselves to be highly rational and yet they constantly make judgements and decisions based on their own emotions. Thus, based on the original paradigm, they are a character that is fun to put into different situations. But that is because they are incredibly compelling.
On the other end of the spectrum, is My Hero Academia, or Boku no Hero Academia; a really compelling world full of history, characters, and stories; and yet the source material fails to take advantage of its own richness. When I read MHA fanfics, I donāt do it for the characters, I do it to see how the author takes the world and interprets it. I feel that this goes so far that it is usually the case that a fic that keeps it pretty close to canon usually fails to catch my attention. And I donāt mean following the same story beats, because there are some great fics that do, but they donāt go beyond that. What did the characters feel, how are the story beats affecting the world around them, how are the story beats from the source material informed by the history of the world. Even when I read some good character analysis of MHA characters, instead of feeling interested in consuming the source material, my thoughts immediately go to wanting to go look for a fic that focuses on that character.
Iām not even saying one is better than the other, itās just that I feel pushed towards reading fics of each for different reasons.
And then there is Kusuriya no Hitorigoto, the Apothecary Diaries; it rests in the middle of the spectrum. The characters are compelling enough that I want to read about them specifically, but not to the point that I canāt stand reading them acting out of character. And the world is compelling enough that I want to read more stories happening in it, but not enough that it overshadows the characters.
This is just my own opinion and experience, but feel free to tell me what you think, and what compels you to read.
As an aside. I want to add that I posted this in the midst of a writing fugue, only to then realize that I also like reading fics about Izuku Midoriya being taken to other worlds and still trying to be the hero. Thus disproving my own argument that MHA lands on the compelling world side of the spectrum. I mean, Iām currently writing a fic about him being taken to Rapture from BioShock, and the story is planned to at one point return to MHA world.
Truly a case of throwing stones in glass houses.
The fic is called āA Hero Chooses, a Deku Obeysā if anyone is interested.
I know that when talking about fan fiction people usually talk about putting characters into or out of situations.
For me there is a spectrum of how compelling the world or the characters are, and whether the source material does them justice.
For clarification there are only three main fandoms I read fanfics about, whether they crossover with others is superfluous. Those three are My Hero Academia, The Saga of Tanya the Evil, and Apothecary Diaries. They are placed on different ends of the spectrum, and the type of fics about them I like are directly related to that.
For the sake of this post we will focus on the first two as they are the two extremes of the spectrum.
For me The Saga of Tanya the Evil, or Youjo Senki; is a good story that centers around one of the most compelling characters in fiction (In my humble opinion). Tanya Von Degurechaff is the kind of person that upon meeting capital G God, tells them they are running reality inefficiently if they have time to complain to some random atheist. Upon getting rightly screwed over, Tanya doubles down, because it is better to be dead and right, than alive having conceded a point. They believe themselves to be highly rational and yet they constantly make judgements and decisions based on their own emotions. Thus, based on the original paradigm, they are a character that is fun to put into different situations. But that is because they are incredibly compelling.
On the other end of the spectrum, is My Hero Academia, or Boku no Hero Academia; a really compelling world full of history, characters, and stories; and yet the source material fails to take advantage of its own richness. When I read MHA fanfics, I donāt do it for the characters, I do it to see how the author takes the world and interprets it. I feel that this goes so far that it is usually the case that a fic that keeps it pretty close to canon usually fails to catch my attention. And I donāt mean following the same story beats, because there are some great fics that do, but they donāt go beyond that. What did the characters feel, how are the story beats affecting the world around them, how are the story beats from the source material informed by the history of the world. Even when I read some good character analysis of MHA characters, instead of feeling interested in consuming the source material, my thoughts immediately go to wanting to go look for a fic that focuses on that character.
Iām not even saying one is better than the other, itās just that I feel pushed towards reading fics of each for different reasons.
And then there is Kusuriya no Hitorigoto, the Apothecary Diaries; it rests in the middle of the spectrum. The characters are compelling enough that I want to read about them specifically, but not to the point that I canāt stand reading them acting out of character. And the world is compelling enough that I want to read more stories happening in it, but not enough that it overshadows the characters.
This is just my own opinion and experience, but feel free to tell me what you think, and what compels you to read.
In a turn of events not even I saw coming I have begun to write fanfiction. At first I was reluctant to do so because I like creating characters and stories of my own, and fanfiction felt restrictive. But for months now I have had a story idea bubbling in the cauldron of my mind, until it exploded into a project.
Now introducing "A Hero Chooses, A Deku Obeys" a crossover fic between Bioshock and My Hero Academia.
It follows Izuku Midoriya as he is transported to the city of Rapture, were he must become the hero the city needs, while he looks for a way back home. Will the city underneath the waves break him? Or will Izuku's drive to be a hero prove too much for the cynics of Rapture.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Just found out that my mother has begun reading my first novel. Was definitely not prepared for her to ask if the character of Hank was based on me, shortly followed by the clarification that she was referring to āthe transgender oneā .
The things parents ask in the middle of family dinner.
My respect goes out to all the artists out there, the confidence needed to proudly claim ownership of your art is awe inspiring. I wasnāt familiar with your game.
Thought of sharing some of the process of the cover for my first book āNew World, New Meā. There are multiple images so Iām putting them below read more so that it doesnāt occupy too much of the feed.
The first idea was to reference an item from the story, a necklace with crystal beads, and given that I had already planned for this to be a series, I though of starting with one crystal and add more as the series progresses.
The next idea was for a minimalist image showing a landscape and the protagonist Ashild.
The Powers that Be told me to not use these and actually work with a graphic designer, luckily for me my mother is one. Using the previous cover, some royalty free images, and the character sketch I had made for Ashild she made the final cover.
As an extra, on her own time my mother made a watercolor version of the final cover. (And yes, I have it hung in my room)
Iāve begun writing the sequel to my debut novel, the second part to the series āRoad-trip to Another Worldā. It is a direct continuation of the first book, as we continue to follow the adventures of Ashild Njordsdottir, Helios Asterion and Asche Fangen and their lives in the world of Sablujo.
Konosuba AU where the titular quartet of Isekai Quartet are all summoned into its parallel world instead of the worlds they did in canon.
Ainz/Suzuki Satoru is summoned, and, when asked what wish he would like granted, he asked to "maintain the legacy of his guild", making the gods transformed him as his skeletal overlord avatar with most of his abilities (causing him to be constantly mistaken for a minion of the Devil King and be ostracized). He serves a "support" role
Natsuki Subaru, when summed, only asks to start with a clean slate. Moved by his humbleness, the gods bestow upon him immortality. He fulfills the role of "tank" in the party, being able to survive any attack (yet still feel all the pain equivalent to it)
When the salaryman who becameTanya Degurechaf was called, he doubted and mocked the proposed divinity of the gods who summoned him. As punishment he was reincarnated into a little girl born from the Crimson Demon clan, maintaining the role of "DPS".
Satou Kazuma remains the same, only rather than asking for Aqua to be sent with him, he asked for "an OP party", which caused the other characters to be chosen. He is the leader, "jack-of-all-trades but master of none".
The cursed undead, the immortal fool and the evil little girl join forces with underhanded Kazuma, as this party of isekai'd misfits are set to defeat the evil Devil King and his legions.
For Tanya it works even better because she will try to make the demons into an actual fighting force, a formal military; and they will misunderstand. Uniforms? Military Ranks? Code names? A Chuniās dream.
One of the protagonists of my first series, āRoad-trip to Another Worldā. The sketch was done by combining multiple images through an imaging editing software and then tracing over them, so it canāt really be claimed to be āoriginalā.
She is a member of the imp species, born in the world of Sablujo and raised by the monks of the Order of Mana. She is considered a prodigy at magic, and mature beyond her years, but what most donāt know is the truth hiding beneath the surface.
Originally Hank McMahan, a tired thirty-something office worker, he was dragged to the world of Sablujo by the whims of a stranger. Reborn as a different species and gender altogether they must now come to terms with their new reality. Even if the gender thing was easier to accept than she expected.
Unfortunately, she wasnāt dragged alone, now she must grow stronger and prepare so that she can set off and look for her friends., wherever they may have ended up.
But Hank was a human office worker, has Ashild changed too much? Will her friends who she saw as brothers accept her just like that?
Well that, is a story for another day.
For anyone interested āNew World, New Meā the first book of the series āRoad-trip to another Worldā is already available on Kindle and KindleUnlimited
New World, New Me: Road-trip to Another World Book 1 https://a.co/d/0djpHMcI
This is the first post for my blog. Iām an independent author who just wants to tell stories, the Powers that Be (My Family) Insist that if Iām to make a career out of this then I must have an online presence to promote and advertise my work. Thus, I set out to write this blog where I will share drafts, progress, mood boards, rough sketches, lore and more; in an attempt to gain interest for my work. Iām open to questions and feedback, and Iām willing to discuss any topic even if it doesnāt pertain to my stories. Iām introverted, and have always preferred to be a lurker as opposed to an active participant in online spaces, so I can only hope this works out.
