#fickle fics

[lucillebarker]

Look, I know AU’s aren’t the popular thing in this fandom… but I would genuinely love a truly New Mexico Gothic Romance McWexler fic.

Late 1800’s or early 1900’s…

Chuck is a Mrs Havisham type…

Longing glances between Jimmy and Kim…

Gus is a mysterious benefactor, Mike is a stoic valet…

Nacho is a man with secret agendas…

Lalo and Howie are there for funsies…

[lucillebarker]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

He was beginning to hate the sound of his own breath, the smell of it. It would be hours, if not days of this. Enduring a brief existence with no name, no identity, no liberty.

Saul Goodman reflects on his time in Albuquerque before he is stripped of every life he’s known. Set during “Granite State” in Breaking Bad. Some spoilers for season six of Better Call Saul.

[lucillebarker]

Fickle Fics

for all your go-to fanfic needs, here are some of fics for easy access:

your own special hopes, your own special dreams (Ruth McGill-centric) Multi-chapter, complete, rated T

legacy (Jimmy/Kim; wip) Multi-chapter, WIP, rated T

the lines we cross (Jimmy/Kim) Multi-chapter, complete, rated E

Sister Golden Hair (Jimmy/Kim) One-shot, rated M

one season following another (Jimmy-centric) One-shot, rated T

Nothing Special (Jimmy/demisexual!Kim) Two chapters, complete, rated M

Something Shared (Jimmy/demisexual!Kim; semi-sequel to Nothing Special) Two chapters, complete, rated E

The Supplanter (Ruth McGill-centric historical romance/family drama with some Jimmy/Kim thrown in eventually) Multi-chapter, WIP, rated M

NEW! all memories are bitter (Jimmy/Saul-centric, Jimmy/Kim; a memory play set during BrBa’s “Granite State”) One-shot, rated M

[lucillebarker]

The Supplanter - Chapter Three

Ruth looks at her brother. The earth below her crunches as she shifts her feet. In her periphery, Morgan turns his gaze downward and hides his hands in his trouser pockets.

James takes a breath. “I got my notice from the draft board. I’m shipping out in July.”

[lucillebarker]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Chapter Two of “The Supplanter” is up!

I should probably start making graphics for these updates, huh? That would be more aesthetically pleasing than this.

[lucillebarker]

Omg mcwexler as parents?! Legacy please!

Oh jeez, this is my white whale! 😆 Once upon a time, in my early fanfic writing days, I started a multi-chapter AU where Kim and Jimmy found out they were pregnant shortly after Jimmy’s suspension. After about five years of estrangement, Chuck (still alive) decides he wants to mend things so that he can get to know his nephew.

When I stopped writing—I think to focus on “lines we cross”—it was revealed that little Mark has the same tendency for genius that Chuck did. And the goal from there would be to explore what that means, especially since it appears both neurodivergence and mental illness runs in the family as well.

You know... when I finally get back to it. 🙃 

[lucillebarker]

9 and 10!

If you could go back and change something about one of the fics you wrote this year, what would it be?

I think I’d outline legacy. When I started writing it, I didn’t have anything planned  out—I was genuinely writing it chapter by chapter with maybe one or two goal posts. But because I didn’t outline the path to those goalposts, I kind of got lost and decided to prioritize other fics. 

I’d really, really like to get back to it, so I might need to go back and come up with a game plan. But since I started a new multi-chapter, that might be... a while. 🙃 

What, if anything, are you going to try to do differently in your writing in the new year?

No promises, but I’d like to experiment with the perspectives of other characters. I primarily write for Ruth and Kim, and I’ve written from Jimmy’s POV like twice? Some of the characters feel a little out of my wheelhouse (Mike, Gus, Lalo, etc.) but I’d still like to give it a shot even if they never see the light of day.

And maybe get more comfortable with writing sex? I can, obviously, I’ve got M and E fics in there and my most popular work is lines we cross. But sometimes they leave me feeling like

[lucillebarker]

3, 7 💖

Yaaaaay, thank you, @jmcgools! 💕 💖 

Which of your fics was most different from what you usually write?

Oh geez... Good question. 

You know, it’s probably Nothing Special. This is gonna be a long explanation, so tuck in!

I try really hard not to inject any of my personal attributes onto characters because I feel like projection and headcanon are two different things. Especially with asexual-related stuff—I know those M and E rated fics get more hits! But there’s not a lot of acespec romances out there that delve into the gray ace territory, and I keep seeing Kim as someone who is demisexual and demiromantic.

I know it’s popular for people to think of Kim as bi and a domme and #mengetpegged energy. And she absolutely can be all of those things! That’s the beauty of fanfic. But this was the first time I was really selfish with putting my personal experiences into a fictional character and developing a story through that. It was scary, but I’m really happy with the response it got.

What’s your favourite piece of description or narration?

What a great moment for me to plug The Supplanter!

Holding hands . Ruth’s back tenses at the thought of it. She remembers sitting on the floor of her father’s classroom, a nine-year-old girl curious about The Works of William Shake-Speare . The text was illustrated in black and white facsimiles, and she found one of two young lovers wearing masks and fingertips brushing. She read the lines, fascinated by the jumble of antiquated English language. The words “palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss” imprinted upon her mind and she had to ask Pop what it meant.

“They’re pressing their palms together in the same way we pray at church,” Pop explained, as if it was nothing. “Juliet is saying that it’s like her hand and Romeo’s are kissing.”

Those words follow her now when she sees couples or children on the streets holding hands. Somehow it’s much more intimate to her than actual kisses or hugs. The acceptance of its public display confounds her. She wonders if Momma and Pop have that same distaste for public displays of affection—they barely look at each other even in her company.