I feel so badly for the lecture you gave the poor nonnie who I think was looking for JJ Sneed as inspiration for CS AU. I can only assume what was asked by your reply to the nonnie. “ I tend not to read or promote CS AUs of Colin’s other works (except in some very specific cases).” I guess it’s OK if a friend of yours writes a CS piece based on What Still Remains. My question is what made that one OK other than your friend wrote?
First of all, the Nonny didn’t ask me for anything, and that wasn’t a lecture. Nonny said she disliked JJ Sneed and was only looking forward to the CS AUs based off of it. I answered back that I’m not into most CS AUs, and don’t usually post any, so if that’s all she’s interested in regarding JJ Sneed, she’s not going to find it here and should look elsewhere. I also said, like TWO times, that I have no problem with other people enjoying the content and creating the content, so I’m not sure how you got “lecture” out of that. I can only imagine that you’re confused because when you stayed out too late as a kid, your parents ‘lectured’ you by saying, “Well, we don’t like to stay out late, and we don’t want to encourage others to stay out late, but if you want to stay out late, that’s perfectly okay and we hope you have a nice time doing so.” I don’t wanna be judgey, but I’m gonna do it anyway and say that’s really weird.
Secondly, I clearly said “except in some special cases” in my post, which I know you know I said, because you literally included it in your quote of what I said on the post. So I’m not sure why you’re so scandalized by the fact that there’s a CS AU that is evidently one of those “special cases” that I am willing to reblog. I mean, you act like you’re catching me up in a lie of some kind, but you’re actually just catching me up in... doing exactly what I said I do. Congratulations? I’ve run out of confetti, so you’ll have to do without this time.
So now on to WHY @hollyethecurious‘s ‘We Make Our Own Fate’ is what I consider a “special case” of a CS AU:
It’s by my friend. Look, I'm not going to lie and deny that this is a factor. I am 100% more likely to scroll past a CS AU by someone I don’t know than I am to scroll past one written by one of my friends. I also have read some fantasy-themed AUs, A/B/O fics, and mpreg fics my friends have written - even though I openly state that these things are my least favorite tropes/genres. I am absolutely more likely to give a friend, a favorite author, or fellow whumper’s potentially unpleasant/squicky fic a chance than I am a complete stranger’s. So sue me.
There’s whump in it. I will literally reblog a photo of a monkey’s ass if there’s some good whump attached to it somehow. The story started with Killian stepping in that bear trap, as in the film, and it got even better a couple chapters later, when his wound got infected and Emma had to nursemaid him. If memory serves me correctly, I only reblogged the chapters that had whump or significant angst in them - as I do for ALL multi-chapter stories that aren’t explicitly whump fics. And, again, I regularly reblog fics/chapters that have tropes I dislike (or even find squicky) if they contain whump. This isn’t a secret, either. I’m pretty sure even my best friends know not to expect a reblog from me if they ain’t got whump somewhere in the work/chapter. Hell, I even ASK people to tag me in any whumpy chapters of their fics, even if I haven’t liked/reblogged a single chapter of the fic before. I’m not above randomly reblogging Chapter 17 of your 32 chapter opus because Killian gets tied up in it. I am a simple woman of simple tastes. I just sit here in my own little world and reblog the whumps, man. It could not be simpler to understand.
It’s more of a full-fledged crossover. Mind you, this is only why I’ve continued to read the story, beyond the initial giving-it-a-chance and my reblogs of whumpy chapters. To me, this isn’t a simple CS AU. It’s a crossover fic. I consider it that because there are multiple characters drawn from, and multiple parallels made and shown between What Still Remains and Once. We see Robin in the role of Ben. Neal in the role of Zach. Eloise in the role of Judith. Walsh in the role of the Berserker. It is clear that the author actually watched What Still Remains, took an active interest in the characters, relationships and dynamics of the film, and found suitable places to meld those things with the characters, relationships and dynamics of Once. This isn’t the kind of “I pasted Emma’s face over Maddie’s” manip or “I watched the trailer and put CS in something vaguely resembling it” fic that I refuse to promote. It’s a well-thought-out crossover that respects BOTH works as valid in their own rights. And it’s certainly not the only one of those out there, of course, and not even the only one of them I’ve read and enjoyed - but it is, however, one of the only lengthy CS AUs I’ve reblogged... because most of you assholes don’t put any whump in your fucking stories.
That’s the REAL problem here, let’s just be honest. If everybody put whump in every chapter of every story, I could just sit here all day absorbing it all and rolling around in my own little whumperflies stupor and never have to scroll past ANYTHING. But nooooooooooooo, you guys are all, “Here’s my coffee shop AU!” and “This is a fluff piece!” and “There should be a plot somewhere.” Killjoys. Gimme more whump, and give it to me now.
