rynling | Entries tagged with fic

I thought about this while taking a nice walk outside, and the conclusion I came to is:

People enjoy simple but tasty little snacks.

In terms of what becomes popular, I'm firmly of the opinion that numbers aren't something you can control. Reception has nothing to do with quality or community, but rather being the right person at the right place at the right time. (Although writing smut about m/m ships in popular fandoms helps.)

Also, mainly from futzing around on Tumblr, I get the sense that a lot of people are suffering from lowkey insomnia these days (I wonder why!!!!) and "turn your brain off" fantasies seem to be in demand and very much appreciated.

In any case, I actually enjoy writing tasty little snacks. I should write more of them. 🍹

I’m going to be salty about fanfic for a second. This is an extended meditation on what I try to do when I write, but also it’s just me being a petty little hater about a common style of fanfic writing that I find annoying, so feel free to scroll on by.

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So I guess my frustration is: why is that sort of bloodless, limp-dick style of writing so popular?

But also: what can I borrow from this style without betraying my sense of integrity as a craftsman?

I want to share the three stories I wrote for this year’s

candyheartsex exchange event:

Whenever You’re Ready (on AO3 here) is a pre-canon Breath of the Wild story about Zelda trying to learn archery from Revali.

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A Modest Test of Skill (on AO3 here) is about a Lynel wordlessly challenging Link to a friendly archery contest that ends in the discovery of a Korok.

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The Nameless City (on AO3 here) is set ten years after the end of Final Fantasy VI, and it’s about the warmth of the friendship between Terra and Celes as they explore the ruins of a forgotten city under Terra’s new home in Mobliz.

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It appears that, once again, I got good solstice energy and spent the period between December 15 and January 15 writing the first 20k words of a novel.

The last time I did this was in Dec 2022 - Jan 2023, and I haven't looked at that project since then. I'm feeling the same sense of "I'm done" with my current project, The Archives of Hyrule, and I need to be careful not to let it fizzle out.

My problem is twofold. First, I'm not in love with the contemporary urban setting. And second, I'm feeling like I really need positive feedback right now. The first problem is easy enough to fix by setting the action inside and underground. As for the second, perhaps it might make sense to post the story on AO3 as a series of three or four "seasons." Maybe I'll let the already-written chapters rest for a bit while working on a few illustrations, and then I'll go ahead and post them later in the year.

Also, it might be nice to take a break from the Zelda nerds and get real about the "Bowser's Massive Cock Challenge" story I've been threatening to write for months now. I recently read a tidy bunch of Chuck Tingle stories (about the ongoing homosexual adventures of a billionaire T-Rex), and I feel like not everything has to be so serious. Sometimes it's okay just to be pounded in the butt by the physical manifestation of doing what you want and having a good time.

Dear Candy Hearts Writer,

Thank you so much for volunteering to write a story for me! I’m the sort of nerd who’s interested in lore and worldbuilding, but I have a major soft spot for stories that focus on friendship and romance. I also enjoy relationships in which the characters don’t particularly like each other but have an interesting dynamic together. Situationships? Why not!

I admire and appreciate stories of all lengths. If you’re here to write a short vignette, that would make me very happy. But longer stories are welcome too, of course! Whatever you create, I’m excited to see what you do with these characters and their relationships.

I am totally okay with:

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I’d prefer not to see:

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Fandom-Specific Interests

Breath of the Wild + Tears of the Kingdom

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Echoes of Wisdom

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Hollow Knight: Silksong

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Elden Ring

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Thank you again for volunteering your time and talent. I know you’ll create something marvelous, and I’m sending lots of encouragement and sweet candy energy your way.

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Like 2024, this year was mostly about figuring out how to make good art, as well as how to find a place for it in the world despite being shut out by gatekeepers. Next year I will continue to challenge the gatekeepers! In the meantime, I’ll keep cultivating the most beautiful garden I can outside the wall.

Here’s to lots of green and growing energy in 2026. 🌿

Company
(Final Fantasy XII, Gen, 450 words)
https://archiveofourown.org/collections/yuletidemadness2025/works/76192301

Miracle of miracles! The same author who gifted me the story about Penelo on the Phon Coast also wrote a subtle but lovely vignette about Ashe and Vaan, specifically about how Ashe gradually begins to view Vaan as a younger brother.

To me, there could not be a more perfect interpretation of these two. I usually cringe when I see tropes related to "found family," but I think that's exactly the right way to describe the relationship between most of the principal characters in Final Fantasy XII.

Except for Cid and Vayne. Those two are fucking. Obviously.

Anyway, I hope this author is okay with me binge-reading their work once creators are revealed. 🍹

Fall or Fly
(Final Fantasy XII, Gen, 1765 words)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/76044226

Creators haven't been revealed yet, but I want to share a link to the story I received for Yuletide this year, which is set on the beautiful Phon Coast of Final Fantasy XII.

The nameless first-person narrator is searching for treasure on the beach but runs into some of the area's hostile fish/T-Rex hybrids only to be rescued by Penelo, who recently fell from one of the Purvama islands floating over the ocean. It's a lovely little adventure!

Like I say in my comment on the story: Here I am in the northern hemisphere, patiently waiting for the sun to return, and along comes a lovely piece of writing that's all sea breeze and sunshine. This is exactly the tropical fantasy vacation I need in my life.

2025 has been a productive year of writing lyrical and well-crafted short stories with unique and original conceits, but this has gotten me nowhere. Now that the semester is over, I will write what people actually want to read. I'm planning a multichapter fanfic titled "Bowser's Massive Cock Challenge," and it will be about... Well. I'm sure you can guess.

I'm not joking btw. Readers need joy, and writers need positive feedback.

(And purity advocates need to go fuck themselves, perhaps literally.)

I finished the story! It is not "good," unfortunately. I'd place it more in the range of "thoroughly mediocre." Still, it is written, and that's what counts.

I'm the sort of person who likes my smut spiced with the dread of being doomed by the narrative, so this story is a present to myself. I think I'll post it on the Saturday before the solstice in celebration. I love endless cycles of sex and death and rebirth. 🌿

I just had a terrible idea:

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I just had another terrible idea:

I bet I could use this conceit to write really interesting porn.

ETA: I outlined the story. This is going to be a good one. 🍸

For me, the fantasy of this story is “what if the people pushed to the margins are actually very important,” which is something I’ve been thinking about lately.

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But also the fantasy is, like. What if tech oligarchs actually cared about culture and education. Imagine that lmao.

Story Summary: Zelda has resigned herself to a dingy office in the dustiest section of the museum basement, but her complacency is disturbed by Ganon, a tech investor who demands access to the collection. As Zelda investigates the objects of his interest, she discovers that some of the more obscure holdings in the underground storage vault are more than mere relics. The museum hides a secret that should perhaps remain buried, but Ganon is relentless in his pursuit of knowledge that has long been forbidden. Despite her better judgment, Zelda finds herself drawn along with him into the mystery of the archives.

…that’s a bit rough, but it works, right? Maybe this story will be fun as Zelda fanfic.

I think it might also be cool for every chapter to include something like a tabletop RPG artifact card that consists of an illustration in (this) style along with a short written passage featuring some Dark Souls / Final Fantasy XII flavor text.

I’d also like to create character illustrations, maybe. I’ve always loved the Dragon Age tarot card style, and it might be an interesting project to learn to replicate it.

I wrote this as a reply to a comment on my Legend of Zelda fanfic novella What Dreams May Come, but it's worth sharing here as well:

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Specifically, if this is what happens to a society sustained by a torture nexus, perhaps it makes sense to disable the torture nexus. Idk man. When it comes to the torture nexus (ie, capitalist imperialism), I think it's important to tell stories about what a joy and a pleasure it is to destroy the loathsome thing.

I finished my Aerith story. Huzzah!

After closing that document, I immediately opened a new one. This is the story title:

"What if you romanced one of the failed Jenova experiments in Nibelheim?"

These are the tags: Mundane Strangeness, Bizarrely Canon Compliant, No Horror Only Wholesome

I'm writing in second person, and I don't care if it's cringe. I'm having a great time.

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If I'm being honest, though, I'm totally onboard with the idea of Link being evil. Like, not just a primal force of chaos, but actively evil. That would be super fun to write. ~~Also he and Ganon should fuck about it.~~

But first I need to get over myself and finish the fic in front of me. Wish me luck, I guess.

One of the problems I’m having with a multichapter fanfic WIP is that I have trouble writing Link.

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I can write Link in an AU where he isn’t out hunting non-government-approved “species” of people for sport. Canon compliant Link is a monster, though.

The problem with trying to work through Link’s character in fandom spaces is that people will come out of the woodwork to share political opinions that I really wish they’d keep to themselves. It’s intense, not to mention demoralizing. And worst of all, it doesn’t help me with this stupid fanfic.

I’ve been doing some Final Fantasy VII lore research for my Aerith story while trying to figure out the timeline of events prior to the beginning of the game. Like, how old was Aerith when she and her mother escaped from Shinra in the Remake timeline, and when was she first introduced to the church in the Sector 5 slums, that sort of thing.

What I ended up finding, on an absurd level of detail, was Cloud’s timeline. He was recruited by Shinra when he was 13, and he left for Midgar a few months later, shortly after he turned 14. Apparently, recruitment at this age is common, as joining the military is like going to high school. If 14yo kids don't join Shinra in some capacity, this is when they find a job and start working full-time.

Not much to say about this, besides damn. That’s fucked up.

Also, apparently the game uses the Western calendar dating system, with Cloud having been born in 1986. It’s weird to think of him being my age, but I guess FFVII is technically historical fiction set in 2007.

I was replying to a comment on a Final Fantasy VII story when it occurred to me that I would love to live in Nibelheim. I'm given to understand that it was a tough place for Tifa to grow up, but it would be perfect for me as an adult. It's got everything: big beautiful houses, a small but supportive community, lots of nature, and even a genuine haunted house with a cursed basement library.

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Anyway I just think the monster and the reader should kiss.

To my Phoenix Down Exchange partner,

Thank you so much for offering to create a story for me!

I love explorations of how characters are shaped by their environments, and I want to dive deep into fantasy worlds to get a sense of what it’s like to live there, from wholesome to horror.

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Please allow me to expand on my requests...

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