That actually is some extremely sound advice. Especially the bit about "read widely"; see how the great authors wrote and pick up some tricks from them; you never know what common threads you can find between two widely-separated works whose authors and/or fanbases have never heard of each other. (The friendship between Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin in their eponymous series of historical novels, and the relationships between them and the female characters, form some of the best character dynamics I've ever come across, for instance.)
Honestly, I'm with the advice-giver on voice > "in-character". If you can't hit the right voice for a character, it's going to sound awkward, no matter how "in-character" they are. The ideal solution would be just to ditch that character and develop your own. It is still fanfic if you're running original characters in a pre-established playground.
You would also think that his words about shipping would go without saying, but seeing how fanfics are generally prone to this kind of issue...
Charlie Stross's cheerful, optimistic predictions for 2017, part one of three.Idea: AU with genbderbent Kamijou. Not sure if I'll write it, though.
edited 27th Sep '15 5:49:34 PM by mercuriesandrandomness
My AO3. Results may varyHm. Assuming she's a meguca potential, that means she can wish to be able to play music again on her own (sonic blast powers?), which means Sayaka doesn't have to and is free to fuck up in exciting new ways. Hitomi's attitude towards forbidden love would probably make the love triangle kaput, although given how Violin Boy acts towards Sayaka in canon I'm pretty sure he (and presumably his genderbent version) just flat isn't into her.
And quite apart from the wish thing, meguca potentials have a strong incentive to take up Kyubey's offer in order to more effectively kill witches (or wraiths, as the case may). They're horrible, people-killing monsters and regardless of how self-reliant one may be, their destruction is a pretty unequivocal good and superpowers are a rather more effective means of bringing about that good than the mundane weapons typically available to middle-schoolish-aged girls. Sure, Mattie might possibly be able to take out a witch or a swarm of wraiths with her trusty revolver, but it's a chancy proposition at best and what happens when another one shows up? Does she ignore the menace only she can see, and let it prey on humanity unimpeded? Does she pour her funds into scads of ammo, fighting an enemy the rest of the world would never believe exists? This isn't exactly something she can throw a one-eyed fat man at.
The corollary to all that is that any one who did get away is going to be quite remarkable, and thus worthy of a fic.
After all, it's not like being a meguca requires any particular strength of character. Their breakdowns and terrible life choices abound.
Ehh, kinda. There are two reasons for a girl to accept a contract: either because she wants the wish itself, or she's responsible/adventurous enough to want to fight witches.
Historically, that second is by no means a given.
(Musings on historical population/ecological factors follow—once you start on history you never stop.)
First, really driving home the witch threat requires that there be a witch close by for Kyubey to take the girl to go and see it; that's no guarantee, especially away from the big, crowded cities we have today. Then, throughout rural history, most girls would be far too busy to go out and hunt for witches regularly. This would be especially true on a farm, where backbreaking labor would be required just to make sure their family doesn't starve, and a girl may not have the unsupervised hours free to go out and hunt (especially if the girl's powers don't extend to mobility, and hence radius of action).
Thus a pre-modern rural environment would not be able to sustain a meguca for long. Low population densities and lack of contractees means that any meguca who tries to stay and make their living out on an isolated farm risks starvation, and it might be years before there's another meguca candidate in the area. Low population densities also limit the reproduction rate of witches; they reproduce slowly enough even in major cities. A passing meguca can clear out an area of witches within days, even if she carefully farms them, and it could take the witch population years to recover. So unless a meguca is willing to abandon her family and community and constantly stay on the move, like a nomadic herdsman moving from one area of good grazing to another, she can't live for long in the countryside.
This wouldn't directly affect a girl's choice to contract or not, since Kyubey doesn't care if they live or die once they become a meguca, but it would mean that the average contractee would never have seen a witch or met another meguca when they have to choose.
Therefore, ye average olde-time countryside candidate would have a wish to tempt her to contract, but she would be much less enthusiastic about taking on the warrior role to go out and hunt, especially for a threat that she hasn't seen in person, which she doesn't have the time or freedom to deal with, which occurs pretty rarely anyway outside the big cities, and which she would most likely answer with "fighting is the men's job". If the wish doesn't hook her, she'd be quite likely to refuse the contract, and that would be that.
Finally, there's the point I'd brought up before: megucas almost invariably die before adulthood. Very few live into their 20s. So almost by definition, most historical (or historical-fictional!) girls who achieved great things and then lived to adulthood were either a) never contacted by Kyubey, or b) contacted but refused to contract.
So given all that, let's take Mattie Ross's case as a hypothetical. If she were offered a wish and refused, it might be because she was determined to bring Chaney to justice herself—none of the "I wish" silliness. Our old friend Cogburn was her means of doing so, and LaBoeuf more or less tagged along, but an unsolicited offer from a fairy-tale bunnycat to give her a wish may not be received so well. If there were no witches handy for Kyubey to show her, and keeping in mind that she'll be plenty busy running the farm on her own, the whole witch-hunting half of the equation may not factor in at all.
Yup, especially if Kyubey is selective about his targeting. (Which may well be skewed towards royals, the wealthy, and other such, who would actually have the leisure to pursue witch-hunting.)
Lies. Everyone knows Kyubey is made of cotton candy, which is all right if consumed at circuses, and properly American!
edited 29th Sep '15 5:28:30 PM by SabresEdge
Charlie Stross's cheerful, optimistic predictions for 2017, part one of three.That's an interesting historical analysis, but in the times and places you describe I figure the coobs would just not mention the witches in their pitches. They do like holding back vital information until asked about it. Without the witch-hunting part, it's just a benevolent-appearing stranger offering you a boon. Which, if you're a subsistence farmer and hail's ruined the crops, or wolves are killing all the sheep, or there's sickness in the house, and you're worried about making it through the winter, is going to look mighty tempting indeed. Especially if gods or spirits rewarding worthy mortals is part of your local mythology already.
I'm kinda skeptical about Mattie specifically as an example of one who'd get away. Between hiring a bounty hunter and wishing for the ability to find Chaney her own damn self, I'd say the latter gives her more control over the process and makes bringing him to justice more her personal accomplishment. That way there's nobody involved in the hunt but her, after all.
On another note, talking about magic critters being all deceptive with their offers made me free-associate to Exalted.
The Smiling Incubators, progeny of the Healing Writer. Sorcerers summon them for their knowledge of history and occult matters. When a mortal dies of grief, a Kyubey may emerge from the corpse's mouth.
Homura is outwardly emotionless, but harbors secret passions. She is resolute and unyielding in her devotion to her one overriding goal, taking the harsh but necessary actions to fulfill it, no matter the cost. Experienced and pragmatic, she relies on careful preparation and unconventional weaponry. This charm will not benefit an attempt to achieve a goal by a new method after a failure. Homura withdraws her favor from those who cannot stay the course. (Crap, I'm not sure I got the format quite right but I don't have the book handy to check.)
edited 30th Sep '15 1:27:23 AM by rikalous
Chapter 10
of Shattered Skies is up!
Cure Black and Cure White versus the Souju twins! And other Cures versus... well, you'll find out.
No, that was refer on my own gag, here.
I presume you haven't read the story proper, no?
That's not a Running Gag, that's a Call-Back/Brick Joke.
edited 4th Oct '15 9:40:46 AM by Zelenal
Let the joy of love give you an answer! Check out my book!No, you see, there was just an extra space that I had to remove. I just so happened to notice it after you posted and felt inclined to fix it.
Let the joy of love give you an answer! Check out my book!
Never heard that song before, but it definitely fits the War Is Hell feeling I'm going for. Good choice!
Incidentally, if anyone's interested, I've decided to run my own PMMM Quest here
. Wish is still being decided, so you can influence that.
Not long ago, I showed a friend of mine a piece of fanart that has Madoka doing ballet, like in the Concept trailer. Her response was to remark that in her opinion, Kyouko was more likely to have done ballet in the past due to her "spinny" fighting style. I don't really have an opinion either way, but what do you guys think?
Wolfsbane706, at your service.Given what we know of their histories, I'm not sure if Kyouko would even have the chance to learn ballet.
Let the joy of love give you an answer! Check out my book!I think Kyoko's fighting style is only "spinny" because she has a Blade On A Stick.

I agree with everything except the part about being in-character. There's little point in writing a canonical character if they are not recognizable as said character. Variations based on setting and backstory changes notwithstanding.
Let the joy of love give you an answer! Check out my book!