Howdy, all. This is the first of two Patron Polls this month. I will also have my normal HP and Ranma polls.
The reason for this shift is simple: a series of writer’s blocks coming up all at that same time. Originally, I had meant for March to be a FILFy Teacher month, but my muse is not cooperating. I finished work on Stallion and sent it out to Hiryo for editing a few days back and should have begun work on enhancing the outline for the next chapter of FILFy, but I spent an hour just staring at the bare outline and barely expanded on the few lines I used to title the different scenes. I just could not begin it.
My DxD muse is very obviously on life support. To combat this, I sent out the last chapter to a few reviewers who had previously worked on that fic, but who I had fallen out of contact with. Hopefully going back over the chapter with their thoughts in mind and Primordial Vortex’s MHA/DxD crossover, I will be able to resuscitate the DxD muse in April.
But that’s for April as I also wanted to do a few things this past month that I wasn’t able to do. RL was a bitch and a half for various reasons, from the weather to ‘Alimentary’ issues. ARGH. So some of the things I wanted to do this past month I will be working on in my spare time in March. With that, I have no desire to massage a muse that isn’t flowing while also doing other things that aren’t directly tied to getting a new chapter out for one of my stories.
I also wanted to also see which HP teaser was most interesting to my HP fans in the March HP poll, but only a few of you realized that could be the reason behind it. So in the HP Patron Only Poll this month, I will be bringing back Harry Sawyer and Fate Takes a Sidestep (HP/Kuroinu crossover) in that poll and telling people that from the start. Regardless of which story wins the poll, the story that performs better between those two will achieve primacy over the other going forward when FILFy Teacher is finished.
Note that doesn’t mention Going off the Rails. For that to become a fulltime fic, Magic of the Force must be completed.
The lack of muse juice is also why the Ranma/Mobuseka story is here along with Climbing Together, An Aunt’s Touch and Young Ranma in the Black Dog’s World. I hadn’t realized how much Tali and Ranma’s interactions had come to power my Mass Effect muse over the enjoyment of the overall sci-fi world until I had to write out the detailed outline for that chapter back in January. Oof. I need something to offset that, and since Effect is going to get the carry-over effect, it will probably win the Ranma poll, so something else, either fun or new to offset the Herb-centrism will be really nice.
I also want to see which Ranma fic does better here. On top of that, this and the HP poll can also serve as a referendum on the whole Kuroinu crossover idea in its entirety. If they don’t do well, I will drop the whole idea.
Heck, taking it a step further, I can see how well any and all of my teaser chapters do. It should be interesting, especially considering the ‘you’re spreading yourself too thin’ crowd. They have a point, but it’s better to let my muses slowly recover than try to force them. ATP, Wild Wolf, and how long FILFy was on hiatus show that.
(Don’t ask me about Semblance of Hope, Destiny Vs Chaos 2, etc. There is a reason those are all dead: big mistakes on my apart in the fics, or my muse dying a horrible death.)
Heroes of the High Seas, the oddest duck among my fics, is going to be placed in one of these polls, chosen by a random eight-sided dice generator using the site, https://rolladie.net/roll-a-d8-die.
1-2 – Ranma Patron Poll
3-4 - HP Patron Poll
5-6 – Ranma Poll
7-8 – HP Poll
… it was a 5. It will be joining Journey Gone Astray (if it wins, as already established, the new chapter will be up here, and the next chapter will go up over on fanfic) and Effect of a Horse and a Dragon.
All chapter fics this month will be less than 28,000. That way I have wiggle room, can get other stuff done on the platform here, and elsewhere.
(Yes, this will also serve as a test for me in keeping myself to set chapter limits, LOL)
And speaking of platforms, I solved the issue with my stories over on Ao3. They are all back up now, including the next chapter of Climbing Together over there, posted there right before the whole issue came up.
Anyway, with all that said, here is the Ranma Patron Poll for March. The choices are:
Climbing Together – Ranma/Street Fighter/King of Fighters crossover: A short jaunt across the ocean goes smoothly, with the three lovers arriving in Hainan easily. Finding a place to set up the Toughness training doesn’t go so well, as Mai attracts unwanted attention. This, however, leads them to create a slightly more sophisticated setup, unaware that the group they have already tangled with is connected to other, more dangerous enemies. This becomes readily apparent when Vega makes a return, nearly killing Shampoo and Ranma via ambush. Mai holds off the currently-unpaid assassin for a while. Ranma and Shampoo, battered and bleeding, show up with rage in their hearts, only for Vega to once more choose the better part of valor after leaving Mai something to remember him by, swearing vengeance on Ranma and the two ‘flowers that must be plucked while they are still beautiful’. This forces the trio to make a quick escape, with all three nursing injuries but in no mood or place to deal with the local authorities.
Alto Out There – Ranma/Mobuseka crossover: Communication issues force Ranma and Kasumi to play charades occasionally with Angelica and her followers as they attempt to escape the dungeon. Ranma’s curse comes out, causing issues and hilarity, while Phaeron attempts to learn the local language. The exit of the dungeon is discovered, only for Angelica to realize whoever set this up left nothing to chance. Ranma quickly learns the limits of his durability and speed against a mech, while Kasumi puts Phaeron to good use to translate a diatribe aimed at Angelica’s followers. Fire and fist finally put down the threat, with the added benefit of a prisoner to question. Meeting Angelica’s father doesn’t go very well, though, and only a little because of the communication divide, the rest being Ranma and his typical attitude. Angelica does some thinking and redefining while Kasumi makes tea and time passes, with the language divide shrinking rapidly and Phaeron doing much cursing, although not before some accidental ecchi moments that Ranma finds himself liking more than he should, while .
An Aunt’s Touch – Ranma/Highschool of the Dead crossover: With Genma shipped off to parts unknown, Ranma, Rika and Shizuka continue to settle into life together, with Ranma too young to properly enjoy some morning moments and Rika and Shizuka needing to deal with Ranma’s martial arts madness. Despite preferring to train with the SAT, Ranma is forced almost at gunpoint to go to school, where he meets new friends and a young woman who introduces herself to the rest of the class as a martial artist too. The pair get along great, before the first of many problems caused by Genma come home to roost in the form of Ukyo Kuonji, who turns out to be a girl all along. The reunion is bittersweet as Rika lays down the law in terms of Ranma’s hand and the actual law in terms of Ukyo’s dad trying to sell her off. Meanwhile, Ranma’s new friend proves to be more than meets the eye when she and Ranma are forced to deal with a demonically possessed sword.
Young Ranma in the Black Dog’s World – Ranma/Kuroinu crossover: Ranma wakes up in a very enviable position for any straight male, man or boy, although he doesn’t really know what to do with it. Olga decides however she likes cuddles, before they are interrupted by Cloe, who is given another reason to not like Ranma. Their journey continues, with no more interruptions for a few days, letting Ranma and Olga converse (while wrapping Ranma more and more around her little finger) and for Ranma to learn some of the local language, and more about magic, which he uses in a unique and odd manner. Their journey is interrupted near the border of the dark elf territory by a hunting party of orcs and goblins, forcing Ranma to once more reflect on the limits to his strength and to use his magic in a combat setting. It still might have gone poorly for them if not for the arrival of a self-professed rival of Olga, who takes over attacking them after the last of the Kuroinu are dealt with. This prompts a Team Rocket moment and more ‘snuggles’ for Ranma before the journey continues as elsewhere, Celestine sends forth a group to try and discover what has happened.
To help people get caught up, I have uploaded the chapters for the older teaser chapters here. For Alto Out There, you shouldn’t have much trouble, and Climbing Together has its own collection. I would read the poll choice descriptions carefully as they are very helpful in terms of what you will see in the various fics.
There won’t be a carryover effect in this poll, obviously.
This poll will end really quickly on the third. That way I can get to the winner quickly as possible.