Meet Dylan! Known as ‘Superficial Peasant,’ she is a fanfiction author and fandom member from New Zealand.
What is your favorite thing you have written?
I did an 11k oneshot about Underhill and a boyfriend I made up for him, this hunky Romani Shadowhunter by the name of Samael Hawkstorm. It’s based within the canon of my current story and it’s by far the best thing I feel I’ve ever written. I’ve never felt such a physical need to write something out before as I did with that, and it completely consumed me from the moment I developed the backstory to the moment it was finished. I’m so goddamn proud of it.
I’ve also written other things in the past in other fandoms, but my current fic – my first published dabble with Alec Lightwood and Magnus Bane – has surpassed all of those for me. Probably because I hold them both very dear and they’re a lot of fun to write.
What was the one thing that inspired you to write fic?
Reading books, mostly. The written word tends to hit the heart in a certain way that I love and, as a writer, you get to experience it more intensely as you write. It’s very self-fulfilling. Plus, I’m terribly competitive. I want to be the one that provokes that feeling in others.
If you could write any couple you have never written about, who would it be?
Does rewriting and reimagining Malec in hundreds of different realms and realities count [laughs]? I have original characters in the back of my head that I’d like to explore one day. I also wouldn’t be averse to writing Alec/Underhill just for curiosity’s sake. They’re both fairly similar with their good hearts and their kindness and backgrounds, so I think it would be interesting to see how they’d erode each other. Like, what would these dudes bicker about? What would it be that kept them together or drove them apart? Color me intrigued. But y’know, I’m a Malec fan through and through. They’re a hard pairing to beat. Though, my own Hawkhill pairing certainly tries to give them a run for their money [laughs].
What is your favorite fic to read more than once?
I don’t actually read a lot of fic. I struggle enough to find the time to write my own! But a favorite is ‘Appassionato’ by chonideno. I absolutely adore stories where characters connect and fall half in love before they even meet. And it’s just such a gentle read on the heart.
If someone learned something from reading any one of your stories, what would you hope they learned?
I like to write characters that are human, so I’d want anyone connecting with my writing to know that being human is okay. That being human means having flaws and being uncomfortable and making mistakes sometimes, and that being those things doesn’t make you a write-off. That being human means you constantly change and evolve and outgrow certain things and learn from those mistakes and that’s all okay, too. Mostly though, that being vulnerable is okay. Some of the most personal, intimate, beautiful things happen when you let yourself be vulnerable. I don’t want to be cheesy or anything, but that was a big one I learned from Mr. Magnus Bane himself.
What is it about Malec that inspires you the most?
On the surface, I love their many juxtapositions. The angel/demon thing. The immortal/mortal thing. The “standing on opposite sides of a divide” thing. All the stories they’ve heard about each other’s kind and the prejudices they’ve both built up, and how none of that matters once they lay eyes on each other. Dig a little deeper and you’ll find theirs is a very basic, organic type of pure love. It feels very real and relatable because it’s honest, and it doesn’t have any easy fixes. They will always have to work hard for what they have together. Their love is better than a fairytale romance because it’s a real, attainable reality. Demons and angels and immortality aside, anybody can have what Malec have. And who doesn’t like having that kind of hope, right?
When you sit down to write a new story, do you plan it all out in advance, with an ending in mind? Or do you go with the flow and let the story lead you?
I think it’s always a bit of both. Outlining is a fairly new process for me and one that’s helping me a great deal. ‘Best Laid Plans’ has been completely outlined from the start, with smaller outlines for each chapter. But sometimes the things you planned out when you were in a clever, smarter headspace just doesn’t work when you get to it, so that’s when I push pause on the plan and let the characters sort the situation out themselves. Sometimes that changes the story’s overall direction, sometimes it doesn’t. As for story endings, I always have the ending in mind as soon as I have the story prompt. Then I fill the gap with the, ‘Okay, well, how’d they get there?’ Having said that, sometimes the original ending doesn’t always get to be the final ending!
As a writer, do you have a special trick for balancing integrity and details of the original characters with your own plot?
Treating characters like they’re real helps. If you give Magnus Bane a place to sit in your creative writing brain, he’ll tell you what he likes and doesn’t like. He’ll show you his mannerisms. If you make him say something on page that you think is badass, he’ll let you know whether you’re onto something or just being overdramatic. I once wrote a scene between Alec and Jace, and I was so fueled on the one-sidedness of their Season 1 relationship that I wrote things Jace would never say, just to make him more of a dickhead. The Jace character in my head was revolting against it because he knows he can be a jerk, but he’d never be that level of jerk to his Parabatai, at least in my canon. A writer can always go too far. If you treat characters like real people, they’ll pull you back in when you need it.
What has been your favorite thing about writing ‘Best Laid Plans’? Are you satisfied with the reception it has had within the fandom?
My favorite thing has been seeing it evolve every chapter! I said earlier that I have the whole thing outlined, but that can only do so much before you get to the writing part. The challenge has been to write for canon’s sake, not plot’s sake, so it’s taken a fair bit of work and discussion, but it feels well worth it. I have a competence kink a mile long, and a kink for powerful Magnus and Alec. I’m just trying to fulfill my kinks, yo [laughs].
As for the reception, I’m totally overwhelmed in a good way. It’s my first published Malec fic and I did not expect the love it’s received so far. Not by a long shot. I wrote it for myself, so the fact that people like it is really cool. It’s definitely going to be a bittersweet day when it’s all over, but I’m sure my overflowing WIP folder will have me bouncing back in no time.
List your social medias and websites so fans can find you.
AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperficialPeasant/pseuds/SuperficialPeasant
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SuperficialPea
