Intro Post - it me!

[ratbones]

Hello, this is your ratbones speaking. I answer to Ratty (caps optional) or any variant or nickname you please. I'm a writer of Guardian fic, best known for that zombie apocalypse AU. (I want to write original fiction too, but I'm too busy loving Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei right now.) I consider myself an ex-lurker -- prior to 2019 I had no fiction-writing experience and no experience participating in fandom.

In this journal I mostly make personal posts, talk about writing, and sometimes share fannish content or talk about media. I have posted pictures of my precious little cat, and a photo of my Zhao Yunlan closet cosplay. Here's a pretty standard-for-me post from when I probably almost definitely had COVID-19 but I didn't know it because I'm an early adopter I guess.

Some minor fandoms/other things that I like: Ace Attorney, Merlin, The Magnus Archives, Welcome to Night Vale, various Sherlocks Holmes (especially Arthur Conan Doyle and Granada/Jeremy Brett and Detective L). The video games I play most often are Warframe and Animal Crossing: New Horizons; I'm very bad at both of them. I consume new-to-me media really slowly and am pretty detached from pop culture, but I read tons and tons of Guardian fic -- like, the majority of what gets posted on AO3. What can I say? I go deep rather than broad.

In my human form, I'm a 20-something lesbian from PA, USA. Click here for my cute face. I studied astrophysics in college, but currently I have a completely unrelated, very outdoorsy, often dirty job. I like to meditate and grow houseplants, and I'm a lifestyle minimalist. I drink tea and beer and whiskey (in declining order of frequency) and I like documentaries and podcasts and random bursts of obsessive research. Here are some songs I like!

I'm neurodivergent and sometimes I struggle with things that most people don't, react to things a bit strangely, or make mistakes when communicating. I often talk too much in an effort to be clear, or suddenly go quiet because I'm not sure what I'm "supposed" to say. Please be patient with me!

In this house, we support Ye Zun getting the help he needs to process his traumas and express his feelings without eating anyone.

Feel free to comment on my posts without subscribing, subscribe without commenting, talk to me without reading my fics, unsubscribe at any time, etc. For now, everything on this journal is public, so I don't use an access list. Unsolicited emails and Discord DMs are very much welcome; see my profile for contact info. See you around!

Comments

[solo]

Your cat is so very cute!

. I often talk too much in an effort to be clear, or suddenly go quiet because I'm not sure what I'm "supposed" to say

I feel this, so much!

[ratbones]

Aww, thank you! I'm biased but I think she's cute too!

Communication can be so hard sometimes. I'm glad it's not just me! ^^

[tinny]

I often talk too much in an effort to be clear, or suddenly go quiet because I'm not sure what I'm "supposed" to say. Please be patient with me!

<3 This is such a great intro post. Fun to read, informative, a perfect length!

In this house, we support Ye Zun getting the help he needs to process his traumas and express his feelings without eating anyone.

:DDD Yes!

[ratbones]

Ahhh thank you! Putting this one in the "didn't talk too much" file :D

"Ye Zun deserves to heal" is the HILL I WILL DIE ON. <3

[china_shop]

Dropping in belatedly, I just wanted to say this is a really great and creative intro post, and also (should I say this?) I'm still a little swoony about your PERFECT Zhao Yunlan cosplay. :-D

♥

[ratbones]

You should totally say that, though I am a little blushy now, hee. <3 Really pleased that you liked it. And the intro post as well. Thank you!

[velithya]

Hello! I followed some links from All-Consuming to the posts you'd made here. You do have a cute face and I love your Zhao Yunlan closet cosplay! I've thought about doing something similar but a)none of my jeans have holes in them, and b)my usual boots are knee high and I'm not sure I have anything smaller ^^;; Maybe one day!

[ratbones]

Hiya, glad to see you here! Thank you on both counts! I am an ankle boots gal myself. I really don't own a lot of clothes and would have a hard time throwing together an outfit for almost any other character...just already had a Zhao Yunlan vibe. :D (Would enjoy seeing your cosplay if you ever do one!)

[velithya]

I wore 10 hole doc martens for a long time but after one (1) trip overseas where I a) took off my shoes repeatedly to go through airport security in the US and b) took off my shoes repeatedly in Japan I went zips or nothing ^^;;;
I think I *might* have a pair of hiking boots somewhere which might be high enough? I'll have to check! *thinking face*

[ratbones]

Ahh doc martens are great shoes! So...clompy! But. Not so great for air travel. (Airport security stresses me out so badly in and of itself, I plan slip-on shoes ahead of time. Ugh.)

Good luck with the hiking boots! :D

[velithya]

You are totally valid! For me, if I don't wear my boots on the plane that's an extra 2kg in my suitcase I have to account for <.< and my boots keep my legs warm too which is a bonus on a long haul when it's cold at night :3

♥

Your new fan!

[(Anonymous)]

Okay, so I just discovered you like not even a month ago and I've read every single work of yours—except your current WIP, because, uh, I just can't read WIP, so I'm waiting for it to be completed, but damn you are so good. I'm a silent reader; I leave kudos and never leave any comments for some reasons. But here I am, on a site that I don't even have an account on, telling you that I love, love, love the way you write Zhao Yunlan, and I love the way you write ZYL and SW's dynamic, and I love that you write Case fics! Your stories are all very interesting, and I love the humour in your stories, too! I've been in this fandom for only 2 years, I've only read a few guardian fics, and I never searched for them intensively like I do for my other fandoms, because if I'm honest, not many fics in the guardian fandom caught my interest, and then I found your zombie fic, and I'm so glad that I found it. I enjoy your fics so much. I hope you will be writing a lot more for Guardian fandom! Have a good day!

Re: Your new fan!

[ratbones]

Wow, thank you so much for reading my work, and so quickly! I'm really glad to hear you enjoy my ZYL characterization, he's always so so fun to write, there's so much going on with him and I get to be funny, or try to be, lol (and of course I love writing him with SW). All the casefic is some combination of "write the fic you want to read", because I do like reading casefic, and an irresistible compulsion to give everything lots of plot :D

Anyway, yes, it's wonderful that you found some Guardian fic that suits your interests and I'm SO flattered that it happens to be mine! Silent readers are always welcome -- I was a complete lurker in fandom for years and years, so I see and appreciate you guys. But you're really not a silent reader anymore since you came here to say hi ;) Thanks for the sweet and kind words and for coming on all those adventures. When I finish up the WIP, I hope you enjoy that one too! <3 (Anon comments are on here and on AO3 so feel free to say hi again any time, logged in or not!)