Unfortunately I can't really see them becoming friends, even as adults. As teenagers they definitely wouldn't get along - Kate is too "not like other girls" to like Isabelle, and Isabelle has WAY too much going on to try and make friends with Kate - and as adults I just don't think the way they navigate the world is compatible. Kate would probably see Isabelle as airheaded, emotional, and weak, and I think Isabelle would pick up on that and wouldn't especially care for Kate either. I could see them having a few moments of connection, especially over Cy's eventual passing, but Kate probably wouldn't care to interact with another one of Cy's little girlfriends even if Isabelle was legal at the time. I'm very sorry, I wish I could give a happier answer T-T Thanks for asking all the same!

Isabelle hasn't been genderfluid since I created her - since I made her when I was fourteen - but she's been genderfluid for longer than I've been writing AO3 fics, yes. Maybe the past five years or so? References to her gender do come up in subtle ways throughout a variety of fics, such as "Rictus Kiss" and "Neverland" where she has mixed feelings on being called a girl, but if you want something more explicit there's the gender envy seething underneath "Playthings" and Isabelle taking a masculine role and pronouns while dominating his friend Starlet in "Cruel to be Kind".

I also have fics planned that are directly about Isabelle and gender, such as one where Alec takes them hunting and they yearn to be treated as a son. As always, more to come, although I do think I've at the very least planted seeds here! Happy reading, if you do choose to read those fics, and thank you for the question.

Most of the arguments Alec and Bertrand had, they had as adults after their reunion at 28, which makes them all the stupider. I would personally say the stupidest thing they ever butted heads on was whether or not to have a garter toss at Alec's wedding to Viola. Alec and Viola didn't want one for varying reasons, but Bertrand—who felt cucked by his little brother marrying someone else, absurd and nonsensical though that is—wanted to sorta...stake a claim on the newlyweds' sexuality, in a voyeuristic way. How the argument ends will be featured in a fic I'm writing as we speak that covers everything from Alec's proposal to Viola finding out Bertrand is dead. Hope you enjoy!

That's a pretty broad question! I feel like on the internet "dark topics" get kinda lumped together when there's a lot of variation and nuance there; in other words, I write about rape for different reasons than I write about incest, and incest for different reasons than I write about pedophilia and grooming. There may be overlap, but there's also a lot of room for distinction!

Answering as best I can, though, with what all subjects have in common for me: I have always been someone who seeks catharsis over escapism. From an early age, a lot of media left me feeling like there wasn't room in the world it created for someone like me - someone who was angry, someone who felt out of place, someone for whom no amount of the solutions provided would make a difference. The works of art that let me feel like there might be room for my existence within their paradigm were works of art that weren't afraid to delve into, like you said, dark topics. "Berserk" is an excellent example, and was one of the first works of fiction that made me feel really seen and heard. If an artwork has room for survivors of rape and incest, for people who struggle with psychosis and other mental illness symptoms, for the angry and displaced and directionless and for those for whom there are no easy answers, chances are there's something there for me, too. (Provided, of course, as always, that it's well-written.)

So naturally, I write what I want to read! And I write for people like me, as well as writing for survivors. I want to read fiction where nobody and nothing gets swept under the rug, where there's room for all kinds of pain. And I know I'm not the only one, so if I write like that, I'll find an audience of people who need it as much as I do.

Thank you very much for the thoughtful question!