#if you want more details about how I actually write dialogue it gets really intense

[deoidesign]

where'd you draw inspiration for T&TA and how long did it take you to comprise a legible script [a fellow, curious- and pretty young writer]

The most immediate inspirations for Time and Time Again were Jaws, Quantum Leap, and Psych. I grew up watching a ton of detective type shows and so there's a lot of background radiation in my brain taken up by those. I tend not to take much stock in inspiration though, and generally am comfortable just powerhousing through things (it's kind of what I went to school for). Inspiration happens when it happens, but if it doesn't, my work still needs to get done!

It took me about 7 months to write the first season, which is 4 complete stories. To be clear, though, I don't script! I outline major character events, and then I make about 100 more detailed outlines until I get to one that hits all the development points I want and feels interesting to me. This takes me weeks of writing sometimes 10+ pages a day, putting together boards with strings, etc. until I feel I've got an outline of events that I'm happy with!

I actually get to writing and finessing dialogue while I'm making thumbnails, and 1 episode can take me anywhere from a day to 2 weeks. The longest ones are when they're arguing, and I'm struggling with the minutiae of the implications of their words, where I want them both to be sympathetic without making their dialogue feel unnatural.

So, one complete arc takes me about 4-6 months from start to finish, I think.

My writing is at its best when I get to plan everything up front, and it's at its worst when I'm forced to deliver week-to-week and I can't see the whole story as it is. But, I've also been writing for a long time and I know myself and my process pretty well! Every writer is different, and some people need a lot more time than others. Let yourself relax, don't try to do things "the right way" because there is no right way. Just make stories! Make the process fun for you, and your skills will grow the more stories you tell. As long as you're having fun, the stories are serving their purpose.

[wisyhana]

These are some pages that I made as fanart for a fanfic i Really Love. It's something rare that I look back and actually kinda liking the result- 😂 I've been trying to improve my panels flow(?)/pacing And the Lettering- adding words in comics is pretty hard 🥺 if you had some insights, pls let me know ❤ or just give me what you think... Thank you so much!!

Hi! Thank you for waiting this long hahaha

First of all I love your Yugi, is so freaking adorable, big fan over here aaaaaa.

And okay we're gonna talk about comics. Oh boy. It's not a topic I dont like talking but it's something I get way too.... intense, even if I feel I don't have much to defend with. Anyway I'll try to not be so detailed and serious about it so I can bring a decent commentary!

Disclaimer that I have a lot of issues with the use of thought bubbles, but that's a me thing. Myself I try to avoid them so I can focus on a "show more, talk less" type of flow. So if I start talking about them it's because of that, not that you'r doing a bad thing or anything.

I like how you use the panels, by themselves and ignoring the dialogues, they work perfectly fine! I think my thing with the pacing is that I'd draw a 3-4 pages comics instead of 2 for this scene alone. It's a pain I know, but I think for this type of scenario adding a little more of time could help to appreciate some details, like Kaiba being notoriously angry, the moment he touches Yugi's forehead, etc. But this is also a very personal opinion because I'm a sucker for very sloooow interactions, so all this I'm saying is for the sake of a slower pacing. Sadly you gotta draw more or write less if you want to get that effect, also you can get in a situation where things end up vague and ugh, what a pain hjdfhjhds.

I have a serious problem with dialogue bubbles, I never know where to put them Dx. I always feel they're on the way or that they hinder the reading or that they look straight up ugly hahahaha. I think you use a good space for them! they're not in the way of the faces or important scenes, but I can see you needed to add arrows for the conversation to work. In my opinion the dialogue works perfectly without the arrows. We all know there are two people talking so having only the faces on the bubbles was enough to understand who was talking and what order follow.

Now, if you want to work on bubbles without using the faces to show who's talking and don't lose the order in the way, I could recommend something like this:

Sorry if it looks way too clumsy! But a thing we artist have to deal is how the order of the bubbles affects on the flow of the dialogue. Specially when we don't have a specific way to show how the person talks (for example japaneses have many ways to show character's expression so it's easier for them to identify it.) So we need to focus on the flow.

A wonderful person who talks TONS of this matter is the motherfucker Scott McCoud!

This is just an example of how dialogues can contribute to the time and spaces and how the order affects the reading. This is not the exact example for what I mean but Scott is a badass of the comic and the complexity of it.

Understanding Comics The invisible Art is a masterpiece, I blame him for making me doubt is I'm doing a good job or not.

Okay before I go way too into this, one last thing and this is personal opinion. I love white background but you gotta be very careful to not make it look like lazyness. You don't need to draw a full background but maybe adding some shading can help to make the illusion of space rather than having a blank space. Of course this is just my opinion.

Anyway, I really like how you work! my huge recommendation would be to simply take your time on it, I feel it shows a bit of impatience or nerviousness, but that's just my idea. So far you're going a good way on creating comics and I'd love to see more of them :3

Hope this helped you in some way! And as always don't forget to have fun drawing your beautiful bois!

this is me everytime I draw comic and find a inconsistency.

[laylajeffany]

How do you usually outline your stories? Do you have a general idea of where you want to start and go with a plot, or do you outline what you want to write per chapter...? I've been curious, lol.

What a fun question that is making me consider how I actually do this, haha. Thanks for asking. Essentially, we consult the holy scriptures.

I brain dump (by hand - I am a 90s kid okay we were only allowed to type final drafts of things in the computer lab). I write an extremely generic list of ‘goals’ for what I want to occur in each fic - VERY general things at the start. Then I will start to figure out more specifics, develop any characters that don’t exist in canon as needed with a few specifics so I know about them before I start writing, work on settings and concepts that don’t exist in canon, etc. I will draw maps and blueprints and course schedules. I probably spend a solid week on this handiwork before I move into writing a big fic like Chaos.

Once there, I will write a few scenes (likely not in order) to get a ‘feel’ for the mood/tone of the fic. I only write in third person passive voice, but I need to get to know the ‘voice’ a little bit. I doubt much of this makes it to the final edit but it’s an important part of setting tone and mood. For a fic like Chaos, I then would outline about 3 chapters in advance of where I was writing, specific events and cliffhangers ;) to make sure we got to those points/would be ready to start off from them on the next chapter. I consult the scriptures as I do this, lol. THEN, I go into very specific outline of the events of each chapter because I do not write scenes in order! If there is anything that has action sequences (fencing, fighting, dancing) I write them last because it involves me physically doing them or watching intense YouTube videos to know the correct diction. In a fic like Chaos where I had a few chunks of original poetry to write, those would also be last scenes as well. Tracey gets about 3-4 versions of each chapter, and as she gets them many have placeholder scenes. BLESS HER SWEET ANGEL SOUL for all the work s he does to understand my process (she’s been doing this since like 2010 or so though so she’s used to it haha). 

I somehow also usually know how long each scene is going to be. I’ll send Tracey a text that says something like, “about 5k more of this scene and I’ll send you a chunk tonight.” What does Tracey do for me? Well, for one - she does a big grammar and spelling sweep. I type so fast that Word doesn’t always catch it. And we’re not perfect at the actual editing process either, but we do our best haha. We ALWAYS find something after posting, but it’s REALLY not that serious. More importantly though, Tracey helps me adjust dialogue, take away innocuous sentences (she probably shaves off close to 500-1k each chapter if you can believe that) and helps things to flow better. She’ll also tell me if something REALLY isn’t working. (I don’t always take this news well and she has very Courageous Conversations with me. She’s always right, of course, and sometimes, I am just stubborn.)

I talk things through with Tracey, too - a lot, on the phone and on FaceTime. She’s always helping me get plots in the right direction and helps me come up with a lot of tiny little details that I just hadn’t considered!

[emotionallychargedtowel]

Pursuer-distancer roles & attachment style in Utsukushii Kare, Part 1: Hira

Note: As I write this, only the first episode of season 2 has been released. This is based on season 1, episode 1 of season 2, and (sparingly) on translated bits of the novel that I’ve read. There seem to be some issues with the current subtitles so impressions could change as better fansubs come out or if streaming ones are improved. I’m watching the show on Viki so any quoted dialogue is from their subs.

I wrote about pursuer-distancer dynamics in this previous post. Now I’m going to dig deeper into how they play out in Utsukushii Kare. I recommend checking out the more detailed explanation of pursuer and distancer roles in that post, but I’ll give a super concentrated summary now as well.

So, a pursuer-distancer dynamic in a relationship occurs when one person takes on the role of emotionally pursuing while the other takes on the role of emotionally distancing. These roles are deeply interrelated—they rely on each other in order to work. It’s difficult to sit with the fact that we both crave intimacy and fear it/need some degree of independence. But that difficulty can be avoided if one person expresses all the need for closeness in a relationship while the other expresses all the need for independence. Neither of these strategies really work, but they are meant to fail, at least partially. It’s a “careful what you wish for” situation. If pursuers got all of the intimacy they seek, they’d be overloaded, and if distancers got all the space they asked for, they’d be lonely. Hence the part where they rely on one another to work, to help them fail in the ways they need to.

(Screenshot via MDL by ruiLIKK)

In many ways, Hira is the epitome of a pursuer. I think it’s what makes him fit the role of a seme so well despite constantly putting himself in a subservient position and even refusing direct overtures from Kiyoi. Like most pursuers, Hira seems to want closeness with the person he loves but his covert fears of intimacy and need for independence cause him to sabotage his own efforts. What’s less typical are some of the strategies he uses both to seek intimacy and covertly avoid it, as I’ll talk about more below. 

Pursuers are often people with a preoccupied (or “anxious”) attachment style. In Attachment in Psychotherapy, David Wallin describes preoccupied patients as people whose formative experiences taught them that the best way to get their needs met was by “mak[ing] their own distress too conspicuous to ignore.” This would make sense for Hira. His parents (portrayed more in the novels than the show) seem to be disengaged most of the time, but they spring into action when they get worried (a prime example is when they take him to see a medical provider about his stutter and buy him an expensive camera). By the time of the main story, he mostly seems to mask his distress so they’ll leave him alone. But at that point, those early experiences have already had their effect.

Hira’s experiences with peers have been uniformly terrible, and they are also a type of formative experience. As I’ve said, it’s commonplace to have a fear of intimacy as well as a desire for it. But Hira’s history with people his own age would definitely worsen his fears of being close to others. At the same time, these same negative experiences and the fears they’ve created have isolated him, making his need for intimacy even more acute. Like I said in my previous post, Hira is intensely ambivalent about intimacy. (So is Kiyoi, but that’ll have to wait for part 2.)

In his discussion of preoccupied attachment, Wallin goes on to say that the making-distress-conspicuous approach to getting needs met renders the preoccupied person “hypervigilant for actual or imagined signs that a relationship partner might be disapproving, withdrawn, or rejecting.” Yep, this is classic Hira.

As much as possible, Hira interprets everything that Kiyoi says or does negatively—as meaning that Kiyoi doesn’t love him, won’t stay with him, won’t meet his needs, and could never approve of him. If necessary, he’ll create a reason for concern out of nothing. 

When you see Kiyoi making this face and his hair starts billowing in a mysterious breeze, you’re inside Hira’s mind witnessing a complete fabrication. (Screenshot via MDL by doramasaurusrex)

At the same time, Hira definitely pursues Kiyoi. His relentless staring communicates his interest. He takes every opportunity to be around Kiyoi. When he gets to communicate with Kiyoi privately, he’s all compliments and reverence. His willingness to do whatever it takes to be near Kiyoi, even behave like a servant, is also a form of pursuit. But, like all pursuers, he has built-in safeguards against accidentally getting (too much of) the intimacy he wants but also fears:

First, he chose a seemingly unattainable object. When Hira first fell for Kiyoi, he wasn’t aware of all the reasons Kiyoi might actually be capable of returning his feelings. Even setting aside his negative bias, he had every rational reason to believe that Kiyoi was unlikely to ever love him back.

By the time it turns out that Kiyoi may not be completely out of his reach, Hira has had a chance to observe his distancing tendencies. Just choosing a distancer as a potential partner is a way of decreasing the risk that you’ll get more than you bargained for by pursuing them. 

Next, when Kiyoi builds a kind of friendship with him and even kisses him on graduation day, he changes his phone number. Perhaps he really is unaware that he can replace his submerged phone without changing his number. But personally, I really wonder if a part of him did this intentionally. At the very least, he could still have asked about keeping his number or tried to contact Kiyoi to give him the new one. He had real reason to hope Kiyoi might like him back (if nothing else, the kiss!) and whether by neglect or (on some level) intentionally, he made further contact impossible.

The most pervasive and destructive way that Hira sabotages his own efforts at intimacy with Kiyoi is through his distorted thoughts, including the biased interpretations and pure fabrications I mentioned above. He creates a narrative that says that:

Kiyoi is permanently superior to him, rendering him permanently out of reach

To whatever extent he does attain intimacy with Kiyoi, or even seek it, this is a kind of crime against nature (“touching a god”) that will undoubtedly cause some kind of unstoppable cosmic misfortune as a punishment,

Relatedly, any intimacy with Kiyoi can only be temporary.

This last factor leads me to one other thing I should mention. I was thinking about how I’d conceptualize Hira’s personality. I looked at my favorite book on the subject, Nancy McWilliams’s Psychoanalytic Diagnosis. I felt like I should check out the chapter on self-defeating/masochistic personality (note: not related to masochistic sexual practices!) but was reminded that people of that type are typically more resentful of what they see as undeserved suffering. Hira, on the other hand, perceives himself as completely deserving to suffer. So I looked at the chapter on depressive personality. The main defense depressive personalities use, McWilliams writes, is introjection: turning any hostile feelings inward toward the self. Much more like Hira. This is totally consistent with his pervasive sense of doom, hopelessness about improving his lot in life, and inability to take in positive comments about himself.

Of course, despite his self-sabotage, Hira does actually want to be close to Kiyoi. And he achieves that, in some ways. Pursuers do want intimacy, as their self-presentation suggests, they just tend to create conditions that decrease the chances they will get as much of it as they claim to want. So Hira sabotages his chances of getting his needs met. And every time he does get close to Kiyoi, he feels like he is adding to his list of crimes or the amount of suffering he’ll have to go through later to make up for any joy he feels. It’s like a form of emotional avoidance that dovetails with his behavioral avoidance.

Take, for example, his thoughts (delivered in voiceover) while on his outing with Kiyoi in S2E1. “They say the amount of happiness one feels is predetermined. In that case I may have only misfortune in my future. Kiyoi might dump me. Kiyoi might hate me. Kiyoi might die before me. What should I do then?” I don’t know who “they” are supposed to be here, but this is not an idea I’ve ever encountered in any culture or religion, except maybe Calvinism or something. It seems like Hira has just seized on a somewhat random idea, but this idea feels true because of his self-defeating narrative. It comes as no surprise, then, that when Hira starts ruminating about these possible future misfortunes, he stops himself from experiencing closeness with Kiyoi in that moment—which does not go unnoticed by Kiyoi. “Don’t live in your own world,” he tells Hira. “We’re hanging out in this one.” It barely seems to register with Hira that Kiyoi looks irritated and hurt. Clearly, Hira’s distractibility and negativity when he’s trying to enjoy his company is painful to him. And again, he has managed not only to detract from his enjoyment of the closeness he has with Kiyoi, but also to sabotage the potential for closeness in the interaction he’s having with Kiyoi in the present.

(Screenshot via MDL by ruiLIKK)

It’s worth noting that a related kind of distorted perception seems to affect Hira in other situations where people are showing an interest in him romantically and/or sexually. Take his interaction with that model at the party in S2E1 for example. He’s extremely gullible when he believes her claim that the other attendees are angry with him and think he’s rude. And though he registers that she’s getting close to him and touching him in a way that makes him uncomfortable, he doesn’t seem to understand that she’s putting the moves on him or that she’s interested in him. He’s beyond surprised when Kiyoi shows him the piece of paper with her phone number that she slipped into his pocket.

Watching that scene, I asked myself if I had just failed to notice before that Hira had a profound lack of social awareness. But then I thought about where this had come up and where it hadn’t. Hira shows social awareness in other situations, like when he observes what goes on between the students in Shirota’s circle in high school. It seems he’s only this clueless when it comes to admitting others might like him. The same happened with Koyama, when Hira seemed unaware that they were on a date. Hira does lack social skills in a lot of ways, but his awareness isn’t that bad except in this area. The main issue seems to be that anyone being attracted to or interested in him is classified as “impossible.” This is how, in S1E6, he not only turned down Kiyoi offering to date him but managed not to remember it ever happened.

That’s it for now on Hira’s side of the equation. I have part 2, on Kiyoi, almost ready to post as well, so that should be up pretty soon. Edited to add: I forgot to include another side of Hira’s pursuing role in his relationship with Kiyoi: pursuing sexual intimacy specifically. We get new information about this aspect of Hira and Kiyoi’s relationship in S2E1 in a couple of scenes. In the opening scene, once Kiyoi is awake, Hira asks if he’s angry with him for being “too persistent” the previous day. We don’t know for certain what this persistence was about, but their mutual shyness about it and Hira’s reference to it being caused by Kiyoi’s cuteness suggest that he was hitting on Kiyoi. We don’t know the outcome of it, though. The other moment happens when, after the incident with the model stirs up Kiyoi’s possessiveness, he (bashfully) announces that he and Hira are going to “do it” that day (resulting in a huge grin from a surprised Hira). It’s interesting—and simultaneously endearing and strange—that on the one hand, he can just decide this for the two of them (assumably because Hira always jumps at the chance), which gives him an air of imperiousness, but on the other, that he’s so uncharacteristically shy about it. Both of these scenes are very consistent with Hira’s role as a pursuer. He seems less ambivalent about this type of closeness than others, but he also seems to respect for Kiyoi’s boundaries (”persistence” notwithstanding). Basically, he seems to be on board with being the one petitioning for sexual contact while Kiyoi acts as more of a gatekeeper.

[andypantsx3]

Andy..do you have any tips on writing such long pieces, and as well planning for them ??

Omg I'm so thrilled you think my fics are long lol. It's my dream to one day hit like, novel length fics, but we're still a little ways away!!

That being said I do think there are some specific considerations that go into planning a multi-chapter fic!!

I think the first thing is to gauge where you're at in terms of motivation & interest. One of my biggest sticking points with multi-chapter fics, and also the reason I have not written anything longer than like 40k at this point, is that I lose focus/motivation the longer I work on something!! Try to have an honest conversation with yourself about how much interest you have in a particular fic idea, and where you think you are in terms of like, general motivation to keep working on that idea. For me, some ideas will be like, only 4 chapters worth of interest & motivation, while some will be 9.

Once you have that, use that to shape the level of detail or complexity of the plot you're going to include. If you're only going to work through a short number of chapters you can't have an overly complex plot and huge cast of characters, etc. Maybe limit your plot to just one or two story lines, like the central conflict and the romance. On the opposite side, if you truly believe you have motivation for a huge fic, scrounge around for extra C & D plots you can include to keep the fic moving!

In actually sitting down and planning a fic, I think others would have better advice for you! And I think this is also somewhat of an area where you have to try and see what works for your personal style, but I will give you the general tips that work for me!!

Choose a central conflict. This doesn't have to be anything intense (like for fingerprints it was just Reader coming to terms with the nature of Shouto's feelings for her, but for you're the one that i haunt it's that Bakugou becomes a ghost only Reader can see). But if you're going to write anything at length you will need some general conflict to keep it moving and tie everything together, otherwise it meanders.

Figure out how that conflict progresses from beginning to middle to end. For you're the one that i haunt, I outlined it as 1) Reader sees Bakugou and establishes that yes he really is there, 2) Reader and Bakugou team up to investigate why he's a ghost and how to fix it, and 3) Reader and Bakugou decide how they want to fix it (shoving ghost Bakugou through real Bakugou's body) and follow up on that plan. From this point you can sort of figure out what the key scenes will be for your fic, as well as how well some scenes you already had in mind may fit/not fit this fic.

Establish characterization. Think on how your Reader and their love interest are going to engage with the conflict progression. Is Reader smart or oblivious, and how will that shape how they respond in the scenes you are writing? Similarly, what is the canon character love interest like in canon? How does that mean they would respond to the events of your fic? This will give you a general idea of the actions and shape of the dialogue you will need to include in each scene. And it will also help you by keeping your characters somewhat consistent!!

Don't plan too much. Sometimes if you outline a fic too intensely it can feel like you have already written it and you end up losing the motivation to keep going on it! At least for me I like to outline the general events and characters' attitudes, but leave the specifics and the detail up to future Andie to decide as she's writing, so it still feels like I'm getting to explore and daydream as I go lol.

Anyway that is the general advice I have for you, although if you think of any more specific questions I'm happy to answer!!

Happy writing, sending you all my best vibes!!

[imekitty]

Questions number 3, 7, & 10 !

(Weird Questions for Writers)

I suck at being concise but I triiiiiied~

3. What is your writing ritual and why is it cursed?

So I like to play "games" when I write because I like to have order or rules to help keep me focused. I have a few different games and I typically start a new game each month. For example, for this month, I have made a list of eight different fics that I want to work on, and I assigned a number (1-8) to each fic. Each night, I randomize three of the numbers to determine which fics I will work on. I have to write at least one paragraph for each fic, but it can be as short as just a few words, there's no upper or lower limit.

This is cursed because I have OCD and I feel like I can't work on a fic unless it's been randomized even if I feel inspired or have an idea I don't want to forget. I have to remind myself that these are rules I literally just made up, they don't mean anything, I can break them if I want and no one will ever know or care.

But on the plus side, I am able to keep numerous fics going at a steady pace.

7. What is your deepest joy about writing?

I find a lot of pleasure in finding ways to link all the details and intricacies in my fics, like little snippets of dialogue that maybe didn't seem that important before or a particular decision a character made in an earlier chapter that opens up a door for an amazing plot point later. Weaving everything together into a fantastically coherent plot is such an amazing feeling, and it's even better when I can share it with others and they are able to actually see all the neat little details that I was able to make work together.

10. Has a piece of writing ever “haunted” you? Has your own writing haunted you? What does that mean to you?

Yes, actually, Disparaged haunted me for a long time. It was my first angsty fic that I shared publicly, and I felt really vulnerable. I felt that Disparaged was odd, bizarre, weird. It details a teenager’s response to trauma but then it also details a woman’s desire to violate a teenage boy. It shows a boy’s struggle with addiction to painkillers and a mother’s addiction to both her son and an elusive fantasy of a man she can’t have. It is horrifying and inappropriate and has all these sexual undertones.

And I guess I felt like...it showed everything that I was and everything that was wrong with me?

And I just wondered why I couldn’t have written a normal angsty fic with all the normal tropes the fandom likes. Something universally likable, something I wouldn't keep getting comments about how uncomfortable and upsetting it was. Something that didn’t cause someone to leave a comment saying they were unable to finish the fic because it was too distressing and intense. Something that didn’t make someone ask me seriously if I’m doing okay.

But over time as I started posting more angst and especially with the popularity of the sequel Dissembled, I started to feel better about it. And now I embrace my love for dark angst.

But yes, for quite a while, I was haunted by Disparaged.

[breitweisergallery]

Alright bitch, since you sent me so many questions...time to return the favor: 1, 3, 5, 10, 12, 15, 18, 21, 25, 27, 28, 35, 36, 44, 72

HAHAHAH ily <3

1. Do you daydream a lot before you write, or go for it as soon as the ideas strike?

It depends project to project, but I do tend to talk them out to myself at night. Staring up at the ceiling two feet from my face, usually in some kind of accent, until I can piece together what exactly I want out of it.

3. Do you share your fic ideas, or do you keep them to yourself?

Most of the time, I actually keep them to myself. The bigger projects I tend to share, just so I have someone other than myself to talk it out with.

5. How many wips do you have? What fandoms/pairings are they for?

10 currently! 6 of them are Critical Role (4 Essek/Caleb, 1 Lucien/Caleb, 1 Kingsley/Verin), 3 Devil Judge that will probably never see the light of day (1 Gaon/Yohan, 1 Yohan/Isaac, 1 Elijah-centic), 1 Strangers From Hell (implied Jongwoo/Moonjo but Moonjo-centric)

10. Do you work on multiple wips or stick to one fic at a time?

I've been leaning more recently towards sticking to one fic at a time. But if I have a particularly hard time with one (like I am right now), I might take a break to work on something else.

12. Do you outline your fics?  If yes, how detailed are your outlines?  How far do you stray from them?

Uh.

All jokes aside, I actually don't outline most of the time. I'm trying to get better about it for longer fics.

15. What’s your favorite time to write?

Early evening! Between 4-7p is really my primetime for writing. (Or morning, between 9a-11a also works pretty well for me. I just get sleepy mid-day).

18. Do you enjoy research?  Which fic of yours required the most research?

Yes!! I love research. One of the projects I'm currently working on, I've done some intense research into prisoners of war and internment/concentration camps. There was also a TDJ politics fic that never came to be where I dig some pretty extensive digging into the Korean political system.

21. Do you prefer writing chaptered fics or one-shots?

One-shots! I prefer writing one-shots.

25. What’s your favorite part of the writing process (worldbuilding, brainstorming/outlining, writing, editing, etc)?

Editing! I fucking love editing. I tend to take it to the extreme, not gonna lie, but it's so much fun to edit and revise.

27. What area of writing do you feel strongest in?

Dialogue is absolutely my strongest skill.

28. What area of writing do you want to improve in?

Realistic and intentional world-building.

35. What’s your favorite fic you’ve posted?

restless constructions (don't leave me)

36. What fic are you proudest of?

voices stolen and people borrowed

44. What is your favorite genre to write?

Slice of Life/Thriller/Adventure. In other words, something angsty but fun.

72. What’s your favorite writing compliment you’ve gotten?

(courtesy of @crying-cryptids)

Fanfiction Writing Asks | Send Me Asks

[quordleona03]

20, 23, 31 :3

20: Have you noticed any patterns in your fics? Words/expressions that appear a lot, themes, common settings, etc?

Religion. I have been a convinced atheist since I was a teenager . (Intensive reading of the Bible and other myths will do that to you.) But I am fascinated by religion - by the stories people live by and the faiths they hold to against all reason. I invented an entire Cardassian religion for the sake of having a devout Cardassian discuss her faith with Jean-Luc Picard, who was (at least in my headcanon) brought up Catholic.

For quite a while I was also consistently interested in slavery - find me a universe, I'd write a slave-story fic in it. Sometimes I combined this with writing about religion. (MirrorMASH - especially A Hawk Through the Mirror - and A Good Job, are both technically examples of this.)

I love dialogue. My favourite thing about stories is usually when you get two or more people together and they're talking and it's so intense the reader doesn't know whether to laugh, cry, or scream.

23: Best writing advice for other writers?

Avoid glaucoma. No, seriously, the usual: you have to actually sit down and write that shitty first draft in order to get the story done. You don't need to show the rotten first draft to anyone til you make it better, but the only way to make it better is to write that crappy first version. A lot of writing advice is situational and personal. What works for me is to write something, anything, at least 750 words a day, just to keep my writing muscles energised. It helps to read a lot, to plan my stories out, to spend a lot of time thinking about my characters in situations that don't appear in the story, just so I know how they move and act and think and speak. But the one thing that is universal, I believe, is just that: write that bogging-awful unpublishable shamefully bad first draft - then polish. But you can't polish what isn't there.

31: Do you start with the characters or the plot when writing?

Oh, characters. Definitely. Except when I start with the plot. No, usually it's the characters. But I get really interested in the characters when I think of plot for them. So really, it's both.

I launched into MirrorMASH and The Games, both of them, without having any clear idea of where the plot was going - I just knew I wanted to put those characters in this situation and see what happened. On the other hand, I started writing "All We Know" with a very clear idea of the plot - but I would never have begun writing it if I hadn't so badly wanted to go back and find Hawkeye and Mulcahy and make sure they were still happy ten years after "Goodbye, Farewell, Amen".

3: Describe the creative process of writing a chapter/fic

Those are two different things.

If I am writing a multi-chaptered story, I have the story planned out. I know what's going to happen in each chapter. I may not know in exact detail (though I may have a lot of exact detail written down) but I know the plot steps. I think of this as crossing a wide, deep, fast river by stepping stones. Out in the middle of the river, you're surrounded by chaos and muddle and danger, but you have each stone solid underfoot and the way across is clear. So I embark on the chapter knowing whose POV is telling the story, and knowing what has to happen in the chapter (though obviously surprises happen). I started Margaret's chapter for April in "All We Know" three times over until I got to a good starting point (Barbara, Sam's daughter, turned out to be the way in). While sometimes it can be difficult, the steps behind me are solid and the framework ahead of me is worked out and I just have to complete this step, and so I start writing. And sometimes people give me an idea for a story and I run with it. I wrote a lot of the MASH drabbles like that. And "Comrades " was written because Ajay wanted to see Hawkeye and Mulcahy trapped behind enemy lines. Generally speaking, a story from an idea someone else explicity gave me is going to be shorter and tamer. (But not always.) But a story that has no chapters, which I have just embarked on with characters in a situation and a sketchy plot - I am writing off into a white page of hope, buiding the story one sentence at a time. Sometimes doing this leads to writing a multi-chapter story when I realise this has got out of hand. Sometimes it just ends up being one very long story that I keep coming back to and coming back to until the story curls round and tells me "it's done". I got the idea for "Tuttle" like that: and the idea for "Crabapple Cove", and the idea for "For Ever" and - longer ago - "Friend and Stranger", and the whole MirrorTrek sequence. Sometimes I begin a story thinking, this is just a flashy idea, it's a one-shot, how many words can this take me to do - and then I look up and realise, my God, where am I. In the middle of the river, with no stepping stones, just a lot of chaotic water and the surety that if I can keep writing, carefully, thinking things through as I go, there will be an ending. I hope. That's the creative process. Story in search of an ending, for the love of words.

[plushie-sentai]

Tagged by @stickers-on-a-laptop ! Tysm!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Five! Not a lot atm but I used to write a lot on wattpad as well 😅

2. What is your AO3 word count?

11,227 words :P

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Tokusatsu! Namely Kamen Rider Build and King Ohger atm, but I also have a planned Ex-Aid fic (and some old my little pony fics I may move over from wattpad lmao)

4. What are your top five fics by Kudos?

Since I only have five, my top three are

Getting to Know the Boogeyman

Of Courtship & Coccinelles and

Red Looks Good on You

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Definitely Sento’s Wandering Mind, the whole thing is a vent piece and I heavily relate to Sento so it’s more of personal processing than anything lmao

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Probably Of Courtship & Coccinelles! I write most stuff with fluffy endings but that one definitively ends on a bright note

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Nope!

9. Do you write smut? If so, which kind?

I’ve written two smut pieces so far, which is a huge step for me personally for many reasons, but they’re both best match fics :3 one angst, one fun and sexy. Honestly I draw more of it than I write it lol

10. Do you write crossovers? I hate the craziest crossover you’ve ever written?

I’m not much for writing crossovers BUT the exaid fic I’ve had in the works for a while technically is one bc it’s hatsune Miku as a bugster lol

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Also no but would be neat :)

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not on AO3 but I love bouncing ideas off of people and also working on characters together, esp mine and @chilipepperconverse ‘s KR OCs :3 actually I used to co-write with friends all the time in middle school when we wrote together.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Bonkers ass question but rn my answer would probably be Bravesnipe?? But I feel like there’s definitely ones I’m crazier abt out there. Maybe sonotaro…

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Unfortunately probably the Miku exaid fic ;-; the concept is fun and cute but with some stuff I get an outline or somethin cookin and then it never sees the light of day again

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think I’m pretty good at detailed descriptions and visuals. I’m much more an artist than a writer, so I’ve spoken before about how I view my stories like written descriptions of story boards, and I absolutely love to try and paint a picture with my words.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

In my actual writing I’m unsure and would love to hear any feedback, but for me it’s actually just GETTINg myself to write. It takes a lot of mental energy to start the task and I can never really make myself do it, it’s only when I’m in a rare and intense mood for writing somethin that I’ve got a REALLY solid idea on. That’s mostly why I’ve got so few fics. I have more ideas, but it’s difficult to get myself to a point with any of them where I’ll actually write any of it out lol

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Personally I think it’s neat when other people do it, but unless it’s French I probably never will. Even then I’d be so nervous about getting it wrong I’d probably find some kinda work around

19. First fandom you wrote for?

On AO3 it’s King Ohger, but in reality…. Oh boy. Warriors fanfic abt my sonas when I was like 10? Outside of OCs my first canon-aligned fanfic was probably one of the my little pony ones on wattpad. I did mostly original character stuff when I wrote frequently as a tween so I guess I didn’t start with fanfic until like a year or two ago.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

I only have a few so I’m proud of them all for different reasons, but I think Sento’s Wandering Mind is one that I’m particularly fond of even tho it didn’t do as well as the others. It’s conceptually something I’ve been trying to put into words for a long time, and it was my first foray into writing anything REMOTELY sexual, which was a huge jump for me that I’m very proud of as a person who previously struggled a lot more with “catholic shame” if I had to put a word to it. It’s kinda a heavy read and isn’t perfect, but the fact that it’s out in the world is important to me and I’m happy with it. Hope you all enjoy!!

Tagging @chilipepperconverse and @cantarella-rose and anyone else who’d like to participate! :3

[ripeteeth]

Omgg you repliedd!!! Indeed the creative process is messy and i thought it's really a herculean task to ask anyone about their process but thank you so much for such a comprehensive detailed answer. I wil surely read up on the authors and books you have recommended and try to dissect them. Would love to also read the minotaur and Theseus story.

I'll mull about your answer for a couple times until I figure out what it means for me and how to apply it.

If you don't mind, here are some problems that i face in writing and i would love your advice :

it's plot and dialogue. When i sit down to write dialogue it's almost as if i forget how do people even talk .

2. I don't know how to plot, i have a kernel of an idea, characters and their journey but i drive into a blank wall when i think about how to actually extend the idea to a story, how to write incidents,scenes and events . I have no answer to the question 'What next? '

3. Another problem, what are you supposed to do to when you have a list of different ideas but don't know where to start from? which one to pick?

4. Also there can be a host of different possiblities for each story or ending, how are you supposed to pick?

5. My main problem is my inabiity to extend an idea to a story, to actually realise what is in my head into words on a paper. It's driving me crazy for years and i would be so so greateful for some relief.

I hope I am not being persistant and an inconvenience for pestering you with these messages and my troubles.

Also you are an excellent writer, please never doubt yourself.

You have indeed made my month too.

Hmm, honestly most of these aren't something I can answer. I can't direct you to which idea to pick or which ending to write, that's something you have to determine for yourself. And I feel you, it can be very hard! Sometimes you just have to throw all the ideas in a hat and pick one at random and commit to it.

That's the real key. Don't give up. Your draft is gonna be shitty. You're gonna miss scenes and it's gonna be terrible. That's a first draft. And usually a second. It gets better as you keep going, but if you bounce around - or never start - then you don't have anything to edit and expand on. Just pick something at random and start putting the words on the page.

Plotting is difficult and I always struggle with it. I frequently like using the Snowflake Method, which begins with your broad ideas for the story and helps drill down and determine the smaller ideas and scenes to further and support it. But nothing will tell you which scenes are required to further your story, only you will know that. I frequently like to work backward. For example, I'm writing a story where Victor Frankenstein and the Creature fall in love. So, I ask myself, okay how does Victor get over his animosity for the Creature? What forces them to interact? I saw one of my final scenes as a reversal of the ending of Frankenstein, in that I wanted to find Victor bent over the Creature's dying body and mourning him, desperate to keep him. So then I work backward. Why is the Creature dying? What happened to get him to this point? What brought Victor to be present? Why does Victor now care?

There are lots of different plot structures out there and everyone will tell you that they've got it all figured out, but the fun thing is that there really isn't one way to plot a book. You can be creative. The trouble is the paradox of choice. We have so many options that it makes it hard to figure out the right option for us. You might get midway through your story and decide you don't like the plot structure. That's happened to me. Sometimes you have to go back and rewrite, sometimes you can reorganize scenes. It's all a part of the process.

Working backward works well for me, but it's absolutely not the only method. There are a lot of great books on writing and fiction that have addressed this far more intensively and eloquently than I ever could! I really recommend Craft In The Real World by Matthew Salesses; Steering The Craft by Ursula K. LeGuin; Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott; Meander, Spiral, Explode: Design and Pattern in Narrative by Jane Alison; and The Writing Life by Annie Dillard. There are some great online resources like The Center for Fiction, classes like Gotham Writers Workshop, and a lot of libraries offer free workshops and lectures for aspiring writers or can direct you to a wealth of other resources that I haven't even thought of.

When it comes to dialogue, the best thing a writing instructor ever told me was to steal from real life. Pay attention to conversations you have and hear around you. Write them down. Be a magpie of everything. I have a constant note running in my phone of things I hear. When I notice dialogue I really love in books or shows, I mark the passages and try to learn to write in that way. To mimic it. Like right now I'm going over the Succession script book to study the dialogue as it's just absolutely incredible. There's really no better way. Look at the stuff you admire, try to pick it apart and make it your own.

I hope this helps in any way! I know it's difficult and hard to navigate, but I really really do rec those writing books as resources, they've helped me immensely and I think you'll find gold in there.

[koqabear]

HELLOOOO i am back with my (hopefully) long awaited analysis/review!! i don't know what switch flipped in my brain last night but i woke up this morning with such an intense Yearning to read killer instinct after years an entire week and so... i did! i almost want to scold myself for how long it took me to finally read because why on earth was i depriving myself of yet another masterpiece?? literally as i was reading this i thought about how this could be just like that wattpad one direction fanfic that got turned into a movie with how good this is like you don't even get it...

i just finished reading so my brain is kind of all over the place huhu i wrote in my notes again because there's so much i want to touch on but nothing that i wrote is really coherent but i'm going to try my very best to write everything in a way that makes Sense. i think i might just spend an entire hour and a half, or even more, (edit: it took me even more, and not because i was typing but i because i got distracted) just trying to get through everything i want to talk about though because holy shit... there's literally just so much; i think i went straight into my notes just during the first scene where beomgyu and taehyun are trash talking each other just before their first ever fight, and i just couldn't stop thinking about that initial teaser warning about a "healthy dose of homosexual tension" because literally, the first note i wrote down was GOD THIS PLACE REEKS!! (read in the voice of that blue shark from spongebob that's like 'oh brother, this guy stinks!') i love it ofmmgmgng the cockiness. The undertones of homosexuality. Chef's kiss; in response to:

“If anything, I should be the one worried for you,” Taehyun mutters, a fake look of sympathy crossing his face at the thought, his voice patronizing as he continues, “I wouldn’t wanna ruin your pretty face.”

And then the way it just Kept Going when taehyun shows up at beomgyu's mom's restaurant and they're literally bickering at the counter like they're about to start fighting in the middle of said restaurant... you're crazy but i'm crazier because i was absolutely living for every second of it!

okay, in an effort to make this all Make Sense i'm just going to start off by saying i think one of my favorite parts of my whole experience with reading killer instinct was that it was written as if you were to read the alt text to an entire kdrama... which, in hindsight, i guess is kind of what literature for considering some kdramas are based off webtoons or some movies are live adaptations of books? lol? i don't know how to better explain this idea because it already makes sense in my head but i guess i really like the way everything flows so naturally into different scenes regardless of whether there was a cut or not and how you vividly depict the settings of scenes in a realistic way that it feels like the words i'm reading are happening around me or they're something i can easily visualize as if the setting was actually in front of me in the form of a show or movie; and this is something i really enjoy seeing... reading? when i read because i think it's just so so important that, as a reader, i can picture exactly what and where something is going on because not only does it add to the experience of reading, but it also i guess shows (?) in a way, what the writer was imagining as they were reading and... that's important! i feel like a lot of people kind of don't really pay attention to or focus on adding the details to describe the setting or atmosphere of where their story is happening and it's kind of just left up to everyone else's personal interpretation and imagination through word choice, dialogue, and whatnot. okay, so ig little tldr; i really like colorful descriptions! i can immerse myself better that way!

anyways back to the kdrama thing, the general idea of the plot i was getting in the beginning (i was still in that crazy bamtori headspace so my take was still very much centered around him and his existence... sorry <3) was like... it's supposed to trick viewers into thinking they know the obvious which is that the story is centered around beomgyu who's the average mischievous male "lead" — except he's not actually the male lead and they just want you to think he is — who is constantly getting himself into trouble and worrying his best friend, who just so happens to work at his mom's restaurant, sick because she has to go drag him out almost every time and then boom! here comes taehyun, and everything you thought you knew about what you were watching is chucked straight out the window because surprise! the male lead is actually the second one who you just met and not the first one you were suspecting the entire time.

also, kind of in addition to that, i kept getting like... mad at beomgyu lmfao? like mc was taking the words right out of my mouth!

“I asked for your help— three hours ago. Yet you still chose to be a brat and go back upstairs the moment your mother pitied you. You—“ cutting yourself off, you sigh, shaking your head before you’re picking the wet towel back off, turning your back to him, “I hope you realize how much she spoils you.” 

possibly the realest thing mc could have ever said i was getting Real Life Angry because most of the time momma's boy boys (? words) are can be so evil like they'll KNOW they're in the wrong too for taking advantage of their mom's kindness like that too and as i kept reading i would just get more and more angry at the shit beomgyu would say like the whole:

“You know, for a mere worker, you sure are involved in our personal lives.” Beomgyu’s words are hissed out and sting like acid as your eyes widen, gritting your teeth together as you watch Beomgyu sit back in realization— as though he didn’t know what he said until now. 

SOLFHJUSHGJIDURGH... i don't even think you understand how bad this triggered me, like i swear to god when i tell you i have never wanted to jump through a screen and hit a man so badly in my entire life... i genuinely wanted a go at him. you made it so hard to like him at all and be the crazy bamtori i am (this had to be on purposefudhughdrg) i genuinely hated him and before i started reading, i saw another anon send an ask about focusing on his character so i was like omg~ but noo. i literally wrote a note under this part saying, 'this man needs to die and go to hell. Mere worker.... MC IS HELPING YOUR MOM AND YOU LIVE. SHE GOES TO YOUR STUPID UNDERGROHND ILLEGAL FIGHT CLUBS BC SHES STILL WORRIED ABOUT YOUR WELLBEING AND YOUUU.... The belittling is fucking crazy im gonna die of cardiac explosion like a sim if he keeps this shit up' so for the entire first third of the story i was like JIN LET ME AT HIM!!!! also side note, it's kind of funny (as in coincidental) too because the other day i saw these tweets where it was basically like 'i think fathers lose their mind a little bit when they realize their daughters aren't as forgiving as their wives' and one of the responses to that tweet was 'husbands lose their minds a little when they realize their wives aren't as forgiving as their mothers'. now.. beomgyu is neither a father or husband in killer instinct, but he IS (or at least i thought he was at first!) a little bitch, so the way that both statements basically touch on how as men realize there's less and less bullshit they can get away with as there's more women surrounding them, i thought it was crazy to actually... be able to see that dynamic between beomgyu's extremely forgiving mother and mc who acts as this "uptight" older sister (and taehyun's instigating after made me absolutely livid i wanted to bite his head off) who always has to get him out of trouble just made me think of that and i was like damn! in essence, i was once again reminded that i hate men and the patriarchy, BUT as i kept reading i realized there were actually a lot more layers (what did i expect really... like of course there was, it's not a koqabear fic if there isn't insane characterization!) slowly unraveling as we get to the part where more about mc gets revealed and by the time jay was introduced, i had to stop reading just to write down everything i wanted to tell you that i noticed and liked because... seriously just by adding half of the industry into this story allowed it to be so much more jam packed with characterization and layers; i think you did a really good job writing their personalities and back stories and then when applicable, incorporating both of those into their fighting styles with characters like beomgyu and jay for example.

The things he could do with the prize money were endless— he already had a few ideas in mind, thinking back to his hardworking mother and how much she struggled to raise him on her own while still managing her restaurant. Then he thought about you, of the hard times he gave you, knowing how much you feared him going through the same things you did, of turning to a life dependent on fighting and gambling.

i wanted to jump off a building. So bad. and like i said, by the time jay got introduced i had gotten a pretty good gist of everything and i just want to say i love love love how everyone is characterized so differently and how you made it a point to acknowledge so many things when it came down to writing their fighting style and why they do it. i'm genuinely amazed at how detailed and intricate the world building for this fic is. it's absolutely insane. even though there's cliches like the spoiled rotten momma's boy who's an absolute menace to society and says or does things that make you want to slap him silly and tell him, just like many characters in the story had, to just use his brain for once and think. and then the weak kid who's filled with so much rage and a burning desire to protect himself with, what started as self defense, but allows/gets manipulated into having it become an unhealthy way of coping with his trauma and the only way he knows how to express his anger as he becomes the very same bloodthirsty monster he used to fear all those years ago the moment he steps into the cage... it's actually brilliant idk! i think there's just a whole, completely different and deeper sentiment you can get by simply reading it instead of watching it. being able to have this sort of epiphany, whether it was something you intended on incorporating or my overanalyzing, i think my general point still stands that it takes an amazing and extremely talented writer to take something that's generally viewed as a cliche or an overdone trope to the point that it's boring and express it in a way that feels new and even refreshing to read and realize.

like i mentioned before, i think it's just as important that there's characters like mc who feel like they're entitled to stop someone from going down the same path they did and feel responsible when they still do even though in actuality it's not their fault or doing at all, as well as beomgyu's mom like. ugh. i love how despite knowing mc's (and yoongi's!) history with those clubs, given they met there, his mom never once blamed or accused her for beomgyu's constant returns to those clubs or even implied that she was a bad influence on him. even when she gets the phone call that her son's in icu with an infection from getting stabbed at one of those clubs, instead of scolding mc or berating yoongi, two champions of the very illegal underground fight club she had to take beomgyu out of as an adolescent and now see him lay in a hospital bed in critical condition because of his involvement there again... she was happy and relieved to see them and to the point she gave them big ol' bear hugs like T_T i just love the little side found family you incorporated because being able to read the scene which is, essentially, what leads mc to be taken under beomgyu's mom's wing and out of that bad place with something as simple as "and you? will you be alright here?" followed by “if you’re ever hungry, you can always stop by. On the house,” then realize that that very same kindness without judgement she was shown is something she still remembers and cherishes is so beautiful and heartwarming idk like i can't even be ashamed if this is just me overanalyzing and being corny because i ate that shit up! licked the plate clean! not an ounce of anger or judgement in that fictional woman's body... having his mom, be a mom was just kind of the icing on the cake because there was still a character like her who existed in the world you created despite all the chaos within it. also joy too omg even though her time was fairly short, it was still nice to have that just-happy-to-be-here and carefree bubbly personality thrown into the mix of what is already a serious matter like illegal underground fighting, gambling, the welfare of character's like beomgyu; his mom; and mc herself because... like you wrote, mc's only there and out of where she came from because of beomgyu's mom and with him in icu racking up hospital bills from being in critical condition and getting treatment for it, his mom would be subjected to pay for all of that and it doesn't just affect her, but it affects mc too. just knowing that there was so much on the line for them, how mc blames herself for not doing better to save him and the years she's been trying to steer him out of that direction; there was just a sense of realism i experience reading and it was to the point that as i was taking these notes of what to say, i realized that in a way joy's character could even be angering to some...? because there's just so many things at stake and despite the rigorous physically taxing training to make ends meet by putting Everything on the line into this one, extremely dangerous glimmer of hope, there's still someone like joy who can lessen the blow just by existing and being there. This was not at all supposed to be this long but fuck it we ball!

all seriousness aside, because holy shit why did i start making comparisons to the real world when i was just talking about characters and personalities, there were so many times i laughed while reading this because even though. the story's not at all meant to be comical it is like in the very beginning i had to take a step back because no way my babygirls taehyun, beomgyu, jin, TAEYONG, and jeno are all here? also the whole thing where jungkook and mc very Clearly have something going and putting it in a TAEHYUN fic is so sick and twisted!! you know he taehyun looks up to him jungkook! 😭😭😭 the part where they're kind of having a little rival moment had me giggling because like beomgyu, i also wanted taehyun's head on a saucer in the beginning because aside from instigating and being a bitch with an attitude (telling mc to keep her nose out of beomgyu's business) after just having taken a jab at beomgyu by checking him when he said that him and mc are like family i was just. LIKE THAT'S CRAZY!?#@?! the little warning about him being a bitch was so necessary because i got whiplash reading how he'd interact with beomgyu and mc. just a very insane man, but he was still my silly little sharkcat (this is also a crazy thing to say sorry); despite them all being connected to very much Illegal and Shady things you kind of perfectly portrayed what being a "newbie" really is because there's seasoned veterans like mc and yoongi, aaand then there's taegyu. the part where he can't stop looking at where the gun is concealed took me out so bad like this poor boy 😭 he just wanted to fight and win some money fair and square then next thing he knows he's being sent on a mission to get that money back because his sparring partner got set up and, on top of that, stabbed??? HIS ASS DID NOT SIGN UP FOR THAT? also the way this next part flows so naturally had me laughing a little like. I feel like zendaya with tom holland right now but hear me out you were funny on Accident while writing this?

“You know I have a club to run, right?” it’s clear you’ve given up as you mutter a yeah yeah, softly, pouting like a child to the older man, “I can’t have this place running while you’re training that poor kid to death.”

“My regimen has results.” you say defensively, glaring at Seokjin, who simply puts up his hands in defeat, unphased by your attitude as he glances back at Taehyun.

“He looks like he’s about to pass out.” 

the pacing was perfect? so was the forced proximity. LET ME GET ON WITH THIS. okay, so back to the kdrama point i made earlier. that still stands! the late night deep conversations and life stories shared at a convenience store over a bottle of soju and cheap instant ramen despite the whole world wanting to fall apart right under your feet and the sky is willing itself not to come crashing down on you... that's something i love to see! honestly, i think by the time taehyun and mc started making progress...? in their relationship there was already so much i had to process, it was too much for my brain to handle and thoroughly analyze to comment on, so i just kind of blacked out and regained consciousness when there was that kiss of adrenaline from winning and taehyun not being given the chance to process any of it. Also making out in front of a hospital is crazy? in a good way though! still definitely not as crazy as like. literally everything else going on but aside from that i think the laaasst compliment i have is that. you're getting way too good at writing that little turning point where the tension between mc and the member just kind of Explodes everywhere. it was like gyu from camera shy possessed taehyun through the keyboard like. Sorry but the parallel between “How are you gonna make it up to me now?” and “I won just for you... Don't you think I deserve a reward for working so hard?” is crazy i'm sick to my tummysgjdjgdh. I need to be held after reading this – ml

HI!! When i tell you your review absolutely FLOORED me, you were so detailed and went above and beyond with your thoughts/analysis, i feel so appreciated right now i could cry :((( you’re fueling my ego right now, this is a bit dangerous…

as always, i go into detail under the cut ! if it all sounds insane i apologize bc i did indeed go insane a little! 

-[Taegyu and the intense… tension]

ACKSNDKS NO BE HEAR ME OUT. killer instinct was three seconds away from looking like a taegyu fic from how much tension i kept adding 😭😭 when i took a step back from the scene i remembered thinking “holy shit the mc hasn’t even showed up yet” like,,, i had to fight for my life to make her character relevant once she showed up??? this could’ve ended up as a serious bromance if i hadn’t been more careful 😭

-[descriptions and storytelling hehe]

thank you sm for picking up on this omg <///3 i think this story is one where i was really inclined to make everything really detailed? i feel like in a setting and world that intense, the environment is rlly important to include bc it adds to the storytelling!! especially in the opening scene, something must’ve possessed me bc i was just super determined to set the mood properly dksbdkd 

i really appreciate you pointing that out !!

-[i almost made gyu a love interest… (hides in shame)]

omg lemme just say, throughout the beginning of the fic i almost considered adding a sprinkle of unrequited feelings from Beomgyu for the mc, but i decided against it bc the idea of a “love triangle” in a story like this was straight up unnecessary; im so glad i did tho, because it allowed me to focus on a different dynamic i’ll get into in a bit! 

-[turning ml agianst beomgyu ?! / abt gyu, the menace to society.]

HAHAHA UR SO REAL FOR THIS 😭 when i was thinking of how i would write the mc, i knew i had to give her a reason as to why she was such a “bitch” to beomgyu— and lemme tell you, i absolutely despise a mommas boy, specifically one like beomgyu. he’s very childish and spoiled (on the surface, at least) especially bc his mother treated him like royalty growing up. she only gave him the best and always coddled him bc she was all he had and she wanted to give him the best life she could. so as a result, she raised a very rotten kid 😭 naturally, when the mc appeared and began acting as the strong and cold authority figure beomgyu never had, he didn’t really know how to react; which leads to him saying shit he has no business saying and acting like a damn fool. he’s learning, though! 

-[A small look into the mc’s past and how it affected her relationships with others.]

“…fathers lose their mind a little bit when they realize their daughters aren't as forgiving…”

“…husbands lose their minds a little when they realize their wives aren't as forgiving…”

the way that both of those quotes had me in pieces. i think a big reason as to why i like the mc is bc of the relationships she’s made with the choi family and also bc of how she carries herself despite dealing with a lot of trauma. she’s a very strong and independent woman who refuses to take shit from anyone, especially men; i only briefly touch on her backstory bc i didn’t want to write anything triggering that didn’t really need to be written full-depth, but the mc doesn’t come from a loving family— at all. it’s the thing that led her to a life of crime in the first place, which is exactly why he became so protective of beomgyu; he has the one thing she’s only ever wanted, and that’s a loving parent that would go to the deepest pits of hell to rescue him. to me, adding the choi family was like granting the mc rest— which is why she was able to fit herself into their life so easily, and why she makes herself into a sister-figure that keeps beomgyu in line; just so she can prevent him from becoming another ruthless monster in the world. 

-[me going insane over characterization]

again, thank you for pointing that out eee!!! one thing i always enjoy the most about writing is characterization! i genuinely find it fascinating to see how writers bring a character to life, so i find it very important to try and make my own characters interesting and layered 😭 i think my favorite part about having so many characters in killer instinct was the fact that i could add a deeper sense of life through the way they interacted with each other and the relationships they made! who they knew, whether they liked them, the way they acted and talked around/to them, it all aids in characterization !  it’s genuinely one of my favorite things about writing, so you bringing it up means a lot to me <3

-[wow, gyu’s all grown up.]

i think that by the time beomgyu decided to join in the fightx tournament, he really matured as both a son and a friend/family to the mc. sure, he had always used his reward money to help pay the expenses of the restaurant and rent, but it was only because it felt more like an obligation as a son to him— but as he grew older and became more involved in the underground fighting scene, he began to realize just how important his family was to him, even if it was too late to outwardly express it with confidence— even more so when the restaurant began struggling a bit and the mc had to overwork herself as a result. and yeah, he may have gotten a bit blinded and carried away by the prize money from fightx, but he only wanted to give back to the two people that raised him and never gave up on him, even when he grew to be a little bitch !

-[me rambling about fighting styles 😔]

not to keep geeking out abt my characters but i had soooo much fun writing everyone’s fighting styles— it really let their personalities shine through and it made me think about what each character was like on a deeper level. i think joy is one of my favorite (and more obvious) examples, but ya, choosing to do an mma au instead of simply boxing was the greatest decision ever :))

-[my thoughts on movie adaptations lol]

thank you so much, seriously omg :(((( i’m so glad that you think i gave these cliches justice haha, i honestly wondered if jays character was a bit… much..? but i do agree with the whole deeper sentiment through reading thing, because there’s just some things that can only be conveyed through words; i feel like that’s why i’ve found some movie adaptations a bit empty or lacking— because at the end of the day, i feel like even the smallest details and choice words really help elevate a character’s thoughts and emotions, but not everything can be expressed in a movie. 

-[Ms. Choi is literally an angel idc] 

Ms choi is both the sweetest and most emphatic character in that story <3 she’s an absolute sweetheart who, despite everything she’s gone through, has learned to always look on the bright side and not let the negativity get to her— after all, it wouldn’t be very good for beomgyu to grow up with a vindictive and resentful mother, right? in the end, everything about Ms Choi goes back to her son; which is why, during the scene where the mc and gyu first meet, Ms Choi is able to get a good grasp of the mc’s character— even more so when she opens herself up to visiting her restaurant to even working at it. 

all that time of trust and growth only proved to Ms. Choi what she already knew of her (and yoongi, merely bc of the amount of time he spent glued to mc’s side while she worked) and that was the fact that deep inside, all she really longed for was the security and comfort of a good life, surrounded by loving people. and who was she to deny that from her ? <3

-[My weakness, the found family trope.]

if i had allowed myself to, i would’ve indulged in the whole found family aspect of this fic a lottt more. it’s genuinely one of my favorite tropes simply bc it destroys me every time, so the fact that you’re bringing it up is rlly satisfying to me :)) 

-[my thoughts about joy’s character]

i think joys character was also really refreshing to write; someone who, just like Ms. Choi, chose to cope with her situation and hardships by trying to remain positive and bubbly, even if the situation didn’t really call for it. and though her attitude may have made her seem insincere or insensitive, it’s just her trying to keep everyone on a lighter mood instead of letting them get too into their heads— and yeah, she’s definitely had times where people get angry and up in her face bc she seems to take everything as a joke, but that doesn’t stop her from caring in her own, unique way. 

-[thoughts on choosing idols + tyun, an absolute psycho.] 

NO BC IT WAS WAYYY TOO FUN PICKING THE IDOLS THAT WOULD FIT THE CHARACTERS 😭😭😭 like i know for a fact taeyong would be the last person in the universe to step into a shady and brutish place like that, but man does he have to appearance for it ! (along with jeno hehe) 

as for the jk thing….. no comment! ^v^

but seriously, taehyun was a little batshit insane in killer instinct 😭😭 a true instigator and fiend at heart, he barely has the power to control his mouth before he’s spitting out stuff that’ll get him in serious trouble. which,, has happened before, so let’s just say he also got into fighting as a defense mechanism! 🤗 (that is a joke. kinda.)

(ALSO THE SHARKCAT THING IS SO FUNNY BUT ACCURATE???) 

-[tyun, who did not sign up for any of this!!]

no bc i literally had so much fun when it was revealed that the mc was also a fighter 😭 it added another layer of superiority bc she now was both older and more experienced than tyun— so let’s just say the poor dude practically fell to his knees at the memory of him telling the mc she doesn’t know shit about the underground fighting scene skdbdkd 

but the tyun fr just wanted to cope in his own way, what the hell do you mean he’s going up against a tyrant's prodigy??? what the fuck!!

i also enjoyed myself a bit too much when the mc interacted with jin or yoongi, simply bc she could allow herself to let loose around them haha 

-[killer instinct and its lack of romance 😔]

i’m such a sucker for those types of typical scenes lmaooo like… can you tell i’m an avid kdrama watcher?? oooouuuh it’s showing isn’t it. 

but i seriously feel a bit bad for those who expected this story to have more romance 😭 i did think about adding more honestly, but that would’ve made the story longer simply because their development had to be slowww if i was going to be detailed. there’s so many scenes i mentally cut out simply bc i was like “ok i fr should get on with this.” 

one of them being a scene where they visit gyu and the mc gets to see the friendship between the two better— it allows her to see him in a new light and blah blah blah u get the gist huh 

-[my secret thoughts about the smut ahhhh]

making out in front of a hospital is indeed insane and if the parking lot hadn’t been empty the two most definitely wouldn’t have had any peace!! like, hello?? ppl are dying over here!

i honestly did get reminded of camera shy gyu when i wrote that line 🫣 also a little confession, i was not satisfied with the smut like. at all 😭😭😭😭 i felt as though there was so much more room to play around with their dynamic but i just didn’t?? and i blame it on the fact that i was telling myself not to get carried away for the sake of how long it already was 😭 

i actually wrote love fool bc i had finished killer instinct and was in a mood to write a more detailed smut out of pure spite 😭 love fool was neverrr supposed to see the light but i was so frustrated with myself that i decided well, fuck it!

-[ml you are everything to me, thank you </3]

ml (who, as i currently type this, is no longer ml, i guess?) i seriously can’t begin to tell you how thankful i am for this— like, i’ve never felt more grateful for the fact that you took the time to write such a detailed, long review??? you are straight out of a writer’s greatest dream, i will never stop loving the fact that you went into so much detail with this— when i first received your inbox, i started scrolling… then kept scrolling… then kept scrolling…. and when i tell you my eyes widened so bad and my jaw dropped, i had never been so happy while reading a review <3

writing is made even more enjoyable to me because of people like you, who give me the opportunity to share my thought process and talk about universes and stories i absolutely adore <3 you are seriously the best thing that’s ever happened to me on this blog, and i sincerely hope that other writers are able to experience this joy for themselves as well haha 

[priafey]

Tag 7 people you'd like to know better!

was tagged by @ladytanithia

i don't know seven people to tag here on tumblr quite yet, so i'll tag two for now. feel free to play along if you want :3 @maldov and @inkysqueed. here are the prompts:

_–_–_

Last song listened to // Convergencia – Emiliano Salvador & Pablo Milanés

Been hooked with this one lately, ever since I heard it at the beginning of this movie. Features some breathtaking vocals by Milanés.

_–_–_

Currently watching // The Bear

My brother recommended it to me. There's a reason everyone's been talking up this show! The fast-paced, verisimilar dialogue and the simple plot lends itself well to the series' intense focus on details. Nothing in the script feel superfluous, though; every character has a purpose, and there's so much depth packed in so little space. I love how it subtly explores and comments on things like competition, ambition, tradition, misogyny, and racism in the present. I'm definitely partial to stories dealing with family drama, so this was a real treat for me.

_–_–_

Currently reading // The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon and The Imaginary Middle Ages: Movie Medievalism by Nickolas Haydock

First book is about the collective and individual psychology born of colonial relationships. Sounds fancy, but it's actually a fun read. The author uses some pretty colorful prose to illustrate his analysis, and the intro by Sartre is spectacular.

Second one is about putting the popular image people have of the Middle Ages in its context, i.e., "here's what you see in movies, in TV shows, in books, and here's what it was most probably like, and here's where that discrepancy comes from". The writing on this one isn't exactly thrilling (definitely takes some determination to get through), but it offers excellent insight into what exactly happens in that moment where the audience consumes images, unknowingly connecting them with ideas all the while.

_–_–_

Current obsession // Baking chocolate cake

There's this chocolate potato cake recipe I stumbled onto about a year ago (here on Tumblr, actually). It's from a Depression-era cookbook. Originally, the idea to put potatoes in the batter was to make it more filling and improve the yield, but it turns out the potato gives it a really great texture. I modified and refined the recipe to the point that I can't eat another chocolate cake without thinking about this one ;-; Here's the recipe in case anyone would like to give it a go:

CHOCOLATE POTATO CAKE

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups brown sugar

3/4 cups butter (melted)

2 eggs (room temp)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup mashed potatoes (1 large baking potato produces enough)

1 cup sour cream (room temp)

1 14oz bag of milk chocolate chips (ground up)

Place chocolate chips in freezer.

Thoroughly wash and peel one large baking potato. Make sure to remove all eyes or spots. Boil for 20-25 minutes until tender, then mash. Place in a tall glass container without covering and allow to cool.

Beat together sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl.

Add in the cup of mashed potatoes to the 'liquids' bowl and beat thoroughly. Mix in sour cream.

Blend chocolate chips in a food processor until they are as fine as possible. Mix into 'liquids' bowl.

Fold in the dry ingredients.

Place in a deep 9x9 inch baking pan or a bundt pan and bake for 50-55 minutes at 350˚F. Insert a toothpick into the center. If it comes out clean, it's ready.

[bonesandthebees]

So the new Glass chapter. No time for a proper analysis so have my immediate thoughts:

Crime boys fight! I love your fights. They’re always set up so well. The first time crimeboys fight is when they are stuck in their little co-dependent bubble and know each other well enough to have serious ammunition to hurt. I am still obsessed with the way you allow characters to dig and get bloody down to the bones. (I also really love the words as knives and actually cutting open Wilbur’s mouth as he draws blood methapoheres.) I wish I’d known there would be a fight, I would have gotten popcorn. Several of these lines made me winch.

Also, Wilbur’s whole, I’m not a person vs. Tommy caring about him and seeing how much it’s hurting him is very on point this chapter. Same with the co-dependency. Wilbur has spent very little time apart from Tommy. This shows especially in the entire market scene. On both sides btw. Wilbur is very overwhelmed and Tommy helps clam him down just by being there and holding his hand. Wilbur gets more stressed when Tommy is gone.

Also, Tommy’s idea to go out is very stupid, but his plan to prove that Wilbur wants to stay is even dumber and putting them both through so much stress. Like Tommy was very sure of himself, but as he actually left Wilbur alone the anxiety probably kicked on cuz of Wilhur had left, Tommy would be in some much trouble and Wilbur would end up back in his cage. Also, Foolish noticed (and recognised?) Wilbur and might be able to get that info back to Eret. The question is what happens then. Also it was way to risky either way. Also, Charlie finally getting a tooth as bribery.

I’m ignoring a lot for now, but I do want to talk a bit about Tubbo cuz I totally forget Wilbur didn’t clock him as hard-hearing and it made me laugh. Also, Tubbo hops on the bandwagon of “doesn’t fully understand or trust Wilbur, but knows he will keep Tommy safe and is grateful for that’. Also, I like him forgetting his clothes, it makes him feel more human despite the fact that we’ve mostly seen the worst of him.

One more detail, after the fight, Wilbur takes off his blindfold and the narration reverts to just pronouns again. He goes back to being nothing. And that, with the context that he just screams that he’s empty at the top of his lungs, hurts so, so, so much. This chapter really came for our throats, damn. I just remembered Wilbur there’s also the Wilbur (not) deserving better comment. Bee, what are you doing to this poor man.

Actual last comment for tonight: We get vicious Wilbur again! Yeay! I missed him! He’s fun when he’s got bite!

-🌲

SPRUCEEEE <33

YEAHHH the fight was so wild to write because, um, well here's a fun fact about the chapter.

the fight wasn't planned literally at ALL. there wasn't supposed to be a fight in this chapter! it just happened!

literally wilbur and tommy were supposed to just talk about going to the night market and that was it. no arguing. no disagreements even. but the dialogue just ran away from me and next thing I knew they were in the middle of a very intense argument and I was like "well okay I guess we're going with this now" and i had to sit back and rethink my entire chapter plan to see if i could still do it because it was a huge tone shift from what I originally had in store. tbh though it works so much better this way and I'm so glad you enjoyed reading the fight. I love writing fights. it's a constant balancing act of "how far can these two characters push each other before things move past the point of no return?"

oh yeah they're so codependent at this point. wilbur was overwhelmed in general from the night market because he literally hasn't been in public spaces like that for basically a decade at this point. like yes the palace held balls, but those weren't super frequent, and that was just about the only time he was around more than a handful of people at any given moment. so he was going to be anxious no matter what, but the separation from tommy really got to him.

and also yes the second tommy left wilbur to go get the food he was like "what the fuck did I do what did I do I'm so goddamn stupid fuck shit-" because he was terrified wilbur was really going to leave. he'd been acting confident, but their argument shook him way more than he let on. so yeah it was really stupid of him, but it worked!

the funny thing about wilbur is that he's so absorbed in his own problems half the time he won't notice the most obvious shit like tubbo being hoh. tbf both times he witnessed people signing at tubbo or tubbo signing at others he was stressed out about various other things, but still dude c'mon.

the reason I included tubbo forgetting his clothes was bc i realized i had already described him folding his arms over his chest and stuff which he wouldn't have been able to do with clothes in his arms, but I didn't want to go back and rewrite wilbur initially seeing him to say he had clothes in his arms either. plus, I needed something he could say as he left, so I just ended up throwing in the line about him forgetting his clothes bc I thought it was funny lol

:) I have a great time deciding when to just use pronouns for wilbur vs when to call him the pythia. it's something I'm always aware of when I'm writing this fic and it's so fun to play around with. poor guy :)

YES VICIOUS WILBUR I loved writing him being a dick again I've also missed him

[bbluejoseph]

20 questions for fic writers

thank you for tagging me @thatbluelight !! i'm not always an ask games kind of person, but This. this is perfect and i had a lot of fun with it :)

how many works do you have on ao3?

98! getting veeeery close to that big 100 lol

2. what's your total ao3 word count?

486,142 apparently. not quite as many as i thought lol

3. what fandoms do you write for?

twenty one pilots, although i do have an old wtnv crossover in the mix somewhere. i've been thinking about writing for the nbc hannibal fandom, but haven't done it yet

4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

bio is #1 by quite a bit <3 followed by odium, which i don't really like as much as i did when i first wrote it. after that is surrounded/hounded, spend some time (forever), and know me. oh god i forgot about that one

5. do you respond to comments? why or why not?

i try to, especially if they're longer comments, if people ask questions, if people said they liked the work, etc. i really appreciate the feedback and hearing how much people like something i've made motivates me to write more by a million lmao

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

probably home or colder bones

7. what is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

no one's gonna love you, not just bc everything works out and they get together but bc i was really happy with that ending and with the finished work

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind?

8. do you get hate on any fics?

not that i've ever noticed

without going into detail, i've written mlm and wlw. i generally try to make it abstract/not use explicit language because i have a Normal Healthy Relationship with sex and i can definitely say the word "cock" without wanting to tunnel into the ground like a gopher. as you can probably tell by this fic

10. do you write crossovers? what's the craziest one you've written?

just the pilots/wtnv crossover one, nothing too crazy (yet)

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

not to my knowledge

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

yes, a few times! i Need to remember to put the translation link in the author's notes and notify people in the tags that there's multiple versions available

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

i've had other people beta for me once or twice, and sometimes i've beta'd for other people, but other than that, no. a proper collab sounds fun though!

14. what's your all time favorite ship?

tyler n josh obviously but doesn't have to be romantic!! i just think they're neat :)

15. what's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

if i listed every wip i've ever wanted to finish here, i'd be here all day lol. off of ao3, i'd love to finish all is cold betwixt; i have the whole thing mapped out, i just never wrote it. off the top of my head, i've got another shapeshifter one that's a bit less angsty than surrounded and a bit more silly. there's another more personal one that involves growing up in a changing climate, but it's never really gotten anywhere and was mostly just a vent fic. but probably the one i'd most like to finish involves love and fire and a terrible, terrible curse (or is it) with a splash of survivor's guilt.

16. what are your writing strengths?

once i get going on a writing session i Will keep going for a while. like if i get in the Writing Mood and sit down and actually do it, i'll get a shit ton of it finished

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

too many commas probably. also lately i've been starting fics without a general idea of the ending or how to get there, which leads me to abandon them or take long ass breaks. i also have trouble actually sitting down and Writing because i get distracted by other things that are less intense and require less focus but are still fun

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

nothing wrong with that, though i've never done it myself. i do appreciate when authors add a translation of the dialogue into english though so i don't have to whip out google translate

19. first fandom you wrote for?

warrior cats. i was 13, didn't have any social media, and i put several chapters to a spiral-bound notebook. not my best moment

20. favorite fic you've written?

no one's gonna love you and home are tied for #1, with surrounded/hounded and spend some time (forever) tied for #2. all my lady pilots stuff is #3; i don't think it's necessarily good but i enjoyed writing it!

tagging a few of my fellow fic writers here! no pressure to do the tag, and if anyone wants me to tag them, i'm happy to

@i-seeaspaceshipinthe-sky @rabler @edyluewho @kiitchensiink

i KNOW there's more but i don't know everyone's tumblr urls since they aren't the same as their names on ao3 lol. if you see this and you want to do this, this is me tagging you <3

[mellowthorn]

I was tagged by @gwenllian-in-the-abbey, thank you so much for the tag! (and sorry that it has taken me forever to do this)

How many works do you have on AO3?

Three currently (I’ve written more for other fandoms but I orphaned those years ago)

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

55,643

3. What fandoms do you write for?

I only post for Realm of the Elderlings, but I also sometimes write Kingdom Hearts fics purely for myself

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Uhh, I only have three on my current account, but in order, Someone Other Than Us, After The Sun Has Set and then Ever Your Fool.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes, or at least I try to! I have a bad habit of thinking my response but never actually writing it down and then forgetting about it completely... But I try my best to remember to reply, even if it ends up taking a while.

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Neither of my finished fics/oneshots have closed endings, so I guess it depends on what you imagine happens afterwards. Neither of them are exactly happy though.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I haven’t finished posting it yet, but it shouldn’t come as a surprise that After The Sun Has Set will soon take that title. I mean, it's already happier than anything else that I've written

8. Do you get hate on fics?

No

9. Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I do, occasionally. I don’t know exactly how to describe what kind, other than that my smut scenes tend to be quite sad?? I like using them as a way to explore or exaggerate some complicated character dynamic, and I guess that’s why they often turn into something at least a little uncomfortable. As much as I enjoy reading smut that’s all sexy and romantic, for some reason I can’t write it myself at all haha

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Nah

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Nope

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

Fitzloved is my current favourite (and I've never been this intense about a ship before), though Zemyx (from Kingdom Hearts) is the one I always eventually return to

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Last spring I wrote about 45k words of post-Assassin’s Fate happy ending AU. The outline for it is massive, and what I’ve written so far covers maybe one tenth at most. I know I will never have the patience to finish it, but somewhere at the back of my mind I refuse to let it go. I’ve been trying to see if I could turn parts of it into one-shots or something, but who knows what I’ll end up doing 🤷

16. What are your writing strengths?

I’d say I’m fairly good at characterization, as well as building up tragic and angsty scenarios. My favorite thing when writing fanfiction is to take some (usually sad) aspect of a character/relationship/etc and then dive deep into that, and I think I do it pretty well.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

My prose, especially detailed descriptions and creative similes and metaphors and the like. Writing those does not come naturally to me at all, and I feel like I often get stuck using cliches and specific words or phrases, and then have to spend half my time editing to make things less repetitive.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

 Not my thing, I prefer to keep everything in one language.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

 Harry Potter, I think? Way back in like 2008 or 2009.

20. Favourite fic you’ve ever written?

From RotE stuff, After the Sun Has Set. It’s the first time I’ve managed to fully write, edit and post a multi-chapter fic from start to finish, and that alone is a huge achievement for me. Writing every chapter from a different character’s PoV was also a really fun (if sometimes frustrating) challenge and I’m really glad to have done it. Outside of RotE, a few years back I wrote this super self-indulgent novel-length Zemyx fic. I never posted it anywhere and it’s kind of crap quality-wise so I never will, but since it’s basically just every romance trope I’ve ever liked, it’s fun to reread for comfort every once in a while.

[lumiereandcogsworth]

5 9 13 15 22 and 27 ! 🫶🏻

5. What’s a fic idea you’ve had that you will never write? well there’s like some pretty unnecessarily angsty plots i’ve thought about, i call it the Dark Timeline lmao. no one dies or anything but just like, intense illnesses or injuries that bring characters near-death. you know, for the worry!!! for the angst!!! but ultimately that’s not really what i wanna write, they’re more just for me to play out in my head when i need to Feel Something™️. but besides that idk. i have a lot of throwaway AUs that just dance around my head, but never say never!

9. Do you write every day? If you wrote today, share a sentence of what you’ve written! no i don’t! i think it’s safe to say i write a couple times a week though. not a ton by any means, usually just bits of dialogue that happen because adam and belle just live rent free in my head so sometimes i get the chance to jot down what they’re bickering or flirting about. but unfortunately i haven’t written today :( i thought about a convo this morning before work but didn’t get the chance to write it down. and now it’s lost in the abyss.

13. How much planning do you do before writing? i mean generally none at all because like i said above im pretty much just writing down exactly what i’m seeing and hearing happen in my mind. for my longer things i’ve had some future plot points that i wanted to make note of, but still not much “planning”

15. How do you come up with titles for your fics/chapters? ah, my fic titles. i’ve actually (this is so autistic of me ajdksjdk) i’ve actually been keeping a tally of how i title my fics. because there are so many and i was curious, statistically, how it plays out. SO i can actually answer this with way more detail than you bargained for!

titles i’ve just made up based on vibes: 51

titles that are based on a line in fic/canon: 42

titles that are a line from a song/poem: 16

tittles that are one word/simplistic: 23

SO as you can see, majority of the time i either make it up myself (like “Amidst a Busy Day” or “Finding Peace in the Storm”) - which usually happens just by me workshopping various words or themes in the fic and then vibing it out, eventually something sticks that works well enough! (and sometimes i get my friends’ inputs if i’m really stuck!) OR i base it off of a line in the fic or from canon! like i have one called “Making Troubles Less Troubling” which is based on when Mrs. Potts says “Most troubles seem less troubling after a bracing cup of tea!” anyway, you get the idea. this is what happens when fic writing is attached to your special interest i guess HAHA

22. Do you know how your fic will end before you start writing? mmm depends. for my longer ones, yeah. like with my big beefy pre-canon fic about adam when he was 15, i knew i wanted it to end at a place that made you see very clearly that he was starting to become the awful prince you see in the prologue of the movie. but for most of my fics that are really (or relatively) short, either i’m just letting the characters talk and seeing where it goes, or it’s already all played out in my head and i know how it ends before i start jotting it down. basically a matter of length and how much i’ve seen in my head already.

27. Is there a fic you were nervous to post/share? Why? no i don’t think so. i generally don’t go to post a fic unless im really excited to do it, because im in love with it in that moment and i want others to be in love with it too. that euphoria always dies off after a little bit but i definitely need to be riding that high before i post anything. so if im feeling nervous or uneasy at all then i’ll either work on it to see why the vibes aren’t right, or i’ll just let it marinate until i get that feeling. one of my recently posted fics was actually written like over a year ago, but i hadn’t really “completed it” so i just let it sit. then i found it and fixed it up a bit and voila! now it’s out there for all to see.