#instead of writing these long basically plotless stories lol

[metvmorqhoses]

Nononono waitttt what do you mean about Good Omens season 2?? Why didn't you like it?

I personally thought it was better than season 1 - better paced. There wasn't a single boring moment. And sure, the plot maybe had fewer stakes, but seeing as this was a bridge season between season 1 (the of Good Omens book) and hopefully season 3 (the book that never came out, “668” or something like that), I thought it was good. Warm & fuzzy.

I need to know your opinion now

As abashed as I am to have to respond to such enthusiasm with, well... the very opposite of enthusiasm, please at least know that I consider the truth the best thing I have to offer in general and in regard to that unfortunate (yet somehow still-untouchable?) mess the second season of Good Omens has proven itself to be in particular, so accept it as some sort of well-intended even if perhaps unwanted gift.

This is probably the most unpopular opinion one can have on Tumblr right now, so I'll go straight to the point: Gaiman managed to ruin Good Omens (perhaps he isn't able to write it by himself, perhaps he got carried away with fan service, who knows), once one of the most delightful, witty, engaging, profound books/shows existent, changing its register and raison d'être in order to turn it into, per great popular request, the same lame simple plotless cheesy cookie-cutter gay romance without rime and reason apparently every single piece of media is deforming itself into lately.

The dramatic loss of... artistic quality this show suffered is appalling and even more appalling is the fact I seem to be one of the very few on this green earth to have even noticed? Did I perhaps read too much in the show before? I don't think so, it was indeed a masterpiece. I saw many die-hard fans of the series beyond puzzled at this last season too, straining themselves to try and make sense of it with wild theories, justifying them with the simple fact that Neil Gaiman is a genius and surely this hot mess must mean something, right? I wasn't aware the world was mostly populated by hysterically besotted people hailing Neil Gaiman's alleged greatness from dawn til dusk without contextualized merit, and the discovery didn't particularly excite me, to be quite honest. I think a healthy amount of fairness in the critique of any artist should always be the norm, but I digress.

I'll try to keep it as brief and matter-of-factly as possible, especially since some time has passed and the fumes of my rage aren't as scorching or as precise as they used to be lol

In a word, this season was subpar. Not only did it lack that original witty, ineffable meaningfulness, that intrinsic and very human sense of wonder and protectiveness towards life and its profound sense the original show brimmed with, but even from the most basic literary point of view, it literally lacked a plot worthy of this name, a story, characters that felt complex and real instead of caricatures who tried and reenact themselves, and in general what should have been, quite simply, good writing.

More than Good Omens' long-awaited season 2, this felt more like a high-budget filler fanfiction created by someone who didn't know what they were doing with story and characters most of the time, but who sure as hell wanted to please the audience to disastrous lengths.

The very first thing that irked me beyond belief, and it literally started from minute one, was the immediate, more or less subtle, change in acting from both Michael and David. Michael stressed it way more, with, in my opinion, quite tragic results, thing that from the start immediately allowed me to guess where they were going with their (already established as extremely complex) relationship, entirely turning the vibe from sophisticated allegory of Divine Comedy kind of love (love for your enemy, love for your friend, love in all its form and in its entirety) to banal romantic comedy-level gay drama, downgrading what Crowley and Aziraphale shared (the subtle abysses of it!) into the most boring and obvious of soap operas, obviously forcing them to act out of character in order to compensate (was any flash-back meaningful to their character or the story? Was there a writing reason behind any of them beyond writing for the sake of filling screen-time?).

Some relationships deserve to be left alone, alone in their subtlety and ambiguousness or you'll inevitably ruin them. Not everyone must kiss on screen, no matter how much the audience screams and throws up for it. This little woke drama completely ruined and eclipsed everything else those two characters were for each other, turning them from cosmic and devastatingly loyal best friends to petty and dumb lovers that need two plot devices (the messy pointless and quite frankly offensive representation-wise lesbians from across the street they literally met five minutes prior) to tell them they actually have feeling for each other and should share them. After literal millennia of this relationship, relationship that has its own inner workings and reasons, we needed the plot-lesbians to subvert the order of things and spur Crowley into action, obviously obtaining disastrous and lame results? Are we witnessing the interaction of immortal beings or five-year-olds? The only way I can genuinely make sense of this dumbness is considering those two female "characters" (that feel anything but real people) no more than that, characters, golems, put there by Metatron via the power of the Book of Life (again, so many Chekhov's guns with no use whatsoever in this season) in order to separate Az and Crowley using the only thing that could succeed in doing it - an ill placed declaration of love.

But even this doesn't match the true être of what Good Omens originally was nor comes full circle with the ineffable mystery season 1 ended with. It genuinely feels like Gaiman changed the whole rhyme and reason of the story, vibes, meaning, register, just to meet the modern needs of a category that is sadly phagocytizes everything else in both life and fiction. And I find it a true pity - and a bore.

And even leaving aside this personal boredom of mine at a non-existent plot that consisted in 1) a big mystery that promised cosmic repercussions (season 1 ended with the after-nonapocalyptic world that was slightly changed just because two enemies had loved each other and life too much not to oppose god's plan - fact that was probably god's plan all along), mystery that was actually no mystery at all (two random, from the original story's perspective, previous minor characters in literally ten supernatural minutes fell in love and run away together) and that meant virtually nothing in the grand scheme of things, but serving as a plot device so that the other two minor new characters could intrude into the protagonists' relationship so they could finally have the excuse to jump literary genre and kiss & queer tragedy the story away 2) an endless series of symbols, facts, episodes and characters that constantly seemed to hint at something but that in reality resulted in nothing story-wise (also, the change of heart in God's personality, first the witty and almighty trickster for the greater good, now the divine bully??), even leaving all this aside, I'm mostly disappointed the quality of the writing plummeted so inesorabily one of my comfort show turned into the symbol of an artistic era I'm utterly distraught to have to witness - the era of crowd-pleasers and un-imagination.

As for this being a filler season, writing in such an unresolved way (basic and predictable plot, colourless characters, cliché romance, hours of happenings that don't mean a thing in the current story) is unacceptable and a failure, even if you are a famous writer. You cannot waste hours of the audience's time going nowhere shielded by the sole future promise of sense. Writing doesn't work that way, and I'm sincerely appalled to see people noticing it and deciding to excuse it with a "surely next season everything will look genius!". It doesn't work this way. The faults were too many, they can't possibly be all resolved next season. This product wasn't great, even if your faves kissed and your little fanfictions came true.

The sad thing is, Good Omens used to be a work of art, not the next consumeristic piece of fiction to satisfy woke needs.

[sunshinereddie]

2 & 28 for the writing ask meme?

2: Anything that you'd like to write but feel like you're unable to?

hmm i mentioned this in a previous ask, but probably some kind of fantasy au? i love reading fantasy, but im not good at worldbuilding so i've never felt like im able to do it. i also have this au, from like when i first started this acc i think, it's a losers club heist au! i would loooove to write this at some point, but. i do not know enough about crime lol

28: Any writing advice that works for you and you feel like sharing?

one thing that has helped me with my writing over the years is to just......... write without thinking. i know this probably wont apply to some people, but i used to get so in my head when i was writing, thinking that my first draft had to be this perfect piece of writing, with metaphors and amazing descriptions, etc etc etc. it really slowed down my writing process and was super unmotivating when i wasn't able to write like that.

but something i've started doing instead, is just sitting down and basically writing out my stream of thoughts about a fic. without even thinking about it, i'll just write down an idea exactly how i thought it, without trying to "make it perfect" or change anything about it. i also usually use a different font/style to write this in, so my brain can distinguish it as "fun" writing (for me, i always write in bold. in my mind, bold is just the draft, and it doesnt need to be perfect). once i started doing that i found that it was actually a lot easier to write, because i didn't feel like there was as much pressure to be "good". i wasn't writing to be perfect, i was writing because i had a fun idea. it also leaves me with more motivation to go back to it at a later time and work on it to make a more polished version!

like i said i know this probably won't apply to a lot of people, but if you struggle with perfectionism in writing, this is what helped me find the fun in it again! hopefully this helps???

oh and also !!!! just writing plotless little things. write about characters going to the grocery store. about a character mowing the grass. about characters just hanging out. not everything you write needs to be this long 50k word fic. just write a 200 word story about ur fav character eating cake. writing plotless things are sooooo fun and they are a great way to write more of your fav characters, whether that be fictional characters or ur ocs, without the pressure of writing a whole fic or feeling like u need to come up with an entire plot.

thanks for asking !!!! sorry the response came a little late :]

from this writing ask game!

[sincerelystranger]

read on AO3

---

Nie Huaisang fans his face nervously as Xichen watches quietly from across the room.

He’s not quite turned away from Xichen, but he doesn’t seem to be able to look at Xichen either. His eyes keep flickering back and forth from the wall behind Xichen to the floor.

Every single one of Huaisang’s actions seems to scream discomfort, maybe even fear. It occurs to Xichen that it’s strange behavior for someone who invited themselves over. It also occurs to him that at one point in his life, he wouldn’t even have noticed the behavior as strange.

At one point in Xichen’s life, he would have readily believed Huaisang’s act.

He doesn’t now.

He doesn’t know what to believe anymore.

And he thinks maybe that’s what hurts the most.

He thinks that maybe that inability to trust his own judgement is what keeps him locked in seclusion, torturing himself over the things he missed and the things he once believed.

Maybe.

He sits in silence, just watching Nie Huaisang. He’s not sure if he’s surprised by Nie Huaisang’s visit, or if a part of him expected him all this time. The only thing he knows is this:

Nie Huaisang somehow looks altogether too much and not enough like da-ge and Xichen can’t tell whether he hates him for that or not.

Nie Huaisang clears his throat suddenly, the sound is almost deafening in the heavy silence of Xichen’s room.

“Ah… You look… well, er-ge,” he says weakly, still not meeting Xichen’s eyes, “Wei-Xiong made it seem as if… well…” He trails off, briefly making eye contact with Xichen before dropping his gaze back to the floor.

Xichen isn’t surprised by the mention of Wei Wuxian.  

Of course Wei Wuxian would have something to do with this. Of course.

“Wei-Xiong said that you weren’t well – that you didn’t want visitors… I mean… of course… you’re still in seclusion…” Nie Huaisang stumbles over his words. Xichen can see his hand shaking slightly as he continues to fan his face.

That does surprise him though – the fact that Wei Wuxian advised against Nie Huaisang visiting Xichen.

With how nosy Wei Wuxian has been throughout Xichen’s time in seclusion, he would have thought that Wei Wuxian had had a hand in Nie Huaisang’s visit.

“Wei Wuxian advised against your visit?” Xichen asks, curiosity opening his mouth.

Nie Huaisang seems surprised by Xichen’s voice. The fan goes still in his hands. “He… did,” he nods, “Wei-Xiong… He… Well I don’t think he trusts me… anymore.” There’s a small self-deprecating smile on his face as he admits this. He looks to the ground again before slowly bringing his gaze up to meet Xichen’s eyes. He gives Xichen a weak smile. “I guess you don’t either, do you, er-ge?”

Xichen guesses he should have expected it, but it still catches him off-guard to be confronted so openly.

Somehow it seems… out of character for Huaisang.

But then…

What does Xichen know of Huaisang’s character anyway?

“I… I just don’t know why you did what you did,” Xichen admits. And it’s the closest thing to the truth that he can stomach to say. Because… because even after everything. Even after the manipulation and betrayal and years of being lied to. He still…

Well he’s still Nie Huaisang’s er-ge, isn’t he?

It’s one of the only things he’s been able to come to terms with in his time in seclusion: The people Xichen loves may do monstrous things, but Xichen will love them anyway. He can’t help himself. Once he loves, he doesn’t know how to stop.

Nie Huaisang is quiet for a while. He slowly lowers his fan to his lap. He looks more vulnerable, sat there without the fan covering part of his face.

Even after everything, it makes Xichen’s heart ache for him. Even after everything, Xichen wants to call him close, ask him how he can help wipe that sadness from his face.

He doesn’t though.

He stays quiet.

“It’s already been eight years since da-ge died,” Huaisang says slowly, “Next year, I’ll be older than he ever got to be.”

Logically it’s something Xichen has known for a while. He’s been older than da-ge for years now. But it still churns his stomach to hear those words come out of Huaisang’s lips. To be hit with the realization that da-ge has truly been dead for so long. It seems… so impossible. Da-ge is still so fresh in Xichen’s memory.

“It’s strange,” Huaisang continues quietly, “In my memory da-ge is always so much older than me. Always such an… adult. When father died and da-ge became the sect leader, I remember thinking, ‘of course.’ Because da-ge already seemed so grown up at the time. So sure of himself.” Huaisang wipes absently at the floor and huffs a small laugh. “Now I wonder how the elders could have been so cruel as to put all that responsibility onto such a young boy.”

A lump forms in Xichen’s throat.

“Da-ge was always… good,” Xichen says stupidly, “He never shied from responsibility… he always gave everything his… best.”

Nie Huaisang huffs another small laugh. “Da-ge was always good,” he agrees. “If the world could have been as good as he was – if I could have been as good as he was – everything might be different now.”

The room goes quiet again at Huaisang’s small confession.

Xichen can’t find it in himself to disagree or to comfort, because he thinks the same. Maybe if he could have been as good as da-ge, everything might’ve ended differently. Maybe if Xichen hadn’t questioned da-ge’s judgement… Maybe if Xichen had just trusted da-ge…

Maybe…

“He… loved you er-ge. Did you know?”

“Of course,” Xichen answers, a little taken aback by Huaisang’s question.

“No,” Huaisang says with a shake of his head. “He loved you… as a man. Did you know?”

The center of gravity seems to have changed in the room. Xichen feels… tilted. Unmoored.

“He – da-ge… he didn’t,” Xichen tries to explain slowly, a slow panic crawling up his spine. Da-ge didn’t – he couldn’t. Da-ge never saw Xichen like that…

Never…

“He did,” Huaisang says, something stubborn bleeding into his voice.

Xichen shakes his head. He doesn’t know where Huaisang got this idea but…

“He didn’t, Huaisang,” Xichen says, “I… I…” It’s humiliating to have to own to it. How does Huaisang always manage to put him into this situations? Situations where he has to cut his heart open with his own hand. “I confessed to him when we were… younger.”

Da-ge had been kind when he refused Xichen.

His hand had been gentle and warm on Xichen’s shoulder and his eyes had been deep and kind. “I can’t be that for you. I’m sorry.”

But he still stayed Xichen’s friend.

Still stayed Xichen’s… da-ge.

“He refused you because he thought….” Huaisang stammers, “He… he said…”

Xichen’s heart drops to his stomach. Something cold makes its way towards his chest. He said? Da-ge had… He had talked about Xichen’s confession to Huaisang?

“What,” Xichen asks, a nervous hunger gnawing at his throat. “What did da-ge say?”

“He said you deserved better than a man destined for madness,” Huaisang says finally.

It feels like a cruel joke.

Another manufactured cruelty from Huaisang. Another upturned grave that Xichen will have to cover with his hands.

“You… Don’t lie to me, Huaisang,” Xichen says, and he’s ashamed by the way his voice trembles. “Da-ge… He never…”

“He was always doing these foolish things,” Huaisang says, his voice cracking, as tears spill from his eyes. “Always giving up parts of his happiness for the people he loved.”

A sob escapes from Xichen’s lips. He hurries to cover his mouth so more don’t shamefully spill out but it’s no use. Da-ge couldn’t… He…

But of course he would.

“He did it for me too,” Huaisang continues, his lips trembling, his whole body taut as he tries to control his sobs. “And I didn’t know either, er-ge. I never realized until it was too late. All the things—“ Huaisang folds in on himself, his hand coming up to cover his eyes as he cries. “—All the things he gave up for me. All the things he turned a blind eye to because he knew I loved them.”

The room dissolves into quiet sobs.

And it’s a little funny, Xichen thinks, even though Huaisang is tearing out the seams in Xichen’s heart that Xichen just barely put in. Even though Huaisang has brought with him so much hurt and anger and confusion. It’s still… comforting to cry with someone who Xichen knows misses da-ge as much as Xichen does. There’s still a twisted sense of camaraderie there.

When the wave passes and the sobs quiet, Huaisang straightens back up. He wipes gingerly at his face with his sleeve. Xichen is reminded of all the times he watched Huaisang do the same action when he was just a child. Da-ge would have reprimanded him, Xichen thinks. Da-ge would have tossed Huaisang his handkerchief.

Because as wild and brutish as da-ge was reputed to be… he was… proper like that. Gentler than anyone imagined he could ever be.

That was one of the things Xichen had loved about him.

Huaisang lets out a shaky exhale. He’s twisting his sleeves between his fingers nervously. Even now, it seems impossible to Xichen that Huaisang – sweet and spoiled Huaisang – could have lied to him for so long. It seems impossible that the Huaisang he knows – the Huaisang sitting in front of him – could have orchestrated the downfall of Mengyao.

It seems impossible, and yet…

“You say that you don’t know why I did the things I did,” Huaisang says, his voice soft and scratchy from his tears, “And if I’m honest, I didn’t understand myself either.” He looks up and Xichen then and gives a helpless shrug. “It’s so unlike me. Right, er-ge? All this planning and scheming and… and just all this work to destroy someone I love. It was torturous for me – it really was, er-ge. But...”

Xichen doesn’t move. He doesn’t make a sound. It feels like he’s at the edge of a cliff. What Huaisang says next will most certainly push him over but he’s still waiting… He doesn’t know how to do anything else.

“I think… I think I was punishing myself,” Huaisang says, “I think I was punishing myself for loving san-ge – for letting my love blind me to his evil deeds.”

Xichen’s heart drops to the bottom of his stomach. He feels slightly nauseous.

Huaisang drops his gaze from Xichen’s eyes to the ground just in front of Xichen. “And for what I did to you at Guanyin Temple… I… I think in a way… I wanted to punish you too.”

He’s falling. He’s been pushed off the cliff and he’s falling.

It’s a lot more freeing than he thought it would be. It almost feels like flying.

Punishment.

Was that all it was?

All this confusion and loss and pain and confusion and loss and loss and pain…

Just punishment?

A strange laughter bubbles from Xichen’s lips before he can even control it.

“Sorry,” he says, quickly bringing his hand to cover his mouth. Shamefully enough, the laughter spills over again. “Sorry.” But it’s not enough. The laughter forces itself out of his body. He can’t help himself. He feels insane, but he’s laughing and it won’t stop. “Sorry, I’m so sorry. I’m so—”

Xichen can almost feel Huaisang’s surprise but he can’t help himself. The laughter won’t stop. And strangely, after a few moments of his unhinged laughter, he hears…

He looks up, his vision clouded slightly by the strange tears his strange laughter has created and to his surprise… Huaisang is laughing too.

Seeing Huaisang laugh plants more seeds of laughter in Xichen. He can’t stop now – even if he tried. The laughter bubbles over. Huaisang’s laughter waters Xichen’s laughter and it grows and grows and…

Punishment.

That was all it was.

All this pain and loss and confusion and it was just… punishment.

How ridiculous.

---

The night of Huaisang’s visit, Xichen steps outside for the first time since he started his seclusion.

In the dark of night, the world seems all at once strange and inviting.

Cloud Recesses, of course, is quiet. All the disciples having gone to sleep long ago.

Xichen feels safer, with that knowledge that he’s alone. That he won’t run into anyone who—

“Xichen-ge!” a voice surprises him from his thoughts. He turns towards the voice and sees Wei Wuxian and…. Wangji.

Wei Wuxian visits him often enough that it shouldn’t be such a surprise to see him, but it feels different seeing him outside the confines of his room. Xichen feels self-conscious suddenly. Like his arms are too long and maybe his hair is untidy.

“Wei… gongzi,” he nods after a shocked moment, “Wangji.”

Wei Wuxian waves him over as Wangji nods back. “We’re taking a walk,” Wei Wuxian exclaims, “The night is cool and the stars are bright. Come join us, Xichen-ge!”

It’s all so ridiculous, Xichen thinks as he takes a heavy step forward, out of the gate and towards the path.

How ridiculously easy it is to leave the jail he created for himself. How ridiculously normal it feels for Wei Wuxian to ask him to join him on a night walk – as if Xichen hasn’t trapped himself between four walls for years.

Wei Wuxian and Wangji separate to make room for him. It’s a small act of kindness, Xichen realizes, and he takes it because it does feel a little safer to walk between them.

Such a childishness, he thinks, still too bare to the world to feel any embarrassment from it. But he does feel safe. Wangji feels… taller… and sturdier than Xichen remembers him being. And Wei Wuxian… Well is there anyone more reliable to walk the dark night with than Wei Wuxian?  

“Look!” Wei Wuxian says, pointing up at the sky. “Isn’t the moon beautiful tonight?”

Xichen follows Wei Wuxian’s finger up.

The moon is round and heavy. It looks so close that it feels like Xichen might be able to touch it if he just reaches up.

“It’s beautiful,” he agrees softly.

“It’s like it knew you would come out to see it today, Xichen-ge,” Wei Wuxian nods happily. “Don’t you think so, Lan Zhan?”

Wangji hums his agreement as they keep walking.

Happiness sits hot and heavy in Xichen’s chest. He feels safe and free and…

“I think we’ve had enough punishment,” Huaisang had said before he left. “You and… me too, er-ge.” He had looked at Xichen then and had given him a smile – a real smile. No hint of sadness in his face at all. “Da-ge always wanted the people he loved to be happy… so I think it’s time to do that. Don’t you think so, er-ge?”

He hadn’t answered Huaisang as he left but he agrees quietly in his heart now.

He’s lost and lost and lost and he’s sat in that loss for years. Yearning and searching and looking for an answer that wasn’t there – ignoring the world outside his room for years and choosing punishment day after day because… because maybe he thought he deserved it.

And still…

The moon is beautiful.

And still, his family welcomes him back.

[exhoe-imagines]

All of them! ㅇㅅㅇ 💕

Ok anon, you asked for it, and we tried our best to deliver!! I’m sorry it took us a while, but we had to think a lot about some of these questions. With that said, all of our answers are below the cut, so please enjoy reading all of them ~

If you want to know more about us admins/our fics, I would recommend reading/skimming over the answers below!!

1. what’s your name? do you use any aliases? what about your ghost writer name?

We both use aliases for writing, at least on this blog. Jewels’ is based on her first name, and mine is based on my last name. I do have my first name on my main blog though, so if you’re curious enough, you can dig around for that 👀 ~ Admin Ruby 

2. name your favourite books; why are they your favorite books and do they affect your writing?

The Lover; Duras’ writing has inspired me to try and achieve complex emotions with simple concise language. Memoirs of a Geisha; capturing nostalgia and romanceTwilight; It was one of the first things I read seriously, and it helped me develop an understanding of internal conflict – which is often not expressed through dialogue. Demian; It showed me how to use symbolismAlso, anything by Jane Austen. I love her plots. ~ Admin Jewels

I’ll be honest when I say that while I love reading, I haven’t read a lot. I think I have a lot of books to explore, so I don’t think it would be fair for me to choose a favorite with my limited knowledge. On that note, when I do read, I try to look at the style of the book the most. How would I change it? Is there anything I want to take from it to include in my own writing? ~ Admin Ruby

3. name your favorite movies; why are they your favorite movies and do they affect your writing?

Along with all of the film adaptions of the books previously listed, I also love Film Noir and French New Wave movies. They have unusual plots filled with mystery and intrigue which I try to include in my writing. ~ Admin Jewels

Sci-fi, crime, and emotional movies are my favorite. The futuristic and supernatural aspect of the first give me a million ideas for AU’s, and the emotional and crime side of films help me delve deeper into my inspirations for characters. They make me think about what the characters are feeling, and what extremes they could be pushed to under certain circumstances ~ Admin Ruby

4. why do you like writing? what inspired you to put pen to paper?

My undying love for my men tbh ~ Admin Jewels

Writing gives me a way to express my thoughts and feelings, something I’m not good at verbalizing normally ~ Admin Ruby

5. what’s your favorite place to write? do you need a certain atmosphere?

I have to be unrushed and in a quiet environment. Writing on my laptop in bed is nice ~ Admin Jewels

I love places away from home. When we went on our beach vacation, I was able to get so much done. Also, whenever it rains or is super cold!! ~ Admin Ruby

6. tag any writers that you want to collab with!

Collabs aren’t a top priority of ours, at least right now, but if we were to consider one, it would be with a close mutual/friend ~ Admin Ruby and Admin Jewels

7. when writing, how do you begin? how do you end?

I begin by setting the atmosphere of my universe. That includes scenery and excessive description of the mood. I like to keep my endings simple and uncomplicated ~ Admin Jewels

I usually start with a rough outline, basic character descriptions, and an overview of the plot. Towards the end, I focus on editing and making sure the emotions I wanted to be presented are visible through my writing ~ Admin Ruby

8. how many wips do you currently have? which one is your favorite as of the moment?

I have 4 current works in progress, all of which are series. My favorite is The Knowing because it fits my current vibes ~ Admin Jewels

Oh, I’ve got easily 15-20+ right now. Some are just basic outlines while others I’m a couple thousand words into. My favorite as of now would have to either be the reincarnation au that Jewels and I are working on or the Yifan oneshot I just finished planning!! ~ Admin Ruby

9. what time of the day your write best? what season affects your writing the most?

I write best at night. As for seasons, I find that I tend to start fics in the summer and return to them in the fall and winter ~ Admin Jewels

I usually write best in the afternoon or super late at night. Each season gives me different feels too. Summer makes me think of exciting and adventurous fics, spring is soft and fresh, fall is warm and nostalgic, and winter is sad and lonely ~ Admin Ruby

10. describe your writing in five sentences or less.

My writing attempts to capture the scenes that I visualize throughout my daily life. My ideas are a mixture of memories but also of plots I haven’t lived. I use a mixture of inspiration from movies and books, and try to capture my feelings of the ideas into words to explain them ~ Admin Jewels

I want my writing to be as descriptive and powerful as possible, and I’ll write in any way that I think that will come across. Some of my fics are super long and drawn out. Others are short but strong. All of them though, express a simple idea, but with a complex view of life hidden underneath ~ Admin Ruby

11. describe yourself when writing in ten sentences or less.

I’m recording the scenes as if I’m living through them. I try to capture the feelings and essence of the characters as if I am them. I want it to be similar to a movie, where you can feel the characters emotions and actions as if they were your own ~ Admin Jewels

I focus a lot on the words I choose to describe things. I want my reader, whoever they might be, to feel what I’m trying to express. I try to use descriptive language that appeals to all of the senses and pulls the reader into the story. By doing so, I feel that they can relate more to the characters and the emotions in the fic ~ Admin Ruby

12. what do you associate with each of your stories? with your writing in general?

My scenes always include rain and emo music, along with some hunk, whether it be Sehun or Yoongi ~ Admin Jewels

I always think of my scenes having a free and even reckless feeling to them. The decisions my characters make might not always be the smartest, but they take some guts ~ Admin Ruby

13. what themes/images are you most comfortable with writing about? what themes/images are you most uncomfortable with writing about?

I am uncomfortable writing mundane or plotless fics, and try to stick to shocking or forbidden themes (ex. Kidnapping, crime, prostitution, etc.) Instead of focusing on cliche and commonly understood aspects of human psychology, I try to explore the deeper and darker workings of our minds ~ Admin Jewels

I’m comfortable writing a lot of things. Darks themes or images aren’t something that scare or intimidate me too much. If I were to mention anything that puts me on edge, though, it would be toxic relationships. It doesn’t matter who the love interest in the fic is, if they pose a ‘threat’ to the reader, I don’t want to romanticize it  ~ Admin Ruby

14. write a personal history/mini autobiography/author description that you don’t mind sharing.

I think one thing to mention about me is that my mindset of writing has changed a lot since writing on here. Originally, when I first joined the blog, I was writing for my own enjoyment. Now, however, I find myself gaining joy from bringing other people’s fantasies to life ~ Admin Jewels

I’ve been writing for a little over two years now, with many writing blogs and accounts across many forms of social media, and I have to say, I haven’t lost the spark for it even now. Being able to connect with others through my stories, and having people genuinely enjoy them makes me super happy ~ Admin Ruby

15. three pieces of your writing that people need to read to understand your writing and you?

Faithful part one and the introductions to The Knowing and Don’t ~ Admin Jewels

Definitely Riptide... For sure... Probably Can’t Hold Back and Farewell Summer too ~ Admin Ruby

16. three pieces of other’s writing that people need to read to understand your inspirations and you?

Crumbling Down by @yeolsmuffin , Pink by @soobadnoonecanstopher , and The Pawns and The Kings by @kreatingkpop  ~ Admin Jewels

Blanc et Noir by @duizhangdeluxe is for sure one of the ones I think of off the top of my head, along with these two mxm fics on AO3 (x) (x) ~ Admin Ruby

17. three films that people need to watch to understand you?

Mother!, Highway, and the 90’s Dracula ~ Admin Jewels

Love, Simon, Your Name, Anastasia ~ Admin Ruby

18. make a playlist for people to listen to if they want to understand you.

El Condor Pasa - Simon and Garfunkel Sexual Healing - Marvin Gaye Yayo - Lana del ReySweet Dreams - EurythmicsStrangers in the Night - Frank SinatraClair de Lune - Debussy

~ Admin Jewels

Girls like Girls - Hayley KiyokoJet Black Heart - 5SOSMagic - ColdplayParadise - Fanxy ChildLoser - BIGBANGKing - Lauren Aquilina

~ Admin Ruby

19. how often does real life segue into your writing? is any of your writing based on events from your own life?

The feelings and emotions are usually based on what I’m feeling in real life at the time, but thankfully I’ve never been kidnapped by a mafia boss *wink wink* wouldn’t mind though if it were vampire!Yoongi *wink wink* ~ Admin Jewels

You can totally tell what kind of mood I’m in when I’m writing. My emotions heavily influence my writing, along with some events. With that said, like Jewels’ fics, the plots are exaggerated LOL ~ Admin Ruby

20. describe your writing life in one sentence. 

My writing life is an outlet for repressed emotions ~ Admin Jewels

My writing gives me a way to express emotions and thoughts I can’t express verbally ~ Admin Ruby

21. which self-doubts plague you the most often? which ones don’t you worry about?

I find myself most insecure about the plots of my fics as well as character development. I don’t worry about smut or descriptive language ~ Admin Jewels

Angst is for sure one of the things I worry about the most. I never feel like I capture it the way I want to. Slow burns too. I worry I rush them too much. I think I do pretty good with supernatural or mystical aspects of fics though!! ~ Admin Ruby

22. your favourite characters to write and why.

I like misunderstood or emotionally repressed romantic interests that open up to the reader over time ~ Admin Jewels

Determined characters!! Whether it’s the reader or another character, I always enjoy writing them trying to achieve a goal ~ Admin Ruby

23. what emotions do you like capturing the most? what emotions are the hardest to capture when writing?

The easiest emotions for me are angst (especially grief and jealousy) and under the influence. It’s hard for me to write a lack of emotion, even if the reader is in a content state ~ Admin Jewels

I think I capture anger pretty well. On good days I think my fluffy/loving writing isn’t that bad either. I would say shock is a hard one for me to grasp ~ Admin Ruby

24. name one fact about yourself that you want your readers to know about you.

I’m currently studying Political Science, which I think heavily affects my writing ~ Admin Jewels

I’m super emotional...like extremely so. I think my writing shows that a bit, but not as much as I think it could ~ Admin Ruby

25. one piece of advice that you want your readers to have; writing and non-writing pieces are okay.

Let go of any notions you have of “perfect” writing. Create your own style that suits you best ~ Admin Jewels

Don’t let anyone diminish how you feel about something. As long as you don’t express your emotions in a way that harms others/yourself, then you shouldn’t apologize for them ~ Admin Ruby

26. what are your writing goals for the week? for the month? for the year? how many words/poems do you write per week?

My main goal is always to keep up with my series, not necessarily under a time constraint though ~ Admin Jewels

I try to finish a fic/writing piece once a week, no matter how small it is ~ Admin Ruby 

---

Well, that was a long list. If you’re reading this, anon (or anyone else who got this far) I hope you enjoyed all of our answers!! Thank you for the ask ~~

[creideamhgradochas]

Thanks to the lovely @writingcroissant for taking the time to answer these! Get to know more about lovely Tori, go give her a follow and then show her some love!

These questions are from this list. You should check it out, there’s 50 questions all together and they’d be great to ask your favorite fic writer!

1) How old were you when you first starting writing fan-fiction?

Around 13 or 14 I guess

2) Do you prefer writing OC’s or reader inserts? Explain your answer.

I don't think I prefer any of it, I really like coming up with OC's for my very own stories but relating to fanfiction I prefer reader inserts simply because it makes the story so much more relatable for the people reading it.

5) When is your preferred time to write?

I honestly write whenever I have time, which is mostly in the afternoon or evening, sometimes in the middle of the night. 

7) In your Paper Walls Series, what’s your favorite scene that you wrote?

Oh god I think my favourite scene really was the stabbing scene it was so dramatic hah!

9) Who is your favorite character to write for? Why?

Bucky. He's a deep and strong character and I think you can go in every possible direction with him, you could go full-on teeth-rotting fluff but also darkness and angst and violence. Like, Steve for example is the good guy through and though, I think it's very hard writing him any different than to what he's like in the movies, but Bucky's very open for interpretation if that makes sense. Also, he's outrageously handsome and I love myself a guy with rough edges haha.

11) How did you come up with the title for the Paper Walls Series?

I wrote the first part, where I described the walls (which the story basically is all about) as being as thin as paper and boom there was the name.

12) How did you come up with the idea for Paper Walls Series?

I read a prompt somewhere about neighbours with showers on opposite sides of a wall, singing duets because the walls are so thin and I kinda transformed that into said wall separating bedrooms and Bucky's nightmares being the thing everyone gets to hear.

13) Do you have any abandoned WIP’s? What made you abandon them?

THOUSANDS OMG with most of them I just got stuck or I can't find the motivation to complete them for whatever reason Idk dude I'm the worst I gotta finish them at some point but I just keep starting new stories instead.

14) Are there any stories that you’ve written that you’d really love to do a sequel to?

I actually thought a lot about a sequel for Paper Walls to kinda show their life together but that would just be plotless fluff because I can't let go of the story and I think stopping where it did was the best for the story instead of dragging it unnecessary long.

16) Tell me about another writer(s) who you admire? What is it about them that you admire?

@samingtonwilson all along!!! I fucking love and admire her style of writing and I hope I'll reach her level one day. Her characters are on point and everything she writes is so real and just pure gold I can't even describe it.

17) Do you have a story that you look back on and cringe when you reread it?

Crazed Minds - I think I overdid the angst asdfh it's terrible

18) Do you prefer listening to music when you’re writing or do you need silence?

I need utter silence oh my god how can people write with music??

19) Have you ever cried whilst writing a story?

No, but I almost(!) did at the endings of Paper Walls and Five And a Half

20) Which part of your Paper Walls Series was the hardest to write?

Honestly that stupid make-out nonsense with that Chad guy - it was so hard to write ... probably because I just wanted to get it over with and get to the interesting part lol.

21) Do you make a general outline for your stories or do you just go with the flow?

I make an outline for series but I usually go with the flow when writing oneshots

23) Do you have a story that you feel doesn’t get as much love as you’d like?

Valentine's Spirit!!!!!! It's a Jim Kirk x reader and I fucking loved it when I posted it I was so happy how it turned out and so happy how the characters turned out but it ended up getting like 50 notes lol

26) What’s the biggest compliment you’ve gotten?

I swoon every time someone tells me the characterization of the people I write about is good because ... I don't even know why that's just a huge compliment.

27) What’s the harshest criticism you’ve gotten?

I didn't really get criticism yet tbh

28) Do you share your story ideas with anyone else or do you keep them close to your chest?

Close to my chest, very close, I swallow them.

29) Do people know you write fan-fiction?

Nope.

31) What spurs you on during the writing process?

When I write I get really excited about someone reading it and then I want to get it online as quickly as possible to see people's reactions.

33) Can you remember the first fic you read? What was it about?

The VERY first? Probably something involving One Direction asdfhj

34) If you could write only angst, fluff or smut for the rest of your writing life, which would it be and why?

It's really hard to decide between angst and fluff but I'd probably go with fluff ... It's just warm and fluffy and makes you feel good hah. BUT ANGST MAN idfk I'll just take both angst and fluff since I can't decide.

[olderbynow]

Some time ago the always lovely @whopooh​ made a post asking writers to talk about their own fics, posing five really interesting questions she’d like to get input on. And is there anything you can think of that writers love more than talking about their writing? (Other than maybe comments.) No, right? So settle down around the fireplace, kids. Get your marshmallows roasting and prepare to be bored stiff for a while as I talk endlessly about me, myself and my fics. (And most of these answers are even MFMM related.)

Pick one fic that you’ve written and talk about what makes it important to you.

 For this first one, I've got to go back a bit to my pre-MFMM days and this one fic I wrote for Rookie Blue, the show I loved and then hated even more than I had loved it, but which got me back into writing again, so I'll have to be grateful to it for that. But yes, back when things were still mostly rosy I wrote this fic called These Dreams Will Haunt You, which is the only time that I can think of when I've posted something and thought, "I have no idea if this works outside my head, but I don't really care. I like it." Which is a pretty powerful feeling. I set out to write a specific thing, in a specific way, and I did. That fic is the story I meant to write when I started writing, written in the way I meant to write it. THAT NEVER HAPPENS. (I'm obviously not saying that I didn't angst endlessly about it while I was writing it, and I'm not saying I didn't sit there biting my nails as I waited for comments from my incredibly patient beta, I'm just saying: The final product is something I've always felt good about, even with all the water under that fandom bridge.) 

Pick one of your older fics and say what about it you like most, and what you would do differently now. 

In MFMM, I think my biggest "regret fic" (of the published ones, there are plenty of things I regret about the ones that never saw the light of day) is The Place Where He Fell When He Saw The Stars, which is one of those fics that started out as what I thought was a good idea, but then I just completely failed to do what I had wanted to with it. Which is why it turned into the one-shot that it is, rather than the full on multi-chapter fic I had been meaning to write I still like the idea, and I like the intention behind this fic, I just don’t particularly like the fic itself. If I got a do-over on this one, I think I’d have given up on the Year of Tropes deadline that I was working towards and hung onto it until I knew how to do what I wanted to do, rather than writing myself into a corner I can’t be bothered to make my way out of. (But I do think, honestly, that then the fic would never have been published at all, so I’m not sure where that leaves us, really.)

Pick a fic and say something about why you wrote it – if there was a specific inspiration, perhaps from RL, fandom life, or a theme or a trope you felt needed to be written in a new way. 

I hesitate to bring attention to a WIP that has gone un-updated for more than six months, but lets forget about that for a bit and I'll tell you about Fast Times at Wardlow High, the high school AU the MFMM fandom had been pretty damn sure they didn't want until @heavyheadedgal​ suggested one here on tumblr and we all realised that YES, 17-year-old Jack rocking the debate team and Mac with a mohawk are in fact things that should be in our lives. And after reading people's suggestions for this non-existent AU I was so determined to bring it to life that I wrote a quick one-shot in a day, completely desperate to get it out there before AO3 was flooded with HS AUs. LOL. That one-shot turned into a thing, and although it doesn't look that way from the infrequent updating, it's my favourite thing that I've done in MFMM fanfic, because it's just my happy place in fic. There's no pressure, since I've totally given up on things like plot and character development and this making any kind of sense in the long run and am entirely focused on just enjoying writing it. I only do it when I feel like it, and I never really worry if it's any good. Because it's a HS AU, there's something about the nature of that that just allows for all sorts of badness. Basically I’ve given myself carte blanche to suck, and it’s really liberating and I should probably do that more, actually. In life in general.

Is there something you wrote in a fic that was read differently than you intended, and that made you see your own fic in another light? 

 I think the best example of that happening to me is the MFMM fic Back In The Ring, which was my contribution to the March Trope of the amazing Year of Tropes organised by @firesign23​ and was a very poor excuse for a bottle episode fic. The fic was just meant to be a jokey bit of plotlessness, but some people seemed to take the whole thing more seriously - and in a very different way - than I had intended. They certainly took it all much more seriously than Jack had done in the fic. But it led to my favourite ever analysis of anything I've written in the history of the Universe by @whopooh​, and so I can't really be sorry for the fact that a few readers were offended by Phryne's offhanded attitude to her past dalliances. 

Is there a fic by another writer that has inspired you? 

Okay, the thing is, for MFMM fandom, I don't have that. I have fics that I love, and I am inspired by this fandom as a whole (cue string section) but there's no one specific fic that has made me go "I need to write a story now." (Possibly this is the one downside to being part of a fandom with SO MANY writers who are just so incredibly talented? Which is not a thing you'l find me complaining about. Ever.) But in past fandoms, it has definitely happened, and this stroll down memory lane as I tried to find a good example of it was threatening to steal whole days from me as I reread past favourites from fandoms of yore, but instead of doing that, let me tell you about these two writers who used to co-write Rookie Blue fic and then edited their way into writing original fiction instead. Their style of writing was completely mesmerising to me, and I devoured, repeatedly, anything they wrote, whether or not it was a ship/au/whatever I was interested in. Because I just adored their words. They influenced my own style of writing in a lot of ways, but mostly in a way that was "Huh, so I can just write like I'm me and that's fine?" rather than feeling like you need to write like you're ~literature. I don't take that with me in all my writing, and I think in MFMM you mostly see it in Wardlow Whoopie, which was very much me trying to force this extremely contemporary sounding narrator's voice into a story set in the 1920s. I still don't understand at all how it could ever make sense, but it made me laugh as I wrote it, so I'm not going to argue any fine points here. (But yeah, that fact that I can't just do that is definitely the most challenging thing about writing MFMM fic - which I guess is also why writing Fast Times is such a relaxing thing, because I get to mostly do it there.) 

I’m pretty sure people have been tagged on this already - I know I was, which makes me think everyone else must've been covered, but in case you weren't and this is the first you've heard about this questionnaire, you should definitely do it!

[reluming]

Hey Cynthia! How long have you been writing? What do you feel are your strengths and weaknesses as a writer? In what areas are you consciously trying to improve?

i’m honestly one of those people who can say that i’ve been writing for as long as i can remember! at primary school in hong kong we used to have these classes called “composition” where you basically sit and write a story for like 35 minutes, and we had those classes in chinese and in english. i remember some of those stories very vividly. we had prompts that we had to write to, but one time in english composition i went so far off the prompt that even though i LOVED my story i got a bad mark >:( i think it was meant to be a description of a storm? and instead i spent most of my story talking about the AFTERMATH of a storm. i wrote about a guy who was hunting for some treasure in the middle of the desert and he got caught up in a desert storm and now he’s making his way through the desert starving and dehydrated. also i think i wrote a halloween story once about a house that ate people? idk

i did an english summer camp once in hk and i got told by my tutor that my stories were very graphic (i used to watch the animal channel after school every day and i ended up writing a lot of stuff about antelopes getting mauled by lions). my mum used to make me keep journals in both english and chinese and i had to write in those journals every sunday, but very quickly i think i asked her whether instead of writing about my life i could write fiction instead so i was soon writing like a short chapter of a fantasy story every week (two different stories in english and in chinese).

then when i was 11 i stumbled into the world of fanfiction and i’ve never looked back. i’ve been writing fanfic for over 12 years now! my earliest fics are still available somewhere on the internet, i’ve only ever deleted a couple of stories i’ve posted, so like 98% of all the fic i've ever written is still. there. lol. my earliest stuff is absolutely TERRIBLE. but i was lucky enough that i've had people to support my writing from the beginning. i’ve always been in really friendly and enthusiastic fandom spaces that gave me the opportunity and encouragement i needed to grow and learn and get better at writing.

also, i’ve written original stuff on and off over the years and i’m trying to get back into it again. 

my biggest weakness is definitely plot, whether or not we’re talking about original stuff or fanfic. oh my god. i hate plot. i literally hear the word plot and i want to curl up into a ball and die. i just want to write plotless things forever where i can just have characters sit around and emote at each other or at themselves, and that’s the end of it.

with original stuff i also struggle with writing characters that feel unique and interesting? that’s why i love fanfic so much, if the characters are already there it’s so much easier.

with fanfic, my strength is definitely emotion, both in terms of depicting emotion in a raw and vivid manner and at provoking the emotional reactions i want to provoke in my readers! i’m quite confident that in fic i’m able to portray a character’s internal world deftly and really just peel away everything else to get at the emotional truth. i’m good at writing sentences that hit people hard.

with original stuff i don’t know if i have a strength aksdjkdf i’m still really insecure about my original stuff and i don’t feel like i’ve written anything that REALLY works, yet.

i want to improve on all my weaknesses, but i don’t know if i consciously work on trying to improve them? i just tell myself to keep writing more stuff and see if i get any better. more stuff, and hopefully longer stuff. like black sails big bang. but that may turn out to just be 10k of characters emoting at each other, who knows. but nah i really do wanna try and write a whole damn novel soon and it WILL have some semblance of a plot goddammit!!

:’) if you made it to the end of my rambling, ily!!