#(this might change if i get some inspiration that actually would make that scene interesting. but for now it's not happening)

[desperatepleasures]

this series is wild bc i wrote the endgame first (conrart being pregnant and in love and having recently eloped with adalbert) and then wrote them getting together (conrart reluctantly agreeing to date adalbert and being like 95% just in it for the sex) and ever since then i've been slowly bridging the gap between those two points and it's been. a Journey

[archaeren]

How I learned to write smarter, not harder

(aka, how to write when you're hella ADHD lol)

A reader commented on my current long fic asking how I write so well. I replied with an essay of my honestly pretty non-standard writing advice (that they probably didn't actually want lol) Now I'm gonna share it with you guys and hopefully there's a few of you out there who will benefit from my past mistakes and find some useful advice in here. XD Since I started doing this stuff, which are all pretty easy changes to absorb into your process if you want to try them, I now almost never get writer's block.

The text of the original reply is indented, and I've added some additional commentary to expand upon and clarify some of the concepts.

As for writing well, I usually attribute it to the fact that I spent roughly four years in my late teens/early 20s writing text roleplay with a friend for hours every single day. Aside from the constant practice that provided, having a live audience immediately reacting to everything I wrote made me think a lot about how to make as many sentences as possible have maximum impact so that I could get that kind of fun reaction. (Which is another reason why comments like yours are so valuable to fanfic writers! <3) The other factors that have improved my writing are thus: 1. Writing nonlinearly. I used to write a whole story in order, from the first sentence onward. If there was a part I was excited to write, I slogged through everything to get there, thinking that it would be my reward once I finished everything that led up to that. It never worked. XD It was miserable. By the time I got to the part I wanted to write, I had beaten the scene to death in my head imagining all the ways I could write it, and it a) no longer interested me and b) could not live up to my expectations because I couldn't remember all my ideas I'd had for writing it. The scene came out mediocre and so did everything leading up to it. Since then, I learned through working on VN writing (I co-own a game studio and we have some visual novels that I write for) that I don't have to write linearly. If I'm inspired to write a scene, I just write it immediately. It usually comes out pretty good even in a first draft! But then I also have it for if I get more ideas for that scene later, and I can just edit them in. The scenes come out MUCH stronger because of this. And you know what else I discovered? Those scenes I slogged through before weren't scenes I had no inspiration for, I just didn't have any inspiration for them in that moment! I can't tell you how many times there was a scene I had no interest in writing, and then a week later I'd get struck by the perfect inspiration for it! Those are scenes I would have done a very mediocre job on, and now they can be some of the most powerful scenes because I gave them time to marinate. Inspiration isn't always linear, so writing doesn't have to be either!

Some people are the type that joyfully write linearly. I have a friend like this--she picks up the characters and just continues playing out the next scene. Her story progresses through the entire day-by-day lives of the characters; it never timeskips more than a few hours. She started writing and posting just eight months ago, she's about an eighth of the way through her planned fic timeline, and the content she has so far posted to AO3 for it is already 450,000 words long. But most of us are normal humans. We're not, for the most part, wired to create linearly. We consume linearly, we experience linearly, so we assume we must also create linearly. But actually, a lot of us really suffer from trying to force ourselves to create this way, and we might not even realize it. If you're the kind of person who thinks you need to carrot-on-a-stick yourself into writing by saving the fun part for when you finally write everything that happens before it: Stop. You're probably not a linear writer. You're making yourself suffer for no reason and your writing is probably suffering for it. At least give nonlinear writing a try before you assume you can't write if you're not baiting or forcing yourself into it!! Remember: Writing is fun. You do this because it's fun, because it's your hobby. If you're miserable 80% of the time you're doing it, you're probably doing it wrong!

2. Rereading my own work. I used to hate reading my own work. I wouldn't even edit it usually. I would write it and slap it online and try not to look at it again. XD Writing nonlinearly forced me to start rereading because I needed to make sure scenes connected together naturally and it also made it easier to get into the headspace of the story to keep writing and fill in the blanks and get new inspiration. Doing this built the editing process into my writing process--I would read a scene to get back in the headspace, dislike what I had written, and just clean it up on the fly. I still never ever sit down to 'edit' my work. I just reread it to prep for writing and it ends up editing itself. Many many scenes in this fic I have read probably a dozen times or more! (And now, I can actually reread my own work for enjoyment!) Another thing I found from doing this that it became easy to see patterns and themes in my work and strengthen them. Foreshadowing became easy. Setting up for jokes or plot points became easy. I didn't have to plan out my story in advance or write an outline, because the scenes themselves because a sort of living outline on their own. (Yes, despite all the foreshadowing and recurring thematic elements and secret hidden meanings sprinkled throughout this story, it actually never had an outline or a plan for any of that. It's all a natural byproduct of writing nonlinearly and rereading.)

Unpopular writing opinion time: You don't need to make a detailed outline.

Some people thrive on having an outline and planning out every detail before they sit down to write. But I know for a lot of us, we don't know how to write an outline or how to use it once we've written it. The idea of making one is daunting, and the advice that it's the only way to write or beat writer's block is demoralizing. So let me explain how I approach "outlining" which isn't really outlining at all.

I write in a Notion table, where every scene is a separate table entry and the scene is written in the page inside that entry. I do this because it makes writing nonlinearly VASTLY more intuitive and straightforward than writing in a single document. (If you're familiar with Notion, this probably makes perfect sense to you. If you're not, imagine something a little like a more contained Google Sheets, but every row has a title cell that opens into a unique Google Doc when you click on it. And it's not as slow and clunky as the Google suite lol) (Edit from the future: I answered an ask with more explanation on how I use Notion for non-linear writing here.) When I sit down to begin a new fic idea, I make a quick entry in the table for every scene I already know I'll want or need, with the entries titled with a couple words or a sentence that describes what will be in that scene so I'll remember it later. Basically, it's the most absolute bare-bones skeleton of what I vaguely know will probably happen in the story.

Then I start writing, wherever I want in the list. As I write, ideas for new scenes and new connections and themes will emerge over time, and I'll just slot them in between the original entries wherever they naturally fit, rearranging as necessary, so that I won't forget about them later when I'm ready to write them. As an example, my current long fic started with a list of roughly 35 scenes that I knew I wanted or needed, for a fic that will probably be around 100k words (which I didn't know at the time haha). As of this writing, it has expanded to 129 scenes. And since I write them directly in the page entries for the table, the fic is actually its own outline, without any additional effort on my part. As I said in the comment reply--a living outline!

This also made it easier to let go of the notion that I had to write something exactly right the first time. (People always say you should do this, but how many of us do? It's harder than it sounds! I didn't want to commit to editing later! I didn't want to reread my work! XD) I know I'm going to edit it naturally anyway, so I can feel okay giving myself permission to just write it approximately right and I can fix it later. And what I found from that was that sometimes what I believed was kind of meh when I wrote it was actually totally fine when I read it later! Sometimes the internal critic is actually wrong. 3. Marinating in the headspace of the story. For the first two months I worked on [fic], I did not consume any media other than [fandom the fic is in]. I didn't watch, read, or play anything else. Not even mobile games. (And there wasn't really much fan content for [fandom] to consume either. Still isn't, really. XD) This basically forced me to treat writing my story as my only source of entertainment, and kept me from getting distracted or inspired to write other ideas and abandon this one.

As an aside, I don't think this is a necessary step for writing, but if you really want to be productive in a short burst, I do highly recommend going on a media consumption hiatus. Not forever, obviously! Consuming media is a valuable tool for new inspiration, and reading other's work (both good and bad, as long as you think critically to identify the differences!) is an invaluable resource for improving your writing.

When I write, I usually lay down, close my eyes, and play the scene I'm interested in writing in my head. I even take a ten-minute nap now and then during this process. (I find being in a state of partial drowsiness, but not outright sleepiness, makes writing easier and better. Sleep helps the brain process and make connections!) Then I roll over to the laptop next to me and type up whatever I felt like worked for the scene. This may mean I write half a sentence at a time between intervals of closed-eye-time XD

People always say if you're stuck, you need to outline.

What they actually mean by that (whether they realize it or not) is that if you're stuck, you need to brainstorm. You need to marinate. You don't need to plan what you're doing, you just need to give yourself time to think about it!

What's another framing for brainstorming for your fic? Fantasizing about it! Planning is work, but fantasizing isn't.

You're already fantasizing about it, right? That's why you're writing it. Just direct that effort toward the scenes you're trying to write next! Close your eyes, lay back, and fantasize what the characters do and how they react.

And then quickly note down your inspirations so you don't forget, haha.

And if a scene is so boring to you that even fantasizing about it sucks--it's probably a bad scene.

If it's boring to write, it's going to be boring to read. Ask yourself why you wanted that scene. Is it even necessary? Can you cut it? Can you replace it with a different scene that serves the same purpose but approaches the problem from a different angle? If you can't remove the troublesome scene, what can you change about it that would make it interesting or exciting for you to write?

And I can't write sitting up to save my damn life. It's like my brain just stops working if I have to sit in a chair and stare at a computer screen. I need to be able to lie down, even if I don't use it! Talking walks and swinging in a hammock are also fantastic places to get scene ideas worked out, because the rhythmic motion also helps our brain process. It's just a little harder to work on a laptop in those scenarios. XD

In conclusion: Writing nonlinearly is an amazing tool for kicking writer's block to the curb. There's almost always some scene you'll want to write. If there isn't, you need to re-read or marinate.

Or you need to use the bathroom, eat something, or sleep. XD Seriously, if you're that stuck, assess your current physical condition. You might just be unable to focus because you're uncomfortable and you haven't realized it yet.

Anyway! I hope that was helpful, or at least interesting! XD Sorry again for the text wall. (I think this is the longest comment reply I've ever written!)

And same to you guys on tumblr--I hope this was helpful or at least interesting. XD Reblogs appreciated if so! (Maybe it'll help someone else!)

[dreamy-pill]

In My Brother’s Shadow AU

Anyone had this idea yet?

Stanley Pines is so used to hiding, he ends up personifying and replacing his twin brother’s shadow. Now, he’s either gone-gone or cursed. Stanford doesn’t realize his shadow is his brother until he tries sending out that postcard.

This is heavily inspired from Peter Pan. Can you guess who’s Wendy? For reference, Bill plays the role of Captain Hook.

- Unspecified origins, Stanley is transported halfway across the globe and ends up in Gravity Falls with his brother.

- Obviously, Stanford is so busy with getting his house being built he doesn’t realize his shadow is sentient until he’s apparently confronted with it. It’s the surprise of his life!

- At first he thinks his shadow is an anomaly. Stanford doesn’t begrudge the shadow for occupying in his impression. In fact, he becomes fascinated with it and its’ ambiguous nature. He ends up trying to ask his shadow a bunch of questions.

- Unfortunately, Stanley has to defer from Stanford’s inquiries because he cannot speak. The lack of back and forth communication makes Stanford somewhat falter. So, Stanley resorts to charades or shadow puppetry to answer Ford’s questions. He’s really good at shadow puppets.

- Stanley doesn’t tell Stanford he’s really Stanley.

- For awhile, it was just the two of them. They’d go out in the woods to document research on strange happenings. Stanford would refer to his shadow just by looking where the light hits the trees or the ground. For some reason, his shadow finds great joy in climbing trees.

- Even under the dim light of the kitchen, Ford is never really eating alone when he can see his shadow splayed out on the fridge or counters. It’s funny to think that Stanley will just be goofing off, all silent, while Ford is communicating for him.

- Maybe they make a game of it. Ford will fill the air with a narrative, Stanley will use his “shadow powers” to make interesting and detailed visuals of silhouettes to pop up on the walls.

- Maybe, in all the silence, Stanford yearned for some actual conversation. Stanley thinks his brother’s been alone by himself for too long, even with him as just his shadow. So, Stanford’s shadow (Stanley) is what inevitably convinces Ford to contact Fiddleford again.

Do you know that one scene from Nim’s Island? The scene where the author Alex Rider is about to back away from leaving the house but is pushed out by her imaginary character? I just thought of something similar happening to Ford when he’s somehow convinced by his shadow to call Fiddleford. You’ll have this whole tug-o-war scene between Stanford and his shadow, pulling on the phone chord, both being too stubborn to let it go.

- Fiddleford thinks Ford’s gone off the deep end when he sees him laughing along with his shadow.

- Mystery Trio (semi) established!

- Fiddleford attempts making an awkward one-sided conversations with Stanford’s shadow. Then over time, he becomes used to talking to the shadow, simply because of how exaggerated the shadow will change its shape to relay responses for him. It does get a good laugh out of Fiddleford each time. He considers the shadow a jokester, which is so unlike serious Stanford. That might offend him, but the trio do get a good laugh over it together.

- That little comparison could be the little hint that makes Ford slowly connect the dots, up until the postcard.

- Imagine seeing Stanley waving his arms frantically in the air on the cave walls momentarily before Ford sweeps his gaze to the painting on the wall of Bill, thus ignoring Stanley’s cry for his attention.

- Stanford still reads the inscription on the wall, leading to the winding road that causes Ford to focus more on Bill and drift further away from his shadow.

- Bill is delighted that Stanley is being pushed away.

- Bill gives Stanford the final hint about his shadow’s real identity.

- Stanford crushes the postcard in his hands. He whirls around and stares down at his shadow (maybe Ford gave his shadow a nickname?). The red light from the control room casts a sinister and eerie feeling in the atmosphere. Stanford confronts his shadow about his suspicions.

You know how Peter Pan’s shadow had to be sewn back to him from his feet? What if, instead of Stanford being pushed through the portal, Stanley is ripped away from Stanford. In the actual sense, like Ford loses his shadow and Stanley becomes lost after losing his one connection to who he used to be. Like, Stanley becomes lost in a dark void, endlessly shapeshifting in hopes of finding an impression similar to his original.

- Years later, Ford still has no shadow. He realizes too late that his brother is not who he used to be anymore. Stanley becomes a distressed mass of a conglomeration of forms of all the figures he tried fitting into over the years.

[gleamingyu]

hits different.

part I of the midnights series. inspired by taylor swift’s midnights. part II

pairing: music-producer!seungcheol x lawyer!fem!reader [exes-to-lovers]

genre: romance. slight angst. drama.

warnings: she/her pronouns for reader (but no specific physical characteristics). mentions of a pretty rough breakup. slight angst. some light cursing. mentions of death (jokingly though). terrible knowledge of law stuff (thank my brief interest in htgawm). yearning. loads of miscommunication. slow burn. cheol & reader are both stubborn. mentions of drinking. alternating povs. lower caps intended [if there’s anything i missed, please let me know!]

word count: 4.7k

notes: this is the first part of a new series i thought of! this is also my first time writing (or more like, finishing writing) something, so please be kind! any comments, reblogs or likes are welcome. and thank you to whoever decides to give this a chance :)

summary: still recovering from a not-so-fresh breakup, seungcheol leans on his friends to get back on his feet. it turns out to be much easier said than done, especially when his record label recruits the help of a law firm to deal with a recent scandal, which just so happens to be the same firm his ex works at. just his luck.

if anyone could see the scene in front of mingyu, they’d be severely concerned, much like he is at this very moment.

seungcheol is quite literally buried under a pile of blankets on his bed, the only visible part of his body a tuft of his dark brown hair. the floor of his bedroom is covered in clothes and empty food containers, and the air feels so stale and hot, it’s taking everything in mingyu not to gag. there is no light coming into the room except from the lightbulb shining in the hallway where mingyu is standing, and… is that… phoebe bridgers he can hear playing from somewhere?

mingyu glances down at his feet where kkuma, seungcheol’s devoted dog – and only girl who’s ever truly loved him, according to him – is sitting staring right back at him, a look on her fluffy face that mingyu swears looks just as depressed as her dad.

“this is way worse than i thought,” mingyu sighs, finally stepping into the bedroom. “okay, enough of this!”

mingyu grabs the blankets on the bed and pulls them away, revealing a very aggravated seungcheol. “what the hell are you doing?!”

“i’m not sure yet, because this,” mingyu gestures around the room, “is a lot. but it starts with you getting your ass out of bed and into the shower. immediately. this place smells like there’s a corpse somewhere in here.”

“yeah, it’s me. i’m the corpse. or i wish i was, because that would mean i’ve finally died,” seungcheol groans, turning away from mingyu and effectively shoving his face into the bed.

mingyu sighs, turning around to start collecting some of the dirty clothes on the floor. he finds himself regretting not calling jeonghan or joshua to come with him, because seungcheol might have been more easily persuaded to stop moping with them around. the reality is, they all thought seungcheol was doing better; he was back on his grind at work, finishing several albums he had been producing for, he was making progress in his jiu-jitsu classes, and he even joined the rest of the guys on their trip to australia last month, with minimal persuasion from his friends.

looking at the shell of a man laying on the bed in front of him, mingyu realizes he should’ve asked. he should’ve asked his friend how he was really doing, what he was feeling, what he could actually do to help him move past this.

better late than never.

“listen,” mingyu starts, going to sit on the edge of seungcheol’s bed but reconsidering. who knows when he last changed these. “i’m sorry if we haven’t really been there for you. i know a thing or two about breakups and heartbreak, so i guess i should’ve figured you weren’t alright, not like you said you were. you don’t have to keep all you’re feeling locked up. you can talk to us.”

seungcheol’s head moves slightly to the side, peeking at mingyu from the corner of his eye. he sighs, and turns on his back. mingyu tries not to cringe at seungcheol’s sullen face, his eyes red and still wet, as if he was still crying when mingyu arrived at his apartment.

“don’t beat yourself up, gyu. believe it or not, i was actually doing better. but a few days ago, i … i was cleaning around the closet by the entrance and …” he pauses, and mingyu thinks he might burst into tears. seungcheol breathes in however, closes his eyes, and continues. “i found one of her old hats. you know, the yellow crochet bucket hat she always used to wear in the summer? i bought it for her birthday when we had just started dating and … i don’t know, i just broke down. it hit me again that we’re over. like really.”

you and seungcheol broke up … four, five months ago? seungcheol shakes his head, he feels like time hasn’t passed the same since. days pass him by where he just goes over and over your last conversation – which was more of a fight, really – and he always ends up regretting everything he said that day. regrets resenting you for always working late, for never asking him to accompany you to firm events… regrets accusing you of some unspeakable things.

looking back, he can’t believe how big of an idiot he was. no wonder you left and didn’t even bother to come back to get your things. you left everything behind, all your clothes that still smelled of the lavender detergent you used to buy, your makeup haphazardly thrown into one of the bathroom drawers, the cooking books you always bought “for inspiration” but never, ever actually opened… and the yellow bucket hat you got from seungcheol for the first birthday you spent together. seungcheol had left everything where it was, a tiny part of him hoping you two would work this out somehow. but weeks went by with no word from you, and when he had tried reaching you, he came to the grave conclusion that you had blocked him on all platforms, cut him off from your life like a dead limb. back then he thought he deserved it. he still does.

“i’m sorry, hyung. i really am,” mingyu shakes seungcheol from his reverie, reaching a hand to pet his shoulder. a beat passes between them. “have you tried… calling her again since?”

“no. i don’t know what good it would do,” seungcheol sighs. “even if she answered, i doubt all the apologies i could offer would fix anything. i said some pretty fucked up shit.”

“yeah, i know. if you remember, i was there the next day ripping you a new one,” mingyu teases, desperately trying to cheer up his friend somehow. he swears he can see seungcheol’s lips twitch a bit. “but who knows… now that you both had some time to yourselves, you might actually be able to overcome this calmly. and if… if it doesn’t work out in the end, at least you’ll both have some closure.”

closure. that’s a funny word, because seungcheol wants the furthest thing from closure. he wants you back in his bed and your arms around him, he wants your indie artists he’s never heard of playing around the apartment in the morning, he wants your laugh echoing in the halls. he wants you.

he knows that the only way this ending could even be a possibility would be if he actually took mingyu’s advice and called you up, but another part of him is terrified of the other possibility: the one where you pick up and tell him to go to hell and fuck himself and never call you again or show his face around you. so for now, seungcheol opts for a third option: emotional limbo, with a side of trying-to-move-on.

he gets up from the bed and asks mingyu if he could help him straighten out the place. mingyu, bless his sweet heart, of course says yes and gets to work after sending seungcheol to clean himself up. just as he’s about to close the bathroom door, he hears mingyu’s exasperated voice.

“oh, for the love of god, where is that god-awful music coming from?!”

seungcheol can’t remember the last time he laughed so heartily.

the bar you find yourself in is bustling with people, laughter and cheerful conversations filling the space. you’re only half listening to whatever topic your two best friends, yunjin and chaeyoung, are discussing – something about “that bitch” in yunjin’s department at work that’s been giving her a hard time – instead reveling in the pleasant buzz of the champagne you’re nursing.

it had been a while since you were able to enjoy a nice evening with your girls. the past few months had been filled with endless meetings, client-induced headaches and sleepless nights, but thankfully, today you had managed to finally strike a deal for one of the firm’s most important clients (to be read as filthy rich), which you had been working towards all these months. naturally, upon hearing the news, chaeyoung and yunjin had begged you to join them at a bar in the city, “to celebrate your newfound freedom.”

you splurged on a bottle of champagne for the three of you and decided that tonight, you were going to have fun. you were going to relax, enjoy some drink, and catch up with your friends who you hadn’t seen in weeks.

and you will not, under any circumstances, bring up seungcheol.

you like to believe that in the last two months you had gotten better at shutting out any thought of your ex-boyfriend. in the days – more like weeks, if you were to ask chaeyoung and yunjin – following the ugly breakup, you were quite the literal mess. finding yourself alone and with nowhere to go, considering you had left the apartment you shared with seungcheol with nothing but your work stuff (how on-brand for you), it wasn’t surprising that your mental and emotional health had taken a massive hit. thankfully, at the insistence of yunjin, you agreed to crash at her place while you put yourself back together and took time off from work – something you had never done before.

to the surprise of your friends, it only took you two weeks to go back to work and start looking for your own place. two weeks after that, you were moving into a new apartment and claimed that you were feeling much better since the breakup. or at least starting to. chaeyoung and yunjin didn’t want to argue with you on this – even thought they 100% believed the front you were putting up was a load of crap – but in the end, they didn’t even have to, because the first time you went out with them again since the breakup, you had your first meltdown.

but was it really your fault that the man sitting two seats down the bar from you had ordered whiskey neat, just like seungcheol always used to? and was it really your fault that he was wearing a maroon leather jacket similar to the one seungcheol always used to wear in the fall, which you absolutely adored?

could they really blame you for bursting into tears right then and there and wailing about how much of a jerk seungcheol was for never understanding your dedication to your work? how much of a hypocrite he was for expecting you to just dip from the office when he suddenly had some free time, when he had never done so for you?

that night, chaeyoung and yunjin quite literally dragged you back to chaeyoung’s place and held you while you cried yourself to sleep, and in the morning, when you had embarrassingly admitted that “no, you weren’t really doing fine,” they held you again and offered soft-spoken words of support, opting to keep the classic we told you so in their thoughts.

four months passed since that incident and now, you could confidently say that you were truly feeling better. you weren’t quite over seungcheol per se; there were nights when you still thought about the smell of vanilla that filled the room whenever he was fresh out of a shower, the way he always got so giggly when you brought home a tray of cherries… yeah, you still found yourself missing him terribly sometimes. but the more time passed, you realized that seungcheol hadn’t tried reaching you at all in the months since the breakup, and so you thought he might be moving on as well.

it is true you had blocked him on all social platforms for weeks after you stormed out of your place. but on a particularly bad day, when all you did was cry and cry and cry after him, the thought of calling him up and asking him to go back to how things were crossed your mind, and you unblocked his number. unfortunately, your pride had set itself in your way, convincing you that it was seungcheol that needed to make the first step, considering he was the one who quite literally cornered you into a fight. so you didn’t call and instead prayed to whatever forces exist in the universe, that seungcheol would try your number again.

he never did.

“soooo, cheers to the lady of the hour! finally free from the clutches of corporate law!” yunjin cheered, clinking her glass against yours and knocking you out of your reverie.

damn it, seungcheol, i said i would not think of you tonight!

“yes, cheers!” chaeyoung joined in. “how do you feel? are you going to get a big ass bonus for the amount of time you put into this asshole?”

chaeyoung was probably right, you probably did deserve a huge ass bonus for the deal you pulled for the client you were handling. when you were in law school, you had never imagined yourself working for sleazy, corporate pigs who behaved like none of their actions would bite them in the ass eventually, and expecting others – like yourself – to clean up after them. but, as your boss grimly explained to you the day you had complained about your client, everybody has to start somewhere. “and junior partners don’t get to choose cases, sweetheart.”

life at the firm wasn’t always terrible. you were lucky enough to be part of an amazing team, and the firm worked with plenty of influential and big personalities, so you almost never had to worry about your income. but sometimes, some of the people you were asked to represent brought you to the brink of just quitting your job altogether.

“i just feel relieved,” you say. “if i had to hear the incessant whining and nagging of that idiot for one more day, i might have gone insane!”

“well, thank god you’re a stellar lawyer and managed to get rid of him,” yunjin teases, taking a sip of her drink. “do you already have anything else lined up?”

“god, no! i have a few days off just to take care of paperwork, maybe help out some of my colleagues around the office… but nothing big for now, thankfully.”

“oh, that’s amazing! which reminds me, this means you can actually join us on that weekend spa trip we were talking about last week,” chaeyoung happily suggests, as she’s already pulling up the website of the spa retreat.

“i guess a spa day would be nice,” you say, looking over at chaeyoung’s phone. you feel your body already going lax at the thought of a hot stone massage.

“oh, that would be so nice!” yunjin pouts. “we haven’t gone on a girls trip in so long! i miss going away, just the three of us… do you guys remember that trip we took to croatia two years ago? that was the best one we ever did, i swear!”

while chaeyoung joins yunjin in reminiscing about all the trips the three of you took over the years, you feel your phone buzzing in the pocket of your dress paints. pulling it out, you see an email notification…

“oh, no…” your voice trails off, reading over the email you had just received.

“what? what’s the matter?” yunjin asks, her conversation with chaeyoung coming to a halt.

“my boss just emailed me. he wants me in the office tomorrow morning. some big case that just came in,” you explain, already feeling a headache coming in.

“but tomorrow’s saturday,” chaeyoung frowns.

“i know… i know.”

when monday rolls around, seungcheol really wished that he had died before mingyu had found him the week before.

the day started normal enough. he woke up at 5 a.m. and took kkuma for a walk in the park near his apartment building, just like every morning. by 8 a.m., he was already set up in his studio inside the PLEDIS building, ready to work on the tracks he was supposed to finish mixing by the end of the week. seungcheol liked the buzz of the label, people from all different departments running around trying to stay on their schedules; it motivated him to also do his part diligently, and reminded him that he was extremely lucky to be doing one of the things he loves most: music.

seungcheol should’ve guessed something was up today the moment the clock struck 11 and jihoon, the other in-house producer of PLEDIS, and one of his oldest friends, hadn’t come by his studio. he and jihoon had known each other since their college days, having met in an audio engineering class they apparently shared, and had been friends for 8 years now. during their last year of college, they were recruited by a record label that was just starting out (which became the PLEDIS of today), and despite all warnings from their families, they decided to take a leap of faith together and join the company. it all worked out for the better, it turned out, as PLEDIS only grew and soon became a household name in the music industry.

as the only producers that have stuck around PLEDIS since the beginning, they developed several… traditions, or rituals over the years, one of which was jihoon’s 11 a.m. coffee run, which they’d spend sharing ideas and notes over each other’s work, and, if jihoon was in a particularly good mood, engage in some office gossip (not that either of them would ever admit it). today, however, jihoon is a no-show and seungcheol can’t help but wonder what his friend is up to.

when he shoots jihoon a quick text, asking if he’s alright, his friend only replies with a “just busy,” and tells seungcheol not to wait up for him at lunch, as he’ll probably be stuck in the studio all day. this doesn’t surprise him that much, seeing as jihoon might be an even bigger workaholic than he is, but he still can’t shake the feeling that something must be up with his friend. he decides that instead of going out for lunch, he’s gonna pick up some takeout and join jihoon in his studio. he wouldn’t be able to rest easy knowing his friend will go a day without eating anything.

once lunch hours begin, seungcheol takes a quick walk two blocks down the street to the restaurant mingyu works in, who’s already waiting for him with the food seungcheol had requested for him and jihoon. on his way back to PLEDIS, he texts jihoon again, just to make sure he’s still in the studio, but there’s no answer, and now seungcheol is seriously starting to get worried. he jogs the rest of the way until he’s back inside the building, and takes the elevator to the 6th floor where jihoon’s studio is stationed.

walking up to the door that reads UNIVERSE FACTORY, he stops in his tracks when he hears more than one voice from the other side of the door. he easily recognizes jihoon’s voice, but the other voices – two other men and a woman – are harder to make out. except… except the woman’s voice is eerily familiar, and without a second thought, seungcheol grips the handle and swings the door open, four pairs of eyes whipping in his direction.

his eyes land on jihoon, who looks like he wishes he was anywhere else in that moment, and then scan the rest of room, recognizing mr. han, their CEO, and… you. it’s you.

seungcheol feels like he’s going to faint. mr. han does not look the least bit happy about seungcheol’s intrusion, and he really wishes the man would slap him just so he can know for sure if he’s dreaming. if you’re surprised to see seungcheol, your face shows no sign of it, and seungcheol can’t help but stare at you. you look so beautiful, so put together; your make-up is soft, almost unnoticeable, your hair pushed behind your ears, and you’re wearing a dark green suit… oh, how he loved you in green.

you were the picture of grace and professionalism and he was… not. he really wishes he hadn’t come to the studio in sweatpants right now.

“mr. choi, what a… surprise,” mr. han exclaims, standing up from his seat, you and the other man – who seungcheol has no idea who he is, but he knows he doesn’t like the way he’s standing so close to you – following suit. “i didn’t know mr. lee was expecting you,” mr. han continues, glancing towards jihoon, who turned red as a tomato.

“i wasn’t, actually,” jihoon squeaks, avoiding both seungcheol and mr. han’s gazes.

“i apologize, i was… i was just bringing jihoon some lunch. i didn’t know there was… a meeting happening,” seungcheol says, looking towards you, and he’s almost thrown back by the way you’re just… staring directly at him.

mr. han sighs, but remembering the situation, he quickly puts on a polite smile as he turns towards you and the other man. “mr. choi is one of our other in-house producers. mr. choi, this is mr. jeon and miss L/N. they’re helping us with some… legal matters.”

so that’s why you were here. and who the other guy was. but what legal matters? and why was jihoon involved? and why didn’t he tell seungcheol?!

before seungcheol can ask more questions, mr. han gestures towards the door he came through and says “now, if you don’t mind, you can come back in a few minutes, mr. choi. we’ll be done soon.”

soon. soon, his ass!

seungcheol had been pacing the hallway outside jihoon’s studio for the past 20 minutes (he checked, he wasn’t exaggerating!), trying very hard not to eavesdrop through the door, and thinking of every possible reason why jihoon would need legal help and why you would be here.

jihoon was definitely in some kind of trouble. for the CEO to be involved as well, it for sure must be something that could affect the whole label. seungcheol just can’t understand why jihoon wouldn’t tell him if he had any kind of problem. they were colleagues, but most importantly, they were friends. he would’ve dropped everything to come to his aid.

now, when it comes to you… seungcheol knows you’re a lawyer, obviously he does. he met you when you were halfway through law school, and he was there for every failed and aced exam, for your graduation (he was so proud of you that day, it was the first time you’d ever seen him cry), for every measly job you had before finally securing the one you currently held at one of the top firms in the city. he also knows you’re a damn good lawyer, seeing how hard you work and how dedicated you are. he supposes it’s not surprising you were chosen to represent jihoon in whatever mess he got himself in.

he feels bad now that he remembers how he held these things above your head during your last fight. how you were working late so often, how you never asked him to join you at office parties, despite how eager you always were to go out with your coworkers for drinks, how you always asked him to wait for you outside the office building, as if you didn’t want people to know you had a partner...

he knows that both of you were to blame for how things went down between you, but since he started the argument in the first place, he thinks he could’ve brought all this up in a better way, at a better time.

his thoughts are interrupted when the door to jihoon’s studio opens again, and he finds himself regretting waiting in the hallway because now he has to face you again and he’s not ready and he doesn’t know what to say and he still looks like a hobo and –

“mr. choi!”

he looks up to see who he imagines is your colleague – mr. jeon – step towards him, as you and mr. han step out after him, discussing something. you glance once towards seungcheol before turning back to the conversation, and seungcheol feels his heart clench.

“mr. jeon, i’m sorry once again for interrupting your meeting,” seungcheol says, extending his hand to shake mr. jeon’s.

“don’t worry, no harm done at all. i’m actually glad you stuck around, because i had something to ask you. seeing as you and mr. lee are close, would you be available for a short talk with us, sometime in the next days? we’ll have to build a strong case for mr. lee and, well, some insight from his colleagues would be very helpful,” mr. jeon explains, fixing the thin-rimmed glasses perched on his nose.

seungcheol is taken aback by the man’s soft tone. his sharp eyes and cold look on his face made him look pretty intimidating, but his voice is the complete opposite, putting seungcheol weirdly at ease.

“o-of course, anything for jihoon,” seungcheol quickly replies. “can i ask, though, what exactly does he need help with?”

“plagiarism.”

“PLAGIARISM?!”

“you’re being sued. for plagiarism.”

“yes.”

“and you just found out last friday.”

“yes.”

“last friday when we all went out for barbeque and you didn’t even think to mention it? not even once?!”

“will you stop pacing and sit down? you’re making me even more nervous than i already am,” jihoon sighs, dropping his head in his hands.

seungcheol sighs as well, muttering a sorry, and sits down on the couch opposite jihoon’s chair.

jihoon continues. “i didn’t mention anything because i didn’t want to piss on everyone’s good mood. it was joshua’s birthday… besides, i didn’t know all the details of the situation at that point. i thought it was another baseless accusation, you know? but they’re serious about it. they wanna take me to court.”

“what? that’s insane,” seungcheol says. “i feel weird even asking, but did you even plagiarize?”

“no! of course not! i don’t even know the people!” jihoon exclaims, flopping down on the couch next to seungcheol. he lets out a long groan. “this is just what i needed.”

seungcheol pats his friend’s back, thinking of some encouraging words. jihoon was the most talented and creative guy he knew. to think that someone would accuse him of using somebody else’s work was a concept seungcheol couldn’t even entertain.

“don’t worry. that jeon guy looks like he’s already got a game plan.”

“and Y/N,” jihoon says.

silence falls around the two of them, until jihoon stirs from the couch, sitting up to look at seungcheol.

“are we just not going to acknowledge her or what?”

“no! that’s not what i…” seungcheol sighs, hanging his head. “i just wasn’t expecting to see her. i don’t know how to feel.”

“that’s understandable. you guys haven’t seen each other in a while, right?”

seungcheol shakes his head. “did she… did she say anything to you?”

“oh, no. she was super professional, went straight to business. but…” jihoon trails off, debating whether he should say what he was thinking.

“but? but what?!” seungcheol grabs jihoon’s shoulders, shaking him a little.

“but i think she was just as rattled to see you as you were. her hand kept shaking while she was writing, after you left. i guess she was just better at hiding her surprise,” jihoon continues. “now let go of me, you animal!”

seungcheol sighs. could it be that you were just as much of a mess inside as he was? the hopeful part of him thinks you might have thought of him all these months, just as he thought of you. the other part of him thinks your hand might as well just have been shaking from anger.

“you know, this might be a good thing,” jihoon says, getting up and sitting back in front of his computer.

“what, you getting sued and her being around?”

“yeah. maybe this way you’ll finally grow some balls, put your pride aside, and actually fix things,” jihoon deadpans, and seungcheol knows the conversation is over.

yeah. easier said than done.

[projectjasper]

ME AND THEE: NOVEL VS MOCK TRAILER

[BASIC SUMMARY & CHARACTERS] - [FULL SUMMARY & OTHER SPOILERS]

ARCHER'S NOTE: Overall, it seems like there have already been a lot of changes made to the mock trailer alone, and there are even more usually made to the actual series. In some ways, this immediately makes sense to me. After finishing the 400-something pages novel, I thought that its plot would fit better into a 2-hour movie rather than a full series, so certain things would need to be expanded upon for certain (and, frankly, they need to be expanded upon, as the speed with which some characters are introduced for a few scenes only to be promptly yanked out of the novel forever is slightly jarring). That said, expanding on the existing themes and providing necessary context is not the only thing the writers did for the mock trailer, taking only inspiration from some parts of the novel or even stepping away from it entirely for some of the decisions they have made. This series is indeed a mystery to me, a person who has read the novel, almost as much as it is to someone who has not, or perhaps even more so, since someone who has not read the novel has no expectations for things to go a certain way.

When the writers for the series are announced and if I know them (and there is a good 90% chance I know them very well), I will likely make a separate post, speculating where they might take their ideas based on their previous writing and the mock trailer.

SPOILER WARNING! Although the trailer itself obviously couldn't reveal any major plot points, there are still some spoilers for the novel in my comparisons, so proceed with caution.

THE MAIN GIMMICK IS NOT IN THE NOVEL

Sorry to be the bearer of sad news, but what is possibly the most charming part of the mock trailer - Thee watching soap operas and reciting the dialogue by heart - is simply not a thing in the novel. To be fair! The seeds of it are kind of there.

Thee's mom did indeed raise him on soap operas - in fact, her own soap operas, as she used to be an actress before marrying her husband - and has all the DVDs of her works, which Thee loved watching as a child. Moreover, this all gets revealed at the end of the novel, after Peach spends the entirety of it making an inside joke to himself about how sometimes the way Thee speaks sounds like he came right out of a soap opera. I suppose all these factors came together to give us the far more comedic and dramatic image of Thee actually currently being a huge fan of soap operas in general, which is honestly a hilarious and incredible decision.

ROMANCE OR SEX?

Now, this is a tough one, because what Thee ends up saying in the trailer can be interpreted in many ways.

He does begin by talking about sleeping with Aran.

But the next comment is perhaps a little more dramatically romantic, although - as I said - it can be interpreted in many different ways and perhaps the "burning desire" of which Thee speaks is the desire to nail and bail.

Regardless, in the novel, Thee is strictly interested in having sex with Aran and nothing more - in fact, he has never been in a relationship before and (up until meeting Peach) is only interested in one-night stands. Especially in conjunction with Thee from the mock trailer being fully into soap operas, I feel like he might take a more romance-aligned approach after all, or perhaps they will remain novel-accurate here and he will only be interested in Aran physically. We shall see.

ARSENI? YES AND NO

So, fun fact! Thee is half-Russian in the novel and his father is actually a notorious Russian mafia. (This is also why the author gave Thee "cigarette smoke coloured grey eyes" which I had to read about one too many times - Gods protect us from contact lenses in this series, although I've heard the director X first thought of casting Pond after he saw a photo of him with blue contacts, so I guess they are helpful somewhere). Regardless of my hatred for Pond covering his gorgeous brown eyes, 'Arseni' is not just the name of the company Thee owns, but also his family's surname. Now, you are in luck, as I am Russian and can confirm: Arseni cannot be a surname under any circumstances, although it is a popular first name in the country, so the author's research has either not been extensive enough or has simply been unsuccessful. In any case, both the trailer and recently Phuwin in an Instagram Live confirm that Thee will not be half-Russian in the series.

According to the trailer, Thee's first two names are intact, but his surname has been changed to Lee - if I had to guess based on that alone, he could be of numerous descents, there are multiple countries where that surname is quite common. Another hint, however, might be in Thee's conversation with his father from the trailer, where he speaks English. That could just be because they are being hashtag international in the family or indeed because his father is from an English-speaking country. Honestly, we have no way of knowing right now. The only thing that we do know is that he is definitely not half-Russian anymore.

Oh, and that Thee's company is still called 'Arseni', as the trailer confirms multiple times.

A POND NARAVIT CHARACTER WITH A GOOD FAMILY? NOT IN THIS ECONOMY

In the novel, Thee has a shockingly nice family. He gets along with his younger brother Rome well, his mother is very warm and loving, and his father is incredibly open-minded and supportive. To be fair, there are crumbs of some... peculiar upbringing in Thee's backstory for sure. He is taught to not trust anyone outside the family (which is also why he is not properly socialised) and Mok is specifically raised alongside him to make sure he would be a trustworthy confidant to him. But, considering the "business" the family is in, this isn't totally unreasonable and the family does accept Peach and his sister Phlub into it with open arms right away.

The trailer, however, paints such a drastically different picture that I am confident this is a big change that they've made. A stern father's voice says over the phone "This business is not a place for the weak, not for the people who let their emotions get in the way. You know that, my dear son?" Although we never actually witness a conversation between Thee and his father in the novel as such, this just does not line up with what we know about him. That man adores his wife, first and foremost, and he wishes for his son to find the same kind of love he has and to focus on something other than work - he would simply never disregard all emotions in name of business. Not to mention that this isn't really even a conversation Thee from the novel would have to have with his father. The younger son, Rome, is in charge of the shady parts of the business that require one to be truly ruthless and cunning, while Thee keeps to the clean cover-up businesses, which are his main projects.

AND THIS ACTUALLY LEADS ME INTO TWO OTHER POINTS:

MOK'S ROLE AND ROME'S DISAPPEARANCE

Like I have mentioned, Mok has been raised alongside Thee to be his trusted friend and confidant. While we do not immediately find out about this in the novel, it slowly becomes apparent just how close the two are, and their upbringing is eventually revealed, as a last piece of the friendship puzzle.

What Mok says here is more reminiscent of a bodyguard who is only just trying to get close to his distant boss, which - if true - changes a lot, not just about Mok, but also about Thee's upbringing.

Rome is also not present in the trailer. And while I do acknowledge that this might be due to timing issues, he is a relatively important character and - perhaps more importantly - GMMTV mock trailers rarely pass up on the chance to at least hint at a secondary romance, which (by tried and true GMMTV rules) should be WilliamEst here, as Rome and Mock are in an on-again, off-again relationship in the novel. In conjunction with the changes they made to Thee's father, I fear Rome might not exist in the series at all, making Thee the single heir and placing much more responsibility and shady business on his shoulders.

A MAFIA HAS PROBLEMS TOO

In the novel, Peach is the one who keeps running into issues and Thee is mostly his ever-powerful knight in shining armour, rushing to save him and finally make him feel cared for and protected. Not only is there no trace of this in the mock trailer, the roles are seemingly reversed.

It is true that Thee does not really have friends, aside from his family and Mok (who is basically also family). However, this is an issue that is approached very matter-of-factly in the novel. It is simply how he was raised and how he has been living for the past three decades. It is clearly treated with far more gravity in the trailer.

Similarly, while Thee often feels cold and empty, this is his general state of mind in the novel and it is certainly not accurate to how he feels when he is around Peach. If I had to guess, I would say the trailer is going for Peach slowly melting an iceberg that encapsulates Thee's heart, while in the novel the two have a very natural connection that immediately makes them both feel safe and warm.

If I am right on both counts, the weight of the two characters in the series will shift significantly and - dare I say - the main character, who is undeniably Peach in the novel, even with all the Thee POVs that we get, might actually be Thee in the series.

A BETTER ROMANCE STEREOTYPE

The 'Me and Thee' novel is an interesting little thing, because it is simultaneously chock-full of very classic soap opera esque tropes, but also criticises some other ones very pointedly.

The questions of force and consent in particular are often brought up by Peach. A classic mafia romantic interest in a soap opera would usually not be respectful of boundaries, but Thee is very far from that kind of stereotype himself and is taken farther from it still by Peach's guiding hand. I don't know if the series will bother with threading this particular message throughout the entire plot or if it's just a line thrown into this particular dialogue, but the novel certainly does. Although, even if it will not be emphasised in the series, I am confident there will be no nasty shit happening, judging by the tone of the trailer alone.

TO ARANTAWAN OR NOT TO ARANTAWAN? THAT IS THE QUESTION

So, the 'Me and Thee' novel does not have a secondary couple as such, and if I absolutely had to give that label to someone, it would actually go to MokRome - not AranTawan. Aran and Tawan are mostly used to propel TheePeach's relationship a couple of times and otherwise have a very tumultuous and frankly kind of toxic relationship, we never see any of their sweet moments or anything like that - mostly just Tawan being jealous and taking it out on Peach.

Looking at the mock trailer, that seems to check out. So, sorry PerthSanta cowboys, but I would hold our horses, at least for now.

A DIFFERENT ROLE FOR PHLUB

If i am right in assuming that Bonnie is playing Peach's sister Phlub (which is highly likely), she seems to have a different role in the series and be a slightly different character overall. In the mock trailer, she basically explains who Thee is and warns Peach to be careful - in the novel, she doesn't know anything about Thee's involvement in Peach's life until way wayyyy later. Not to mention that Phlub from the novel would be more likely to mischievously grin and tell her brother to have fun with his new rich friend than warn him away. To be fair, her scene is very short and she could very well be working as a mouthpiece for Thee's introduction that was simply an author's note in the novel, so I can't say for certain if this is a big change yet.

MORE DETAILS

You know how sometimes you read a romance novel or watch a romance movie or what have you and the characters on their own are a tad underdeveloped? Like, sure, they are real, the relationship is beautiful, but we don't know anything about them outside of their workplace and maybe their tragic backstory. Yeah, the 'Me and Thee' novel is kind of like that. The series seems to be rectifying that, however.

Both Thee's interest in arcades (?) and Peach's interest in handpans are not present in the novel.

Although the boys' wiliness to share in each other's interests and likes is very novel-accurate.

[mantequillamcwhoremick]

How did you come up with the plot to Chaos Plan??

YIPPPEEEEE ANOTHER ONE!!!! HEHEHEH THANKS FOR THE ASK

Omg I LOVE this question. I'll never get sick of answering that, so like warning for long post incoming 😈😈😈😈

I talk about my inspirations a lot on this post and also in the end notes on some chapters, especially chapter 10 and chapter 20, and I always pinpoint the scene from TFBW where Butters/Chaos talks to the others through the screens of U-Stor-It as "the moment where it all started," so I guess I can talk about something different now😁😁😁I might still repeat myself a lot though lmao so sorry about that.

The Premise: Butters' Disappearance and Detective Harris

Fun fact: the summary on ao3 is actually the first thing I ever wrote for the fic, and I feel like it still holds up.

I debated for a long time whether I actually wanted to write this story, because the idea of it fascinated me so much but I was scared to commit to such a big project. But then I read this pitch to my best friend and they were FASCINATED, and that was kind of the push I needed. I haven't looked back since.

The premise of Harris hiring Mysterion (despite either of their desire to work with each other) was something deeply inspired from the premise of Six of Crows, a book I reread at least once a year. I love crime and heist stories, especially when the criminals in question are sad little losers with questionable motivations and morals, and I feel like Mysterion getting HIRED to stop Chaos is a story that wrote itself. Especially since I wanted the added backstory to be that Butters disappeared after a tragic event, kickstarted by the aforementioned TFBW scene that made me immediately think of Jinx from Arcane. That's why I implemented all those visual bits and pieces of Chaos grafitti-ing the town, particularly places associated with childhood (playgrounds, the basketball court), and decorations that make you think of a kid's birthday party (like the fairy lights).

Mysterion and Chaos

In my notes on chapter 20 I talk in detail about my thought process on Chaos and Mysterion's villain and vigilante identities and their respective modi operandi, which is something that drove the development of this story a lot.

I'm a huge character psychology nerd, so I really wanted to write a story where these two characters drive the plot fueled by their fascinating canon skills, backstories and trauma in the given canon setting. A story that illustrates in great detail how they would operate in a hero/villain story while keeping the story as close to canon (or canon equivalents) as possible.

"Professor" Chaos being an entrepreneur-type scammer & hacker villain was an idea that I found baffling to not be as widely represented as I'd expect it to be (especially given the existence of Vic Chaos???), so I took it upon myself to realize my dreams lmao. This involved a lot of research on scams and cyber-crime and everything computers and crypto (I'm a tech illiterate. this was painful bro) so I watched a bunch of documentaries on a bunch of different assholes lol. (I'd be happy to share which those where if anyone's interested hghaahah) Thankfully my mom works in a cybersecurity-adjacent job so I know a bunch of fun facts like that you can actually get hacked with a QR-code! the more you know

The Plot and Shit

Whenever I have a story idea the first thing I do is pull out this bad boy

and make myself think about all the crucial plot points that could be represented by each beat sample. (I used to have the "Save The Cat" novelwriting book and it honestly changed how I think about story structure).

Even though a lot of the original first outline drafts don't really end up representing what the story looks like in the end, it does make me think about necessary beats to keep the tension up and have it flow nicely, and the vague idea of the crucial beats does usually hold up. Originally, the moment where Kenny finds out Chaos is Butters was meant to be the "midpoint" but I ended up focusing on a bunch of other stuff in the plot that I'd probably determine the moment the roof of City Hall blowing up as the "midpoint" now.

But these scenes were among those I knew I wanted in the story since the beginning:

Harris hiring Mysterion

Mysterion and Chaos talking at U-Stor-It

Kenny running into Butters

Kenny and Butters at the graveyard

City Hall roof blowing up

Mysterion talking to Chaos at a destroyed playground

some others i can't spoil teehee

And as you'll see, this represents like 5% of what happens lmao. Most of my ideas involving Kyle were super vague, and I had no fucking idea how to even involve Stan at first, even less Cartman (I actually wanted to keep Cartman away from the plot but he fought his way in anyway, as he does).

Brother, i didn't even have any scenes with Karen planned. I came up with that one spontaneously when I was struggling to figure out how to write chapter 7 (8 on ao3, when you count the prologue) and how to connect the dots between the U-Stor-It bit and what I wanted to do with Kenny figuring out the transport thing. You'll have found me like this trying to figure out all the connections and dots in Chaos' plan between Harris, the bar, Butters past (yet to be revealed) and how the motherfuckers of our main characters are actually gonna figure all that shit out.

I'm too embarrassed to say how many chapters were just kinda spontaneously rawdogged when they demanded actual detailed explanations of what happened, when I only had like the most vague idea thinking "yeah it happened somehow" (chapter 9 was most definitely one of them. That chapter description just said something like "Kenny and Kyle do detective work idk")

So yeah i guess the TLDR answer to this ask is kinda "idk man i fucked around and found out and the plot possessed me in vivid visions." I think at it's least ramble-y and most honest, that's what it all boils down to

THANKS FOR THE ASK <33333 AND KISSES IF YOU ACTUALLY READ ALL THIS LMAO

[billybabearr]

Some BillyBabe fanfic-writing advice needed ⊂⁠(⁠(⁠・⁠▽⁠・⁠)⁠)⁠⊃

So I fell madly in love with the Thai BL 'The Sign'. So much so that it had a horde of plot bunnies run wild in my head.

It gave me so much inspiration that I decided to just start writing again, which makes me unbelievably happy because I definitely forgot how much I enjoyed it.

My story is a RPF about the cast of the show, specifically Babe and Billy, because I just love their relationship (other cast members are featured as well, primarily Heng and Akk).

I don't have a good summary yet, but it's roughly this:

Babe Tanatat never anticipated how much his life would change the moment he stepped onto the set of 'The Sign'. He finds incredible new friends among his co-stars, experiences things he never imagined he would and gets to be part of something truly special.

But every success has it's downsides. From mishaps to accidents to sheer bad luck, everything that can go wrong does.

And if that doesn't make his life complicated enough, Babe finds himself grappling with some unexpected yet very confusing feelings for one particular coworker.

Babe has no idea how he got himself into this mess, nor how he can get out of it.

(Seriously, trying to come up with a half-decent summary is way harder than any writing I've done so far. But I guess coming up with a title will be worse 🫠)

In my story I'm following the episodes, going through them one at a time, picking out scenes that have the potential to go wrong / be funny / etc.. I'm also using the bts-material, as well stuff they said in interviews or offhand comments in their reaction videos (I'm a sucker for details, if you can't tell 😆)

Also, it might have gotten a little out of hand. I've already written around 130k words (not edited or in the correct order, but still), before I decided it might be nice to publish it. And I'm not even halfway through the list of stuff I want for each episode.

And yes, I actually made a list. A (not so) little file for each episode, detailing what scenes and prompts I want there with bullet points for the actual plot. So basically I already have a rough concept/script, but with enough space in between for new ideas.

Since this will be the first time I ever upload a story (on AO3), I'd like to get some opinions on it first.

What do you think about the overall idea? Is it something you might be interested in?

What tense do you prefer while reading - present or past?

What is your preferred chapter length (especially in longer stories)?

What do you think about pictures at the beginning of a chapter? Since I'm following the episodes/bts, there will almost always be a specific scene tied to each chapter. I'm playing with the idea of adding a picture/gif at the start of these. For easy reference where in the storyline we are (or just because they're all cute (⁠◠⁠‿⁠・⁠)). Is that something you'd enjoy? Or do you find it more disruptive/annoying?

And I'm always open to new prompts or plot ideas (tied to specific scenes or not).

I hope some of you can share your thoughts, since I'm a complete newbie to publishing stuff. Any other tips and tricks are always greatly appreciated as well 🤗

Have a good one!

(+ I promise my actual writing is better than whatever weird rant this is. Never done a blog post either, and I'm guessing it shows 😂)

[cyn-if]

I've been re-reading the WIP a few days ago, and a weird series of questions came to mind... Warning, this will be all about a character you probably don't get a lot of asks about!

So, for some reason, the specific kind of "bully character" that Thomas is fascinates me in works such as this one. Not that I'd like him to be a RO or anything, I just think it's interesting to see how such characters are written or the different paths their story can take.

With Thomas, I know MC can humiliate him by showing how stronger they are, scare him by letting him stab them and witness how non effective that is, hurt him or kill him... That is a lot of variety!

Now I have a variety of questions if you don't mind!

How impactful on the overall story will be what we decided to do in regards to him?

If left alive, will Thomas continue to appear in the story on a semi-regular basis, or is he way too much of a secondary character for that? I don't know just how much he's a "proper character" and how much he's a "plot device" at this point.

Assuming he's alive and will be reappearing, are you planning on having him stay the same, or do you have some character evolution planned for him, good or bad (no need to tell which way it will go if that's spoilery! - just asking if anything will change or not).

And now a self-indulgent character ask that I hope won't be too annoying to answer: on a playthrough with a MC that is fully on board with their task of fighting against all things demonic and who basically resists their "evil nature" as much as possible, what would happen if Thomas was in mortal danger for whatever reason and MC saved him, possibly even taking risks or getting actually hurt for it - because at the end of the day, "he's still a human I have to protect"? How would Thomas react to that? And the ROs too, considering they all witnessed at least some of the stuff that happened between Thomas and the MC?

I hope this isn't too many question about that one character who isn't even a RO and that I shouldn't be overfixating on so much!

It's not a lot at all. Thomas does indeed sort of fall into the 'plot device' sphere then fully fledged out character. However, I do indeed have scenes in mind for a Thomas that was spared and depending on what the MC did.

Regarding impact, Thomas is the son of one of the more influential nobles in the Kingdom. While I'm undecided if Lord Ducant sits on the council, he for sure has quite a bit of influence in it. Thus killing, maiming or even scarring his son will impact his mind when it comes to the council informing the King what to do with the MC. Furthermore, slaughtering or maiming him outright will only alienate the MC from the rest of the Blackguard even more. Sparing Thomas, will indeed be seen as the MC doing something good (unless they maim him) and will carry positive benefits.

If spared, yes the MC will have opportunities to run into Thomas again. And when he shows up, depending on what the MC did to him, his character will indeed be slightly different. With certain paths being a little more antagonistic then others. (Maimed Thomas will hold a grudge.)

As for your what if scenario, Thomas would be surprised. That level of surprise will vary depending on what the MC did to him, but even an MC that avoids the fight entirely saving him would come as a surprise. That action more then anything would inspire a lot of growth in Thomas, and assuming he doesn't fully hate the MC, might even earn the MC a loyal helper (friend would be a bit of a stretch)

The ROs reactions would depend on what the MC did to Thomas first, and if they've shown themselves to be heroic in other encounters.

Everix is most likely proud and vindicated by the act. Knowing (hoping) deep down that the MC would be able to overcome their nature and be a hero.

Hayes wouldn't really understand risking one's life for someone like Thomas, but they would look at the character with a bit of awe at their heroics.

Sam wouldn't really make much of a big deal about it, unlike Everix or Hayes. But they would be happy to see that the MC is being heroic, and would probably try to mimic that level of heroism.

Quinn would be surprised, much like Thomas, at the MC saving him. But if the MC had been preforming heroic actions before, she would get over her surprise quick, and would congratulate the MC on sticking to their principles.

Maverick would trust the MC made the right decision, and would sort of be at awe and proud of them. He would also try to emulate that heroism, just in a less direct way then Sam would. More words and assisting, less physical acts of saving someone.

[intuitive-revelations]

Some notes on Tales of the TARDIS: The Pyramids of Mars (some finale trailer spoilers included)

We don't get as much interesting stuff in the framing device here, for obvious reasons, but there's still some stuff to talk about.

Surprised they still used the stock backgroud / TARDIS cgi for this Tales of the TARDIS episode. I would have thought they would have something new/more specific to the next episode.

I'm very interested in the decision to have Fifteen and Ruby here. Out of universe I get it, what with Elisabeth Sladen being gone, and who knows if Tom would have able/willing to do something with a different actor (and who would you bring in even if he were? Luke?). But the in-universe placement is interesting. I would have assumed it was just a framing device, but we know we're going to see the Memory TARDIS in the finale. I'm guessing there will be a scene with them in the Memory TARDIS where Fifteen briefly explains what Sutekh is, and the Tales of the TARDIS bookends will basically be a deleted scene that fits into that?

There's actually some evidence for this. As we zoom in, the TARDIS doors seem to be open, which might fit with those trailer scenes of the Doctor looking out at Earth, plus the one of him screaming. However, Mel was there in the trailer, so I'm guessing we're going to be in and out of the Memory TARDIS quite a bit next episode.

I noticed those subtle camera glances from Ncuti as he's talking about Four and Sarah Jane :)

People have already commented on it, but I like the anti-colonialist reframing of the story.

As for the omnibus story itself, the editing was generally good. I don't know the original serial enough to spot everything they did, but I did kinda miss the Victoria reference at the beginning.

Interesting decision to replace the Time Corridor effects with the modern Time Vortex. Kinda makes sense in some ways, plus probably helps explain how Sutekh ends up in the Void without needing other stories. Super missed opportunity not using the graphics from the Season promo photos though, which people pointed out as being very reminiscent of the time tunnel.

As someone always eager, usually in vain, for 'canon' to fit together, I'm super intrigued by the mention of Sutekh having "evolved into a Titan" since Pyramids. (Interestingly, the iPlayer titles capitalised this. I found it a bit interesting, since in the context of gods, it immediately bring to mind Greek mythology, but that would be an odd choice to combine with the Egyptian/Christian inspired Sutekh.)

(Actually small critique of the iPlayer subtitling. I don't really need accessibility features, but had them on as I didn't want to miss anything. The new Doctor Who content has made some big bounds with accessibility, with the BSL and audio description options, but I was a bit disappointed with some of the subtitling line changes from the actual spoken words, even if I get why some lines might have been changed for clarity from Four's meandering language. It had quite a big effect on the dialogue though, in some places. I can see what people on here mean when they advocate for accurate subtitling.)

Anyway, back to the evolution thing. I hope this might be explained or eluded to next episode, given the decision to re-air an episode with such a distinctly different Sutekh.

Between the time tunnel leading to the far future, plus the fact he originates from the Dark Times, maybe the idea of him being the 'oldest one' isn't as crazy as I thought? After all, beings like the Toymaker, if they are the 'Time Lords' of the previous universe, are presumably only around 14 billion years old in the present day, if their original species had lifespans similar to the current Time Lords.

That being said, Four says he 'lived for 7000 years'. No idea if that's about his lifetime up until this point, or how long the Doctor thinks Sutekh survived in the Time Tunnel. If the prior, it's possible it doesn't include his time imprisoned. If the latter, maybe that's how long he was stuck in the tunnel before he escaped to the Void, with his disappearance causing the Doctor to assume he died?

Meanwhile, maybe the "Mother/Father/Other" thing is more about taking that kind of role in providing understanding of N-Space to the Great Old Ones, like in the Titan Comics storyline, than an actual parental connection? I don't know, that one's going to both me if we don't get more information tonight...

The only other possibility, which admittedly I kind of like, is that Sutekh is somehow an incarnation of The Beast (in the same way the Doctor might be the Other/Red Guardian), who really is old enough to be such a thing. If so, maybe he's awakened to that power/knowledge since last we saw him?

[animalsalvationassociation]

I’ve caved & now the ASA Au is pivoting!!! 😅😘

(Please read to the end and vote on the poll!)

So I mentioned before that I wanted to go a more scientific route with my Octonauts Au, just because my writing usually delves into the fantasy/magic genres (I mean I write other things like Sci-Fi & Murder Mysteries, but there’s usually still a supernatural element to it).

However, this morning I found a lot of amazing inspiration that derives STRAIGHT from not only mythology but cryptozoology. I’ve talked it over with a moot and I believe I have a good idea of how I want to go about it.

So the story is going to be changing slightly. Ofc we’re gonna have our silly goofy Octonauts with their science fun, but I believe a criptid/monster subplot is just what we need!

Imagine a world where certain species have been believed to have gone extinct, only to find that most of those species exist and they’ve evolved. This will delve deeper into the scary/suspense aspect I’ve been looking for, allowing us to see if Kwazii’s monster tales might be telling some truths after all . . .

(Poll below)

PG-13: Mentions of Blood/Injuries, Violence, Use of weapons, Skipped Death Scenes (as in they’re mentioned but not included in the actual story), Scary/Suspenseful but not horribly traumatizing. (Think Superhero movies)

PG-14: Vivid Death Scenes (Most often they will be based off of memories), Heavy Weaponry, Horror Aspect (as in certain scenes are a little bit scarier than what they would be in a regular story, there’s more suspense and stakes), Lingering on the “edgier” side (idk how to explain it, it’s PG-14 for crying out loud) — (Think . . . Idk—Netflix has PG-14 which is on the cusp of being “Mature”, so go off that I guess)

Note:

Unfortunately in order to create the story I want to tell (even if it is a kids show) it has to feature at least some of these. However these two rating are literally based on violence only.

I don’t usually have swearing in my stories (it makes me uncomfortable to write unless it’s literally the only way the sentence flows/or it makes sense for the character, I only have a few exceptions however like Hell/Damn even then I still don’t use them often) — That also goes for sexual content, that doesn’t exist here. You want smooches? You get a little kissy, that’s it.

However keep in mind, we can have certain aspects of both. If you want a scarier story in the eyes of PG-13, we can do that. I’ll just be careful how I approach the subject.

(This is the only way I can actually explain how the story will play out by literally rating it. By giving it a rating most people are going to understand what it means and will judge based on their interests/age. Please be responsible and respectful. I am not responsible for your choices, especially if you are under the age of 13.)

[rubykgrant]

Y'know what, there are times when seeing a story re-told in a different medium can be GOOD, and I a biased because I usually lean toward wishing something had an animated versions (in particular, movies that were originally books; some of them had illustrations on the cover/pages, and taking inspiration from that can be really interesting, and animation lets the story have a very distinct style- the Last Unicorn having backgrounds that are inspired by the Unicorn Tapestries/Hunt of the Unicorn, for example. Animation also means characters can be designed to fit descriptions of characters, or be adjusted slightly, but then have voice actors who are the best for the role).

Still, there are a handful of live-action versions I adore, and yes... even a few "remakes/re-boots" that managed to do a decent job. Some perhaps weren't my PERSONAL favorite, but if nothing else, they knew what they were doing VISUALLY. It takes actual effort and genuine care to translate something animated to live-action. Sometimes it involves changing certain things, but you have to be SO AWARE of that, because then an important design/an entire scene/the whole PLOT might get wrecked. Sometimes, a story works better if it changes so MUCH, there is barely any comparison to be made to the animated version; this is THIS, and that was THAT. They're so different, one isn't better or worse than the other.

I'm also biased, because my favorite example is the 1996 version of 101 Dalmatians; the animals don't talk in this movie, but through visuals the audience can still tell that they are "communicating", what they are worried about, what they will do, etc. The character of Cruella is acted so perfectly, and her costuming is FANTASTIC. The only complaint I have is- they changed Roger's profession from somebody who works in music, thus eliminating the song about Cruella De Vil (which is a BIG part of the story, not only the plot as it makes the people enough money to keep and care all the puppies later, but... everybody has fun singing that song. c'mon). The 101 Dalmatians books by Dodie Smith are very different from both the animated and live-action movies (personally, I think for the better... the books are WEIRD), and so they all sort of exist separately from each other, and that works.

All this to say... a live-action How To Train Your Dragon movie could exist, and not be awful, but NOT by trying (and failing) to re-create specific scenes that worked so beautifully BECAUSE they were originally in such stylized animation. It's just not working. However, you know what ELSE is different from the animated movie? The BOOKS. In the books by Cressida Cowell, Toothless isn't a Nightfury, but a very small dragon (originally thought to be a common garden dragon, later revealed to be a young Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus), Hiccup is about 10 when the story begins, and a LOT of adventures occur through the series that the animated movies adjusted/didn't touch. The series Riders of Berk introduced a character originally in the books, Alvin the Treacherous, but he's very different from the book version. A live-action version based more on the plot of the books COULD be made, and be so different from the animated version, that it doesn't even need to be compared... in fact, the story could "begin" some time AFTER the first book (and thus, after the similar events in the animated movie), and jump into book-only plots. It would still only be "good" if the people working on it actually cared and put in the effort, but that's true for anything

[shadowblaze001]

I've got an amazing random au idea where Gyro Gearloose has a multiply split personality of Mad Ducktor for Ducktales 2017. I got the inspiration for it from the characters of Toko Fukawa and Mikoto Kayano from "MILGRAM", and from a story called Jekyll and Hyde.

In this AU, I envision that Gyro's personality interacting with the other characters would be a mixture of fear and confusion, but his friends also try to help Gyro too. But I also have a good scenario for them too. Like I believe there would be some scenes in episodes where he's just normal, but when I think maybe in the episode "I am Gizmoduck", he would just be start to hear a voice whisper in his mind telling him should kill, but tell it to shut up, which throws him off guard, and tell Fenton that it's nothing and to brush it off. But when season 2 happens, there would be times where Gyro would be off, while still maintaining to keep himself together with some details giving away, and Louie would suspect that something's up with him, but keeps it to himself, until he finally puzzled it all together at the end of "Timephoon!". The next episode, Gyro would be there, and Louie reveals everything, including that Gyro has a split personality, which would throw everyone, including the enemies off guard. When Gyro starts telling Louie to stop it, he would start getting a headache and collapse. That is where everything takes a turn. When he recovers, where he would be normal, but then starts to talk in a relatively affable and eloquent manner. Then we see him completely different, including his eye color changed. He would slick his hair back, bow tie untied. This reveal would shock everyone. After the episode, he would probably sneeze or something to recover and would be confused and ask what happened.

I know what you might ask. "How do I think the other characters, like Fenton, Louie, and even the villains, would react to this revelation? Would they try to find a way to help Gyro control or integrate his split personality, or would they see it as a threat that needs to be dealt with?"

Fenton would be shocked and surprised from the first time he meets Mads in "Astro B.O.Y.D.!" and Huey remembered that he forgot to tell him, Louie would be like "I told you", to everyone during the episode of "Glomtales", but after a bunch of episodes later, he would probably be asking for some advice or something, and as for the villains, well let's just say that they shouldn’t mess with him. (Funny random idea is that I envision Huey would spray Mads with a spray bottle to make him not do evil, like he was training an animal to behave.)

Well, Gyro does need his friends and family's help, and they would get to learn more about how Gyro got his split personality. Maybe during the episode of "Astro B.O.Y.D.!" or something. So far Gyro had been taking notes and self-documentaries, but still needs a bit more control and they still would hear each other's voices from time to time, and his friends would keep Mads in check. They would even start getting used to each other and Gyro would only let Mads out as an emergency and not let him do anything evil. Well, that was just my opinion on how I would envision it.

One thought that comes to mind is how Gyro’s split personality might affect his inventions and work. Would Mads have a different approach to inventing compared to Gyro? Could there be moments where Mads’ influence actually helps solve a problem that Gyro couldn’t, adding a bit of a silver lining to his condition?

Also, it might be interesting to explore how the split personality affects Gyro’s interactions with other characters outside his immediate circle of friends. For example, how would Scrooge or Della react to Mads? Would they be more cautious, or would they try to find ways to help Gyro as well?

That's one of my ideas that I had, but what are your thoughts on it?

(My version of Mad Ducktor on the left and Gyro's split personality on the right)

[lotusarchon]

how do you think li jing would be if nezha had a mortal s/o? and what are your thoughts on him/gen (i remember you made a rant about him on your old acc but i'd like to hear your thoughts and analysis on him/lh)

Another opportunity for me to ramble? Don't mind if I do 🤭

Be mindful, this is all based on my opinion and observation of Li Jing's character in LMK. You aren't meant to take my word to heart, nor do I disapprove of anyone else's ideas or opinions. Relax.

Regarding a mortal s/o: since we don't know much about Li Jing pre-s5 events, I would think he'd find flaw in anything Nezha did, including his choice in partners. In the grand scheme of things, it really wouldn't matter if Nezha's s/o was a mortal. Immortal, demon, mortal, etc, if they were Nezha's partner, Li Jing would always have a complaint.

Now post s5, I would think he'd be more lenient. I think he'd probably be concerned, actually, because if Nezha's s/o is a mortal of all things, things might only end badly, because well. Nezha's an immortal who will never die, and his partner is mortal and prone to die at many moment. At best, he might advise Nezha not to get too attached for his own sake.

If you're asking about my thoughts on Li Jing, then oh boy buckle up because there's a lot.

Also, be mindful; I'm aware creative liberty exists. When you're taking inspiration from myths and legends, you are allowed to do as you wish. Furthermore, I'm aware that Lego Monkie Kid is catered to an audience that are children, despite the active adult audience, hence why it is the way it is. Don't come to argue with me bringing these up as facts, because I'm stating my opinion while being mindful of these reasons.

1) I think he would've worked better as a villain. When the trailer was first released, I really thought he'd be interesting as a villain. From what I've read of FSSY Li Jing, he gives me the idea of a greedy, ambitious man who would go to lengths for power, aka where he had no remorse when Nezha killed himself. Working with Xiangliu wouldn't seem to far off for him, and I could've seen in the end where he's double-crossed and realizes Xiangliu's true intentions.

2) I don't think he acted as an antagonist in the show. When he first showed up, yeah you'd think he was evil, but aside from placing the circlet on Wukong and attempting to imprison them until things had changed, he didn't seem like a bad guy to me. An asshole yeah, but not a bad guy. MK only sees Li Jing as a bad guy because of the circlet, and Mei saw him as a villain because of his attitude and persistence. Aside from that, I don't think he was a villain, which the fans seems keen on thinking for some reason.

Understand this; Wukong in LMK is most notorious through the celestial realm for causing problems. Unlike in JTTW, he does NOT accept the title of a Buddha, which means we have no idea what he could be up to with no rules to stop him. Yes, we the audience know he's mellowed out, but in world, not many do. Wukong also has a habit of acting impulsively and wrecking things, like we see with his confrontation with Nezha in s3. It's not his fault sometimes yeah, but he does act recklessly, and Li Jing does what he thinks is necessary for the world. That doesn't make him a bad guy, and his attitude is him just doing his job.

3) His (and Nezha's) lack of screentime was disappointing. Even though the show revolves around MK and others, I personally think a scene with Li Jing and Nezha alone, maybe in the celestial realm, would've helped give more insight to his character. He appears to stop the group and then fight later on, and that's it, so all we know about him is a guy doing his duty and was an ass to his son and then suddenly changed.

4) I don't like how he's written in regards to his relationship with Nezha. The sudden switch up in the ending was off-putting, and like I said, the lack of screentime made it harder to decipher their relationship. I know that the writers couldn't potray Li Jing to his FSSY counterpart, and I do understand that Li Jing had his own responsibilities, but Jesus I hated that switch up. It didn't have much impact at all, and it didn't really sell the part of a strict but loving father.

I dunno, I felt like it could've had more impact if Nezha and his dad got enough screentime together for the audience to understand what the relationship was. We don't know how they were before season 5, and we have no idea what LMK might've tried to change with Nezha's origin story, so aside from their interactions, we don't know what to think. Do we still apply FSSY to their story, implying that Li Jing was an abusive father to Nezha in his childhood? Or do we assume this version of Li Jing was simply a father who didn't know how to show affection and was always strict?

5) Li Jing should not have been added. I'm dead serious about this; his entire role feels pointless because aside from doing his duty, why the fuck was he here? I dunno about other fans, but reading JTTW and FSSY, Li Jing placing that circlet on Wukong was not very interesting to me. Also, why the hell was he chosen to handle the Jade Emperor's power, and not someone with close relations to that old geezer, like...you know...ERLANG SHEN!? WHY WAS LI JING HERE HE FELT SO USELESS.

There could've been so many other characters who could've fit into the role Li Jing played. I really don't think he had much of an impact because again, the lack of screentime makes it hard to really understand what his motives lied.

I like Li Jing as a character, but idk. I don't think I'm fond of how Li Jing was portrayed in the series.

Just my opinion though. You guys can think as you'd like of him.

[outsidereveries]

jungwon's personality

what he was like in his childhood: very hardworking and oveeeeremotional (with good intentions). jungwon could be also very intuitive but also passive/calm child. basically the best of the 2 worlds i'd say.

which qualities has changed during puberty: he got more distracted and lacked discipline more than when he was a kid. basically he explored himself in one way or another, so it's no suprise jungwon was more forgetful at that time. possibly his time in school and not only (he also was a trainee around his teenage days, right?) is the main reason why because nonetheless, jungwon was happy and thankful for these times.

what he's faking: jungwon might not be that risky in real life (compared to his public persona). i am unaware where jungwon is adventurous in the engene's eyes (and not only) but in reality, jungwon is more thoughtful and thinks before acting. if you felt he's impulsive, he's not.

what's also fake but tries not to be: actually, to be realistic. sometimes jungwoon seems to be over the moon for certain things or even delusional. that's happening because of his "overemotional" side. it seems that with the years coming by, jungwon balanced the way he's feeling his emotions which is great however he's just really, really naive. this seems to be about everyday things (even personal ones) and as i really try to not go further, jungwon's just trying to not overthink everything.

what we don't see: jungwon has more individual offers than we see. he refuses them for some reason (i personally don't see belift) because everything won't work when he tries. he would like to try again and again but at this point, jungwon gave up. belift is just other breed (i mean, a (curse word).

political views: as their elections are coming, jungwon is feeling conflicted and doesn't believe in anyone. he lost hope for who to vote and hopes for an alternative party/person who will be worth it in the end. therefore, jungwon might not vote in the near future's elections but not because he's not interested. he actually cares. he lost hope. jungwon might be one of the only people around his age who is interested in politics and all that stuff around korea and possibly outside of it. if he watches other countries (specifically europe and to be more exact, germany, poland, bulgaria..), that's reasonable why he feels hopeless.

what's mixing between his morals and the fame: his intentions. jungwon overthinks how he'll influence engenes and the world and he wants to be actually useful for that purpose. he doesn't want to be just a k-pop idol, but he feels restricted as of now. not only that, he doesn't know from where to start.

would he choose the fame over his standarts: in this circumstances, no. he'll try to make the fame work in a way for him despite what the challenges will be.

religious/spiritual views: deep inside, jungwon is more spiritual than believing in a specific religion. however, this seems to be very hidden as jungwon clearly ignores his intuition.

controversial things he agrees with: to take rest if you don't feel inspired, to communicate when it's needed and to take care of yourself in the best way possible. this doesn't seem to be controversial but if there's instability, just rest. jungwon seems to have had conflicts regarding to that in the past.

addictions (either more prone to has them or might have them): being daring and risky. jungwon should be careful around people since like sunoo, he can be more prone to be manipulated.

destruction traits: jungwon can be impulsive and/or overemotional if he gets angry enough, if he doesn't understand anything that's happening.

qualities he's proud to have: this might be a bad thing, but to focus on enhypen. similar to what we don't see, he received more solo gigs but refused to do them so.

intentions for the future: i am sorry but this might be alarming for his group. if enhypen is likely to disband or reform behind the scenes, jungwon will make everything he can for enhypen to stay as a group untul the end of their contract. as much as jungwon wants the same thing (for enhypen to reform), he is more aware that this might end worse, so he will try to make the rest of enhypen to do their contract as much as possible and is in his power until 2027.

[simpjaes]

60 [milf hunt] 61 [prp] 62 [serial sweetheart] 63 [night/day shift] 64 [frenzy 1+2] 65 [hypersexual + first date etiquette] 66 [one of the damned girls]

pls + ty 🩷

60.) What inspired the plot for MILF HUNT? the fic still isn't finished yet and im SO SORRY FOR THAT but basically just the idea of jay wanting to be both daddy and an actual dad. i need to write him as a toxic service top so bad 61.) In PLAYER RANK: PLATINUM, what's your favorite scene that you wrote? if you want the honest truth, it was all the side stuff with the rest of hyung line. if there's anything i love in a fic, it's giving the side characters an insane amount of time to shine. in player rank tho, i did cut down quite a bit. i think the fic was actually closer to 40k when i finished it but i removed a lot. some ppl might note that in my other fics with side characters too, i always make them a borderline love interest too :| outside of that, it's when reader is humping heeseung's pillow and he walks in like "omg ur so gross for doing that" 62.) In SERIAL SWEETHEART, was there a deleted scene/idea that you wish you could have included? why did you cut it? well, serial sweetheart was a revamp and actually, nothing was cut out of that one. this question would be WELL suited for paid in&paid off or frenzy tho like omg....the shit i cut out of those LMFAO 63.) What was the hardest part of writing NIGHT SHIFT/DAY SHIFT? probably the first part was the most difficult for me to accept. i still can't stand that part of the fic bc i wrote it as a drabble and decided to call it a fic. it's not really up to my personal standards but i feel like it's okay when paired with the second part [day-shift] which I put a lot more thought and effort into!!! 64.) if you re-wrote FRENZY now, would you change anything? well, firstly, pls know that i love the fic as is and it's one of the first fics i've ever truly loved after finishing it. I put my SOUL into that shit. but...yeah...i would change a lot. i played with a lot of ideas in that fic, including noncon involving stalker jake, there was even a scene i wrote in full that was deleted of him literally killing reader's ex boyfriend. there likely would have been more cameras, blood, insane behavior, and probably a bit of love induced murder involved if i were to re-write it now with a comfortable place to post it. not everyone can appreciate this type of writing though :/ 65.) If you wrote a sequel to HYPER SEXUAL and FIRST DATE ETIQUETTE, what would happen in it? hyper-sexual is getting a sequal so i will remain silent on that outside of letting you know there's free-use and somnophilia. as for first date etiquette...well, they're basically dating by the end of it so a sequel would likely be boring to write tbh. just a boyfriend and his girlfriend having weird sex atp, but i guess a cool plot point would be reader's parent's finding out that sunghoon is a slut and hating his guts lol 66.) What's a fun fact about ONE OF THE DAMNED GIRLS? jungwon was supposed to die but i wrote him as such a beloved character that i couldn't do it :|

[moreespressoformydepresso]

Something that has been on my mind, the capitol wanted to punish the Districts because of the Sige of the dark days but the districts have dealt with death and hunger everyday of their lives , so in any of the aus One of the tributes say something like: you couldn't deal with 3 years of hunger when we dealt with it the moment we were born!

And something from one of the kids of the food related districts say something like: we work ourselves to the Bone every day of our lives to feed you people in the capitol and yet we are not allowed to taste the fruits of our labour because it all goes to the capitol so that they stuff themselves while we starve and how you repay us ? punishment , whipping, death the hunger games so who are the ones who actually ungratefully bit the hands that feed them? The districts never needed the capitol it's you who need us

That's one cathartic AF fix-it AU you've got there.

Starting off with the tributes getting to scream their lungs out at their mentors is definitely satisfying and I hate myself whenever I can't squeeze it into a fix it. If you're reading my two fics, yes there will be angry tribute scenes in there in all of them, including the ones I haven't posted yet. I might take my computer on vacation to catch up on writing because I cannot wait to get to those scenes.

Second of all, like I mentioned in my Nero Price inspired AU, I think the Capitol would be a lot more willing to help the tributes if they were forced to see themselves in these kids (hence why I've been slowly typing up a Capitol Kids Touring The Districts fix-it) and this would at least partially do that. To make the effect big enough to inspire change before the games, lets say this happens during peak hour at the zoo. At first, the more temperamental tributes like Brandy go off on their mentors, but then some other mentor of a calmer tribute (they all came together after school before going shopping or something) finally loses their cool and you can almost hear their sanity snap as they start raising their voice and airing out all their grievances. It starts off just aimed at the mentors, but when a less sympathetic mentor like Gaius or Livia brings up the Capitol siege in a 'well you deserve this' way whatever calm the tributes managed to maintain is lost in a blazing explosion of fiery contempt. It becomes clear just how much these kids loathe the Capitol, even the ones that get along with their mentors. For maximum reach, someone films this and posts it to PanemGram or CapiTube or something and it goes viral. Discussions start, and at first many people are resistant to this new piece of information, but slowly people's egos start lowering their walls and they actually start listening to the few voices supporting the tributes on this matter.

Eventually the outcry is so big that Gaul's influence is no longer enough to keep the games going. The waning interest coupled with this newfound understanding of the tributes' disdain towards them pushes people to protest enough that president Ravinstill decides this isn't worth his career and forces Gaul to pack it up.