#I guess there is the idea that the majority wouldn't enjoy complex characters and stories with layers

[jemichi90]

Now that there is no question about it - the homemade version of the story is way more interesting and fun than what we got in "canon" - I kind of want to get myself a few of these and put this alternate reality on display.

While I'm at it, you can also get these (and some other SW Rebels / Thrawn goodies) from my Redbubble store: https://www.redbubble.com/people/jemichi/shop

[kinetic-elaboration]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

I was tagged by @she-who-the-river-could-not-hold - thank you!

How many works do you have on AO3?

229!

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

1,391,910 words

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently, basically just The 100. I do have some Star Trek ideas on my writing list but that's more like... a long-term plan or something I'm building up to, rather than anything I'm actively working on. In the years I've been in fandom I've written for a variety of different ones though.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

So the first, by a LOT, is this guilty pleasure Star Trek fic I started working on in college. Then What We Built, a Bellarke fic which somehow has over 1k kudos?? At #3, startlingly, A Damned Fool, another Star Trek fic but for a rare pair. Then Rings This True, a K/S fic; and the fifth is We're Home At Last, another Bellarke fic.

A weird thing about this list is that with the exception of the guilty pleasure fic, I really don't love any of these stories. I actually didn't remember We're Home at Last at all. It's interesting that what I love most and what other people vibe with most don't seem to overlap a lot.

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

I do! I try my best to. Sometimes it takes me a long time. Like a long, long, long time. Like I'm trying to clear out my AO3 inbox now and it's so embarrassing how long some of these comments have been in there. I like to reply because I'm a really big advocate for people commenting on fics and I feel like part of putting my money where my mouth is on that includes responding to comments I get (also commenting when I read, of course, which I do). Also, the reason I'm pro-comment is because fanfic sharing is part of building the fandom community but there is no community if people don't interact, and that interaction is a 2 way street. I enjoy talking about these characters! That's why I'm here! So I'm always up for conversations in the comments.

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

Hmmm. This is tough because I don't know how to classify angst? I know that sounds silly but I really have felt out of step with others when the topic of "angst" comes up. I don't think I write angsty fics, but I do write a lot that isn't fluff, and then it is sometimes categorized as angst--and at the same time angst for me is not tragedy; it doesn't have to be, like... death.

Anyway, I would say probably my angstiest fics are A Long Time (a Blake siblings horror with Banshee!Octavia), it is new moon and twilight (Braven/Murven/B/R/M, a rare major character death fic from me), and possibly Release (Murphy/Harper, actually written for Troped's angst round), but I don't know that the endings to them were especially angsty so much as they were, like, bittersweet and full of longing.

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

Man, I've written so many fics that use the classic fanfic structure of 'couple pines for each for a while and then ultimately gets together,' and the ending of all of these fics is basically the same: a kiss or a love confession, often both. I don't know that any of them is happier than any other. The Wedding Planet I suppose has a particularly treacly ending.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I wouldn't say I've ever gotten hate, really. On the long Star Trek fic in particular I've gotten... some comments that I didn't really appreciate, that made me sort of uncomfortable or that made me feel bad. But I don't think there was hate in the heart of the people commenting. I don't think the intention was to upset me, in other words.

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

I've definitely written explicit fic before. It's very findable so I'm not going to deny it. I don't think I'm good at it and I don't really like the sex scenes I've written. I don't really read them either... I just have sort of complex feelings, I guess. More complex than I'll write out here at least. And when I include sex in my work now it's generally either fade to black or, like, sort of a montage of feeling or sensation rather than a literal description of what parts go where. Most/all of the sex scenes under my pen name are just vanilla stuff. I've written some kinkier things, mostly for kink memes, and one anonymously on AO3.

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

Not really. I think I've written one ficlet-sized little crossover some years ago. I'm much more likely to want to do a fusion--putting characters from one fandom into the setting of another or merging styles or settings--rather than a crossover in the traditional sense.

As for craziest... lol, when I was a kid, like middle school age, I started writing this HP/Sailor Moon crossover? Oh, it was weird and embarrassing. (It was handwritten, so not only does it not exist on the internet I don't even personally know where I put it.)

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes. I like people to ask permission before translating (or podficcing, or remixing, or whatever) so I can keep track... but I'm bad at keeping track lol. But I've had a variety of translations and partial translations over the years.

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

I worked on the alternate S7 Bellarke fic collab a few years ago and I've participated I think in one Big Bang successfully... I'm way too bad at compromise to do writing collabs but I have great fantasies about writing/art collaboration because I have ideas that I think would work better in multimedia, but I can only really do one medium myself.

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

Kirk/Spock

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

I'm going to finish all my fics, okay?

Seriously, I really need to believe any/all of them could be completed one day but realistically... I'll make choices and decide on priorities but I don't yet know what those choices or priorities will be. I think the WIP that is least likely to be finished is oh well, you've got me under your spell, a hypothetically-multi-chapter fic I posted one chapter of in 2017 and nearly immediately hit a wall on. It's still technically on my WIP list but... it's so far away from being worked on, I rarely even think of it.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think I have a very good style; I think I'm good at creating atmosphere and setting a scene. Also, I go back and forth on this, but I think I'm pretty good at coming up with original and interesting, unusual ideas for stories.

17. What are you writing weaknesses?

Characters. I think all my characters are kinda the same, or I guess I should say all my takes on canon characters are kinda the same: thoughtful, introspective, lightly angsty people full of longing--in other words, me! Also, really long sentences.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language?

I think people should do what they want. I don't do this because I am not confident enough in my foreign language abilities and I think I would butcher them. Con-langs are more common in my fandoms and I will say I'm not a huge fan of those... unpopular opinion but they really take me out of the world because I just don't believe in them. I'm not convinced by them. Personally, I tend to write everything in English and use narration or speech tags to indicate if something is spoken in another language. Or just context: if a story is taking place on Vulcan presumably all the Vulcans are speaking Vulcan, you know? I do think that if you use a foreign language in your fic, you should include easy to find translations of everything somewhere in the story or notes.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter. I remember very furtively, very secretly, writing some cliche 'new girl moves to Hogwarts' fan fic in my notebook when I was maybe 11 years old. Original fiction writing was already my hobby so it felt very... guilty pleasure, I think. But the first fic I published online was actually several years later, for the musical RENT.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

Oh gee. This is a tough one, honestly. It tends to change over time: some fics I love for years and then I just get over them, or get too distant from them, and don't really like them anymore. I think as of right now I'd probably say it is new moon and twilight is definitely one of my big faves. Also The Wanheda Tape, Mountain Lion Mean, you stole from the drugstore, and The Oasis.

I'm tagging (or just saying hello to! no pressure!) @thelittlefanpire @justbecauseyoubelievesomething @fontainebleau22 @easilydistractedbyfanfic @kindclaws @hopskipaway