#I have a lot of unfinished projects that I haven't finalized or posted any chapters of

[onebizarrekai]

Fic Author Interview

I've been tagged by @unmaskedcardinal! been a while since I talked about any of this stuff, particularly as a very inconsistent fic poster haha

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

the visible number linked to my account is currently 60, no idea if this is counting the bizarre saga from my archive account or not. technically I've posted more, but they aren't part of that number.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

567,314.

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

ibvs season 1 & season 2 are (thankfully) the top two on my account, considering they're… well. ibvs.

number 3 is formal humiliation, a utmv fic back in 2019 where I wrote 3 oneshots all with different pairs surrounding the same idea. it's uh, it's something.

4 is behave, a saiouma despair disease fic I wrote sort of ironically in 2020. I did not realize this weird oneshot would be the thing that jumpstarted my kage obsession.

5, for some reason, is glow, a ds fic I wrote in 2019. I do not know why this is the ds fic with the most kudos. I am just really glad that it's not one of the ones I wrote in 2018.

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

lately I have been trying to respond to more comments, if they're on a recent enough story and I can think of a way to answer.

5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

most of the fics I've written right now have been Random Spot In Time fics with no articulate ending, but game over is pretty edgy. I think. I've written a similarly edgy ending but it's in an anonymous fic. it occurs to me that edgy doesn't necessarily mean angst, but it can.

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

somehow everyone lived happily ever after in the bizarre saga, no f'ing idea how they managed that

7. Do you write crossovers?

I have. I have as comedies. I tend to take a bunch of guys and put them in a new setting that they definitely shouldn't be in. poopenster high is an example of this, but none of that has ever touched the internet and I haven't touched it in like 2 years.

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

oh my god like. maybe once? maybe? I don't even think it counted as hate. I think like several years ago some rando complained that season 2 of ibvs was trying too hard to be funny. I barely remember what it actually said, I just remember it being annoying.

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

when I was in my v3 phase I wrote some, I think "feelings with smut" describes most of it decently. the nature of the kcu meant it was like, almost all trippy.

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I dunno. I hope not. I think I've had people repost stuff without permission.

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

probably?? when I was a teen I had people say they wanted to translate my utmv fics, I don't know which ones actually followed through anymore.

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

(sigh) yes.

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

oh god, I think I honestly just phase around stuff. I don't think I've ever permanently latched onto a pair, it's just that I've had fandoms and I have pairs that I've ended up liking in them and they just sort of stay that way even if stop paying attention to the fandom. I like most ships that happens to fit into my favorite criteria (that being protagonist/morally ambiguous deuteragonist or antagonist). if you asked me what my favorite series is, it would be an easier question. it's zelda. but I don't really have any permanent favorite ships in zelda.

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

this is a scary question because I have a number of major wips that I want to get back into once I get back into writing and I refuse to accept that they may not get finished. I don't know. moose hill? for a little while I wanted to see if I could come up with a whole side story, but it is extremely unlikely that will happen. maybe a better example is a continuation of shuichi and kage's blackout adventure, which is pretty low on the priority list for if my brain every gets infected by danganronpa again.

15. What are your writing strengths?

the jokes are very important. I put my heart and soul into them. I hope that people can see my vision when I tell them.

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

actually doing the writing getting from point A to point B. I come up with this whole outline and realize there's 2000 words of empty space that needs to happen. and it's like dull shit, too. just plain old events. like look at them, it's the lunching hours again. because lunch is a thing that happens every day. is it redundant to have lunch too many times? it can't possibly! it's the only time they can talk to each other! do I need to pan the camera again because this 3 sentence exchange has dragged on for too long? help

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

makes sense to me. or like, depends on the context. if the POV is a character who can speak the language, the reader should probably get to know what they're saying (think like, subtitled sections of a movie), unless it's really easy to decipher. but if the POV can't understand it, the reader shouldn't necessarily know. it gets more complicated if it takes place in a setting where they should logically be speaking a language that is not english for example. like, if they're in a country where they are not speaking english but the fic is in english. it wouldn't really make sense to insert interjections in their home language because they're not speaking english in the first place. I guess it all depends on what you're trying to convey.

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

sonic. does it count. I started writing once I was old enough to type. but I think the first story I ever put online was zelda.

19. What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

on occasion I entertain the idea of writing for corpse party, but that's probably not going to happen.

20. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

I'm going to not include that one anonymous fic and my pile of unfinished longfic wips that I've been proud of in past years is way too big so… maybe game over?? it's complicated. I have a ton of comedy pieces that I love but they're just… not completed!!

[ feel free to fill this out yourself if you're a fic writer! ]

[py-dreamer]

@violetjedisylveon

(This is the bit where LBD kidnaps wee tiny RS and if you read the fic, you'd know that uhhh...Mac has a lil...somthn' somthn' in his eye...)

So I know I haven't posted any art lately but yea I've been pretty busy

I mean I'm working on a performance at the end of the week and finals week just ended- its been a bit of a hot mess

But no I haven't forgotten any of my marshiemallows, I'm still drawing and such but nothing's quite ready yet and have a couple of projects coming up

(srsly who knew editing animatics could be so hard)

and I've been kinda losing steam...on those projects

(DAMN YOU ART BLOCK/PROCRASTINATION)

But as a treat and a break from all my macaca slander, here's a WIP for the spicynoodles Tangled au

I know I haven't been quite interacting much with all my mutuals...

I'm sorry ok!!!!

I do have a lot of ideas for fanart lined up...they're just unfinished...

But I will put up a poll on my next WIP for if you guys prefer me posting only finished pieces like I usually do

OR

if ya'll would be fine with some sketches and rough doodles every now and then for updates and stuff (they'd come up more frequently...probably)

whatever your answer, I will probably go with the flow I feel but I'm just curious for ur answer

[acacia-may]

Ooo for the ask game! 1, 14, and 20 please Acacia 🥰?

Hi there, Lyra! Thank you so much for the ask and for playing the fic writer's ask game! I really appreciate it and would absolutely love to answer these questions for you. 🥰

Answers below the cut because this post is long...😅

Do you prefer writing one-shots or multi-chaptered fics?

One-shots without a doubt, no question. I struggle to keep up the motivation to write multi-chaptered fics (and often get distracted by other projects and then get stressed that I've left a multi-chaptered fic unfinished 🙈). I think it suits the stories I like to write too because my favorite stories are these slice of life scenes, like little windows into the characters' lives at a particular moment in time. That works well for a one shot, but it's harder to do that with a multi-chapter story. I will usually write multi-chapter works only when the length requires it or to indicate jumps in time or locations and/or changes in POV character. 😅

14. How do you write emotional scenes? Do you ever feel what the characters feel? Do you draw from personal experiences?

It depends on the scene, but I would say more often than not yes, I really empathize with the character whose perspective I'm writing in. I really try to get into their head and feel what they feel as much as I can when I'm writing. I generally try to talk through my dialogue to make sure it flows and work out any issues with it sounding clunky or forced, but this often really helps me get into a character’s head too (it's kind of like method acting in a way haha). While drafting one of my most recent stories, for instance, I will admit I cried real, actual tears at a certain point in the conversation I was working through--just really getting in touch with how much pain the pov character was in while recounting a very traumatic experience, and I'll admit that I used that as inspiration for my writing like "Here. This is where his voice hitches, and he finally starts to cry."

As for whether I draw on personal experiences when I write, I think it kind of depends. I don't have a lot of personal experience regarding a lot of the heavier subjects I write about because they haven't happened to me, but I do have a personal connection to them through some degrees of separation. For instance, I used to keep the books for a non-profit organization that provided grief counseling. I just did the accounting (counseling is not my calling), but I think I do pull on that experience and all the words of wisdom of my counselor coworkers a lot when I write about grief and grieving characters--trying my best to be sensitive and realistic to the pain they would be experiencing. It's something I have a real heart and empathy for even though it's not something I have really experienced myself.

Since I write about a lot of heavier topics, it is so important to me to really be sensitive to them and delicate and realistic in my portrayals which can be difficult when writing about something I don't have personal experience with, I will often do research and try to read first-hand accounts of people who experienced something similar. For instance, I've been writing a lot about the struggles of trying to open up to love again after death of a romantic partner (and all the guilt and complicated feelings that come along with that) recently, and my google search history looks like I'm a lonely widow worried I will never love again. [Special shout out to the "Widowers Support Network" and all the wonderful work they do! 💕].

But occasionally, there are times where I do relate in some way to the subject matter and emotions of characters in a particular story. I try not to project too much (since I worry it would make the characters too ooc and that's my biggest fear as fic writer), but there have been some times where I do draw on some personal feelings of mine (I think it makes for better writing to put your heart into it). And I'll admit that sometimes I do write hurt/comfort that is sort of wish-fulfillment in a way (either what I wish I had said to someone I loved when they were hurting or what I wish someone had said to me. More often than not it's what I wish I could say to the fictional characters though). It's very cathartic for me.

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

So I am honestly a little bit insecure about this, but I do worry sometime that I just write the same story over and over sometimes 😅: Character A and Character B have a heart-to-heart chat and lovely hurt/comfort in an unexpected location. My sister assures me it's fine because it's different characters, different subject matter, and/or different locations each time but still, it does make me worry I'm a one trick pony sometimes.

Additionally, my sister recently teasingly picked apart that I can really only write one (1) kiss scene too. I don't write a lot of romance and when I do I don't usually have the characters kiss, so I'll admit that I do tend to recycle the same descriptions and/or structure of the kiss sequence. Generally 3 or 4 sentences as follows:

(1) The actual kiss action occurs.

(2) Additional action description (generally what the characters do with their hands: i.e. around the neck, cupping the face, gripping the shirt collar, tangled in the hair ect)

(3) Sensory (i.e. the taste of xyz on their breath) and/or qualifying (i.e. slow, sweet, deliberate, persistent, longing ect.) descriptions. (Sometimes part of sentence 2)

(4) The break apart (and I tend to use this exact description of "they broke apart red-faced and breathless" over and over so I have been trying to avoid that)

I've been really trying to branch out and try to write new, different kiss sequences but I don't write a lot of romance so I'm not sure if this is a skill I actually need to worry about cultivating. But I'm kind of determined now that my sister keeps teasing me about it.

Other repeated things in my writing: there is a lot of shopping (either mentioned or as an activity that the characters actually do in the story), and the characters sigh a lot. I've been trying to be more mindful of that and change up the word choice, but that's definitely a problem. I also fall into the habit of repeating the same descriptor words once I pick some that suit a particular character (i.e. shyer characters are "sheepish" quite a bit).

In terms of themes, I think hurt/comfort is probably the most common. I also love wholesome content and tend to write about platonic relationships like family and friendship. When I branch into romance, it's generally an established relationship and/or friends-to-lovers. I also love fluff and shenanigans.

[qu1nby]

every single one but the [insert fic] is ur favorite fic youve ever written

THANK YOU! tbh I don't have a favorite so I'm going to pick a new one each time <33

hopefully the links work because I didn't double-check them all

A: How did you come up with the title to [insert fic]?

How did I come up with the title to I Wasn't Made (to Fall in Love) you ask? Its a song!

I'm very bad at titles.

B: Any of your stories inspired by personal experience?

Not really!

okay well I do project onto Dazai a lot but we don't talk about that

C: What member do you identify with most?

I think this is supposed to be about characters? I tend to lean towards characters that are pining for a certain person but are scared of being with them because they don't want to get hurt

D: Is there a song or a playlist to associate with [insert fic]?

Journey to the Past is very much inspired by the version of Anastasia. There are also Happiest Year and A Slow Dance With Death, which are songfics!

E: If you wrote a sequel to [insert fic], what would it be about?

If I wrote a sequel to Would You Catch Me? it would be more of Dazai making everyone worry about him until eventually they sit down and work together to get him some therapy

F: Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

This really isn't anything special but I don't know, there is something about that last line that brings it all together

G: Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order?

I used to only do start to finish but writing out of order is pretty fun! usually it depends on what I'm writing and how long it is

H: How would you describe your style?

Messy. I like to ignore grammar rules for the sake of aesthetic

I: Do you have a guilty pleasure in fic (reading or writing)?

Dramatic, spur-of-the-moment confessions

J: Write or describe an alternative ending to [insert fic].

I'm in the stages of rewriting Write to You but an alternate ending would be one where Chuuya manages to convinces Dazai not to rejoin the mafia

K: What’s the angstiest idea you’ve ever come up with?

HMM, I think maybe killing Chuuya in Inked

L: How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

I edit myself to death. I revise and rewrite until I can't stand to look at it anymore

M: Got any premises on the back burner that you’d care to share?

Oh, too many. The biggest one is definitely the Bideou/Ningguang rival business owner AU that I still haven't STARTED. I can't decide what I want the big conflict to be, so there hasn't been much progress. I'm hoping I'll have more time to work on it once it's summer and I've finally moved!

N: Is there a fic you wish someone else would write (or finish) for you?

Nope! as much as I want to read some of my unfinished fics, I also want to be the one to write them

O: How do you begin a story–with the plot, or the characters?

Plot

P: Are you what George R. R. Martin would call an “architect” or a “gardener”? (How much do you plan in advance, versus letting the story unfold as you go?)

I think I'm more of a gardener. I like to start off with a rough outline and then let the story go from there

Q: How do you feel about collaborations?

Love them! The first fics I ever wrote were written with a friend and it was so much fun. I would love to collaborate with someone again

R: Are there any writers (fanfic or otherwise) you consider an influence?

Too many to count! I have so many mutuals that are writers and they are so, so talented

S: Any fandom tropes you can’t resist?

I love all of the cliché tropes. One bed, enemies to lovers, soulmates, you name it and I have probably read it

T: Any fandom tropes you can’t stand?

I can't think of any right now!

V: If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?

honestly I have no idea--

W: Do you like more general prompts, or more specific ones?

The prompts I come up with are almost always general but I prefer to write more specific ones

X: A character you enjoy making suffer.

Dazai, next question

Y: A character you want to protect.

Kaeya. almost all of the Genshin characters, really.

Z: Major character death–do you ever write/read it? Is there a character whose death you can’t tolerate?

I both write and read it, but I won’t read the ones where child character die