#I kinda like writing romance whenever it's my own fiction or fanfiction

[elbiotipo]

I believe men in general should engage more with the romance genre and romance fiction. I believe it's nice to write a good cute romance story and get giddy about "will they or won't they kiss? :o" This is not any moral or political statement from my part I just want to talk about shipping with my bros.

[icedteaandoldlace]

💖📚🤯

Thanks, lovely!

💖 What made you start writing?

Oh, gosh, I've been writing for so long, I had to think a moment to remember how I got started. So at my grandma's house, there was this light outside that would come on whenever it got dark (like a street lamp, but only one, and it's in the country), and whenever I would spend the night at her house, I would have trouble falling asleep because of that light, so I would just make up stories in my head until I finally drifted off. I also dreamed a LOT when I was younger (still do, just not as often now), and if I was disappointed about a really fun dream being interrupted when I woke up, I would lie in bed and keep imagining what might happen next, until I had to get up for the day. But most of the time, whatever I was thinking about when I went to bed, I would continue when I woke up the next morning. It got to where I would look forward to going to bed just so I could get back to my imaginary adventures, but unfortunately I had a tendency to fall asleep just as they were getting good, and I would forget some of the details by morning. This of course led to daydreaming about them when I was wide awake, at any time of day. I was about 9 or 10 when I decided I wanted to be able to read the stories I always imagined, and having them written down would make all the details easier to remember. So I wrote one of them down on a notepad, and I enjoyed it so much that I just kept on writing down stories that came into my head, and it never stopped.

📚 Would you ever want to turn writing into a career?

Yes, yes, yessity yes. I actually started with original fiction, and only started writing fanfiction a few years ago. I have several novels in the works that I would absolutely love to get published someday. That said, I don't like the idea of writing feeling like a job, so idk if I'd want to be contracted or do independent publishing. But I'll cross that bridge when I actually have a finished novel to submit for publishing.

🤯 What’s a genre you struggle with as a writer (ex. romance, action, etc.)?

F A N T A S Y. The worldbuilding, the stakes setting, the struggle to do something that doesn't feel like a copycat of someone else's work, my own short attention span with such an underdeveloped story/universe--fantasy just is not in my niche. Though admittedly the things that make writing fantasy hard are things I've gotten better at since I started writing Flash fanfiction. Expanding a little on an already established sci-fi universe has really helped stretch my skills. I don't have any fantasy stories in the works (save for a couple fairytale AU fanfics), but I'm not ruling out the possibility entirely anymore. I'm definitely better with real-world stuff, though.

This post got kinda long, but it was fun!

Fanfic Writer Emoji Ask

[elysian-phoenix-05]

WATTPAD FAN-FICTIONS THAT ARE ACTUALLY GREAT! [BTS edition]

Okay, so, today we will be discussing [or you can say that I will be recommending] some Wattpad fanfictions that I've come across that are shockingly great.

Usually, when we talk about fanfictions,, we generally associate them with cliched, almost devastatingly horrible plot lines, paired with cringy writing, but I'll show you some stories that managed to escape those stereotypes and did a wonderful job in convincing me of the need to own an actual printed version of the work.

I would not provide a self-written synopsis since I suck at that and am notorious for accidentally spoiling stuff, so, I'll provide the name of the book along with the cover page and the author's name, I would also list both the genre and ships that you can expect from the book. [The books would also be rated on a scale of 5 stars, 6 when it is reallllly great.] So, without further ado, let's get it!

Somewhat of a disclaimer:- expect an array of ships in the books I'm recommending, as I don't mind any ships as long as the story is great. And, of course, all the books are a work of fiction, and I hope you treat the story as such. Of course, some of these would handle mature topics, from occasional smut to depression, suicidal tendencies, etc.

1. THE SURVIVORS

The survivors, written by @kxmtae__

THE INTRODUCTION

It was a normal day at school. The long morning classes followed by lunch and eventually dismissal. But dismissal never arrived that fateful day. Instead, something else did entirely.

GENRE

Zombie apocalypse

SHIPS

Namjoon x female

Jin x female

Yoongi x Jimin

Hoseok x female

Jungkook x Taehyung

MY RATING

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ [M U S T R E A D ! !]

2. THE SOLUTION [The sequel to The suriviours]

The solution, written by @kxmtae__

THE INTRODUCTION

After a series of unfortunate events, the squad finds themselves at a loss. Efforts seem to be for nothing, but what happens after Taehyung discovers a newly found piece of information he completely overlooked from the beginning? The journey begins, The journey to save humanity.

GENRE

Zombie apocalypse

SHIPS

Namjoon x female

Jin x female

Yoongi x Jimin

Hoseok x female

Jungkook x Taehyung

MY RATING

⭐⭐⭐⭐ [Kinda, felt that the last section of the book could be better, but, the story is still really good.]

3. BROKEN DOLLIES

Broken dollies, written by @Masquerade16

THE INTRODUCTION

Jimin was the ideal pure teen; innocent, study like his life depends on it, no social life, raised by overly religious parents. Oblivious of the world Jungkook is your ideal popular boy; vain, popular, handsome, has done everything lustful in his life. Both boys stuck in their world, with intense suicidal thoughts for their wasted years. That is until one night Jungkook finds Jimin attempting to take his own life by throwing himself off a bridge

GENRE

Romance, trauma, depression, etc

SHIPS

Jimin x Jungkook

[the rest is yours to figure out]

RATINGS

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ [No amount of words can describe how beautiful this book is! Go and read it!!!]

4. KILLER IN THE MIRROR

Killer in the mirror, written by @IMSugaWonho

THE INTRODUCTION

A newly wedded couple buys a mirror from an antique shop for their new home unaware of the true horror hiding in the mirror. 10 years later, a group of students moves into the house after hearing about the cheap rent not caring for the rundown state the house is in. Slowly they start to realize that there is evil hidden in the house when things start going missing, people disappear, or are found dead. They agree to call a medium to cleanse the house but she reveals that the house isn't the problem. It's something else.

GENRE

Horror, mystery

SHIPS

Taehyung x female

RATINGS

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ [Read it, cowards!]

5. WHOSE IDEA WAS THIS?

Whose idea was this, written by @imhyungry

THE INTRODUCTION

In which Jimin starts a group chat, with a bunch of people he knows, hoping for them all to become good friends despite several of them being confused and unwilling. [aka Jimin becomes the reason for his friends finding the love of their lives, and himself, too.]

GENRE

Top-notch humor, romance

SHIPS

Jimin x Yoongi

Namjoon x Jin

Taehyung x Jungkook

Hoseok x Yugyeom

RATINGS

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐[I've re-read this book more than four times, and is my go-to read whenever I feel down] Okay, imma stop, for now, otherwise, the list will be looooonng.

Should I do a list 2 for this? [I will, probably, do a list two, but I would appreciate it if I did get feedback on doing it or not]

Okay, so that's it for today! Have a nice day, everyone! Go and read these books, and do give me your reviews/opinions regarding the book.

FIND ALL THE PARTS HERE!

PART 1/ PART 2/ PART 3/ PART 4/PART 5

Until then take care!

[sends lots of hugs, love, and support!]

💜💜💜

[dayseternal-blog]

Hey, I know this is a sensitive question. A very sensitive one. But what are yours opinion regarding those crackship like Sasuhina who managed to created an affair fics with tons of chapters in it?

I find myself in peace with that crackship as long as they were not touching the canon one. But this story was like the other side of that fandom and that story goes by saying "your Naruhina is suck and mines better so i made this." kind of story like...wow.

My Naruhina feelings were tinglings all over.

Although i'm still in quiet mode for now, but i'm afraid my patient already at limits

oohhh, like,, I'm not bothered by any of them for a variety of reasons, no matter the length or content. My main opinions are bulleted:

I write my own fanfiction, so I get to see exactly what I want to read whenever I feel like it. I'm not dependent on anyone to create the content I like.

Naruto is a fictional universe with fictional characters. Literally no one in real life is getting hurt. Fanfiction is for the imagination. Hinata is a serial killer? Hinata is cheating? Hinata is having a clone orgy?....none of it is real.

I have complete control over my participation in fandom. I control what I click on. I control what I think about. I control what I read. I enjoy myself.

These crackship fans are CRACKSHIP FANS. All they have is fanfiction and fanart, and like, I'm going to let them eat their cake without interruption.

To talk some more about that last point, SasuHina is such a small, small fandom. In terms of activity and popularity in American shipping fandoms, SasuNaru is by far the biggest. Then maybe it's KakaIru. Then SasuSaku. Maybe fourth is NaruHina (I'm not sure). And somewhere after KakaSaku, you'd maybe find SasuHina. SasuHina is a SMALL FANDOM with few content creators who often actively ship and create for other pairings, too. If NaruHina shippers try to fight with SasuHina shippers, that's just so not cool.

NaruHina is that filthy rich shipping fandom that gets everything they could ever want. Official art, an entire romance movie in a shounen anime (THIS IS ABSOLUTELY UNHEARD OF IN ANY OTHER BOYS SHOW), a music soundtrack, a whole family with cute kids (uh yes our sunshine couple officially got down and dirty), a gorgeous house together, constant Boruto footage of feel-good family moments, Kishimoto interviews, voice actress interviews, the list goes on. We're SO LUCKY. At the beginning of Naruto, even throughout Naruto Shippuden, no one could tell for sure who Naruto would end up with, or if he would even end up with anyone at all! We just somehow managed to hit the jackpot because Kishimoto luckily wanted to end his shounen manga with a wedding to Hinata! That's crazy stuff. The stuff of dreams for a shipper.

Just let other fans enjoy their own content. Getting offended by what makes them happy is ridiculous. Even if the fanfiction or fanart seems particularly attacking and upsetting, just let it go. In the end, NaruHina still has way more content--canon and fanmade--to make you happy.

A last, very important point that I kinda have a responsibility to make.

SasuHina writers have written some of the BEST NaruHina fics I have ever read. Some of the most popular SasuHina creators have read, commented, AND RECOMMENDED my fics! I don't care if tomorrow they write about Hinata divorcing Naruto, running off with Sasuke, and giving the middle finger to Sakura. I'm not going to read that fic, and they don't expect me to. I have interacted with and could potentially call these people fandom friends in SasuNaru, SasuSaku, SasuHina, and KakaIru. What one or a few angry crackship fans write is not going to spoil my opinion of these lovely fandoms. We're all here to enjoy our love for Naruto.

[maplecornia]

fanfic writer's tag game

tagged by: @kookaine thanks for the tag dude! even though it was RIDICULOUSLY long ;-; this should be fun ig

1. What fandoms have you written for (but do not currently)?

n/a. the fandoms I started writing for I continued to write for lmao.

2. what fandoms are you currently writing for?

Let's see...BTS, NCT, Stray Kids, ATEEZ. I haven't released my NCT or Stray Kids fics yet, since I'm still working on them and I don't do teasers.

3. how long have you been writing?

since 7th grade. that was when I started writing my original story called Strong with my best friend. I mean I had a Wattpad and Tumblr account back in 2016...I just never did anything with it. It's only recently in the 2019-2021 that I've started writing fanfiction.

4. on which platforms do you post your stories?

Wattpad, ao3, Tumblr

5. what is your favorite genre to write?

probably fantasy, angst or general fiction. romance is sometimes too cheesy for me which is why i always have to add angst to the mix, lmao, but i think in fantasy and general fiction it's cool cuz you can add multiple elements and there's MAGIC. like how cool is that. also enemies to lovers is always GOLDEN in fantasy and general fiction.

6. are you a pantser or a planner?

didn't know what a pantser was until i looked it up <///3 but i'm definitely a planner. i would go crazy if i didn't plan out my fics or leave notes or anything like that. i'm overly organized that way.

7. one-shot or multiple chapter

both, really. for some ideas they only fit for oneshots, but for others they are perfect for multiple chapters. but if i'm being honest, probably multiple chapters. i write too much for oneshots ;-;

8. what is the perfect chapter length in your opinion?

1000 to 4000 words, for me it'd probably be longer, but for majority i think that this is the perfect length to get your point across and also for people to have an easy and enjoyable time to read.

9. what is your longest published story?

Infinite Stars, it's no wonder though because it's a series lmao

10. what story did you enjoy working on the most?

I love Infinite Stars to death, and it's my baby in the making, but if I had to choose which one I enjoyed the most it would have to be Your Untold Truth. I'm kinda sad it hasn't gotten more upvotes, but it's fine because I love it enough.

11. favorite request you've written?

haven't recieved one yet :/

12. are there reoccuring themes in your stories?

yep. angst, love, strange encounters, mentions of and the possibility of fate, one person changing and/or affecting your life, growing and learning from your mistakes so you can grow stronger on your own...all so i can do my one main theme, you're never truly alone.

13. current number of wips?

probably 10 now </3 Infinite Stars really be taking up a lot of my time

14. three things you've noticed about your writing?

i'm depressed. either that or I just enjoy talking about sadness. also if anything goes back the cliche hand holding or butterflies in the stomach, i will literally combust. i enjoy writing pure relationships, and whenever i try to write heated moments...let's just say they may go a little too far past the realistic side ;-;. metaphors are also a big part of my writing...and omfg the amount of filler material i create just because i think useless information is important astounds me. i never thought someone could be OVERLY descriptive...and then i met me :)))

i just realized that was more than three things RIP

15. a quote you like from a published story?

i have a lot...so i'm sorry i'm going to do more than one </3

"'You told me to be happy, so I'm going to try my best to find out what that means.'" - Your Untold Truth

"'I wasn't made to know you.'" - Your Untold Truth

(not a quote but I'm super proud of this)

"Today is a sunny day. The leaves have not yet turned their shade of red, and the flowers are in full bloom. It's a beautiful day, and on the breeze, I can almost swear I hear her whisper, a ghost of a laugh that will continue to live on in my dreams. For she will always be dancing, even if it's not with me." -Your Untold Truth

16. a quote from an unpublished story?

these are from chapters that are unreleased, so those reading Infinite Stars, here's as much of a teaser as you're going to get lmao

"Why do we keep choosing each other when we know that all we'll get is more pain?" - Infinite Stars

"We teach you to love yourself, to love others, we give you that right, but we aren't allowed to do the same?" - Infinite Stars

"Do you know how hard it is to have multiple people telling you who you are when they don't know the first thing about you?" - Infinite Stars

"Someone once told me that change is inevitable. But that doesn't mean letting go means saying goodbye." -Infinite Stars

"Why were you deciding my life before I even had a chance to make my own choice?" -Infinite Stars

"You know what I'm tired of? People trying to tell me who I am, and what I should do without me ever getting a chance to decide for myself. That should be my decision, that should be my choice and mine alone!" - Infinite Stars

17. space for you to say something to your readers.

hello my young chicken nuggets. I know a lot of you are silent readers, and that my blog ain't that big, but I'm really happy that you guys read my fics! It means a lot to me that you enjoy my writing and I hope you'll enjoy more writing to come ^^

tagging: @hyuckworld, @kabira, @words-in-purple, @junepops + anyone else who wants to do this! even though this was long as heck it was pretty fun to do

[otonymous]

hiii, first off i love your works 🥺💕 they’re so good and that angst 😪👌 gorgeous. sooo, i myself am also a fanfic writer and tbh that’s what i’ve always specialized in when i first started writing. that’s why when i say this, it honestly hurts me a bit... but i feel like i’m gonna outgrow writing fanfics. what makes me feel sad is that, i don’t actually want to outgrow it. i just feel like at my age i shouldn’t be writing it or smth along those lines. like whenever ppl ask me my hobbies my immediate thought is always writing. then they proceed to ask what genre and i always feel kind of scared to say fanfic since i feel like i’m kinda getting old for that... i still love reading it ofc, tbh it’s better than a lot of actual books i’ve read. but i just feel that if i say it out loud people will judge me. (that last one is more of a self confidence issue but yeah 😞) seeing you and other fanfic writers rlly inspire to continue doing it but i’m not rlly sure anymore ig. i still love writing it, i do. but ig i’m just scared to tell others? i’m not sure... but what would you do 👉👈😞

Hello dear Nonny!

Thank you very much for your kind words!  I really appreciate all your support! 💖

Furthermore, thank you for sending me this very important Ask.  I honestly think it’s something that a number of fanfic writers may come across at some point or another.  Let’s examine this question from a few different perspectives.

1) Many famous authors write fanfiction

Just for the record, there are a slew of published authors who have written fanfiction at some point in time.  

Naomi Novik, for instance — founder of the Organization for Transformative Works (from which the Archive Of Our Own is derived!) and author of Uprooted— wrote fanfiction.  So did Andy Weir, author of The Martian.  He wrote fanfics based off of Ernest Cline’s awesome Ready Player One.

(Check out this article by Catherine Kovach on Bustle.com for more!)

So as a fanfiction writer, you’re in good company.  It doesn’t make you any less a student of the craft than someone who dabbles solely in original work.

2) Everyone doesn’t need to know everything

That being said, I still feel you, dear Nonny.  You may be at a party, meeting new people, and the question inevitably comes up: “So, what do you do for fun?”

And while there is no way of knowing beforehand who would be absolutely thrilled to have a fanfiction writer in their midst (for the record, I know I would’ve been even if I didn’t write them myself), there is also a chance that some people may not understand it.  And that’s perfectly fine too.  If you think about it, belonging to a fandom is a very special thing.  You, along with massive numbers of others (depending on how big your fandom is), have some sort of common ground which serves as a source of joy, fun and excitement.  It allows you to connect with people from all walks of life, all over the globe.  I know my life is enriched by the fandoms of which I’m a part of.  It’s honestly a wonderful thing.

But to the uninitiated, the concept may seem a bit alien.  They might not get it.  And if you’re concerned about what they might think to learn about your beloved hobby for any reason, then I would be inclined to say that they don’t need to know everything.

So if I were to find myself in a situation where I was uncomfortable with full disclosure, I would just simply state that I write fiction.  Romance, fantasy, adventure, horror, comedy, sci-fi, etc., all of these genres are found in the wonderful fanfics I’ve read.  If someone were interested in finding out more about what you write, try describing it in those terms.  

3) You never outgrow the things you love

Based on your Ask, dear Nonny,  I get the sense that you feel like some things have an “expiry date,” that once you reach a certain age, you should’ve moved beyond things you loved and enjoyed in the past, such as fanfiction.

There are some people who are old and grey and still live their lives to its fullest, smiling with a twinkle in their eye that makes them seem much younger than their years.  And then on the flip side, there are people who seem much older than they really are, perhaps by the way they carry themselves.  My point here is that age really is nothing but a number, and (biology aside) you are as old as you choose to feel.  No one has the right to dictate what is deemed acceptable behaviour for another person of a certain age, as long as what they’re doing isn’t hurting themselves or others.  

I’m aware that societal pressures exist, that we may feel like we have to conform to what others expect of us — family, friends, etc.  But we also have to remember that at the end of the day, this life is ours to live.  And it would be a very sad life indeed if we lived it solely according to the standards of those around us, allowing ourselves to be stripped of the things we hold near and dear, such as hobbies we thought we should’ve outgrown.

There are times when I like to engage in a thought experiment that goes something like this:

If this were my very last day on earth, what would I most want to do?  What kind of life would I have liked to have led?  What do I want to be remembered for?

Time is precious.  We can’t afford to waste it on caring about what others think of us.  Chase what makes you happy, my dear.  No one has the responsibility of living your life but yourself.  And it is you that you only need answer to.

I hope this helps you in some way, shape or form, dearest Nonny.  I wish you the best of luck in your writing journey. 💖

- XOXO, Otonymous

[vidaflxwer]

Hey! For the random asks: 1, 2, 3, 6, 11, 33, 35, 36 and 50! I hope it isn’t too much

it’s not too much at all!! thank you for sending them in!! 

1. i’m technically still currently reading it and not quite finished but this savage song by victoria schwab! i recently finished a romance novel that i genuinely hated with all of my soul (i love romance but it has to be sad for me to properly enjoy it, or have very little drama) so i was kinda looking for something dark, and i own both books in that series so i decided to pick it up and god do i love it. 

2. the corpse bride! it’s been my favorite movie for as long as i can really remember, and has pretty much everything that i love in it! it’s set in the victorian-era, the romance is sad, the aesthetic of the entire movie is surrounded by blue and butterflies, there’s awesome musical numbers in it... i could go on and on but those are my main favorite parts of it!

3. the girl from the well by rin chupeco and vicious by v.e. schwab because the girl form the well was my favorite for the longest time until i read vicious, and now i can’t decide which one i like more! the girl from the well is good if you’re more drawn to paranormal horror since it focuses on a ghost named okiku who murders the murderers of children, and vicious is good if you more just like dark stories about villains and how they came to be.

6. writing, reading, and listening to music, obviously. i sometimes play piano but not often because it kills my hand, though i do know how to play a part of a song! which is an achievement for me. i make those cool aesthetic boards too whenever i feel like it - mainly for horror series now just because i love the vibe that they give off. sometimes i draw too but i’m not very good at it! i play video games too though not as often as i’d like, thanks to my little sisters and the fact that our play station four is broken. 

11. well for one thing, i don’t shut up about my favorite characters and love talking about them with anyone who will listen! i also love analyzing books/movies/anime and telling people my thoughts about that, particularly my character analyses. oh and talking about writing! i love talking about writing - it makes me extremely happy to meet other writers and just discuss how we view writing and all of that. and i love talking about how much i love people, as stupid as that might be, just because i think everyone deserves to know how much i care about them! and i’m just an extremely naturally loving person. i don’t know what else i like talking about because i don’t talk to people that often but this seems to sum everything up well enough!

33. oh this is one thing that you’ll learn about me - i cry all of the time. i’m pretty sure the last time i cried was last night while my sister was playing bandori because i thought that kaoru as a kid was so cute. i’m way too emotional for my own good but it makes for some extremely funny stories!

35. what i hate most about the world, more than anything, is that it seems to be losing its compassion as the days go on and it breaks my heart to see. everyone seems so eager to attack everyone for anything under the sun and it’s tiring, really. i’ve been through a lot of horror fandoms in my day and the hatred towards all of them made me feel so awful about myself and my interests that it took a while for me to truly become comfortable liking what i do again - and even then, there’s only so much i’ll let onto people that i like. but regardless of me, there’s just so much hatred. so many people hell-bent on hurting others and for what? because you don’t like this one thing that they like? because you think this one character they like is awful? because you ship something different? it’s sad. it makes me really sad. so that’s why i try to be as positive of an influence as i can be, in the hopes that it’ll counteract some of that negativity.

36. i love that the internet’s given us the wonderful gift of the ability to access so many artists and support them with the click of a button. i’ve always adored art - i probably read picture books until i was way too old as a kid - so getting older and having access to the internet just blew my mind, in terms of all the art i was able to find. and the fact that it was for things i liked, too! same went for fanfiction and edits and absolutely every form of media that anyone in a fandom creates. i’ve fallen in love with so many artists and writers and editors in my time that i wouldn’t have, had we not had the internet! i found the manga artist who changed my life thanks to the internet. i’m just so amazed that there is so much talented in this world and that said talent is accompanied by such wonderful personalities of such beautiful people! creators are so fantastic and i appreciate everything they do - be it fandom creators or just regular artists/writers i’ve come to adore thanks to the internet

50. this is just a really funny thing i wanted to share but, depending on which fictional character i’ve been obsessed with at the moment, i’ll take their last name and use it as my own fake last name when making accounts online because i’m a lovesick idiot who has no self control! that’s how i ended up with my name being mei keehl and mei kojima on two separate email accounts, and it still makes me smile, even if one of those characters i’m no longer obsessed with

[jovialyouthmusic]

The Many Lives of Drake Walker

A Royal Romance fanfic

1 Who’s There?

In which I, a writer of  Royal Romance fanfics discover someone waiting behind my laptop screen...

@ao719 @agent-bossypants @andy-loves-corgis @sleepwalkingelite @boneandfur @blackcatkita @brightpinkpeppercorn @choicescommunity @darley1101 @drakewalkerrosenberg @debramcg1106 @fluffy-marshmallow-heart @goirishsunshine @gardeningourmet @livingthroughchoices @likethetailofacomet @mrs-nazario @mind-reader1 @ooo-barff-ooo @silviasutton1989 @speedyoperarascalparty @zaffrenotes @missevabean @mrsdrakewalkerblog @cora-nova @missameliep @tanelle83 @endlessly-searching-for-you @jlouise88 @drakenazario @tabithacarlisle @furiousherringoperatortoad @notoriouscs @classylady1234 @wickedgypsymoon @carabeth @choices-fangirl @indiana-jr @indiacater @noey718-blog @katedrakeohd @bobasheebaby @annekebbphotography  @kennaxval @sirbeepsalot @drakeandcamilleofvaltoria @aworldoffandoms @iplaydrake @drakesensworld @drakewalkerisreal @samcpossum

If you would like me to write a short piece about Drake in some context, please ask 

1 Who’s There?

I sat typing at my laptop one idle evening, working on my guilty pleasure – I had recently discovered an interactive game on my mobile phone. I played it with cynicism – for goodness sake, who would want to be Queen of a fictional European country, leaving home to compete for the affections of a foreign prince, destined to be King? But there were other love interests, and I got intrigued. One in particular stood out for me – the grumpy commoner, close friend to the Crown Prince, handsome and reticent but with a soft heart for those who won his affections – and it was hard to get to that soft centre, but before I knew it, I was head over heels – with a fictional character?

I fantasised about him, wondered what it might feel like to know him for real, found myself wishing he was by my side - even though I was in a stable long term relationship. The romance just won me over, one hundred percent. I felt a genuine ‘tingle’ when I thought about him or played the game. I resolved to turn down the Prince when he proposed to me, and pursued my virtual soul mate. I felt bad for the Prince, but my love interest was worth it. It  was all quite ridiculous - but fun.

So I finished the game, but wondered if I could make up my own version, have a little fantasy for myself where I had both men. So I wrote, and hey presto, I discovered I wasn’t the only one! I discovered the amazing world of fanfiction, and read the stories of other women who felt – maybe not exactly the same, some preferred the Prince, and others, like me, pursued the commoner. So I wrote more, and read all sorts of alternative stories with fascinating, exciting, heart wrenching plots.

So, there I was, typing feverishly as the plot developed, when I heard something – a tapping sound. I looked around – my partner was fast asleep in bed, I was alone in the house, and there was no-one outside – but the tapping noise came again, and this time I jumped violently, as I heard a voice.

‘Hey – hey you! What the hell do you think you’re doing?’ As I jumped, I accidentally hit the mousepad on my laptop and minimised the document I was working on. I almost screamed as I saw a face on the screen, close and looking directly at me. Not only that – it was my fictional lover, appearing as if he was on a webcam.…

‘What – what the hell? I stuttered.

‘Don’t play dumb, you know who I am’

‘Errm – but you’re not real – I must be dreaming’ He shook his head sadly, his dark hair flopping over his forehead. He sat away from the screen, which behind him was blank.

‘Dreaming? Hell I don’t know, this is all beyond me. All I know is – I’m here, and I’d like to ask what the hell you think you’re doing?’

‘I – I’m writing – about you’ He rolled his eyes

‘Well duh, otherwise I wouldn’t be here. What I mean is, why are you playing with me, putting me through all this’ he gestured around him ‘THIS’ He looked directly at me, his brown eyes sad ‘I clearly love this woman you’ve – well who you’ve written for me, but why are you making it so hard for us to get together?’

‘Ermm well – it’s – that is, I – you – you’re not real.’ He put his hand on his cheek

‘I dunno, I feel real to me. What do you class as ‘real’?’

‘Okay – well – flesh and blood I guess’ He shrugged

‘Again, It sure feels like it to me. Anyway, what are you gonna do next? You obviously have some control over me, soooo – can you make up your mind please? Do I get the girl or not?

‘Oh Drake, you always get the girl’  I sighed, and he grinned.

‘So you remember my name. What’s yours?’

‘Uhh, Lesley – Les to my friends’ His smile was seductive, melting my heart, making me forget – almost – that I was talking to – what? A figment of my imagination…

‘Nice to meet you, Les. Not everyone gets to meet their creator. Though you are only one among many’

‘One among – ooh, you mean – you know about the other writers?’

‘Well yeah, there’s a lot of them, so – well I guess that’s how I got to be – whatever I am. All that love, all that angst – it’s a lot of emotional energy. So I’m sort of REAL’

‘Oooh’ I breathed ‘That is – mindboggling. I’m not even going to try to work that out logically’ He grinned again, a boyish, charming grin that lit up his face, made little crinkles in the corners of his eyes. He rubbed the back of his neck apologetically.

‘Try being me. It’s very confusing - but kinda normal too.’ The screen behind him was blank.

‘But - there must be more than one of you with all these stories’ He shrugged.

‘Well yes – and no. What do you know about Quantum mechanics and alternate universes?’

‘Errm – well not a lot, not in detail – but I get the concept.’

‘Ha, well that’s more than me, but it’s supposed to be – a thing…’ ­he looked thoughtful but slightly confused. ‘All I know is I get pulled about from place to place, and sometimes I get stuck’

‘Stuck?’

‘Yeah. Like when someone stops writing – runs out of steam or loses interest, or life takes a turn and they can’t get back to it, that sort of thing’

‘How do you get out?’

‘I generally get pulled to another story, I don’t get stuck for long, there’s so many out there’

‘That must be uncomfortable’

‘Yeah, but luckily I usually get a happy ending’ He shifted slightly ‘Les, can I ask you a question?’ I nodded

‘Of course, go ahead’

‘This love interest, this woman you have me in love with – who is she exactly?’

‘I – well that’s a difficult question. She’s – well I made her up and…’ He narrowed his eyes and fixed me with his gaze.

‘Do you wish it was you?’ I blushed furiously and he smiled ruefully ‘They all do, you know, they make me into what they want and put themselves into the story and make themselves perfect.’

‘Well I do try to be realistic, Charlotte isn’t perfect – she gets scared, she’s vulnerable – but you – that is, Drake makes it alright, he – you – support her’

‘That’s nice, and I like it. She’s an intriguing person – and so you must be, too. You write yourself into her, you know?’

‘I – suppose so’

‘Are you trying to escape something? Is there something in your life that you’re missing?’

‘Well no, I’m… just bored I guess, making up something more exciting, more perfect than real life.’

‘Why don’t you come and join me? We could take a look at the other stories together. When I have a writer with me it’s easier, I don’t get pulled about, we can go where we want’

‘I thought you didn’t understand it all? How – how could I join you?’

‘I don’t understand it, I just move through it, I know what happens, but not how. It’s all quite safe, it will be like dreaming for you, and hardly any time will have gone by where you are now’

‘You – you’ve done it before? Who with?’ He smiled fondly

‘You won’t know her. We had some fun, but she had to go back to her real life. We still talk, but she’s happier in her real life now.’

‘I have to think about it’

‘Really? I’m not exactly sure I can get back to you at the right time.’

‘That doesn’t sound very safe. Besides, I’m not dressed for it’

‘I promise it’s safe. If you come with me now, you’ll be able to find your way back, and I’ll be able to find you more easily. You’ll be my anchor, my compass. And don’t worry about what you wear – that’s all taken care of, just like the original story’

‘What about budget? Don’t I need diamonds for outfits or something like that?’

‘Nah, quantum physics, remember? You can have whatever you like, no limit’  I wavered

‘I can come back whenever I want?’

‘Almost, sometimes you have to wait until the end of the story, but my previous companion didn’t have any problems. If there’s an emergency at your side of the monitor you get sent back straight away.’

‘How do I do it?’ He smiled again, that melting boyish smile with the soft glint in his chocolate brown eyes.

‘You just take my hand’ I screwed up my face in confusion.

‘But’ I started, and he put his hand on the other side of the screen, so I could see his palm.

‘Touch the screen’ I reached out, holding my breath, lining my palm up with his. ‘You might want to close your eyes, my other friend said it made her feel sick otherwise’ I closed my eyes, and my palm touched the screen. For a moment it felt cold, then – then I felt the warmth of his hand, and there was a sucking sensation that pulled me forward and for a sickening moment seemed to pull me inside out. Then I was standing, palm against his, his arm around my waist, steadying me as I felt the dizziness slowly decrease. I opened my eyes to see my fictional lover, Drake Walker in the flesh, smiling to welcome me.

‘Hey you’ he said ‘Welcome to my many lives’

[aspernamentum]

1-60

If you had to change your character’s FC for one day, who would you pick?

Jimmy: John Berenthal

Zoe: Emma Stone

Brad: Matthew Mcconaughey (specifically from Mud, couldn’t find any icons)

Molly: Teresa Palmer (considering changing to her anyways) 

Frankie: Frankie Boyle (his namesake was so close to being his FC)

Jack: ewan mcgregor (from trainspotting specifically)

Kayleigh: Kelly McDonald

Little Jake: Tyler the Creator

Alex: Scarlet Johansson 

Bruce: Jason Bateman 

What’s something you like about how you write?

I am really good at some sad bullshit. I can write that sad bullshit and make people sad. 

What’s something you dislike about how you write or wish you were better at?

i need to have everything worked out before i even start. i can’t just start writing, i need to figure out how people are feeling, what they’re doing - and to some extent i need to be in that mood too. i’ve also noticed i reuse stuff??? phrases and metaphors and stuff i kind of have a tendency to reuse them in different replies over and over again. 

What’s something about your character that you’d like if you had to spend time with them?

they can all get drugs. 

nah but seriously, they can sesh, and so can i. write what you know. 

also, i’m gonna put the rest under a cut

What’s something about your character that you wouldn’t like if you had to spend time with them?

When you meet people who are deep in that kind of shit, like crime, you’ve always got this like defense up. like you can’t relax or anything and when i’m like that irl i go quiet. like i wouldn’t speak to them unless i knew that they weren’t going to kick my ass.  

What’s a negative thing about your character that you enjoy writing?

… literally everything????? their addictions and how they manifest, their shit choices, everything is fucked up and i just love that shit. 

What;s a similarly you have with your character?

There’s little elements of me in all of them, really. Jimmy’s unbelievably loyal to the point of stupidity, Brad’s a deep thinker and a bit of a tink (like uh, i suppose the american word would be hick???) -dirty- i mean, Zoe’s a worrier and Little Jake’s genuine, Frankie’s got my humor and Jack, well, Jack’s just a fucking nutter. Kayleigh’s the mam friend too, which i’m totally not but i don’t have much in common with her. 

What’s a difference you have with your character?

i’m not a murderer

 What’s the hardest thing for you to write?

uuuuuuhhhhhhh i suppose it’s a question of style. and by that i mean i can’t write victorian era shit convincingly. 

Do you think you’ve gotten better at writing anything or any type of thing or situation since you started writing this character (or roleplaying in general)?

fuccin hope so

Why do you roleplay?

i write but i’ve not got the resolve to write a novel

Do you write fiction ever other than rping?

Trying to write a novel but it’s uh… difficult to pay attention

Do you like fanfiction more or less than reading rp threads between characters?

Less. never been big into fanfiction. 

Do you like or dislike OC/Canon character interactions in principle?

the way i’ve always seen it is in a canon’s universe there’re people they’ve not met yet. there’s nothing to say that that OC isn’t in that particular universe, we’ve just not seen them yet. it’s weirder when they’re inserted into the main characters backstory but yeah. So long as there’s been some thought put into it sure, go for it. plus i love throwing my team at canon characters.

What’s your favorite thing about rping a canon character?

putting your own spin on shit’s pretty cool. like i roleplayed deadpool for a while, which meant i got to use my off-kilter humor, whilst also breaking the fourth wall and commenting on how my version of deadpool had fallen into self parody. 

What’s something you dislike about rping a canon character?

is it just me or are “”””fandoms”””” very socially conscious to the point of it inflicting on the actual roleplay??? like deadpool’s a bad guy (in theory), but i was afraid to actually do anything despicable because i saw other people getting lynched for it. the last thing i want is to be DoS’d because deadpool made a joke about feminists

What’s your favorite thing about rping an original character?

FREEDOM AND THE COMMUNITY IS MUCH NICER. plus like, most communities of rp go dead whenever there isn’t media to consume, the OC community just keeps on ticking 

What’s something you dislike about rping an original character?

i had about 1000 followers on deadpool, 400 here and i’ve had both blogs about the same amount of time. you do have to make a far bigger push to get people interested. 

How much time do you spend roleplaying on average a week?

Not counting weekends probably like about 7 hours???

Do you think about your threads and your character when you aren’t roleplaying? How and for how long on average?

i should probably state that the novel i’m trying to write is jimmy’s story, so yeah i’m often thinking of ideas of where to take the crew and shit, which obviously has a knock on effect to this blog. i also think of replies, but always forget what i was going to write. 

Do you like lots of headcanons or few?

to me, headcanons are just things that EVERYONE should be doing tbh. it’s a writing exercise really, so yeah, even if you don’t throw them out there all the time you gotta be thinking about the day-to-day little details tbh

 What’s your take on AUs?

OK in moderation. It goes back to my kind of issue with the amount of detail i need to put in. like if i shifted jimmy into the star wars universe how would that change his life? what kind of man would he be in that setting? if i put him into Marvel would he of even became a criminal? 

What’s your favorite AU?

my christmas verse where Jimmy fed the real santa LSD and had to commandeer the sleigh in an attempt to deliver presents except he’s hammered. That, or maybe the high-school verse

What’s your least favorite AU?

as stated, anything that would drastically change the characters stories. 

What’s a ship you really like rping?

im just gonna tag @morelikxevil here. 

What’s a ship you would never rp? For what reason?

Spiderpool. Until very recently Spider-man hated Deadpool, and even then Deadpool’s sexuality hasn’t been consistent across writers. i tend to avoid that kind of drama. 

What do you like about roleplaying angst?

E V E R Y T H I N G

What do you dislike about roleplaying angst?

Have you ever had a real angsty argument/conversation? that shit fizzles out and leaves everything awkward as hell. happens in rp too

What do you like about roleplaying fluff?

when you make your characters happy it gives you a great opportunity to fuck them up even more. 

What do you dislike about roleplaying fluff?

It can get too much sometimes. as in if ALL i’m rping is fluff stuff across the board i would actually go insane. it’s alright in small doses, but i prefer it when Frankie’s kirb-stomping fools. Plus, it isn’t really my characters??? they’re understated in the romance department. 

What do you like about roleplaying ships/romance? 

it’s EXCITING!!!!! especially when it first starts!!! like you’re like woah jimmy how u gonna fuck this up!!!!!

What do you dislike about roleplaying ships/romance?

There’s going to come a point when it’s going to shift gears into something else, like, it’s kind of the same complaint with fluff except with romance/ships it’s a lot easier to kind of move it on. like jimmy could’ve been TRYING to be romantic but they got interrupted, with fluff, the entire focus tends to be on the fluff. 

NSFW rp — yes or no? Why?

Yes, but it’s weird. like… the fuck am i supposed to call a dick? what about a pussy? it feels weird calling them a penis and a vagina, it feels weird calling them a dick and a pussy, it feels equally weird calling them “manhood” or “… flower???” i get fucked up by the logistics of actually writing smut in a genuine manner. like i tend to write dirty shit outwith rp in a very… uh… weird way. like nobody’s writhing around having multiple orgasms, and tbh i rarely write foreplay in much detail either, so like when i’m having to for threads i’m kinda out of my element a bit bc you don’t know what you can or can’t write.

Do you ever read other people’s NSFW rp threads? (be honest!)

if it’s under a read more i don’t bother, if like i’m scrolling and i notice it then yeah i’d probably read it. 

Do you ever read rp threads you aren’t involved in? What type of thread does it usually have to be to interest you?

Only if it’s two characters i’ve already interacted with. find that pretty interesting like, these people are all in the same universe and they don’t know they all know each other. 

If you do read threads you aren’t in, do you usually let the other authors know, or keep it under your hat?

Never really mentioned it but y’know, it’s just not something i’ve ever felt the need to say to someone

Has a roleplayer ever changed your view on a character? If so, how? Good or bad? For better or for worse?

Nah, not really. there is a big disconnect in my head between the actual media the characters from and another persons interpretation of that character. 

Do you like to title threads or not?

In my head, yeah, like i think that’s the mark of a good thread when you can sum it up in your head. like “oh i need to reply to the fighty thread” 

Do you like to plot or improv?

Improv mostly and i feel like i am literally the only person who prefers improv over plot. like i prefer vague plots and when i say vague i mean like “Jimmy and so&so fight ____” 

Do you like to make open starters?

Opens are my way of saying “i don’t want to do drafts but i still want to write” tbh, OR i post one before i do drafts.

Do you like to answer open starters?

… i think i’ve only ever let like, a handful of opens pass me by tbh. i’m usually like, on opens in two seconds

Do you usually prefer chat/short replies, or long/para/novella replies?

Hrm. I like both, through the week you’re more likely to get chat/short stuff out of me, but on weekends i’ll do medium-to-short mostly. long stuff scares me tbh, like i know i probably could do it, but a lot of what i do on here is mood dependent, which is why i’m not a good writer. like i really do need to be in the right headspace to do anything on here. 

What’s your favorite thing about rping a chat/short style thread?

It’s quick, it’s literally like going on autopilot tbh but at the same time you can use all the development you’ve came up with to figure out what they’re saying. 

What’s your least favorite thing about rping a chat/short style thread?

Nothing really except from the fact that it’s like, it has no effect on the characters really. Like big, long threads usually means there’s a lot going on, if there’s nothing going on except from two people chatting then they’re not going to be heavily effected. 

What’s your favorite thing about rping a long/para/novella style thread?

SHITS GOIN DOWN, OH FUCK ANOTHER TWIST, ANOTHER TURN, OH FUCK THAT GUY’S DEAD OH SHIT WHO’S THIS FUCKER

What’s your least favorite thing about rping a long/para/novella style thread?

it takes… so much out of me. actually having to use my brain? psht, that’ll stay in my drafts for at least a month

Do you prefer gifs or icons when roleplaying? Or no FC at all?

Icons but i don’t mind gifs. i’ve also found if i don’t use an icon i’ll put more detail into description. icons are basically shorthand so i don’t have to put much description into what they look like. 

Do you roleplay with people whose characters aren’t from the same dimentional universe as yours? (For example, if your character is drawn or anime, will you RP with people who use actor face claims/play-bys?)

Won’t do anime, don’t really like it tbh, everything else is game, like i’m following a rick from rick and morty right now and i wouldn’t care if they used a cartoon fc. i would probably try to match them actually, like maybe use archer as jimmy or something. 

What’s something you like about FCs/Play-Bys?

i use really specific FCs like, Brad isn’t just Brad Pitt, he’s Brad Pitt from specifically fight club. Frankie isn’t just James Macavoy, he’s James Macavoy from Filth. 

What’s something you dislike about FCs/Play-Bys?

Molly’s the odd one out. don’t think i’ve quite cracked her yet. 

What’s a trope or plot you think is overdone in roleplay?

uuuuhhhhh…. i’ve never noticed something coming up more than once or twice tbh

What’s a trope or plot you’ll never get sick of roleplaying?

x character’s a bad person, A character’s a good person, X perverses A somehow. 

What do you like to do as you reply to threads? Listen to music? Have TV on? Complete silence? Dark room? etc.

Have to have music on matching the theme of whatever I’m writing. 

How did you learn about roleplaying? How did you get started roleplaying yourself?

Don’t really remember. Think i just started doing it??? 

What was your first roleplay character?

Deadpool

What’s your newest roleplay character?

Uuuuuhhhhhhh, probably Alex/Bruce?

What/Who is a character you think you would like to roleplay? What’s currently stopping you from roleplaying them?

Swamp-Thing. Considering converting my Man-Thing blog into the Swamp-Thing lately. 

Who’s a roleplayer (or writer) you think you have learned a lot from?

Alan Moore, Rick Remender, Stan Lee. 

[aroberuka]

Evens for writers ask meme?

2. Where is yourfavourite place to write?

Either the kitchen table, which is the perfect height for my laptop & the only place in the house that gets sunlight in the morning, or my bed tbh.

4. Do you have anywriting habits/rituals?

Not writing habits so to speak but I do have a getting ready to write ritual that mostly consists of dragging myself out of bed and going for a walk.

6. Favourite characteryou’ve written?

Mouse!Surana, hands down. I kinda just made her on the spot for that one oneshot and as a result she ended up radically different from my usual OCs (they’re not usually this… driven xD), which made her such a blast to write.

8. Do you have anywriting buddies or critique partners?

@coppercaravan​ has been both for a little bit over a year and they’re such a pleasure to work with tbh.

10. Pick an author (orwriting friend) to co-write a book with

1) @coppercaravan we should stick our OCs together and see what happens, y/y?

2) That being said it’s super easy to get me to write with you literally all you have to do is drop into my inbox like “hey we should write a thing” and be very patient with my spoonie ass.

12. Which story ofyours do you like best? why?

Honestly it’s the quasiplatonic solavellan fic. I love Tathas, I put a lot of work and also a lot of me into it, I have a lot of thoughts about what’s coming next and I really wish I could finish it already esp since it wouldn’t be that long (like. 8-10 chapters tops, not counting a potential Trespasser sequel) but I haven’t been able to get in a DAI mood for forever x_x

14. What does it takefor you to be ready to write a book? (i.e. do you research? outline? make a playlist or pinterest board? wing it?)

Ideally I’d need the stars to align perfectly on a week with two Mondays, but more realistically what I need is:

-a playlist, or at least a couple artists that’ll put me in the right mood

-character sheets with some basic info + relationship charts + their stake in the plot

-a rough chapter by chapter plan that will inevitably fly out the window by the time I finish chapter 1.

16. Cover love/dreamcovers?

Not really, no.

18. Tell us about thatone book you’ll never let anyone read

So back in January there was that self-insert month thing, and I figured why the hell not, but b/c I’m apparently unable to write self-indulgent fluff and also I was in a Mood it turned into a writing as therapy thing and now I don’t know what to do with it b/c on the one hand I do want to write it & I think it would help me deal with some stuff but on the other idk that I would ever be able to let anyone read it, let alone post it online.

20. Any advice foryoung writers/advice you wish someone would have given you early on?

Length is overrated, short chapters are fine and the only good piece of writing advice is that there is no such thing as universal writing advice.

22. Tell us about thebooks on your “to write” list

… I’m not gonna give you a full list b/c it would be ridiculous but the ones that are on my brain atm are:

-- Présages aka The Novel aka that one story about ghosts that turned into a story about the importance of healthy communication & a good support system.

-- A novella about an aromantic protag that was supposed to be a subplot of the previous but is now its own thing so I can give it the attention it deserves.

-- A fantasy novel that started with me listening to too much critical role and is basically a thinly disguised metaphor for fighting against depression.

(All of them are depression books tbh and I’m not even a little bit sorry.)

And then there’s the fics:

-- A post Akuze longshot feat. Leo, grief and politics.

-- A Leverage/HP crossover feat. pre-canon Eliot, wizards and poor attempts at dragon smuggling.

-- A CCS/Naruto crossover that I’ll probably never write tbh b/c the sheer size of it is terrifying to me, but I like to dust it off every other month anyway b/c I put a lot of thought into it.

24. Do you remember themoment you decided to become a writer/author?

I don’t remember the moment I started to write – that was a long long time ago – but the moment I decided to become a writer I’m pretty sure was when I read The Princess Bride, b/c I very distinctly remember closing the book and going “I wish I’d written that”.

26. What’s the mostresearch you’ve ever put into a book?

It’s kinda hard to tell tbh b/c my research, like everything else, tends to be scattered in short bursts over months/years, but my most recent research-heavy project has been the Leverage/HP crossover, which has led me to a lot of reading on poaching/smuggling as I tried to figure out how one would go about smuggling a dragon.

Turns out there’s no actual book on dragon smuggling but I ended up learning a lot about butterfly smuggling, which as it turns out is

1)a thing

2)very serious business.

28. How do you stayfocused on your own work and how do you deal with comparison?

I don’t. I don’t stay focused on anything, ever. I also deal very poorly with comparison even tho the only one doing the comparing is my own self.

30. Do you like to readbooks similar to your project while you’re drafting or do you stick to non-fiction/un-similar works?

I do! I find it very helpful esp. when I’m writing in a genre/style I’m not used to. I try to avoid it with fanfiction tho so as to avoid accidentally absorbing other people’s headcanons into my own work.

32. On average how muchdo you write in a day? do you have trouble staying focused/gettingthe word count in?

Tbh I usually count in ‘pages’ (quote/unquote b/c I’m using my own format which is considerably shorter than what you probably think of when you hear ‘page’), and I’m trying to get myself to two pages a day for The Novel but I’m considerably slower when I’m not writing in French b/c language is hard.

34. Unpopular writingthoughts/opinions?

-- Character death is overrated.

-- The idea that conflict is necessary to tell a good story is highly subjective and even if it wasn’t a good conflict shouldn’t just boil down to ‘characters being horrible (or downright abusive) to each other’/‘characters being forced to commit or witness atrocities’ over and over again.

-- Romance is boring and so is smut.

-- Young/aspiring writers need positive feedback way, way more than criticism, constructive or not; constructive criticism overall is overrated (which isn’t to say that it’s never useful but like it’s not The One True Way For A Writer To Improve that a lot of ppl try to sell it as).

36. Post a snippet

She’s always been lucky is the thing.

Lucky to find the Reds when she needed them, lucky to lose them when she no longer did, lucky to get caught by the right people at the right time, lucky to be offered military service instead of prison, lucky that Anderson had seen something in her no-one else ever had.

Lucky to survive doesn’t feel so special.

38. How do you nailvoice in your books?

Honestly that is one thing that comes p much naturally to me? Like whenever I write in a character’s voice I can usually ‘hear’ what I’m writing so to speak, which makes things considerably easier tbh.

40. Do you look up toany of your writer buddies?

What kind of question is that I look up to all of y'all??? I’m not even kidding here y’all are amazing and talented and I’m so thrilled I got to meet all of you?

42. How many drafts doyou usually write before you feel satisfied?

I’d say 2-3 though it’s kinda hard to tell b/c I don’t strictly speaking work in full drafts, I tend to go back and forth between paragraphs instead.

44. Why (and when) didyou decide to become a writer?

I must have been like 16 or something. Hell if I remember why except I love stories and it seemed like a good idea at the time?

46. Past or presenttense?

I actually prefer past tense despite my current inability to write it (idk why all my fic end up being present tense but I suspect English).

48. Do you prefer towrite skimpy drafts and flesh them out later, or write too much and cut it back?

I mean most of my fics are already under 500 words long can you imagine if I actually cut stuff from them? :p

50. Do you share yourrough drafts or do you wait until everything is all polished?

I tend to wait until everything is polished but also, again, it’s super easy to get me to share rough drafts or even outlines with you b/c I am weak and crave validation.

52. Who do you writefor?

Me. Always.

Like listen the fact is actually talking openly & honestly about personal stuff even to people who have been there for me in the past is literally the hardest thing for me to do and I got so damn good at avoiding it I don’t even have to think before I do it anymore, and sometimes it feels like writing is the only way I can actually properly communicate anymore. So yeah I’d be lying if I said I didn’t care about ppl loving what I write but it will always be first and foremost something I do for myself.

54. Favourite firstline/opening you’ve written?

already answered here

[nordlichtgeschichten]

Question Time with Hal

owo thanks @warofmywords​

How Many WIPS are you working on at the minute? Yes. Too many RIP

What is each WIP about? Uhhh let’s go with the. Top 5. 1 - Finding Magic: Runa and Laith are just two normal teenagers from a small village in a country named Galetha. Until one day, Laith gets a cryptic letter from his grandfather; he and Runa can’t quite decipher it, but know he’s trying to tell something important. So they, alongside Runa’s unicorn friend Falfain, Runa’s dog Fana, and a demon named Ephraim they picked up along the way, leave to find Laith’s grandfather and get some answers. 2 - Rainbow: It’ll be a Visual Novel. In the world of Rainbow, everyone has “soul marks”; they look like simple black tattoos. Whenever someone meets someone who’ll play a big role in their life, good or bad, the mark turns colorful, showing that you’ve just met someone important. Some people never meet the ones their marks mean - It might be authors who inspire them, or celebrities they look up to, and not every mark has a counterpart, though many do. In the VN itself, the player can choose one of six marks, each standing for a different character - And where the journey leads, well, that’s up to the player. Friendship, romance, or something truly supernatural...? 3 - Ira & Lupita: I’m still in the planning phase, but I have written some shorter fics with them. Ira and Lupita are shapechangers and girlfriends, and since the shapechangers in general are vaguely inspired by the World of Darkness Fera, the plot might be, too, but idk yet. 4 - Cyberpunk: This is like, the least planned of them. It’ll be Cyberpunk-esque, following a small group of rebels who’re trying to overthrow the government. 5 - Changes: Lyka used to be just a normal kid. Until a seemingly kind woman promised her and her little sister shelter and food, if only they’d come with her. What the woman hadn’t mentioned was that Lyka and Fia, alongside many other kids and teens, would be used for experiments, designed to strengthen humanity. But this wasn’t what Lyka had in mind, so she tries to escape...

Where are you in the WIP’s progress? Finding Magic - Working on the Second Draft, I gotta rewrite Chapter 3 but am either a) procrastinating or b) too busy with other stuff >-> Rainbow - I’ve gotten like 50k words down b u t I gotta redo some planning bc it has several routes/ends so. Eh. Ira & Lupita - Um, planning and writing small ficlets of it Cyberpunk - Planning Changes - It’s kinda... Dormant right now, but I’m about 20k words in.

Do you have a favourite line in the WIP? if so, where and what chapter and what is it? Just gonna go with Finding Magic, and aside from like almost all of Ephraim’s dialogue, I really like the very first line. Translated, it’s roughly: “A young grove wyvern flew past Runa’s window. It swerved in the breeze and landed on her window sill before it lifted off again and continued its way. She looked after it, watched as it found its way away from the village’s houses and towards the trees.”

Is there anything you wish you could change about how certain events have played out in your WIP? Hm... In Changes, there’s a character death that’s just. T_T.

Who is the worst OC in terms of things they’ve done? Hm... I like my villains to be the typical “heroes of their own story”, as in, they wouldn’t consider themselves villainous and many have understandable reasons - though not necessarily excuses. Since i don’t know enough about the government for the Cyberpunk WIP, I’ll go with Genevieve from Changes. For, y’know, causing the abduction of children and experimenting on them.

Who is considered a Hero/ main character and how did they get to this point? Finding Magic - Runa, Laith, Ephraim and Falfain all get POV chapters, though if I had to pick, I’d name Runa the #1 Main Character. She’s the one who convinces Laith to go look for his grandpa, she’s the one who knows Falfain, and she’s the one who decide to let Ephraim tag along. Rainbow - It’s you! Since you’re the player, and your decisions determine what happens. Ira & Lupita - Unsurprisingly, Ira and Lupita. Cyberpunk - Most of them don’t have names yet I’d put Avery as #1 main character though, since he’s the leader of the rebel group. His second in command is his datemate Jackie/Jordie. Changes - Lyka is the #1 Main Character, since she sets the escape in motion.

What happened to your villain to make them what they are now? Finding Magic - He genuinely thought he was doing good, that he was protecting everyone else. Cyberpunk - Not sure yet, but they probably do believe they’re making the world a better place Changes - Oof well. Genevieve’s firstborn child died of something that does occur in non-human animals, but is usually harmless in those. Her goal is to figure out how to splice animal DNA into humans so that in the future, those kinds of things are treatable.

Is there anything your OCs may want to change about themselves? Laith would love to be better at standing up for himself. At least his girlfriend has his back tho

Who was your first OC you ever created and do they still have a story? Oof, good question... A myriad of Pokémon Self-Inserts and Inserts of my friends, maybe. Or one of my many, many RPG characters... Maybe Fia, who I played in a Jurassic Park RP when I was 10 or 11?

What has been the biggest inspiration for your writing and/or your WIPs? Hm, I’m not sure, it varies depending on the day, my mood, etc. Most recently, it was reading Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse books, because I’d love to be able to touch someone the same way her books touched me.

Who is your least favourite OC in terms of things they’ve done? Oof, good question... I guess if they were real people... Genevieve, and whoever made the government the way it is in the Cyberpunk story, even though I don’t even know  that guy yet. But since they aren’t... I can’t hate my own OCs. No matter what they do, I cannot dislike them. I did hate Genevieve when I started Changes, but she’s changed quite a bit since then.

What is one piece of advice you would give Past You, if you were given the chance? Honestly, no idea.

Do any of your characters celebrate Pride? If so, how? I feel like Ira and Lupita might. Runa absolutely would if she lived in our world. Avery and Jackie/Jordie probably did, before they joined the rebel group, because well, they really shouldn’t run around huge crowds with many people who might recognize them.

Is celebrating Pride any different from celebrating ours? Well, the Cyberpunk story is set in the future, so I’m guessing for Avery and Jay it’s similar but slightly different, though I haven’t done enough worldbuilding yet to know how.

Do you prefer fanfiction or original fiction? No. I love both.

How long have you been writing seriously? Hm, define seriously. I’ve been trying since I was, like, 12, even if most of those stories are now banned to a folder called “Old Stories” and not looked at anymore. Changes with its 20k got started when I was 14ish, but has been dormant for half a decade now. I started writing fanfic somewhat regularly in uh... March 2019, and I’ve been more involved in my original fiction since NaNo ‘18. So, pick one of those dates.

What genres do you tend to stick to? Mostly Fantasy, but also some Sci-Fi, I guess?

How good would you say you are at being able to write Angst? Have you ever made someone cry? I’ve made myself cry, does that count?

Any writeblrs you look up to? Well, you, Hal lol. Bc you’re pretty damn awesome at not letting those asshole anons get to you.