#and ofc tumblrs gotta make the quality awful again

[stoleyourgender]

ame my beloved

[thesunnyshow]

Name: reya

Writing Blog URL(s): @chu-ni

Age: 19

Nationality: african-british

Languages: english, swahili, korean

Star Sign: libra

MBTI: enfp/entp (it always changes lol)

Favorite color: purple!

Favorite food: i really love chicken burgers

Favorite movie: princess and the frog

Favorite ice cream flavor: vanilla!!

Favorite animal: elephants

Go-to karaoke song: fancy - twice

Coffee or tea? What are you ordering? caramel frappe with whipped cream, in general i prefer tea though

Dream job (whether you have a job or not)? secretary general at the UN….or an author

If you could have one superpower, what would you choose? making anyone agree with me and do what i want them to do

If you could visit a historical era, which would you choose? ancient egypt!!

If you could restart your life, knowing what you do now, would you?.....no.

Would you rather fight 100 chicken-sized horses or one horse-sized chicken? neither if i could lmfao but i’d go for 100 chicken sized horses

If you were a trope in a teen high school movie, what would you have been? the nerd who’s actually really pretty after she gets a cool makeover 

Do you believe in aliens/supernatural creatures? im not sure about aliens, but i definitely believe in ghosts and spirits.

What are some small things that make your day better? when i can have moments to myself to enjoy my own company. or when someone asks me what i want to eat and they bring it for me 🥺

Fun fact about yourself that not everyone would know? uhm…...probably the fact that i write fanfiction lol..but outside of that! i sing in the shower. and i talk to myself a lot.

What fandom(s) do you write for? nct dream currently, but in the future i want to expand to other groups!

When did you post your first piece? 17th of June 2018.

Do you write fluff/angst/crack/general/smut, combo, etc? Why? i can never write just one genre. predominantly i write fluff with a dash of angst for spice simply because i love a story that has an issue and then having that issue be resolved for a happy ending. when i started my blog i was 17, and so i said i wouldn't write smut. now that i'm older im feeling more and more comfortable writing suggestive content at the very LEAST.. so maybe in the future i might write smut, who knows? i like writing fluff because i like making people feel good, but i like adding angst to it because i feel like the contrast between the two is very *chefs kiss* to me.

Do you write OCs, X Readers, Ships...etc? i only write x readers!

Why did you decide to write for Tumblr? i first got tumblr when i was 13 years old and i was a fresh kpop fan lmfao. i wanted somewhere that shared my interests. of course i discovered x reader fics on here and i was in awe, i guess of how much power writers had in contributing to fandom content and keeping readers satiated. i’d always loved to write and so i’d always wanted to start my own writing blog, and for 2 years i did write for other blogs! it wasnt until 2018 that i finally took the leap and decided to start my own, because i wanted to impact people's emotions and take them on a journey through my writing.

What inspires you to write? what inspires me….teen movies, music!! music is a big one for me, and also the books that i read. i also grew up playing otome games so the plots and writing from those influence my writing a lot.

What genres/AUs do you enjoy writing the most? i really enjoy writing royalty!aus as well as exes!aus. i love to do them cause they require me to build a world and with royalty aus specifically i love weaving together bits of political intrigue, or arranged marriages, etc. its so much fun!!

What do you hope your readers take away from your work? that if this world is too rough or too much, you can always escape from it. it might not be physical, but immersing yourself in a universe that's entirely different for a little while can help soothe you.

What do you do when you hit a rough spot creatively? usually i try and take breaks. the problem with that is that my breaks can go on for longer than i’d like and im trying to fix that. so my other solution is to read read read!! read as much as i can, or go back to books that i loved. ask myself what i liked about the writing, what are some parts that i thought were amazing examples of good writing - i note them down then see if i can apply that to my own work. another thing i do is take a break from writing my longer, fleshed out works and write blurbs! blurbs are a great way for me to write but not feel like its tedious because i don't have to spend as much time on them and it gets me into the groove of writing without feeling stressed out.

What is your favorite work and why? Your most successful? my favourite piece of work is miscommunication. it took me months to write that, even after i lost all the work halfway through, and its the longest piece of work i have written so far, so its kinda like my baby. my most successful is candy jar. its also the work i owe my blog exposure to - it was the first piece i published, and it was also the first piece of writing i did in around 4 years.

Who is your favorite person to write about? i don't have much out for them, but i really enjoy exploring mark’s and jeno’s characters. they're people, but in my work i enjoy analysing them and judging how they’d act in different contexts.

Do you think there’s a difference between writing fanfiction vs. completely original prose? the only difference for me is that fanfiction (depending on the fandom) has some of the stuff fleshed out for you already, such as the world its in. if youre the type to write AUs then the only thing you already have is the characters - the planning, the writing, the drafting, and everything else is still the writer's responsibility. therefore there isn't much of a difference between the two for me.

What do you think makes a good story?  a good story, to me, is one that takes me on a journey. it could be any genre, but i like to feel immersed and connected to the characters and the world in it. also aside from the obvious, like good grammar, a good story feels natural to read. i don't feel like skim reading half of it.

What is your writing process like? my writing process consists of me getting inspiration - usually from a song, or a film or a book ive read or a game ive played - i note down my idea and who i want the story to be about, and then bullet point the whole story, with some snippets of particular dialogue i want the reader or the other person to say at certain scenes. i then open another document ( i have a writing app on my phone, called werdsmith, so i use that!) and set a word count goal i want to hit so i can track my progress and start writing the fic, with fleshed out language and exposition. when im done (usually after a couple weeks up to a few months, depends on the length of the plan) i read through it to fix any mistakes, then i transfer it to docs so i can read it again and italicise any areas i feel need it.

Would you ever repurpose a fic into a completely original story? i...don't think so. mainly because the original fiction i read and would like to write for myself is predominantly fantasy, whereas the fanfic i write on my blog is usually non-idol, normal fics. 

What tropes do you love, and what tropes can’t you stand? im a SUCKER for enemies to lovers, royalty ofc, “and they were roommates”, and i think superhero aus are really cool but there isnt enough of them :( idol/you as member aus....not feeling her… also abo/werewolf/vampire aus….not feelin em

How much would you say audience feedback/engagement means to you? a LOT. a HUGE amount!! i said before how i like giving my readers somewhere where they can immerse themselves as an escape, even for a short while. hearing about how my work affected them, made them feel, makes me feel less insecure about what im writing and thus more confident to publish it.

What has been one of the biggest factors of your success (of any size)? i’d say reblogs. and also putting out more content. when i first uploaded candy jar i went to my one of my favourite writers (jaeminlore) and asked her if she'd be okay with reading it and giving feedback. to my surprise she loved it and her reblogging it to all her followers is literally what gave me a bunch of followers all of a sudden who loved what i’d written. to keep that momentum i created more and more content, and while i haven't uploaded as often as i've wanted to or written as much as i’d wanted to, i can say i have a good amount of work on my masterlist for people who are looking for more to read.

Do you think fanfic writers get unfairly judged? 100%. fanfic has an unfair reputation for just having bad writing and cringey fics (and i feel like this is because of the way society views the demographics who predominantly consume and create it), when in reality i feel like those who write fanfiction are extremely talented and selfless people. they're on the internet creating content for free for people to enjoy and like any other work of art they're putting time and effort into it. i think it should be respected. any form of art is going to have its good and bad sides.

Do you think art can be a medium for change? hmmm….yes. i feel it can be a way to reflect the thoughts of people and also be a way to inspire people to do more.

Do you ever feel there are times when you’re writing for others, rather than yourself? sometimes. sometimes i feel like i'm forcing myself to write because i feel like if i don't then people will forget about me or they’ll forget about my blog. while what i choose to write about is for me, i feel like the speed of my writing and what im writing isn't to the quality i want it to be cause i feel like i gotta get it out for people to read.

Do you ever feel like people have misunderstood you or your writing at times? i've never felt that way!

Do your offline friends/loved ones know you write for Tumblr? only 2 of my friends know, and i only told them like. a week ago!

What is one thing you wish you could tell your followers? i wish you guys would message me more! i'm quite a sociable person, and i’d love to have regular anons who talk to me 👉🏽👈🏽

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers who might be too scared to put themselves out there? i think one common thing amongst all writers is that we write what we want to read. so don't feel like nobody's gonna read your work, cause somebody will. you gotta act like your work is top tier even if someone says it isn't - always write the best you can, and just do it! like don't even give yourself time to overthink it, write that fic, make it look pretty, upload it onto tumblr and do not be afraid to ask your favourite fic writers to read your work once its up!! i’d be happy to read and give feedback for any fic writers as well so don't feel afraid! 

Are there any times when you regret joining Tumblr? ive been on here for 7 years….i grew up on this site lmfao. but i don't think i regret joining tumblr once.

Do you have any mutuals who have been particularly formative/supportive in your Tumblr journey? shes not very active anymore and i miss her very much but user hyuck-s was so supportive and i love her!!

Pick a quote to end your interview with:

she believed she could, so she did.

BONUS ROUND: K-POP CONFIDENTIAL 

[messianfell]

this might be a strange question, but do you know a good way of making gif headers on tumblr? I figured you'd be good to ask since you seem to know how to make edits well and I thought it be okay?

Depends what you’re looking for!!

If you want to make the gifs themselves, you can use free software (a la G.ifCam or smth like it, whatever fancy dohickeys u ppl dredge up from the web… I’ve used G.ifCam a lot before myself tho hence the rec, it’s v simple JHEBRGN.)

As for making headers themselves, I use photoshop to make them, so that’s where most of my knowledge is.

In general tho, regarding what size your header should be, check out this post and base it off what you’re most concerned with. I don’t use the default tumblr theme, for instance, and idc what the header looks like in my settings, so I tend to make my headers around  the 640×360 size mark for the header box popup thingy, give or take some width/height depending on the quality. (It’s better to be a little over w/ gifs rather than under, bc gif quality gets murdered if it gets resized larger.)

AS FOR TIPS & TRICKS FOR ACTUALLY CREATING HEADERS Hmmm… I can give a quick tutorial on some basic things that’ll help on the path to actually designing them, but again, just depends on what exactly you’re wanting help with, so if you have a more specific query, feel free to hmu, I don’t mind 😂 Here’s some basics tho, knowing how to do this stuff is helpful in general lesse…

I’m going to be using this gif as an example for most of this.

* 101.

When you put a psd over a gif, it should always be on top of all the gif layers, like so. I bring it up bc I slapped a psd on the one I’m editing. Just in case jerbng.

Ofc, you can press play on the timeline to see what the finished gif will look like.

* SAVING A GIF.

To properly save a gif in photoshop, you’ll want to go to File > Export > Save for Web.

Make sure you have the options set to GIF and looping to FOREVER.

* TWEENING / Phasing Gifs (for smoother looping)

You can do this before or after editing your gif, I suggest before just so you don’t forget about it if you’re like me and lame. But if your gif is something that doesn’t loop perfectly, you can make it phase back to the first frame assuming you’re somebody who dislikes when gifs jarringly snap back to the first frame.

Look at your timeline in PS, scroll to the last frame of the gif & select it.

Then click on “tweens animation frames” on the timeline controls.

Make sure to select FIRST FRAME for “tween with.” Add as many frames as you think makes the gift phase smoothly: I usually go anywhere from 5-10 frames. The higher number of frames you can add with it looking okay, the smoother the transition is. Just play around w/ it.

After that, create a new layer and put it under the gif’s first layer. Make it a solid color or w/e you want the gif to fade to (usually black or white is best.)

Now, you have this:

* TWO GIFS, ONE FILE.

You can combine 2 gifs into one; and I suggest using 2 gifs that have the same amount of frames since it’s just… easier. Both of the gifs I used for this have 29 frames. The one I’m adding originally had like 13, so I duplicated the frames on the timeline until it had 29. Basically just do what u gotta do to get them to the same frame number. Then, go to the gif you want to ADD to the one you’re working on, select all the frames on the TIMELINE and go to the timeline options, the lines in the corner:

Select: COPY FRAMES.

Then move past to your original gif, select all frames in that timeline, go back to timeline options and

Select: PASTE FRAMES.

You’re going to want to have “paste OVER selection” ticked.

And there you go! If you look at your layers, both gifs will be there.

In my case, I went through the timeline and removed the background of the second gif I added. You can play around and do what you will. I just tweaked the psd, cleaned up the second gif & ended up with this:

* ADDING TEXT / TEXTURES.

Just add text how you normally would with anything else. Make sure it’s above all the gif layers, either right below your psd or above it if you don’t want the psd to affect it.

For textures, also put them above all the gif layers. I’m going to apply this, for example.

I put this above my gif layers, then played around with the blending modes to find out what worked best w/ my psd/gif selection. Blending modes are the box that typically starts out as “normal” in your layers box:

Scroll through everything offered and decide what works best. For me, it was darken: after I applied it and moved the texture around (& inversed it, in my case!), I got this:

You can do this & play around with any texture / text / font / etc combination you want to use. Different textures on different gifs / psds will require you playing around with them to get them to look nice jhebrgn.

* GIFS ON STILL IMAGES.

The last thing I’ll show you is adding a gif to a still image. IE / how people… add sparkles or flames or w/e to their headers and stuff like that. I’ll use this as a random example.

First, open the gif you want to use. I’m gonna use this one.

Resize the gif to whatever you want your banner size to be via CTRL+ALT+I.

Note: make sure the link isn’t checked so you can make the width/height whatever you want. I’m just going to make it 640x400 bc w/e.

Take whatever still image you’re going to use and drag it to the canvas. Make it the top layer.

Now go back to the BLENDING MODES OPTIONS and set it to whatever works best for you. For me, it was screen.

The goal is for the gif texture to be visible, like so:

Now I’m going to slap my PSD above the still image layer and add text / textures just like I would anything else, as explained above.

And there you go! A gif texture on a still image, which can be used for a header or w/e else.

* I’M DONE NOW JHEBRNGJEHBGN.

There you go, some basics for editing gifs that can help you style / create banners and whatnot! I went through them p quick bc gestures vaguely but like JHBERNJGBN. If anyone wants a serious, in-depth tutorial about these things you can just let me know.

I probably just rambled, I’m sorry. 😂 The question wasn’t specific so I just pulled stuffed outta my hat and it’s all centric to photoshop but JHBNERG. HOPEFULLY THIS AT LEAST HELPED…. A LITTLE…. OR FOR SOMEONE… I’m crying.

I’m awful at tutorials I tried™