#for something that might not be a big important secret. hence why I'm mentioning it here at all

[tenspontaneite]

Hey, 14 and 21 for the ask game? I feel like I might know a lot of these answers from your blog + reading your fics, but I'm still very curious what question you'd pick for 21 and how exactly you'd answer it!

(someone else also asked 14! but you asked first so your ask gets it.)

I'm gonna do 21 (reader's choice question) first though because it's faster.

21. - 15! If you could only write one type of fic for the rest of your life, what would it be?

HURT/COMFORT ALL THE WAY BABEY. like legit 95% of everything I write is either completely hurt/comfort or contains strong amounts of it. absolutely weak for this type of bitch.

14. (paraphrased) What is something you wrote in a fic that you are hoping readers picked up on / excited that readers did pick up on?

To avoid spoiling anything majorly important, I'm going to be really vague about: something I hope readers picked up on! The answer is: something mentioned twice in PIAJ chapter 19 that is extremely heavily plot relevant, not especially subtle, and yet almost entirely unmentioned in any comments! This set-up is going to finally hit properly next chapter (ch26), I have written the relevant scene, and it's very exciting.

Something I'm excited that a reader picked up on is more spoilery, so even though I'm not going to mention much, it'll be under a readmore! Shout-out to ao3 user all_me_best_mates_are_trees! for this one. It references a very cool guess about the coded message transmitted to Runaan via his cell window.

To quote their comment: [Here's my prediction: The message is not actually from Xadian command].

The message does claim that 'Xadia wishes you home', but that's a big damn fucking lie. The operative's initial report on the night of the assassination hasn't even reached HQ yet, so you can be damn sure there hasn't been enough time for new orders to arrive in the field! The Xadian operative is lying out of their fucking arse! \o/

I was excited about this comment because it put together some pretty subtle worldbuilding and characterisation details in a way that was logical but that I hadn't been intentionally laying out for perceptive readers like I do with more important foreshadowing, so it was really neat for this reader to pick up on it anyway! Like, not everything they said in their comment was on the mark, but I was super impressed with them for getting that specific detail in the first place.

[threeletterslife]

Chana! I was reading thru your about page and I saw that you like Harry Potter 😄😄 I'm a really big fan of HP too! Would you mind sorting the BTS members in their houses? And I know you said you're a Ravenclaw! Would you choose any other house if you could? -Hufflepuff reader

yes! i was literally obsessed with hp for five(?) years now, which isn’t a lot compared to others, but it’s a fandom i’ve been in the longest LOL so happy to see another potterhead!!

and I WOULD NOT MIND AT ALL!!!! I LOVE HP X BANGTAN OMG (i will eat any hp x bts crossover ff uP)

but to answer your questions,,, this might get a lil long lol

namjoon actually sorted the members in their respective houses a long time ago himself. (not sure if it’s still accurate now, but i think what he wrote back then was all true.) also as a side note, these are my opinions, so you don’t necessarily have to agree with them! and aLSO i think there’s a common misconception going around with new harry potter fans. your hp house is NOT what you are the most—it’s what you VALUE the most! i’ll explain more later

GRYFFINDORS

seokjin

seokjin has always been a bit easy for me to categorize in terms of hp house

he just screams gryffindor to me

he tries to do what’s right

he’s the oldest in the group so he’s always taking care of his younger brother-like figures

he does his best to make sure the other members feel safe and comfortable in new environments (that’s why he cracks so many corny jokes—to break the ice!)

though he’s not the official leader of bangtan, he does a LOT of behind the scenes leadership work

i think seokjin can be mistaken as a hufflepuff (just because he’s so friendly and kind) BUT this is where the values come in. seokjin might have some hufflepuff-like traits, but he actually values the gryffindor traits even more. he values his passions, his confidence, his valiance

he doesn’t take himself too seriously, but he knows what’s right and wrong (great moral compass)

that puts him in gryffindor

namjoon

i’ve literally seen so many pple put joon in ravenclaw just because he has an insanely high iq

but i mean,,, as a ravenclaw myself, i don’t see him in my house

yes, namjoon is creative, yes, he is intelligent, and YES! he is indeed insightful!! BUT,,, it all comes down to his values

namjoon uses his intelligence, his creativity and insight for the good of everyone! he’s a team player (not an individualist, as most ravenclaws tend to be)

and, not to mention, he’s bangtan’s official leader, and he does extremely well with that extra responsibility (gryffindors are great leaders)

namjoon tries so hard to do what’s right

he doesn’t try to cut corners to get to his goals. he’s very moral and fair

he likes peace and justice

gryffindors are drawn to good morals (they’re always trying to fix what’s wrong too)

namjoon is the staple gryffindor in my eyes

HUFFLEPUFFS

hoseok

hoseok is so easy for me to categorize, but i’ve seen him be sorted into gryffindor sometimes

i don’t think he’d be in gryffindor, though. hoseok is someone who doesn’t exactly like the idea of *risks*

gryffindors are all about risks (stereotypically they don’t think about the consequences that much because all they want to do is wrong the right)

hoseok (though he is passionate and charismatic) is more fit for hufflepuff

he’s bright, kind and always has something nice to say

the persona he puts on in front of the camera is close to his real personality—he’s just a sunny person in general

what makes him such a hufflepuff is the fact that he’s so hardworking! hoseok just dOES NOT give up (he’s extremely loyal to the people in his life, and he’s loyal to his talents too)

he chased after his dancing talents and look where he is right now

he wasn’t originally a rapper but he practiced and practiced until it became one of his talents

he’s dependable, honest and values friendship

hufflepuffs are people’s persons. and hoseok is just that—A GIFT TO THE PEOPLE

taehyung

taehyung’s the hardest one to put in a house in my opinion. he’s what you’d call *divergent* (and yes, in theory, everyone is divergent. we ALL have traits of ALL FOUR hp houses. BUT there are some people who exemplify all four traits more equally than others. so now, it all comes down to what taehyung values the most)

taehyung, in my eyes, is such a people’s person. that makes him a strong candidate for hufflepuff

the tae that i know has many friends—and he’s extremely good at reading people too (like his vibe check DO BE trustworthy)

hufflepuffs are often underestimated because they’re written canonnly as just being “nice”

hufflepuffs are much more than that. hufflepuffs are essentially gryffindors but with higher eq LOL (hufflepuffs would ONLY right the wrong if righting the wrong didn’t hurt anyone on the ‘wrong’ side—does that even make sense??)

tae is someone i see as extremely trustworthy—he’s someone who’d die WITH your secrets

he’s also very emotionally available to the people in his life

therefore,,, i sort tae into hufflepuff

RAVENCLAW

jungkook

ravenclaws are intelligent, insightful and most of all, they value creativity!!

jungkook is the staple ravenclaw

i can’t see him in any other house

like if i see jungkook, i see ravenclaw. they are literal synonyms

ravenclaws are stereotypically jack-of-all-trades because they genuinely enjoy learning new things

i mean,,, jungkook’s lowkey perfect right? he’s good at everything right? yeah it’s because he has the thirst to LEARN! he wants to be good at everything! that’s such a mf ravenclaw trait

sorry i get so excited explaining about my own house omf

jungkook’s naturally curious; he likes to poke at new things because he wonders what it’ll be like to learn about it and do it himself

ravenclaws are also stereotypically the “artsy” kids (and i mean, this man can DRAW)

ALSO! just because ravenclaws get called jack-of-all-trades often, it doesn’t mean they’re good at EVERYTHING. it means that they’re good at what they’re interested in!! (jungkook doesn’t exactly care too much about math, which is totally fine! he has his other interests)

ravenclaws are smart, yes, but just because you’re smart, doesn’t mean you’re necessarily a ravenclaw. (i.e. hermione isn’t open-minded enough to be ravenclaw.) being a ravenclaw doesn’t mean you just read a lot lol. it means you read a lot AND you take the adventures from the protagonist in the book and then apply it to yourself. hence, the *imagination*

idk man i can’t see jk in any other house

SLYTHERINS

yoongi

yoongi’s also really easy to sort

i mean, the man screams slytherin

a slytherin would do anything (maybe even cross a few rules) to get to his desired end result

some people call it evil (usually gryffindors and hufflepuffs), but i call it working smarter not harder (to slytherins, it’s not immoral to cut a few corners to get to their desired result—if they don’t get caught, that is)

if yoongi were not slytherin, he would not have cut corners in those bts run episode games LMAO (icon behavior)

slytherins also value individuality (like ravenclaws) but in a COMPLETELY different way. ravenclaws love to be unique because with their insight, they conclude that everyone has dealt with different experiences, making them their each, special person. slytherins like to be individualists because they like to feel special (sometimes paired with a superiority/god complex BUT i don’t think that’s necessarily bad. but slytherins do tend to be more close-minded than ravenclaws; slytherins value tradition)

in turn, slytherins find more success than ravenclaws. sometimes, ravenclaws step back when they find that their ideals will be replaced with success. slytherins would rather replace/reform their ideals to find success (i.e. yoongi became an extremely successful idol rapper when he could’ve actually just become a producer instead)

slytherins also tend to have trust issues. they don’t like to trust others except for themselves (smart, really)

yoongi is very self-driven and self-reliant, making him a perfect slytherin candidate

he’s the staple slytherin

jimin

i lowkey wanna copy paste what i wrote for yoongi into jimin’s explanation lmfao

personally, jimin was easy to place in slytherin, BUT i’ve seen a lot of pple put him in hufflepuff

so lemme just refute that for a sec

jimin is very self-orientated (and i’m saying that in the nicest way possible)

he wants to be unique! he wants to be special! he wants to shine!! 

jimin’s just a naturally giggly, bubbly person

but behind the scenes (behind the cameras), he beats himself up to be his very best self; slytherin behavior

slytherins are perfectionists, okay? they value what others think of them a lot OR they value the INFLUENCE they have on other people

remember? slytherins are about pOwEr! and power comes in many shapes and forms

jimin likes the idea of being well-liked! he likes the idea of being thought of as charismatic and talented

he may act like a hufflepuff to fit what people want to see in him, BUT the fact that he has to ACT like a hufflepuff to be in people’s favor makes him a slytherin lol (i mean,,, remember his whole FILTER song???)

anyways i wouldn’t call him a staple slytherin (that’s for yoongi) but he’s pretty close to being one

anyways, to answer your other question,,,

i’ve mentioned before that everyone is *divergent* 

of course i have all four traits of the hp houses, but the traits aren’t very equal for me. i have all the traits of ravenclaw, hufflepuff aNd slytherin. except i’m not very gryffindor. i have a few gryffindor traits, yes, but i don’t value them as much as my other traits. with that said, it’s hard for me to acclimate in environments where people value things that i don’t necessarily find as important

i think it’d be best for me to be in ravenclaw (just because every ravenclaw i know has been my best friend). i think i’d also do well in slytherin (but sometimes, i can’t handle their intense ambition lol). i’m also a good hufflepuff candidate, but i don’t think i could trade up being a ravenclaw for that

in the end, your house is your choice (it’s what you value the most)

i would like to say i’m friendly, ambitious and creative. but when it comes down to it, i’m picking my creativity and RUNNING. so no, i would not change my house. never! i’m a solid ravenclaw!!

i am so sorry this is so long wtf 😭😭

*also disclaimer* this was written in the pov of a ravenclaw,,, it may or may not be biased 😀😀😀😀😀😀

[cosplaytutorial]

I'm currently having a dilemma were I feel like I'm "too late" to cosplay. As if, everyone who is already cosplaying has mastered it and become presentable, where as I'm just starting out and don't even light a candle to most of the crowd. I really adore everyones craftsmanship, and it's an incredible hobby to be apart of. But no matter how many tutorials I see I feel like I simply don't have the skill/talent to put together a cosplay, or as if I can't be a beginner. Has anyone been thru this?

Hello there!

Sorry that you feel that way about cosplay. It should be something fun, but if you feel inadequate, that can take away from it.

Know that it’s perfectly okay to be a beginner. Cosplay is a growing hobby, and people are getting into it all the time. There’s no shame in being new! I’d guess that the cosplayers who are relatively new at a con probably vastly outnumber those who have been doing it for 5+ years (who outnumber those of us who have been doing it 10+ years, etc.). Just remember that there’s a reason why you see so many “cosplay 101″ panels at cons, and why help sites like this one can exist: because so many people are getting into the hobby or looking for ways to get into the hobby that this kind of thing can be sustained.

The thing about skill is that it’s something that comes with practice. No one is amazing at something on their first try. It takes time and experience to get good at something, and it’s hard work. You can’t compare yourself to someone who has been cosplaying for a number of years and has more skills and more resources than you. Only compare yourself to your previous self. Did you learn how to make a new type of clothing, even if it’s not perfect? Great! Your next version will be better. Did you have a problem with something and it didn’t turn out? That can be discouraging, but you learned something from it, and now you can apply that knowledge to future projects. Reading tutorials will only get you so far. You have to actually do things.

Also, there’s no shame in starting small. You want to get into cosplay but can only do minimal sewing? Modify pre-made garments. This can also help you learn how things are constructed. Make simple outfits to begin with. Most complex costumes are just lots of simpler sewing techniques put together, and while this takes time to do, it can help to think of a more complex outfit as smaller pieces rather than as a big complex whole. Your first cosplay doesn’t have to be (and shouldn’t be!) a super elaborate hand-beaded Sakizou design, for example, or a full suit of armor. Learning how to make simple things so that they fit well and have clean construction will be much more useful and much more impressive in terms of construction than trying to tackle something far outside your skill level.

It also helps to take things slowly and set reasonable goals. Say you want to make a whole costume in a year. Set a goal so that you make the skirt one month, the bloomers another month, the top another month, and the accessories another month. Take your time with the items, and remake them if needed. Break down each piece into even smaller pieces – make your goal for that week to learn to sew a zipper, or learn to sew elastic, and then work your way up to the more complex princess seams on the top, and then the more complex boning in the top, and then the most complex item, such as a small bit of embroidery. Make mockups and practice pieces (I /still/ make practice pieces for new techniques) so that you can do the technique a few times before doing the final piece. Learning skills in small, manageable chunks will make it less overwhelming, and you’ll learn how to put things together in a practical way that can then be applied to a more complex outfit next time.

You can also enter a contest that has a beginner skill division. Ask for advice from the judges on how to improve. Attend a con in normal clothes or a storebought costume and see how you feel about that. Take some of the pressure off, and refocus a bit on other aspects of cosplay before tackling a project.

Also, keep in mind that a lot of what you see online and the viral images you see of cosplays are the “best” images – the most impressive construction, the best photography, and any “flaws” are often hidden in creative photography or photoshopped out, etc. (Of course, “best” is super subjective here, and there is no “best” way to cosplay, hence the quotes, but I think my meaning is clear.) The average cosplay at a con doesn’t look like that, certainly not while walking around the floor, and there are a lot of beginners around, or people who cosplay for reasons other than the construction, and there is nothing wrong with that. I’d actually recommend looking at con coverage photos and videos, or digging through the tags for local cons. You’ll often see photos here that are hall shots (not staged photoshoots), usually taken by fans of the series because they like the character, not because the cosplayer looks like they just stepped off a movie set. Look at photos and videos of crowds and gatherings. You’ll see a lot of cosplayers there of all skill levels – you’ll fit right in no matter what your costume looks like. 

And hey, a lot of attendees will see your costume and be amazed by it even if you only see flaws! People are often just excited to see their favorite characters, or don’t notice all of the tiny things that went “wrong” that you might.  

It can be hard to deal with feeling of inadequacy, but you’ll get to the level of skill you want to be at faster than you think if you continue to work at it. Here’s the secret: a lot of artists (cosplayers included) are hardest on their own work. Even someone like me, who has been cosplaying for nearly 15 years, deals with these feelings. The secret to overcoming it is not to look at other people’s work (”this person is at a way higher level than I am and they just started!” or “I’ll never make anything that amazing!”), but to look at how far you’ve come, and what you are proud of in your own work. I’m a pretty practical person, so if I ever do feel that kind of inadequacy, I usually stop, identify where I can improve, and set out to do those specific things. Even then, you will see your flaws, while others will see your strengths. Learn to identify your strengths and appreciate them, and work on the things that you see as flaws. Know that no one can do everything perfectly, and learn to embrace that.

I mention my own experiences here because you sound like the kind of cosplayer I am. I’m the type who has the most fun with the construction aspect of it, and has fun trying to plan out and problem solve a cosplay, and then showing off all my hard work. Not everyone places as much personal importance on those aspects of the hobby, so this kind of advice doesn’t really apply to those who have different versions of fun. This answer isn’t meant to be a “you have to have good construction to be a good cosplayer” response, but since you specifically want advice on construction skill, I would guess that you’re the type who likes to make things.  

You’ll get there, but remember that you are always allowed to be at the skill level you are at. Always.  

—Fabrickind / Q&A Staff