Bees, Bangles, Banter

Bees_Bangles_Banter on ao3 Formally Anonpls-24

[bees-bangles-banter]

source

it's been 24 hours and this is all I've thought about.

[bees-bangles-banter]

Hi! 5, 10 and 35. Thanks!

@allatonce77 we changed 5 to 3, but you can see the answer here

Question 3: What was your very first conversation about this story like?

Bees-bangles-banter:  i went to check how it started, and it is nowhere near where we ended up:

4. Coffee Shop AU - because yes I would drink a cup of straight honey if Johnathan Bailey handed it to me. 

--- this could be great! Anthony and Ben decide to open a coffee store (i think they just own it rather than working there) Kate (and sophie of course!) are regulars, and suddenly find themselves spending time behind the counter? Something like that  

It was our fourth idea in the brainstorming tab. 

Coffeeandtheton: We had a few different ideas that we had tossed out but nothing was really sticking. Then they released the bts photo of Luke and Jonathan in the coffee cart, and it snowballed from there. 

Question 10: What’s one thing you do very differently as writers?

Bees-bangles-banter:  I think maybe the way we create characters? Like for me it’s a very visual thing, but coffee will create a playlist like that and it works beautifully with our characters.  

Coffeeandtheton: Oh that’s a good one! Yes, I agree with Bees. She introduced me to the world of pinterest boarding to world build. I typically do a playlist for each story I write. I think one thing we also did differently in the past was that Bees typically posts as she writes. I prefer to write the story in its entirety before I start posting. She wanted to try that route so it was the direction we went with this story. 

Question 35: What song is the song of your story? 

Bees-bangles-banter:  for me it’s So Easy (To Fall in Love) by Olivia Dean

Coffeeandtheton: I’ve Got You Under My Skin by Frank Sinatra. There’s another one I really want to say as well, but I don’t want to spoil anything and I’m trying to play by the rules since I already gave more than one word for a one word answer. 

more questions here!

[bees-bangles-banter]

Hi! 1, 19 and 45!

@foxymopar so we changed 1 to 9, but you can see our answer here

Question 9: Who is more likely to overthink a scene—and who says “it’s fine, move on”?

Bees-bangles-banter:  coffee is more likely overthink and then we’ll stop writing and work it out (#wordvomit). Generally speaking, I think that we’ve found that working out the scene in live time is better than moving on without discussing it. 

@coffeeandtheton: Hi, hello. It’s me. I’m the overthinker. That’s not to say that Bees doesn’t think things through, but I can get hung up on writing “the right” little details, and Bees just tends to have such a clear view of the big picture. Ask me how many times I commented in the margins - am I overthinking this? 🙈So yes. She keeps me grounded. 

Question 19: Did you have to “learn” each other’s writing voices?

Bees-bangles-banter:  in some ways we did. We each have our strengths, so it would be one writing and the other sort of asking permission to edit/add/change. We don’t do that anymore - we can jump into a scene as it goes. It also helps that we have a very thorough outlining process, we know exactly where we want the scene to go. 

It’s also very scary how much our brain waves are the same. Very finishing each other's sandwiches. 

Coffeeandtheton: The biggest switch for me was moving to present tense writing. All my other stories are in past, and it was hard for me to shake that habit at the start. But now when I go back and work on my own projects, I have a hard time not slipping into present lol. I think our writing voices were overall, pretty similar to start with. Our outline process absolutely helps! Our outline tab could honestly act as it own separate document. But by the time we start writing, we both have a very clear idea of where the story is going, what the goal is, etc. 

Also, the brain wave thing. Like, we are separated by an entire ocean and a seven hour time difference, but we’ve literally written the same sentence in the doc at the same time. Or there are times when Bee’s cursor will pop up in a certain area and I’ll say “are you about to do xyz?” and she is. We are basically a hive mind at this point. 

Question 45: If you had to describe this story in one feeling, what would it be?

Bees-bangles-banter:  warmth

Coffeeandtheton: cozy (hot cup of coffee under a warm blanket cozy—I’ve never been good at one word answers lol)

more questions here!

[bees-bangles-banter]

loving this story so far and am so intrigued by the cowriting process. Is it too much to ask for 1, 5, and 18? and there's something going on with benophie, right? they seemed to know a lot about each other during that last chapter.

oh Ben and Sophie. Sophie and Ben. let's just say that things will clear in Wednesday's update.

Question 1: How did you start co-writing together—was it planned, or did it just… happen?

Bees-bangles-banter:  coffeeandtheton and I had been messaging here for a few months. it started with me offering to help with moodboards for The Trust Framework, which turned into becoming sounding boards for each other, into coffeeandtheton asking me early in the year if maybe I wanted to write together. 

@coffeeandtheton: The friendship just happened. I found Bees toward the end of her posting Model Behavior, and she was always one of my biggest supporters for The Trust Framework. I commented on one of her posts about how much I loved her Model Behavior mood boards, and the next thing I knew, she was offering to make one for me for TTF. We quickly became sounding boards for each other—proofing outlines, talking through (yelling into the void) when characters just weren’t cooperating with the plot, bouncing ideas off each other. And somewhere along the way that turned into us writing these short little…idk what you’d call them dialogue blubs maybe? And it was really fun and enjoyable and I just thought, we’d work really well together. I think the way I pitched it was “We both have really different strengths that I think would compliment each other, and I have no idea what it would look like, but I think it could be fun.” I think we opened up the shared doc that same day. 

Question 5: Do you divide the writing (scenes/chapters/characters), or do everything together?

Bees-bangles-banter:  this changes. Because of our time difference, at the beginning it was sort of one after the other, scene after scene. But if we suddenly had an idea for a scene later on - we’d just write it. We also have times when we’re both on the doc and one will lurk on the other and jump in. We've both been known to write mid line *add something to make it better* and voila! The other one jumps in to do just that.  

Coffeeandtheton: This was one of those things we had to figure out in the beginning. We talked about splitting writing chapter by chapter or since Grounds is a split POV, we talked about one of us taking Kate and one taking Anthony, but ultimately decided we wanted to write the whole thing together. We started off kind of taking scene by scene. If I had an idea for a specific moment, I’d run it by Bees and then write it, or vise versa. And then towards the halfway mark of the story probably, we discovered it was actually a lot of fun to be in the document at the same time writing together. I have no idea how much bees wrote vs. how much I wrote, but my guess is it’s scarily even? 

Question 18: Who writes the romantic tension better—and who writes the emotional payoff? 

Bees-bangles-banter:  I don’t know if it’s one better then the other necessarily, but coffee writes a characters inner thoughts like no other. I can give you the dialogue of the scene, and most of the time I have (at least in my mind) the most emotional scenes planned out, but having coffee writing the characters inner monologue for those scenes has made every romantic/tense/emotional scene much better 

Coffeeandtheton: This was very much one of the compliment strengths I had in mind when I asked Bees if she’d want to write together. Have you read the love confessions she can come up with? Love confessions designed as everyday Anthony bringing Kate homemade greek yogurt, love confessions that are full fledged I love yous, and I stand by the fact that no one can touch an epilogue like bees can. My strengths lie in the building tension areas. But I think, maybe, we’ve both rubbed off on each other a bit in these areas. I definitely think writing together has made me a stronger writer! 

more questions here!

[bees-bangles-banter]

Grounds for Love - Chapter 7 sneak peek

This is the only thing we can spoil for the next chapter:

The next thing Anthony knows, his hand is at her waist, pulling her closer before the thought can catch up to his actions.  Kate Sharma is kissing him. 

chapter 7 comes out Wednesday, and for tomorrow @coffeeandtheton are going to do a q&a! so slide into our DMs, pick a number or two or ask us anything else that you are dying to know about this story! 🩵☕️

💌 THE SETUP

How did you start co-writing together—was it planned, or did it just… happen?

Who came up with the original idea—and how different is it now from that first spark?

What was your very first conversation about this story like?

What’s your co-writing dynamic like? (e.g., chaos gremlin + spreadsheet wizard? 2 gemlings? Two wizards?) 🧠 THE PROCESS

Do you divide the writing (scenes/chapters/characters), or do everything together?

What does a typical writing session look like for you?

Do you edit each other freely, gently… or not at all?

How do you handle disagreements—especially when you both love different directions?

Who is more likely to overthink a scene—and who says “it’s fine, move on”?

What’s one thing you do very differently as writers?

What’s one thing you surprisingly agree on every time?

What’s the hardest part about co-writing?

And what’s the easiest or most fun part?

What moment made you go “okay wait… this is actually working”?

What’s your process for writing banter—do you bounce lines in real time?

Have you ever written a scene that made both of you laugh out loud?

What scene has the best banter?

Who writes the romantic tension better—and who writes the emotional payoff? 💬 VOICE & STYLE

Did you have to “learn” each other’s writing voices?

Can you tell who wrote what when you reread it?

Did your writing styles start blending over time?

How do you keep the tone consistent when two people are writing? 🎬 THE STORY ITSELF

Do your characters feel shared, or do some “belong” more to one of you?

Which character is easiest for each of you to write?

Which is the hardest?

Did the characters ever surprise you mid-writing?

Did either of you fall harder for a side character than expected?

Which character are you most protective of?

Which character would you most want to hang out with?

What’s one scene that changed a lot from draft to draft?

How do you decide when a scene is “done”?

What’s one line or moment you’re especially proud of? ☕ THE HURRICANE ROUND 

What’s the most unhinged idea that almost made it into the story?

What’s a scene that exists purely because it made you laugh?

What song is the song of your story?

Is there a song that unlocked a specific scene?

What scene are you most excited (or nervous) for readers to see?

What did it teach you about collaboration?

Has co-writing changed how you write individually?

Would you co-write again?

What advice would you give to people who want to co-write?

What’s your writing playlist like?

What time of day do you write best?

Describe your writing process in three words.

If you had to describe this story in one feeling, what would it be?

And your co-writing experience in one word?

[bees-bangles-banter]

Ask one or two, three or more. We will be answering every ask we get! Don’t be shy 🩵☕️

[bees-bangles-banter]

Grounds for Love - Chapter 7 sneak peek

This is the only thing we can spoil for the next chapter:

The next thing Anthony knows, his hand is at her waist, pulling her closer before the thought can catch up to his actions.  Kate Sharma is kissing him. 

chapter 7 comes out Wednesday, and for tomorrow @coffeeandtheton are going to do a q&a! so slide into our DMs, pick a number or two or ask us anything else that you are dying to know about this story! 🩵☕️

💌 THE SETUP

How did you start co-writing together—was it planned, or did it just… happen?

Who came up with the original idea—and how different is it now from that first spark?

What was your very first conversation about this story like?

What’s your co-writing dynamic like? (e.g., chaos gremlin + spreadsheet wizard? 2 gemlings? Two wizards?) 🧠 THE PROCESS

Do you divide the writing (scenes/chapters/characters), or do everything together?

What does a typical writing session look like for you?

Do you edit each other freely, gently… or not at all?

How do you handle disagreements—especially when you both love different directions?

Who is more likely to overthink a scene—and who says “it’s fine, move on”?

What’s one thing you do very differently as writers?

What’s one thing you surprisingly agree on every time?

What’s the hardest part about co-writing?

And what’s the easiest or most fun part?

What moment made you go “okay wait… this is actually working”?

What’s your process for writing banter—do you bounce lines in real time?

Have you ever written a scene that made both of you laugh out loud?

What scene has the best banter?

Who writes the romantic tension better—and who writes the emotional payoff? 💬 VOICE & STYLE

Did you have to “learn” each other’s writing voices?

Can you tell who wrote what when you reread it?

Did your writing styles start blending over time?

How do you keep the tone consistent when two people are writing? 🎬 THE STORY ITSELF

Do your characters feel shared, or do some “belong” more to one of you?

Which character is easiest for each of you to write?

Which is the hardest?

Did the characters ever surprise you mid-writing?

Did either of you fall harder for a side character than expected?

Which character are you most protective of?

Which character would you most want to hang out with?

What’s one scene that changed a lot from draft to draft?

How do you decide when a scene is “done”?

What’s one line or moment you’re especially proud of? ☕ THE HURRICANE ROUND 

What’s the most unhinged idea that almost made it into the story?

What’s a scene that exists purely because it made you laugh?

What song is the song of your story?

Is there a song that unlocked a specific scene?

What scene are you most excited (or nervous) for readers to see?

What did it teach you about collaboration?

Has co-writing changed how you write individually?

Would you co-write again?

What advice would you give to people who want to co-write?

What’s your writing playlist like?

What time of day do you write best?

Describe your writing process in three words.

If you had to describe this story in one feeling, what would it be?

And your co-writing experience in one word?

[bees-bangles-banter]

anthony was already so bad at being normal around kate 😭 i’m praying for him now that they finally kissed 

Actual footage of Anthony for the next dozen chapter give or take:

(Did we use this gif in the doc @coffeeandtheton? We must have)

[coffeeandtheton]

I cracked the BIGGEST smile at their kiss! That was freaken amazing! Will you be showing his POV on that kiss?!? So good

Thank you so much! If I'm remembering correctly @bees-bangles-banter had the vision for that first kiss very early on in this process and it was something that just stuck and ended up WORKING once we started drafting.

Also, very happy to report that Chapter 7 picks up exactly where Chapter 6 left off but in Anthony's POV. 👀

If you're not caught up yet, you can read the first six chapters of Grounds For Love right here, and of course, Bees and my inboxes are always open for questions, comments, screaming, etc.

Thank you for the ask 🩵

[bees-bangles-banter]

I think it was something like Anthony kissing her on the cheek and Kate being offended that he kisses her the same way she just saw him greet his mother. But yes, very much a Kate proving Anthony wrong sort of kiss.

Come ask as literally anything about this story, we spend half the day talking about it anyway 🫣

[coffeeandtheton]

Grounds for Love - Chapter 6

If you enjoy screaming in comments, then this update just might be for you!

🩵☕️Grounds for Love ☕️🩵 By @bees-bangles-banter and @coffeeandtheton Chapter 6 - WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!

[bees-bangles-banter]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Sometimes a gif says a 1000 words

[bees-bangles-banter]

So in their relatively new fake relationship they’ve already said I love yous to one another? Will we be seeing the couple lessons where they hash out that story? Thanks and Sunday can’t come soon enough

you don't have to wait until Sunday, the next update is TOMORROW!

we won't be seeing them discuss if they've already confessed their love (fake edition) but I'll give you a cute little spoiler that we're headed into two (2!!) only one bed situations, and they are both delicious and chaotic in their own special ways, and brought @coffeeandtheton and myself to brainstorm some very unhinged moments, but more on those later!

[bees-bangles-banter]

@coffeeandtheton and I promised June would be full of surprises...

chapter 6 out of context:

and you don't have to wait too long, because it's out TOMORROW!

catch up on our latest update before then 🩵☕️

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

[coffeeandtheton]

Grounds for Love - "We should sync our calendars."

When Kate and Anthony decided to sync calendars, they weren’t playing around, and neither were we... You can get caught up on all this deliciousness from @bees-bangles-banter and me right here! ☕️

[bees-bangles-banter]

of course we made the calendars. we run a very serious endeavor.

and catch up on our latest chapter right here:

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

[bees-bangles-banter]

Grounds for Love - Chapter 5

https://archiveofourown.org/works/84598431/chapters/226751956

@coffeeandtheton and I know we say it every week, but thank you so, so much to everyone who is reading, leaving comments and kudos, leaving comments and questions in our Tumblr inboxes. Please know that in the background, we are giggling with excitement over every single one.

and that's our wrap on May! June is very very busy for this story, so keep your eyes out bfor some extra surprises (starting tomorrow!)

[bees-bangles-banter]

Actual footage of Kate Sharma processing her first fake date with Anthony Bridgerton

Sophie just shrugs and leans against the counter, “You’re not going to give me details?”

“There aren’t any details to give,” Kate replies evenly. “It was a fake date. We mingled, talked, and I met some of his family. We danced—” 

Her mind traitorously flashed back to Saturday evening. To the way Anthony had kept his hand securely, steadily at the small of her back. To the warmth of his touch through the fabric of her gown. To the way her eyes had—just for a split second—dropped to his lips while they were dancing. 

“Then why are you blushing?”

“I am not blushing.” Sophie crosses her arms and raises a brow at her friend. “It was a nice evening. And excuse me for admitting the obvious—Bridgerton men can pull off a tux.” Sophie lets out a sigh. “Unfortunately, I can’t argue that.” 

Chapter 5 of Grounds for Love is coming this Sunday.

@coffeeandtheton are absolutely floored with the love you've shown this not so little story of ours.

catch up on the first four chapters and ask us anything! just give us an excuse to talk about this story, and we thrive

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

[bees-bangles-banter]

our favorite duo is back at it tomorrow!

[bees-bangles-banter]

Actual footage of Kate Sharma processing her first fake date with Anthony Bridgerton

Sophie just shrugs and leans against the counter, “You’re not going to give me details?”

“There aren’t any details to give,” Kate replies evenly. “It was a fake date. We mingled, talked, and I met some of his family. We danced—” 

Her mind traitorously flashed back to Saturday evening. To the way Anthony had kept his hand securely, steadily at the small of her back. To the warmth of his touch through the fabric of her gown. To the way her eyes had—just for a split second—dropped to his lips while they were dancing. 

“Then why are you blushing?”

“I am not blushing.” Sophie crosses her arms and raises a brow at her friend. “It was a nice evening. And excuse me for admitting the obvious—Bridgerton men can pull off a tux.” Sophie lets out a sigh. “Unfortunately, I can’t argue that.” 

Chapter 5 of Grounds for Love is coming this Sunday.

@coffeeandtheton are absolutely floored with the love you've shown this not so little story of ours.

catch up on the first four chapters and ask us anything! just give us an excuse to talk about this story, and we thrive

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

[coffeeandtheton]

Oh I was not expecting Daphne to be the one suspicious of them! I so did not want the chapter to end! That last visual of them dancing and Anthony whispering in her ear hopefully quells her suspicions

Great chapter and thank you both!

Thank you so much for your sweet words! 🩵

I think @bees-bangles-banter would agree with me in that it was very fun to write a slightly overprotective Daphne. A fun little role reversal from what we see in Season 1 of the show. Although, I'll give just a small spoiler that we do get see a softer side of her soon.

These next few chapters coming up are some of my favorites (although, ask me in another 3 chapters, and I'm sure I'll be saying the same thing).

Thank you so much for reading and popping in my inbox to say how much you enjoyed it! It means the world to Bees and I!

Wishing you coffee that's made just right ☕️

And if anyone out there isn't caught up on why or what exactly Anthony was whispering in Kate's ear, you can read Chapter 4 below!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/84598431/chapters/223208531

[bees-bangles-banter]

A 7 hour time difference doesn’t interfere with writing Bridgerton Chaos ™️

Ask us more questions, we have so many answers 🩵☕️

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

[coffeeandtheton]

Actual footage of Anthony Bridgerton on his way to pick up Kate for their first fake dating family event.

He spent what felt like hours at the flower shop, looking over and over at bouquets that didn’t feel enough for their recipient, until he took the kind owner of the shop out of her misery and purchased four different bouquets—tulips, lilies, forget-me-nots and lilacs. “I wasn’t sure which ones you’d prefer. So I got them all.”  Kate smiles, something soft that he doesn’t think he’d ever seen before, certainly not toward him. “They’re beautiful, thank you,” she says, opening the door wide for him to enter.  Anthony steps in, closes the door gently behind him, crouches down to Newton. “Hey buddy,” he greets the dog, before standing up straight, seeing Kate’s space for the first time.  Warm, eclectic but not cluttered, somewhat like the coffee shop, something that just says Kate.

@bees-bangles-banter and I are excited for tomorrow's update—it's a very fun one! In the meantime, if you haven't read it yet, you can get caught up below! ☕️ Grounds for Love ☕️ By: @bees-bangles-banter and @coffeeandtheton Chapter 4 drops tomorrow 🎉

[bees-bangles-banter]

oh you guys really aren't ready for soft first fake date Anthony

[bees-bangles-banter]

Ready or not, here he is

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works