Not related to an ask game, just curious, how long do u think it took for u to write Islands start to finish? (Estimation) Were there any obstacles? I assume it must’ve taken a long time, considering it’s well written + long, but I like learning about the BTS of stuff. :)
- Cy
😬
the thing about Islands is it did not take me nearly as long as it should have to actually write it. i got the initial idea in like, november? and finished the draft by late january. checking back in my camera roll - yep, i drew the first postcard on nov 8th and i finished the fic draft sometime in mid-late january?
pro-tip: dont do this.
like. thats an insanely short turnaround. i was a woman possessed. i was churning out like ~2K words a day when i absolutely should not have been - not that writing a lot is bad but i have like. pretty severe chronic fatigue and i was fighting a kidney infection for most of january/february of that year. like. i'm shocked i was even able to write that much at all, and i ended up having to take a break from writing anything for a few months after because of it. i think it helps that i kind of had the idea fall out of my head fully formed, i just had to like. get it out. the power of the otp, i guess! (also, for context, i'm on disability so i don't work and i'm not able to do many chores, so i had all the time in the world to write, which helped speed things up, too.)
i actually started with drawing the postcards because i was trying to hold off on writing the actual fic because i knew it would be a ton of work. i think that lasted like, a week.
now! i did have my beloved beta reader beck @dallasgallant look it over and i had to completely rewrite the last like chapter and a half, and then i would update chapters as beck was reading them + even like the morning before i posted them, so i didn't fully finish the draft until february or so, and it wasn't even done-done until the last chapter was posted in like, june.
as for obstacles, my fatigue was definitely one, i definitely had days where i was stuck in idea purgatory and had to just think really hard about the fic instead of writing it. i kind of think the middle of the fic was the most difficult, like, when they were in the middle of the country before the georgia -> nyc arc. 'cause i knew i needed them to have the kissing conversation and the start of dally's tragic backstory reveal, but i didn't quite know what order those conversations should happen in, especially since they're such character driven conversations as opposed to plot-driven like georgia. so it took some finagling but i think overall it flows well. one of their late night arguments in chapter 7 was a very late edition but i think it helped tie those scenes/arcs together.
but still! it was a crazy turnaround time and i don't expect any of my other fics to be like that, especially not long ones. i'm working on another long jally fic now actually and i'm working at a much more reasonable pace, and even taking breaks some days! i'm definitely feeling inspired though, like i've been almost as motivated to work on this fic as i was for islands. like i said, the power of the otp :') (ironically i am also having recurring UTI problems again now while i'm writing this new fic. probably a coincidence but its pretty ironic)
anyway! thank you so much for the ask and for reading my fics! to the lurkers, read Islands here!
thank you cy! i'll do a oneshot otherwise we'd be here all day, lol. let's go with... "to have and to hold" one of my recent johnny/dally oneshots! it's part of my disabled 'verse that i've been working on a longfic for. it's been interesting realizing the little details that are ending up inconsistent from the oneshots -> longfic since i wrote them out of order.
anyway! fun fact, the draft of this fic started as just a dialogue script, so i think the conversation flows well, but ngl i think some of the other narrative points are a little shaky.
"In fact, it’s kind of cheap and scratches easily, but it’s all they could afford." -> i wanted to show, like. little things to show that they're still not like... well-off financially. my sister has a whole rant about how engagement rings in particular are such a scam and it's something i always have in the back of my mind. but anyway one of the things i was envisioning with their rings is that they've like. had conversations about it (do they get rings, if so when do they wear them, etc). yanno? intentionality. intimacy.
"Except Becky, who seems to flirt with him more when he has it on, but she's a slut anyway." -> dally misogyny moment! i've been working on trying to not, like, sand dally's edges off. it's hard because i think he's more vulnerable and open when he's with johnny and that's a dynamic i really like (i mean obviously) but it's because it's in contrast to his regular personality that it feels so significant. so. you gotta have balance.
"He’d whip anyone who tried to get him to admit it, but he likes having it on." -> see: dally's contradictions. this feels like a dally thesis statement here, like. he's gooey inside but he hates to admit it. which is kind of the premise of this fic actually, now that i'm thinkin' about it.
"Dally’s only half listening, because Sodapop smells like sweat and motor oil and bubblegum, for whatever reason, and Dallas is only human." -> i looove dallys down bad pathetic crush on sodapop, i dont know why. its like oh of course this mean hood likes the cute charming boy. of course he does. he can't form a sentence around the guy... i think i like humbling dally a bit and giving him a pathetic unrequited crush is part of that.
"Johnny appears in the doorway then, two unopened cans of beer in his lap. Dally grabs one as he rolls by." -> one thing i hope to accomplish in these fics is disability rep that feels natural and like seamlessly integrated into their world. plus theres a level of like familiarity and intimacy between dally and johnny that comes from being together for so long, like of course dally can just grab shit off johnny's lap. also, also. this was loosely based on my own experience as a wheelchair user. carryin stuff in your lap is not as easy as it may seem. like its convenient to a point but it's also like. damn this is annoying and shit falls off easily. which i think dally would know too at this point which is part of why he swoops in to grab the drink.
""What's goin' on?" Johnny asks, maneuvering carefully between the coffee table and the couch." -> when i'm not uh, playing bumper cars with the doorframe i often get complimented on how well i maneuver my wheechair. i'd like to think johnny would be good at it as well.
"Johnny raises an eyebrow. Dally suppresses a sigh; he's gonna be hearing about this one later, that's for sure." -> i feel like this part is kinda clunky, ngl. it was a challenge to add in like body language and internal monologue when the script draft felt so quick and snappy. but anyway, i wanted to give the feeling of prior context here, like. they've had conversations about this before, they know what the other is thinking even without saying it. familiarity/intimacy, yanno? i wanted them to feel married.
""What's it like livin' with a married couple?" Two-Bit asks, cocking an eyebrow.
Steve shakes his head. "Nah, there’s no way she lives with them, have you seen their place? No woman lives there.""
-> i lived with, well not a married couple but a couple for a couple years actually! one of my old tumblr mutuals and his boyfriend. also with this dialogue again i wanted to get across like. some less than progressive ideas that still feel true to life/to these characters. they assume dally's married to a woman, but also that a woman woild keep the place clean. and johnny and dally are messy! they're not technically a bachelor pad but they're a couple of rough poor cis dudes, i really don't think they'd be like. ikea showroom clean.
"“What about me?” Johnny asks indignantly, taking a swig of his beer.
Steve gives him a flat look."
-> i like johnny (and ponyboy) as the sort of guy who like. if you know him you would kinda figure that he's gay. maybe not, like, if you just saw him on the street, but i mean. c'mon. johnny's "southern gentlemen" speech from windrixville feels so much like he's just... describing a crush. yanno what i mean?
“"I dunno, man,” Two-Bit says thoughtfully, “if Dally was gonna suck anyone’s cock, it'd be Johnny’s.”" -> i liked giving two-bit this line because of two's "so he finally had a breaking point" like in the book. i think dally and twobit are pretty close! and two understands dally on a level not many other people do, especially re: his feelings for johnny. also a friend of mine pointed out that like. it kinda feels like a subversion of expectations here a bit like, you'd kinda expect twobit to make a joke about dally letting johnny suck his dick, but instead its like no dally would want to do it. and it's not like meant to embarrass him, its just a genuine observation. johnny's special to him.
“Hang on, how does Johnny even…” Sodapop starts, making a motion with his finger....
"You want a demonstration?" Johnny asks. Dallas puts his arm around him.
-> i like making soda well-meaning but kind of ignorant/normative. based on his line from the book about how pony will definitely grow into liking girls one day. also i think people can get soooo invasive when it comes to crip sex and i liked giving johnny a moment of like. not sassiness exactly but he's allowed to be mad about it! his line was a late edition in the draft actually but i didn't want it to just be a "dally defending johnny's virtue" kinda deal, i wanted johnny to have a say too, especially since it's about his body! (and as i've written in other fics from this same 'verse, he does struggle with erectile dysfunction sometimes and he has feelings about it! so soda's question touches a nerve.)
“Yeah,” Dally says quickly, like if he says it fast enough it won’t make him feel like his skin’s being turned inside out. -> dally forced vulnerability yaaayyy. but i think what i like about dally at this point in his life/in this fic is that he's willing to own it. like yeah he is married to johnny and all the gooey vulnerable feelings that are implied with that, since that's one of his main struggles in the longfic.
His face falls. “Oh, shit, um, the iron –” he turns and nearly runs out of the room. Sodapop follows him, bewildered, limping slightly. -> i love bad liar darry, idk why it's just charming to me especially when the reason he knows about johnny and dally also indirectly implicates him (as he's slept with johnny before). i have a specific vision for the johnny/darry encounter and i have a oneshot planned for it, but i'm focusing on my longfic first. also! we see some continuity from my thanksgiving fic from this 'verse where soda is an injured veteran.
“That –” he points to Dally’s hand, to his battered, scratched up old ring, “Ain’t new. How long’s this been goin’ on?” -> i think steve is a good choice for this observation since he's the one who asks dally about sylvia in the book. he's keen and sharp and not afraid to ask hard questions. (i've discovered i like writing steve a lot actually.)
"Dallas, despite being shaky with exhaustion or maybe because of it, had laughed so hard his stomach hurt." -> author who is often shakey with exhaustion thanks to her fatigue. ngl i feel like the proposal scene is a little weak narratively, but i was struggling to come up with something that felt true to them since i haven't written out the longfic yet and don't quiiite have a full grasp on their dynamic. yet. but ah well, i think it works okay.
"or, hell, about Pony’s ex-girlfriend" -> i liked this thread from my other fic in this verse, about pony who dated a transsexual woman in college. artemis (his ex) is actually originally from the marleyverse, my randyboy collab with my bestie, but i felt like she would fit well in this 'verse too. but i also didn't want their relationship to last. sorry pone!
"Dally coughs, his face getting hot. Beside him, Johnny snickers.
Two-Bit lets out a low whistle. “Damn, Dal, I didn’t know you had it in you.”"
-> once again i love dally being caught off guard and embarrassed. i've probably talked about it before but dally tends to bottom in this universe thanks to johnny's particular anatomical problems. but also i definitely see the gang all teasing each other when they find out the weird shit each other are into. they really don't mean anything bad by it they're just like. damn okay that's a new one. yanno? its good-natured.
“I’m happy for you,” he says softly, earnestly.
Figures this is the one time the damn kid is actually following the conversation instead of bein’ a space cadet.
-> at first i wasn't really sure how to fit ponyboy into this fic, and i was kind of nervous about it since there are some... particular folks in the fandom who have been known to hateread my fics, lmao. not that it matters! but i decided on an earnest moment between pony and dally but not a long one. they get along but they're not exactly close to me.
"Dallas hooks his cane over the edge of the counter and grabs another beer from the fridge" -> author who has occasionally used a cane before and likes to hook it onto things.
"That’s what the fight had been about, if he remembers right. Not being able to tell anyone that they were celebrating." -> i wanted to show that their relationship isn't perfect but it is good. its solid. they're not immune to fights or disagreements, and i think needing to keep things a secret (regardless of how well they actually manage to do that) would cause problems. i explore this more in another fic in this series, cloak & switchblade. but i think having them argue makes the steadiness and longevity of their relationship feel more earned. yanno?
“Hang on,” Dallas says slowly, finally registering what Johnny’s telling them, “That ain’t how you said it.” -> i really love the domesticity of this last line. like. they seem like the kind of couple to me who bicker over little things like that, like tone. there's a trust in it, like they can squabble over little things because they're not fighting over the big stuff.
anyway thank you so much for this ask, it was a lot of fun to get to comb through this fic again!
I saw that one of the fics ur about to finish is Randyboy? I’m convinced of ships very fast lol so I’ll definitely read that too! Can I ask what it’s about (ofc without spoiling too much)?
-Cy
aw thank you! well i have 2 randyboys i'm close to finishing - one is the marleyverse that i'm writing with my good friend! pony and randy meet again in 1978 when randy is pony's niece marley's english teacher. lots of musing on what it means to grow up and move forward. also features darry and sodapop coparenting soda's kid!
the other one is a continuation of this fic, where pony and randy become friends (and eventually more) pretty soon after the events of the book. it was supposed to be a oneshot and it spiraled into (checks notes) 53K. whoops. this one's more a low stakes ponyboy coming of age/slice of life fic that i really enjoyed writing.
I didn't know ur making a new longfic!! I love ur work so I'm excited
-Cy
omg thank you so much! that's very sweet :') it's a long ways off i'm afraid - i have it all outlined but almost none of it written, and i have 3 other longfic WIPs to finish first. thankfully i'm in the final stages of all 3 of them, and after that i can get started on the jally longfic. i'll keep you posted tho!
3 stacks of golden carrots have been left for Parrot
aswell as A Magical Item, A Pickaxe that functions as a Scythe aswell
Earthly Reaper -
Sharpness V
Unbreaking III
Efficiency IV
Mending
And finally A New enchantment Regrowth II(A slight lifestealing ability and An ability that will nourish the plants nearby
Use this on the wifies who hurt your kid...
-Cy
Parrot brought the carrots inside, quickly stepping back outside to pick up the new weapon. He turned it over in his hands, giving it a few test swings to get a feel for it.
"Huh... never held something like this. It'll take practice, but it could be a nice weapon if I need it."
An Humanoid rabbit Left Some Carrots,Apples,Melons, And some flowers Nearby aswell as some materials for new bundles Saying its a Gift for Parrot & Theo
-Cy Anon
"Oh!"
Parrot took the many goodies inside, feathers fluffing up as he looked through everything that had been left for him and Theo.
oh my goodness hiii! its so grest to see.you— like ACTUALLY see you! i didnt know you were coming! this.is so totally the best christmas EVER.
im great! how are you?? cuz youre about to be awesome if i have anything to say about.it, and i.have a LOOOOT to say. we can have so much fun! oh my gosh, wait. youre here— cy, you can meet waddles at last!
