if you have a particular trope(s) that pop up in all your stories, do you make a conscious effort to make sure you're writing it differently every time, or do you let it become its own version as you go, or do you not really care because you love this trope and you'll just have it the same way every time? (this is of particular interest to me)
i think a bit of both! family pops up in everything i write, but i do like to look for opportunities to vary it. for example, while i have written several things that boil down to fighting, rejecting and being angry at abusive parents, Iphigenia's story was a delightful opportunity to explore the question of redemption and restoration. there was no redeeming Lord Dad, but she got a good shot at redeeming her mother, and maintaining relationship there. and even though i knew walking in that we'd probably have to kill Lord Dad (i was correct), and out of character i was cheering for him to get his teeth kicked in (he Sucks), i also really enjoyed making deliberate roleplay decisions as Iphigenia, who wants to try to fix this first. i love her <3
also i decided to make Isi's mother abusive instead of her father, as another way of switching things up.
i think in general as i get older and more skilled and find more control of my writing, the more i like to deliberately try to do Different Things. some of my earlier stories are probably more one-note, black-and-white in how they think this should be dealt with. now, for example, i'm exploring how Isi and Sierra respond differently to their mother's abuse, and i'm really enjoying that i'm able to do that! Freya's parents aren't necessarily cruel, but they're neglectful (with varying degrees of culpability). Aella and Tempest adore each other, and still there's some complicating factors creeping in because Tempest is also Aella's captain. while it's still clearly valuable to me to deal with the difficult sides of family, i think i'm becoming more able to do that in a variety of ways. (i'm not going to say "more nuanced", because the stuff i was writing before that was also nuanced and well-done!)
30: Would they ever get their tongue stuck to a frozen flag pole?
Yes.
37: Can they jump high enough to slap a street sign?
did i just google how tall street signs are? yes. did it help? no.
Aella is 5'1" but very bouncy. i'd say depends on the sign, with the important note that she is going to try every time anyway
70: Would they win a game of beer pong?
i'm going to say maybe! Aella's got pretty good aim, though if she's been drinking she's probably less focused.
78: What embarrassing situation are they most likely to end up in the hospital for?
oh, so many things. but probably eating something she shouldn't have?
THEO
26: What video game would they spend a life-ruining amount of time playing?
oooooh, i'm not sure! i don't know a lot of video games. but i could see him enjoying BG3, something Zelda (see aforementioned "i don't know a lot of video games"), or maybe like Civilization? i think he's looking for story and world over speed and strategy. (like me, he is strategic, but not fast)
44: Would they do numbers on Tumblr? Bonus: what’s their URL?
absolutely not, if this boy is on Tumblr it's because Aella convinced him to, and he's there for writing or photography. he's much better suited to Instagram.
(his url is some sort of poem quote)
(Aella, on the other hand, is a fantastic sh*tposter)
68: What’s their go-to karaoke number?
per this post, Theo is a better singer than he lets on, but it's for very pretty classical type stuff. he'd rather die than sing karaoke in front of his friends though.
71: They won the lottery! Where’s all the money going?
first step: panic
second step: fend off Aella listing all the things she thinks he should buy
third step: buy a bunch of books and calligraphy supplies
fourth step: donate the rest to charity
BOTH OF THEM
2: What low-stakes thing will they always get disproportionately passionate about?
i went through my Theo tag and discovered that i wanted to give him my linguistics obsession. so that, and book characters. mischaracterise his favourite character in front of him and he will be bringing receipts.
Aella can get fired up over just about anything for the bit. some examples include best types of alcohol content, card/dice game strategy, and (in the modern-day) famous surfers.
18: Which side of the “pineapple on pizza” war are they on?
Aella is pro-pineapple on pizza, and doesn't even consider it among the weird things she's eaten. like me, Aella's go-to pizza approach is something like "if i like all the different ingredients then i will enjoy the combination".
Theo doesn't care for it himself, but doesn't think it's an unreasonable pizza topping. i think he likes it separately though!
25: How do they distract themselves when forced to sit through something boring?
Aella fidgets like nobody's business and talks. a lot. sometimes this involves getting up and moving around the room. she cannot sit still, and will not be focusing if you try to make her. (hello, ADHD)
Theo is doing his best to pay attention, partly because it's polite. he's mostly just sitting quietly and letting his thoughts wander.
35: What’s their preferred excuse for not attending an event?
i mean, Theo's REASONS for not attending events are social anxiety, mostly. but he's not very good at saying no, and doesn't like lying. Aella has to help him just say "something came up".
Aella also has to be convinced not to give the actual reason, but from the opposite direction. she can be a little too quick to say what she's thinking, and may have to be reminded that that's not always polite.
HURRICANE AND DRAGONSONG
91: Two of your WIPs are having a crossover (if you don’t have two, pick a random piece of media you like, or someone else’s WIP!). Which characters are getting along the best? Worst?
Aella and Sierra and SB are going to burn something down when left unattended. Aella and Sierra operate on the exact same wavelength of enthusiastic, impulsive chaos at all times. they finish each other's sentences and somehow start communicating without even finishing sentences. SB is along for the ride because he loves the chaos. (Theo, Tempest, Isi and Holly are watching on in horror).
Theo and Holly would be able to talk about medicine stuff, though Theo might find Holly kind of abrasive, and she'd think he was a bit boring. but i think Tempest would get Holly a bit more; they wouldn't necessarily talk much, but they'd be comfortable together.
Isi and Theo would get on great! they're both (autistic) introverts, the responsible ones supervising in the corner, and would click perfectly. they both are comfortable just hanging out not talking, but the degree to which they want to talk lines up pretty well too. that said, Theo would be incredibly intimidated by Isi. he doesn't often run into people that are taller than he is, and he's already easily intimidated by tanky powerhouses. but Isi is kind and straightforward and he'd quickly vibe with her. i can also see him being interested in her embroidery.
Theo would also get on great with Robin, especially when he's in a more talkative mood, because they're both utter nerds. Theo would want to know EVERYTHING about Robin's magic (and Robin is ALWAYS happy to infodump about magic). i also think they'd be the ones nerding about books.
Tempest would also be trying to adopt Robin, i think. they're both Black or Black-coded, so i imagine they have some points of connection there. but also Tempest would like him for the same reasons she does Theo (gentle nerds), and because she has a soft spot for children and teenagers, and Robin's only a little younger than Aella. Robin might be intimidated by her, but they'd quickly sort it out.
Tempest and Isi would also get on well. the respective voices of reason in their parties. plus i think they'd have fun swapping training tips.
oh, and Aella would ADORE Isi's 6'3" buff self. she'd be so impressed. and a little bit in love (Aella can have a little bisexuality, as a treat). i've made a joke elsewhere about Sierra trying to challenge Isi to a pushup competition (and losing). Aella's doing that too.
WHOO BOY that was a lot! i shall send you some back in a mo!
(5) describe what Hurricane would look like if it were bad. (alternatively: list out what hypothetical horrible interpretations of the work would look like. fake socmedia discourse emulator optional but encouraged.)
hello!
i think i'm approaching this as "what would make an adaptation bad", because that's what makes sense to me.
some things you could do to ruin an adaptation of Hurricane (fun fact, one of these was actually suggested in the drafting stage by someone i no longer take advice from)
give Anvindr a ✨tragic backstory✨ (he has some backstory that explains some of his motivation. it does not absolve him of his many crimes.)
miss the point of Anvindr's verbal abuse; several of the things he does are physically violent, but one of the biggest reasons he's scary is because of a) power dynamics and b) emotional/verbal abuse. don't downplay it, don't miss the point.
make Laila completely helpless (she doesn't have a lot of power, which is part of the point, but that doesn't make her completely helpless)
make Aella either incompetent (she's ADHD and impulsive; she makes mistakes, but she's not incompetent) or helpless (see above). or, on the flip side, a stone-cold competent badass. she's not that either. (that said, there are probably a lot of ways you could screw up Aella. she's young and optimistic, but not a complete child. she makes poor choices, but she isn't incompetent. she's a capable fighter, but she's not grumpy or cold. through the story, she lacks power in a few ways, but that doesn't mean she has no character, and it isn't a moral failing of hers.)
make Tempest flat and one-dimensionally angry, and/or a bad or absent mother. Tempest and Aella certainly have a complex dynamic, but Tempest isn't neglectful or abusive. she loves her baby girl.
have Theo be completely disapproving of the Hurricane women swearing/drinking/fighting, and/or surprised about women doing those things
frame [climactic moment redacted for spoilers] as a triumph. in fairness, in early drafts i think it was. and then i grew up and realised it... wasn't, really.
this one was fun once i got my head around it! i apparently have Many Thoughts. thank you :))
oh oh a new ask game!! dice, song, and flute pls!! - @zmwrites
aha! the bard ask game!
dice - how could your story have changed if one thing about the plot had gone differently?
SO many things. one of the fun theses of Dragonsong is that Isi is the hero she is... pretty much entirely because she was in the right place at the right time, and made the right call. over and over again. Isi has many many chances to fall in line, to stop digging deeper into the hole she's in, but once she sees how wrong her world is, she Can't Stop.
I was listening to Fast Car by Tracy Chapman while writing this, and the lyric “leave tonight or live and die this way” is very Isi. when she realises how wrong this all is, she knows she needs to make a call, to commit to something.
song - can any of your OC's sing? how would they fare in a karaoke battle?
for Dragonsong, canonically most of them! Robin and SB are competent but not pretty singers, and Isi and Sierra grew up singing sea shanty equivalents. Enya and the other dragons are BEAUTIFUL singers. Sierra and SB fare the best in karaoke because they're able to be sillier. Isi gets awkward about it. Robin and Holly do okay.
in Hurricane, i reckon Theo is a better singer than he lets on. very smooth and pretty. good for classical stuff. Aella can sing, but her voice is stronger than it is pretty. (Aella is an alto/mezzo. to me. also she thrives in karaoke. SO MUCH.)
flute - can any of your OCs dance? how would they fare in a dance-off?
Isi is dextrous and coordinated, so technically has all the requisite skills. but i would not call her a good dancer, especially not in a dance-off. Sierra is an excellent dancer, she has the confidence and dexterity and charisma to draw eyes.
Aella is an excellent dancer in, like, the club sense. or barn dancing. Theo can waltz impressively well (Aella thinks it's very hot). i don't think Tempest can dance; she's coordinated in battle, but dancing isn't her vibe.
It's blorbsday! How tired are your ocs? Are any of them insomniacs? Do they ever get eight hours of sleep? (In this economy? In any economy?) Have they been Questing and therefore are rather bedraggled? Tell me.
hi sleepy <3
Isi is perpetually tired. i get a lot of flak from various friends about her not getting enough naps.
when she's a knight, she gets about six hours of sleep a night for three days out of four (the fourth she gets nine, assuming no surprise big emergencies). yikes.
Robin also doesn't sleep enough, but i think that's a combo of poor decisions, possibly some insomnia, and chronic pain. probably seven or eight hours on a good day though.
meanwhile, aboard the Hurricane: Theo probably insists on getting nine or ten hours a night whenever he can. Aella sleeps in short bursts, but she can sleep anywhere and anytime, so it's fine - it adds up. once Tempest is asleep she's out like a light and sleeps solidly, but is probably averaging more like seven hours a night.
Hellooooo!
Oh shit, your blorbo fucked up. MASSIVELY. They need help. Like desperately. Who do they go to and why do they go to that person above anyone else?
it depends on the nature of the mess-up for Aella. Tempest is able to solve problems, and Aella trusts her with everything she has ... but differentiating between Captain Tempest and Mum Tempest is hard (for both of them), and Aella often will keep her mistakes to herself because she doesn't want to be in trouble.
this happens in the book, actually. Aella has the feeling she could have averted the stealing of their ship if she'd just spoken to Tempest, but they were both drunk and Aella was scared and just wanted the problem to Go Away. and now she feels responsible, and she feels like Tempest is angry with her, so she's gotta fix it.
but Aella is often not equipped to solve problems as effectively as Tempest, or without her. because also, she wants to be like Tempest, calm and capable and strong ... and she's afraid and impulsive and small. (this may be a point of her character arc in the book lol)
the person Aella goes to without fear of judgement is Theo. Theo won't judge her mostly because he rarely finds himself embroiled in the kinds of problems Aella does, so he's got no moral high ground. plus he's just ... not judgemental, and has no authority position. but he can't usually help her fix anything.
so she goes to Theo first, and then eventually to Tempest. or maybe Aria as an intermediate step. Aria is no-nonsense and will tell Aella like it is (that she done screwed up), but is able and willing to help. and Aella is a bit less ashamed to tell her what stupid thing she's done. the younger members of the crew are less judgemental (depending on the person) but less experienced. it's a delicate balance.
