for the wip ask game: i just wanted to ask bc you got me listening to the song on repeat (great soundtrack to my morning, thank you!) - on the nature of daylight?
hi gil!! ty for the ask <3
[wip game]
on the nature of daylight: i first heard this song in the movie Arrival, one of my favorite movies of all time. i've wanted for a long time to write something superbat inspired that movie, specifically focusing on non-linear time perception. i have a very sort of melancholy vibe in mind, because i'm aiming for that same hard-hitting emotional impact of Arrival/Story of Your Life. it's told non-linearly, of course, from Bruce's POV, so as with Dr. Louise's POV there's the shift in perception as the story progresses. i've posted a small snippet of this story before, but here's another short excerpt!
“Mr. Wayne,” a rich, deep baritone rings out from behind.
“Excuse me,” Bruce says politely, teeth gleaming in a smile, “have we met?”
Something keen sparkles in his eye. “Clark Kent, the Daily Planet.”
Bruce reaches out and clasps their hands together. Kent’s hand is smooth and warm, soft in his grip, solid. Familiar.
120!! thats so many :0 also yay for matching covers - do you mind sharing your favs in your collection? ^^
hii gil!
oh man i have so many favorites (obviously cause i buy the ones that catch my eye lol) i'm not at home so i had to scour discord for some pics. here's my current display in my living room:
i rotate some of the covers based on my mood, but the Carlo Pagulayan cover in the top right is a foil cover of Superman: Lost #1 which is my favorite cover of all time. it's been my phone lockscreen and my smartwatch face for years now and i put it up on the shelf the second i got it. the two Lee Weeks variants in the bottom right have also been on my shelf since i put it up, as well as the Belén Ortega variant and the Colleen Doran Ophelia-themed variant on the bottom left. there's three Yasmine Putri variants on the top left - she's one of my favorite artists and all of her covers are absolutely stunning.
some other assorted faves:
and of course some of my g/t covers hehe
for matching covers, i own the Jim Lee foil covers:
plus the superman '78 & batman '89 matching set in my display at the start of the post. off the top of my head i don't recall that i own any other matching cover sets, but i own the TEC issue of this Kris Anka set and i'm looking for the AC one:
and David Aja has some sets that i'm hunting for as well. actually i'm not sure if they're actually sets, but they're so visually pleasing and go well together so they are in my mind.
i generally just look and pick out covers that i find visually pleasing or cool (or g/t), but there's some artists i gravitate towards: Yasmine Putri, Lee Weeks, Dan Mora, Jorge Jiménez, Carlo Pagulayan, David Aja, Rafa Sandoval, Mikel Janín to name a few. i have to do my shopping online through ebay or while i'm traveling which makes collecting more difficult since we don't have proper comic book stores in my country :(
2. Has writing a fic ever changed your opinion of a character?
i haven't really written any characters in depth other than bruce and clark, and i'm very hyperfixated on them so they're who i stick to. additionally i don't think i generally have very strong opinions on characters?? just a lot of feelings about them lol. the only thing that springs to mind is that i think i was very intimidated of writing diana, and then i wrote a very brief scene with her in my longfic and found that she's not as difficult as i thought. i'd love to write more of her in the future!
12. Do you write in order, jump around the draft, or a mix? Something else?
call me a frog the way i jump, including in this very post between questions :) if i have a clear image/idea of something i'll always strive to write that first and fit the pieces together later. this goes for both longfic and shorter one-shots. sometimes i'll get stuck on a sentence or section and i will feel like i can't move on until this bit is perfect, but i'm trying to move away from doing that.
26. Do you have a routine you run through before you write?
check tumblr, check discord, and then continue to let both distract me while i write 👍 it's usually 50/50 whether i put on music or not, sometimes i find it too distracting and other times it helps with the vibe if the music sort of aligns with the fic. i always wear headphones though.
27. Share a random sentence from a WIP. The less context, the better. Be confusing.
“Is this what you do,” Bruce says, frowning at the bottle of bottom shelf whiskey that sits on Clark’s coffee table, “whenever you’re vulnerable. Getting wasted off of the cheapest swill your salary can procure.”
28. You’re out and about, nowhere near your home, when a fantastic story idea pops into your head! What do you do?
google fucking sucks but the reason i haven't been able to bring myself into switching from google docs/drive is because the app is just sooo convenient and smooth and easy to use. tons of my notes in my docs are written on mobile, i've spent a lot of time on public transport so i jot down ideas or lines while they're fresh!
12. What was the most unexpected book you read this year?
I'm not one to read books that I don't think I'll like, so more often it's that I'm surprised I didn't like something that I thought I would. I think it was unexpected that I got into comics in a big way, but more to other people -- neither I not people who know me were surprised. A series that I really didn't think I'd enjoy as much as I did was this one called Magic in Manhattan by Allie Therin, which I thought was just gonna be fine but then was actually so much fun. Probably the top most unexpected thing was that i read and didn't like The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
26. What was your top genre of the year?
Ok not really counting comics as the top one or LGBT, after that the top actual genre was romance!
34. What's a book you've recommended the most this year?
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon lol it's my, like, ONE blanket recommendation. If you want to read great literature and also love comics, this is a book for you. After that, We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian and then, despite having read it in September, Heated Rivalry just because it's hilarious to recommend at work.
40. Do you have any reading goals for next year?
I want to read at least a book a week! That was my original goal last year as well, but in January is when I got into comics.
5, 6, 10, 11, 17, 21, 30, 35 for the ask game!! sorry if thats too many whoops (^^;;
HI HIIII it's not too many!
5. how would you describe your art style?
This is hard!! i don't know!! i'd say western cartoon-ish but so much of my inspiration and foundation for art comes from anime... um my art style is chewy and silly. that's what i'm going for. smile.
6. favorite thing to draw?
At the moment? superman. In general; hands, frills/folds, hair, funny situations. those are the thing i like the most when drawing.
10. how do you deal with artblock?
I'm lucky enough to have multiple art hobbies. whenever digital art is killing me, i take a break and work on something else! recently its been making bracelets, but i'm thinking of getting back into papercrafts and rug tufting. i recommend everyone have more than one art hobby for this exact reason.
11. do you listen to anything while drawing?
i need to have something funny or story-heavy on while drawing at all times. occasionally i join a discord call while drawing, but i like talking to my friends too much and end up ignoring my art. I save listening to music for when i need to brainstorm or write.
17. what is something youre confident about in your art?
My ideas and content i guess? Whether or not i think i pull it off in the end, i love every single concept i decide to draw. i wouldn't draw it if i didnt! Visually? i trust myself to make something look cute or funny or soft. i think i'm good at that.
21. what do you think your artstyle would taste like?
i'd hope it tastes like chocolate, because i love chocolate. but knowing my luck its probably fruit gummies or marshmallows or something like that.
30. whats something youre proud of about your artstyle?
I love that my art can make people feel happy or emotional or mushy. Ive gotten compliments on how cute or enjoyable my art is and it makes me smile every time. thats what i'm after!! If i have to choose a specific visual aspect, i love how loose and silly my doodles look.
35. if you had one piece of advice to give your younger artist self, what would it be?
all advice i'd give my younger self is financial advice. I'd say "Stop trying to draw that buff man. Your strengths lie in beautiful women and fat people, especially beautiful fat women."
thank you <3 <3 <3 i put most of it under a read more because with the quotes and everything it got really long.
List of question for those who'd like to send in :)
16. At what point in the process do you come up with titles?
This really depends tbh; sometimes a fic idea and its title come at the same time, especially if the fic is only gonna be a one shot. Longer fics it takes... longer, like the WIP that's almost 200k doesn't have a name yet lol it has a designation so that we can refer to it separately from other WIPs
I have a few character and vibe playlists I listen to while I write so the titles will often come from those songs because it'll just hit right while i'm writing!
17. What’s something you’ve learned about while doing research for a fic?
god, so much. recently i was researching when VHS's fell out of style and were overtook by CD sales to realistically write a trip to a video rental store in 2003.
18. What’s one of your favorite lines you’ve written in a fic?
ok i was stuck between two but i'm gonna chose this passage from the slightly less popular fic of the two because i thought the imagery was so good. so, this segment from 'pink in the night':
He let his finger trail across the planes of Bruce’s face in the photo, catching on the fake glasses. “How long?” he asked, so quietly it was almost inaudible under the crackling fire.
Bruce doesn’t answer right away. “Does it matter?” he replied.
“I don’t know.” Clark looked up at Bruce, watching the way the fire made shadows play across his face like his fingers against the photo.
“It’s the past,” Bruce said, voice quiet and steady. He hasn’t looked up to meet Clark’s eyes, but his pulse is slightly faster than normal.
Clark swallows around something stuck in his throat. “Then when did it end?” He asked softly. He doesn’t want to, but the answer feels important now. How close did I miss you? Did the window of opportunity slam shut before I knew it?
22. Do you know how your fic will end before you start writing?
Usually! For lack of a better word, I pretty much exclusive write romance-genre fics, so there's sort of a built in ending.
19. Give us a small teaser from one of your WIPs.
ok so the context for this is that bruce and clark, 15 years old, meet at an event in metropolis -- which is as close to smallville as it is in the tv show smallville, so about two hours away, which is how clark managed to be at an event and get home the same night lol. it's the one without a name, dubbed only 'smallville au' in our notes. effectively it's just a high school au with cw's smallville flavouring. that's also why i'm researching cultural trends in 2002-2005 because that is when the fic is set.
“What time did you get in last night?” Ma asks, handing him a coffee with a little bit of milk and sugar as he slows to a stop in front of her.
Clark shrugs, accepting the drink gratefully. “Pretty late,” he admits. “But I met another teenager while I was there,” he adds excitedly, thinking of the way Bruce’s eyes had lit up when Clark had found topics he was passionate about.
Ma smiles. “That’s great, honey. What’s their name?”
“It was Bruce Wayne,” he tells her, knowing she’ll probably know the story even better than he does. He resolves, then, to not look up more than he already knows – if Bruce wants to be his friend, then he can tell Clark anything he wants to in his own time.
Ma’s smile falters. “Oh,” she says slowly, “do you think you’ll see him again?”
Clark looks down into his coffee. “I hope so,” he tells her. “He might have all sorts of fancy friends at his boarding school, but I thought that we had a nice time just talking. And he gave me his email.”
