Hi Dani! 👋🏻 Thank you for sending these over!! (Also I’m sorry you’re not feeling great and I hope you feel better soon!!)
22 - What is it about watching the same two idiots falling in love over and over again?
So I actually just answered this one, but basically I think it’s the fact that because there are so many possibilities, so many different AUs and interpretations that even though we *know* the idiots are probably gonna fall in love, or at least we hope they will (unless we’re hoping that it’s a lovers to enemies story… dun dun dunnnnnn!) it’s still fun to think about and imagine it happening in different ways. It’s also a lot of fun to see everyone’s different takes on characters, because everyone is going to focus on slightly different things. And? We love the idiots, right? We found the idiots in a book/show/movie/game/piece of media, and we enjoyed these idiots so much that we spent time seeking out and creating stories about them? Of course we’re going to want to see it play out every which way, stand back with our camera phones and tell the idiots that they’re doing great.
32 - Do you have a word/expression that you always use in your writing?
Hmmmm. I’m sure there are words or phrases that pop up too often, but none are popping to mind right now. I know I describe the sky a lot, but in terms of actual words or phrases… idk 😅 if anyone can identify my buzzwords please tell me!! I’m curious!!
40 - Write a 9-word fic.
(Ugh LOVE this question so much. THANK YOU for this!!!)
If you haven’t gotten this one already: 💫 with Logan, Benjamin, and Billy.
💫 - fight, tickle, insult.
Fight: Logan. I would lose, 100%, but I think he’d made it fun. He seems calm and collected most of the time, but I think in an argument, he’d really come to life.
Tickle: Benjamin. That man has a million ticklish spots, I know it. I want to find them all.
Insult: Billy. No matter what I say to him, it wouldn’t be as bad as whatever he dealt with in the Marines, so my insults would mean very little to him - unless I went in on something very personal and hit below the belt. (Also there’s no way I’d ever insult Logan or Benjamin because they hear that too much from everyone else in their lives. At least Billy’s got a thick skin from other people that have insulted and talked down to him throughout his military career.
On Friday, @suchatinyinfinity tagged me to share something I’ve been working on. Since I don’t have Photoshop open at the moment, I decided to go with... something I’m writing. Thanks for motivating me to try and bang out the visuals that have been living in my head for actual months now (seriously, thank you). And thanks to anyone who does decide to read this peek into my OCs.
Nothing really happens here, because it’s setup for what’s to come, but...
(Under the cut; proceed at your own risk.)
“I didn’t think I’d be asleep that long,” Eva said, wincing against the insistent pressure. She brought one hand up, pressing her fingers against the top left side of her nose bridge, where the pain felt the most intense now. With the other, she popped open the glove and got the Excedrin, opening it fast. “Didn’t think I’d sleep.” Gently, she shook the bottle until two pills tumbled out into her palm, white as chalk, and it was only then she realized the dryness in her throat, constricting and painful. Suddenly, two small pain relievers looked like horse pills, and the sight of them made something turn in her stomach. Some small part of her wanted to roll her eyes at the hesitation, while another instead wondered if that wouldn’t hurt too much.
She slapped the pills into her mouth and downed them with half the bottle of water she found in the cupholder inside the door, looking up in time to catch the profile of Mark’s smile, soft and warm. Even though he couldn’t look, she still returned it with one of her own, then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Sorry, I’m a shit copilot.”
“No, you needed it. And it’s only been an hour,” he said. “Got about twenty minutes left ‘til we get there.” His smile got a little bigger, she noticed, and it made her smile again, too. “Should close your eyes again, rest some more.”
“Hmm, maybe.” She tried to drink away the bitterness of swallowing pills on an empty stomach with more water, then screwed the cap back on and put the bottle down beside her. “Kinda feels like I can’t wake up, but I’m trying,” she whispered, sniffling before she slowly exhaled. She leaned her head back, resting it against the seat and, after that, didn’t need more convincing; heavy as they were, her eyes practically fell closed. No sleep, though. Even if she wanted to, now, she couldn’t. Turning her head toward the passenger side window, she enjoyed the comfortable silence for a while, listening to the hum of the engine, the wind, the tires on the road. Sunlight bathed her face, but it wasn’t completely warm; that weirdly deceptive, not-quite-spring kind of heat that made her wish the last traces of winter would just hurry up and leave. Not yet, but soon. … I hope.
After a few more minutes, she sat up a bit straighter and swept one hand along the side of her face, brushing back the mess of her bangs. The headache was still there, but now it was bearable, and she opened her eyes again. “You know, you still haven’t said where you’re taking me,” she murmured, picking at a loose thread in the knee of her leggings. Mark’s hand reached over, gently brushing hers aside so that he could cup her knee, her crossed legs allowing his fingers to settle behind it as he reached a little further. The tip of his thumb drew circles against the skin there in an idle rhythm, tickling just enough to make her laugh, her hand circling his wrist. “Mark!”
“If I promise it’s worth it, will you let me keep it a surprise?”
tagging @markcampbells @afterthenovels @pheedraws, because I want to know what they’re up to; and re-tagging @something-tofightfor @the-blind-assassin-12 @suchatinyinfinity; because I’m greedy, and I want to see more.
Dani!!! Thanks for these and I hope you're having a good week so far!!
yellow: name of an artist you think is underappreciated: ok. I had to think about this one for a minute and at the risk of sounding like a broken record I'm gonna say Dead Man's Bones. I'll forever mourn the second album that got some press but was never actually released.
aqua: already answered this one!
maroon: do you care for clothing brands? Nope! If I like the cut, color, and its comfy I'm wearing it.
I came to wish you a wonderful day and saw that tumblr had me not following you! So now as I scroll through to see what I’ve missed, I still wish you a wonderful day! 💙
Thank you, Dani! Wishing you a wonderful day too! 💙
the first character i ever fell in love with: The Darkling
a character that i used to love/like, but now do not: None! I haven’t changed my opinions about anybody haha.
a ship that i used to love/like, but now do not: I guess Malina. I first found out about the Grishaverse through edits on tumblr. I was aware of Darklina, Nikolina, and Malina because of discourse from blogs I followed but I noticed that there were like no edits of Malina. I read a post about how they were childhood sweethearts. I usually like hated/underdog/non-canon ships, and I thought since there were no edits that Malina would be the hated/underdog/non-canon ship, so I set out hoping to love it lmao. And I almost instantly changed my mind 😭
my ultimate favorite character™: Aleksander Morozova, the Darkling, The Black Heretic, The Starless Saint, the Shadow Summoner, General Kirigan and king of my entire heart
prettiest character: If we’re basing it on book descriptions, Genya! If we’re basing it on show cast members, Alina! Jessie Mei Li is stunning
most hated character: Idk lol I don’t really hate the protagonists and obviously don’t hate the Darkling. Probably a boring answer like Jan Van Eck, Pekka Rollins, King Alexander or Vasily
my OTP: Darklina
my NOTP: Malina. Not to be a bitch, just wasn’t for me lol and I don’t like that Alina lost her powers. The show could change my mind.
favorite episode: None yet! My single favorite of all the books is Shadow and Bone though
saddest death: Matthias omfg :’(
favorite season: none yet!
least favorite season: none yet! my least favorite book is Ruin and Rising
character that everyone else in the fandom loves, but i hate: Again I don’t hate the protagonists, but as much as I ship Zoyalai, Zoya is not my fave character and she is a HUGE fandom fave. I haven’t read much of KOS though so I’m sure I will love her once I read a book where she is such a big part. I absolutely don’t hate her though so this is a fail of an answer to this question lmao.
my ‘you’re piece of trash, but you’re still a fave’ fave: The Darkling lmao. I can admit that I love a trash prince <3
my ‘beautiful cinnamon roll who deserves better than this’ fave: Literally so many. Like Leigh gave almost all of her characters horrifically sad backstories, particularly Inej, Kaz, and the Darkling. But I’m gonna say Matthias because he endured Hellgate and then DIED.
my ‘this ship is wrong, nasty, and makes me want to cleanse my soul, but i still love it’ ship: None. My taste is immaculate 😇
my ‘they’re kind of cute, and i lowkey ship them, but i’m not too invested’ ship: Nikolina. I really only ship Darklina with each other but there were cute Alina moments with Nikolai. I’m not sad about the fact they didn’t work out though because the Zoyalai endgame is going to be amazing.
Ok, when in my early teens i started reading like a maniac so there were many that formed my taste, but i’d say wise: Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, The Mediator and (weirdly enough) Animal Farm.
14. What does it take for you to be ready to write a book? (i.e. do you research? outline? make a playlist or pinterest board? wing it?)
I outline everything, from general story to chapter names, dialogue I already thought of. Also I make a playlist and a pinterest board. I have pinterest boards for EVERYTHING, characters, ships, series, moods, writing inspo. If you want, my pinterest is here
34. Unpopular writing thoughts/opinions?
I don’t know if this is an unpopular opinion but: writing fanfic is as valid as writing anything else, i think it’s silly of some people to not recognize fanfic as a valid mean of storytelling, but IT IS.
Also, i don’t agree with ppl who bash a female character because she’s a “mary sue”. I think if you really look, there’s a good chance that you can find a male character with the same characteristics or even more “overpowered” who isn’t stigmatized/judged in spite of probably having the same “problems” as the female counterpart. Men that have the same aspects of these female characters are simply viewed as badass. It’s something that’s rooted in sexism imo.
