3: a specific color that gives you the ick?
Several, actually, like, for example, a light-ish olive, despite looking really good on me, actually, is a colour I personally dislike. And "puke yellow". Nothing quite like the colour of bile...
Also: ORANGE! Not all oranges, obviously, but the loud, bright, intense, eyeburning ones, like neon orange? Or "Bright Orange" (#e24c00)? "Browns Orange" (#FF3C00)? In short, any colour that will have @vaguelythreateningrubberducky go all 😍 will send me running 🤣
21: a number that weirds you out?
At this point it's probably easier to send me a number and ask "is it a good, evil or neutral number?" because I have SO many feelings and opinions on numbers!
There isn't even a rationale behind it, like, I love 7 and 8, and 3 is okay, so as single digits, all three are at least neutral or better. But 873? Disgusting number! Terrible! I hate it!
So yeah, it's really random, my current hit counter, as of writing this, is 21,002 a very nice and beautiful number, I like it (21,001 is also pretty, even prettier, actually, I like that one!) but I had times when one of the numbers on my stats page was so fucking ugly... Which is especially bad when it's the kudos count because there's a good chance it'll stay ugly for a week or so. Funnily enough, when I have a really really pretty kudos count, it usually lasts for an hour or two before I get another kudos ._.
So yeah, it's hard to just name ONE number, because there is an infinite amount of them and I have opinions on quite a few of them :D But you asked on a "bad" day, because none of my stats are ugly today, which usually really is the easiest way for me to find new numbers I consider BAD!
27: what’s your favorite or go-to outfit?
Jeans (Mustang, Rebecca, and I already hate the day when I have to find a new kind of jeans that fit comfortably, I own roughly a dozen in various states of usedness right now)
Grey/white/black t-shirt (unisex, as formfitting as a sack, but comfy)
Black sweater jacket (band merch, either NIghtwish or Eluveitie, depending which I grab first, those had the nicest motives when I needed a new jacket).
Colourful, bright, mismatched socks! (ManyMornings, my beloved!)
My fashion sense truly is impeccable. 🙃 (I just really don't like how most clothes feel on my body, it's..weird. I prefer to not feel them at all.)
28: last meal on earth?
...
Good question. My first thought was swede soup. Stew? ...Eh. It's super simple, it's broth, chunks of swede, chunks of potato and sliced wiener. Those are already a luxury, the important bit are swede and potato, as well as caraway seeds and plenty of black pepper!
It's a very simple dish. And something that will get you fed without large expense. But it's one of my absolute favourites. (Another one of my favourites is basically the same, but instead of chunks of swede you chop a whole white cabbage into strips.)
Something a bit more luxurious would be Schmorgurke, it's a specific kind of cucumber (larger than pickling cucumbers, thicker than the "standard" cucumber) and filled with seasoned minced pork and then stewed for a while, you make a nice gravy from the liquid and it's eaten with potatoes and now I really really want one because it's delicious.
2, 8, 14 and 24 for either James or Catherine. Or both, dealers choice.
❤️
Blorbo asks, blorbo asks, wheeee! So grateful, please, feel hugged! Also, Catherine OR James?
2: Favorite character trait that your blorbo has?
Oh this is hard, there are so many! Especially for Catherine, I just love her. James is a bit easier, since we (sadly) see less of him in canon.
Oooooh, you know, I do feel very loved by you but this /is/ hard.
I'll go with a trait that, I think, they share (I actually think they share many traits, but eh):
Their open honesty, and, occasionally, their attempt to avoid it. (Hon.mention though to their naivité/starry-eyed-ness^^)
Like yes, I know, we do have an instance in canon when James isn't entirely honest, when Catherine makes an assumption (his having come to Bath for her sake) and he doesn't correct her, but then... That's actually a trait we see in Catherine, too!
Neither of them likes to lie, but they both try to avoid the truth when it's uncomfortable to admit.
When Catherine goes down for breakfast on her first morning at Northanger Abbey? Henry asks her how her night was and whether the storm disturbed her much. And Catherine, remembering all the embarrassment she had suffered that night and morning, quickly (and not exactly subtly) changes the subject, bringing us the hyacinth scene that's probably better remembered by many than the exchange directly leading into it.
She got away as soon as she could from a room in which her conduct produced such unpleasant reflections, and found her way with all speed to the breakfast-parlour, as it had been pointed out to her by Miss Tilney the evening before. Henry was alone in it; and his immediate hope of her having been undisturbed by the tempest, with an arch reference to the character of the building they inhabited, was rather distressing. For the world would she not have her weakness suspected, and yet, unequal to an absolute falsehood, was constrained to acknowledge that the wind had kept her awake a little. “But we have a charming morning after it,” she added, desiring to get rid of the subject; “and storms and sleeplessness are nothing when they are over. What beautiful hyacinths! I have just learnt to love a hyacinth.”
Isn't she the most adorable ever?! :)
And later, when Henry finds her near his mother's rooms, she tries it again, asking him about his ride, why he returned earlier than intended, anything, really, to make him stop inquiring after her reason to be where he found her. Because she really does not want to tell him. She so does not want to.
But she will not tell a lie, and so, when Henry continues pressing her, she does tell the truth.
Which makes me think that had Catherine continued her conversation with James, which I mentioned earlier, he /would/ have corrected her wrong assumption, because yeah, he isn't one for telling falsehoods either. (Also, James, my beloved speedometer. Openly acknowleding that Thorpe's a rattle, yet still correcting him when he lies about travel times. Love, I think you haven't quite grasped that muppet yet... Like, I don't think you've really grasped what a rattle is yet, either. But boy, he clearly means well. I love him)
So yes, their honesty is a lovely trait, not only because it really is a charming, loveable trait that could very well be considered a virtue, but also because it's very fun from a writer's point of view.
Like they are surrounded by people who are fake to some degree (Henry is no exception!), and they don't even notice and continue with this open, blunt honesty that sometimes does lack tact, yes, but is so genuine, so well meant, that it's hard to hold it against them. It certainly charms Henry, so I have no shame admitting it charmed me, too ;)
And again, it's fun to write, because you can put them into situations and even better, since they /are/ surrounded by characters who often use (white) lies and who hide and bend the truth and who expects others to do the same, you can also absolutely use this trait to utterly stump those characters, throwing them a complete curveball. I LOVE that.
8: Favorite friendship your blorbo has?
Okay, this will get me some side-eyes from the Eleanor&Catherine crowd, but for Catherine, my favourite friendship actually is Catherine&Henry. Because yes, they love each other romantically, but they are also, very clearly, best friends!
They can carry a conversation with such ease, they really match each other's freak, they laugh together, enjoy each other's company, quickly grow to trust each other... They just click on all levels and part of the reason I ship them as hard as I do is /because/ they are so clearly friends as well as lovers. Maybe this is a bit of a cop-out, yes, considering that I can't imagine them being "just" friends without the romantic element, but I don't care, there's so much friendship in their romance and there are some moments in the novel (esp. when the whole James/Isabella Frederick/Isabella fiasco unfolds) where Catherine comes to him for advice not as a love interest but as a /friend/. It's beautiful, I love it, I'm here for it!
As for James... 🙁Can my boy have a friend, please? Like, it very much is a big point in the novel that he doesn't really have any on the page friendships that are actually MUTUALLY genuine! He needs friends!
And now, watch me cheat twice over ;) Because I had considered it for Catherine, too, but it's just not that high up there, but for poor friendless James absolutely: James & Catherine.
His letter to her is... UNGH! That one hurts! I love it. It hurts even more because it hints at something more, it hints that their relationship is usually closer than what we see during the novel, that their misunderstanding over the Thorpes (and the Thorpes' active efforts to do just that) put them... Not at odds, but preventing, perhaps, a degree of closeness that usually would have been present. Because we can see Isabella very much hogging either Morland sibling as it suits her best, so that James and Catherine when they are in company together, rarely have an opportunity to actually spend time /together/, but also, I think they think they are on the same page, more or less, especially James thinks, I think, that Catherine knows a lot more than she does...
I would love to see them have a heart to heart mid-Bath trip. That would solve so many problems. And I can absolutely see them having one, it's mostly that neither saw a reason to have one and even if either had, circumstances (and Thorpes <.<) prevented it. (Won't stop me from writing that though!)
14: Pick any lyric from any artist that screams blorbo to you
This is a dangerous question. Also one to make me sad.
For James, screw it, I can't pick any line of the lyrics, there are so many that just ... YES! So have the entirety of James Arthur's "Impossible".
Especially this bit though:
Falling out of love is hard
Falling for betrayal is worse
Broken trust and broken hearts
I know, I know
And thinking all you need is there
Building faith on love and words
Empty promises will wear
I know
(And this song absolutely was what spawned Writ in Water, yes. Perhaps I shouldn't have listened to it on repeat though, while writing it... I'm still not over it!)
For Catherine, let's see... (It really isn't helping that I'm looping Impossible again, I probably should not...)
Schandmaul, Die Drei Prüfungen, these three lines in particular:
//Als er in ungebroch'nem Willen sich selbst als härtesten Stein erkannt
//Als im Spiegel seine Augen als hellstes Licht der Welt erkannt
//Als er seiner reinen Liebe den Quell des Lebens hat erkannt
Yes, Catherine's unbreakable will is the hardest rock, her eyes the brightest light and her pure love the fount of life ^-^ (And I guess it /would/ take her a bit to realise this about herself, yes. She's quite special, isn't she, yet also very humble,)
24: If your blorbo was a sim then how would they die?
I'm surprised they haven't yet... <.< (This would be so much easier for Henry, considering that only the fact I have emotional deaths disabled has saved him from dying from hysterical laughter... several times!)
For James I'll say broken heart, sad as it is. I haven't actually had a sim die from that yet, is the ghost neat? ... I don't want for him to die of that though, so Isabella can go and die by flies for all I care.
Catherine... Death by Urban Myth. Yes :D (We ignore the fact that it's only for teens,.. Also I really don't want for them to die and was SO close to say old age for both! :D)
And someone who appreciates my spontaneous shower thoughts about how fun (and cute) it would be if Edmund and Henry took the younger James under their wing at Oxford. Nice!
116, if I didn't miscount so... 580 words, can do!
Yay for research though ._.
A bit, at least. As little as I can get away with 😉
🍓 What’s a fic you’ve written you feel is underrated?
That's difficult because naturally I assume that if a fic is doing badly it's not because it's underrated but because it kinda sucks and I've been overrating it. But if we turn this into "which fics do you like a lot and would've loved to see getting more attention" then we'd actually get a bunch.
Bravery and Kindness, which I love but eh. Something must've gone wrong there.
Anything James/Frederick, which... technically not underrated, I mean I knew this ship wouldn't be popular so considering how much positive feedback the fics got it's far from underrated. I'd just really love more people getting into that one.
And finally my two problem children Soft Solace and When Hannibal crossed the Alps. Like I really have no idea what I did wrong with those and if my writing has just gottenbA LOT worse then... tough luck for everyone I guess because I can't do better right now and who knows if I ever will. Seriously I don't know what makes these two bad but I love them dearly and enjoyed writing them a lot so fuck everything I guess.
🍇 Is there a particular scene/episode/book/etc that you want to just write a million fics about, over and over? Which one?
JAMES'S LETTERRRRRR! Okay and the whole drama surrounding it, the break up, the aftermath, allllll of it. I've been going mildly feral over that one recently so yeah. AU versions of the aftermath (Whisky anyone?) Or just missing scenes... there's so much and I want to eat that letter (considering that I've made half a dozen handwritten copies of it already, I actually COULD eat it but... perhaps not 😆)
Also, a million million NA fics in general. At least! 😉
Oooooh 😊This is great, thank you! I'm SO looking forward to the last one because... That's a story.
But first,
🍰 Name one of your fave comfort fics (doesn’t have to be your all time fave).
Of my own or by someone else?
By someone else: Fullerton Parsonage. I don't have to elaborate. Everyone who knows me knows that.
Written by myself: Give me Truth. It has these fairytale/bedtime story vibes and it's so comforting. Often when I'm really sad and down and just... life sucks, I like to think about my little birbs and wish I could just lie in bed and LISTEN to this story while I doze off. Like a small child getting read to sleep. Perhaps that's a bit silly, but this fic really has a special place in my heart.
✨ Choose three adjectives to complement your own writing.
Complement or compliment? I think compliment makes more sense in this context, but complement is a very interesting and very challenging question. Though I'm not sure whether it's one I could answer with three adjectives, so I'll assume the question means compliment, in which case, LiL is emotional, funny and approachable. (That was hard. Also, if you wanted to hear the answer for complement... let me know. I'll have to think about that one a lot more because... How to do that in 3 adjectives... )
🌈 What inspired you to write Inevitable and 5 Times John Thorpe failed to secure himself a wife?
Short answer: Hubris. 🤣
Long answer: Over on reddit, last year, there was a discussion, I think it was whether Mr. Collins could be a (romantic) lead at all. To which I, idealistic as I am, answered of course. Any character can be a written in a compelling fashion and can thus be the hero of their own story, if the author really wants that.
Then I said that even John Thorpe can be the hero of his own story, you just have to view him as a person and write him accordingly. ... Yeah and that statement kinda stuck with me. Because when I say things like that (and when I notice that people doubt me) I want to prove it. So I thought, what kind of situation can I put our dear Johnny boy into. Cue "Roter Sand" by Rammstein, a song on which I wanted to base a fic on for years at that point and the idea for Inevitable was born. Whether I ultimately managed to make Thorpe likeable to anyone else, I don't know. But /I/ started to kinda like him. (I already wrote some stuff for him in Stronger than we are, among others, trying to look at him through James's eyes, so that helped)
And I guess stuff could have ended there, and had I kept my mouth shut, it would have, but it didn't.
The great and dear @rusakkowrites started the non canon Jaff ship prompt meme. And because there's not enough hubris in this story yet and Inevitable made me inevitably fond of our muppet, I, once again on reddit, loudly claimed that if anyone were to post any prompt for John Thorpe, I'd take it. Any and every prompt (Hubris, I told you) ...And Rusakko delivered. Thanks btw 😉 <3
Now the prompt was merely Thorpe/Elizabeth Elliot AND Thorpe/Augusta Hawkins... the rest I did to myself because why not? So that's how 5fails came to be. Who knows where else this might lead. At this point nothing will surprise me. (👀I'll come to regret /that/ statement too, won't I? 🤣)
... I love LiL but this will be hard because I glanced at the questions... You want to see me suffer! :D But well, you get to suffer in turn because this will be long!
2: What scene did you first put down?
That was long, long, looong ago... But I actually do write stuff mostly in order. Very very rarely do I write a proper scene out of order, and most of the time, when I do, I can't use it when the time for it comes because things developed differently xD
It's one of my biggest problem when writing, because it means I get stuck easily when I know how to continue after a certain scene, but don't know what to do with the current one, because I can't just skip it, but anyway. Due to this I know that I actually wrote the beginning first^^
But the first scene I took proper notes for was the moment AFTER Henry touched Catherine for the first (and last) time. Also, a week after publishing the first chapter, I already had detailed notes for the finale of the first season of this fic. (Which I only know because I copied the whole chatlog, including timestamps...^^)
4: What’s your favorite line of dialogue?
DON'T MAKE ME CHOOSE! Seriously, that fic is 120k ongoing, there are so many lines of dialogue I love. Even choosing only one for each chapter would be so so hard, but for the fic as a whole? That's next to impossible! Especially because I love different lines for different reasons. For example, Catherine's very first "thank you" is still making me cry every time.
But let's go with a memorable one that makes me laugh instead:
Oh, don't look at me like this, it's not conceited if it's an easily observable fact.
I don't have to explain why I love this one, do I? ;)
5: What part was hardest to write?
Good question, and even though there were chapters that took a lot longer and some scenes that left me more insecure regarding their potential reception, I think I'll go with the ending of chapter 11, "The Truth". Or really, the whole chapter, but the ending especially, because it HURT like hell. By the end of it I was crying, not just a tiny tear or two, but bawling my eyes out because it huuuuuuurt. I knew it would happen eventually, I knew what event started it all and I knew that some stuff happened that was nothing to be proud of and I knew everyone involved would be hurt to some degree and that this whole chapter would be... not nice. But it had to happen, I wanted it to happen and I made it happen but... Oh, getting into it and work on it... It really did hurt. I needed a break after that.
8: Did any real people or events inspire any part of it?
Yes, there is a part that was inspired by a real event and I think you know what I'm talking about when I say that it's the discussion Henry and Catherine have at the museum in chapter 19 "Mammoth in the room". It's... not a happy event. So I won't go into detail, if anyone is curious, my DMs are always open. But I'd rather not bring it up in this post.
11: What do you like best about this fic?
The fun I'm having! Okay, a bit more serious, I love the different dynamics between the characters. I really take my time there and explore and yes, just have fun. Especially when it comes to Frederick. I love how he brings out a different side of Henry, something that I think is still true to the character, but not on display with Eleanor or Catherine around. Also I always wanted to explore what a friendly relationship between Catherine and Frederick would look like, so guess what^^ And, of course, sibling energy. This fic has SO MUCH sibling energy and I always enjoy that.
3: Your blorbo has to choose a new job. What's their new job?
Last time I did this, iirc, I used it to argue why I personally think making Frederick a firefighter in a modern setting is a fitting choice.
Actually.. I mentioned it, but I didn't back it up <.< Do I take the opportunity or do I choose any other character?
... Eh, as if I ever pass a chance to talk about Captain Frederick Tilney :D
Now, in canon he's in the miltary, which in that time, still comes with a good deal of prestige. It also means he serves the country, and, in a way, and also because it's not exactly the most peaceful period, he kinda serves the people, ensuring their safety.
It's also a job that comes with a strict hierarchy and that requires a lot discipline, at least in the field. Outside of battle, there's a certain amount of camraderie etc ("The mess-room will drink Isabella Thorpe for a fortnight,").
Most importantly though, it's a high risk job. There's quite a chance to find premature death on the battlefield, and even if you survive, serious injuries definitely happen.
Sooo firefighters?
YES!
Obviously, they serve the public. Retten - Löschen - Schützen - Bergen (to rescue, to extinguish, to protect, to recover) -- The duties of a firefighter. There's definitely a similar vein of "putting your body on the line to keep people safe". (And I personally absolutely prefer firefighters to modern military...)
Also, there's this cliché that firefighters are hot... I've heard there are sexual fantasies in that regard. Which I, personally, find amusing for Frederick, yes. I like the thought, he'd toy with that. (Just like a red coat enhanced a man's sex appeal, once upon a time🙂↕️) He probably wouldn't be above using that.
And I guess I can kinda see it? Like yeah, I guess it is kinda sexy? Probably?
But also, there's hierarchy! Yes! And discipline!
And just like on the battlefield, if you fuck around, you will find out, risking your life and that of others. So yes, DISCIPLINE.
But while not actively being part of an operation, there's definitely a lot of goodhumoured camraderie.
Oh and also you definitely witness a lot of horrors. ...Another match.
Now, do I think Frederick would CHOOSE this profession?
Eh, I don't know... But then, I never know. There's like... I think it's a job that'd suit him, but I also think that jobs are mostly just jobs. Like, I myself work as a software developer... Am I super into tech? Not really, I think. Is it my great passion? No, that's Northanger Abbey, thanks for asking^^. Am I super duper good at it? ...eh, decent enough, so far I haven't heard complaints.
Actually I kinda stumbled into my comp sci degree on accident... And most of my former teachers would probably be shocked to learn that I ended up in tech. Like, even people who don't know my grades often react with surprise when they learn about my job.
And yet, here I am, and I'm happy. If I were suddenly given with the qualifications for a different job, maybe I'd switch? I don't know, probably not, because I love my coworkers too much, working with them is genuinely fun, but as far as my job is concerned, well, it's just a job.
So at the end of the day, I think it's entirely possible to give any character any job, as long as you can make a compelling argument, whether that's based on their canon job, or whether it's in the form of a well written fic -- If you can make it works, it WORKS. (Hell, I made Catherine a sex shop employee once and I still love that one nd think it works well!^^)
4: Your blorbo is injured/sick. What kind of patient are they?
Ooooh, let's go with Henry, why don't we?^^
Because I think he's a bit on the dramatic side when sick. Certainly not the one who heroically hides a stab wound and pretends it's just a scratch...
Henry loves attention, and Catherine loves giving attention (and similarly, Eleanor also reads quite caring to me) so... Suffering from the man flu is a surefire way for him to GET attention^^
I don't think he'd mind being coddled :D
If there's no one around to coddle him, he'd probably be less...well... can I say whiny? I'm ESL, I get a pass, I don't know a better word right now!
But with Catherine or Eleanor around, yeah, that simple cold? Worst affliction to ever befall a man.
He's certainly not a grumpy patient though. I don't think he'd snap at others in frustration, or lash out. For that he's too good at grinning and bearing it. After all, he actively chose to endure his father's presence for Eleanor's sake -- He could have taken the easy route and spend all his time at Woodston instead.
Henry knows how to make the best out of a shitty situation, even if that doesn't make the situation any less shitty, and I think he'd bring a similar approach to being sick.
Trying to get the most out of it, without actively making matters worse for himself.
24: If your blorbo was a sim then how would they die?
I'm SO sure I've mentioned this already, but doesn't matter, I will mention it again:
If Henry were a sim, he'd die from hysteria.
How do I know? ... Because the only reason he didn't meet that fate yet in my game is because I disabled emotional deaths.
He loves having fun and...yeah I can see how that'd be the death of him one day :D
Frederick... hmmm -- Either death by pufferfish (no risk no fun!) or death by steam (we don't ask what he was doing in that sauna 🙃)
Eleanor is sad (...it's death, it's always sad?!), but I think broken heart. It feels fitting.
27: Blorbo has a favorite video game. What is it?
I think I already answered them for them all here, but allow me to reiterate:
Eleanor would be a simmer!
I love the idea that she could get creative in both build mode and CAS, and I think she'd enjoy that, but also the storytelling!!! And the escapism... Yeah, someone will die on this hill, if Eleanor had access to the Sims, she'd love it!
