Not sure! I've always written stuff but I took a couple years break and only started writing this style of thing end of last year. You were a giant inspiration for me actually starting to write again, but I can't point to anything for wanting to write the specific things I do. I guess you could say it's just the stories I've read, I enjoy that and want to create that. Specifically for Eli, I wanted to write smth where a character is just. like Eli. He's really nothing like me, he's definitely bolder, but you never see characters like that. It's also nice to do smth where I'm not objectively crap at it even though no one reads it. That fact kinda helps anyways

also, even the grounded stuff I read feels fake, I wanted to write smth casual