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hi jay! what are the questions people ask you the most often so i can avoid asking them?
what txt ships do you like???
hi! read your response to the writers block q and it was so comforting but jay i’m very shocked at you saying there are people who write renle and chenle ship fics better than you. sure there are some great writers and more than before maybe but you still have hands down the best chenle characterization i’ve ever read, the most authentic feeling renle, and you also have the uncontested ability to write all chenle ships with the same amount of excitement and care and interest in each one. i find that is very rare not just in the chenle section of fandom but in general. you write chenle with so much dimensionality and depth i feel like many still miss i can’t say it enough.
not saying this to pressure you or anything but please know at least this reader finds you still such a singular and much needed and appreciated voice in fandom. no one does it like you!
hhh i appreciate this a lot thank u 😭 there's a lot of writers i love who i think are better than me, but that's not necessarily a "these writers r great therefore i'm a terrible writer" thing or anything... its more like "these writers are really good, i hope i can get to that level, even tho it's awkward getting there" it's more like detached. if that makes sense. i think i have a lot of room to grow. i've been watching a lot of movies and tv shows and i started reading more often to help me along tho it's not all fraught
feel free to ignore this negativity and rs is dead anyway and i know you’ve gotten asks like this before but i’m really stumped this time. this is about people who clearly don’t like a ship but feel the need to mention them and go as far as including them in their fics? I just don’t get it it breaks my brain. an author I love just did this, they ship most Chenle ships except one and have made it very clear they don’t like that one ship. this would usually not bother me since i get only liking or disliking a ship and it’s okay since they don’t mention them much tbh but recently they included them in a fic they wrote with another Chenle ship and they were just being so dismissive of that ship and it didn’t even add anything to the fic. it was just pwp with no plot or characterization exploring jealousy or anything and the way they wrote it felt like punching down. this one ship is a rare pair probably the least popular chenle ship with people who don’t ship them and i just don’t get it. do they feel threatened by this ship? I just don’t understand as a writer why you would include a ship you dislike as a throwaway in a fic just to diminish them, call them boring and as a ploy that again added nothing to the story just to prop the ship you like against them because the one chenle wanted the whole time was really the other member. if it came off like a fwb thing it’d be fine but that’s clearly not what this was and it just gave the whole fic series an icky feeling to me. just why do that with such a small ship and one you don’t like that gets so much dismissive attitude from this fandom as it is? it’s some of the most perplexing behavior i’ve seen in this fandom. this author is very talented as well and maybe I’m too sensitive but it feels so mean spirited and like a waste. i know jealousy and occ and tropes were members aren’t nice to each other etc is part of fic but usually i have no idea how an author feels about a ship or member they portray in a fic. knowing this person dislikes this ship actively makes it very obvious what the assumption is to why they’re doing this and makes it harder to give them the benefit of the doubt of what their intentions are because what else could be the motive? am i taking this wrong and making it a bigger deal than it is? like i know it’s not deep at all but i just find it so weird
rs isn't dead... not yet... don't say those words i'm gonna keep responding
i definitely empathise with you, and i get where you're coming from, but if you find yourself getting this frustrated/upset with someone, you really have to just block and move on. it seems like you've been holding this in for a while, and i definitely think talking about it to a friend helps, but ultimately you lose when you keep paying attention to this writer, whoever it is. just block or mute and move on, good fics aren't really worth this level of discomfort on your part. maybe it's a waste, maybe it's a shame, but really it's a waste on your part because you're wasting time thinking someone is gonna change when they seem set. there's other fics and writers out there to indulge in, don't get too hung up
it isn't that deep, but also it's twt and fic so it's the most important thing ever. i get it, trust. it's definitely weird and shady but what can you really do if they seem set? some people just suck and it's important that you take steps to make your space align to your tastes than it is to change the people that suck
Thinking about that kunle live where they’re in Kun’s room and Chenle is just doing weird sounds while he laughs and Kun looks fond and exasperated of Chenle at the same time. They’re so in love damn, yes.
Sorry I’ve got no one to talk about kunle but I know you’ll at least appreciate it
i appreciate it very much 🥹 my favourite kunle clip is from that same live, where chenle is cutieful singing december 24 by d.ear while kun is rummaging in the background cursing out his shitty clothing rack. i've always loved that soft, understated kind of kunle dynamics, because kun gets so exasperated/frustrated/upset with chenle, but you can always see him take a deep inhale, then exhale and soften up for chenle, all while chenle is plotting how to mess with him next. exasperated and begrudgingly fond kun is my favourite kind of kun in all kun ships, and it pairs so well with stinky kitty chenle hehe. i miss them ough bring my beautiful gege didi pairing back together... also free love and marine turtle 🥺 how they both love classical music and piano... they're the perfect couple your honour...
hi jay! don’t know if you experience something similar but what do you do when you want to write but can’t make yourself? it’s such a strange feeling because I want to write and think about it all the time but doing it always seems so daunting even when I have many ideas and ideas that are fleshed out to the end. starting a writing project used to be very thoughtless and for fun for me but now I can’t stop overthinking what’s the point of writing or trying to at all. any advice?
your timing is really funny anon, because rn i'm going through the worst writer's block i've had since... maybe august of last year. i'm right there with you :')
especially recently, i think i've gone through a really intense bout of overthinking too. i stare at my wips and the fics i've posted recently and i can't help thinking "man, does anyone actually want to read this who even cares". my current wips are fics i was really excited to outline and plot out, but after finishing the outline and opening the doc, nowadays i just keep staring at the meagre amount i've written already and feel this overwhelming sense of wow i'm pretty sure no one will give a shit about this. which is frustrating, because i love writing. i want to write all the time too, and i think about writing all the time as well
i think it really depends on why you started writing in the first place. i started writing because no one was really consistently writing the ships i liked, and it felt valuable to contribute to my favourite ships and tags. but since then, now there's dedicated renle writers and more chenle ship writers than ever before and people that are so much better than me posting and i feel so daunted, like i don't really have a place in ficdom anymore. is that dramatic. LOL sorry. but to that point, "holy shit two cakes" you know, there's bound to be people out there that will enjoy your stuff. it's hard not to compare yourself to others, but i think about how some of my favourite fics are really unpopular and not really ships/fics people think about, and i think about how much joy i've gotten reading every single renle/chenle fic i've seen, regardless if it has 500 kudos or 5.
and ultimately, everyone says this but it's true, you have to write for yourself. you have to write because it's a hobby not because you feel a contractual obligation to add to x tag or x ship, you have to write because you like it. find some other writer friends who will glaze you, share your progress with people you trust, just remember ot have fun with it because ultimately writing is supposed to be fun. why isn't writing fun for you? what's the root of your frustrations? take some breathing space to dissect why you've lost motivation, and then work your way through that. let's get through the agonies together anon :)
https://x.com/ajayinthedark/status/1879694078092394697 Pls keep using the hashtag that’s how I find your cooking tips
hi jay! if you don’t mind me asking, which part of china are you from?
Join neospring so we can send you drawings!
have you considered making a director’s cut for old new borrowed and blue? i reread it recently, as well as the director’s … — i'm always down to do directors cuts for any of my fics! i just always ask that you give me a scene, since i have a hard tim… https://retrospring.net/@ajayinthedark/a/113720828046498435
hi! i was the anon that asked for a directors cut for old new borrowed and blue. i actually just forgot i sent this until now cuz i’ve been busy with school but i’m back with a scene! i’d really like to see a directors cut for the scene where renjun and chenle are deliberating what to do after their relationship is leaked and the dreamies crash their planning session with a surprise party. honestly i’m js suggesting it bcuz of jisung in that scene LOL. it’s also one of my favourite scenes! i think it’s one of the scenes were renle feel the most distant from each other, which i find really interesting esp considering their past of being too close then too far then too close and too far again.
hello anon welcome back! school... tell me about it OTL jisung is very precious in that scene i agree. i'm glad you really like it! i think your observation is spot on, and i expanded on what you said + included some other thoughts and insight right here!
simply too overdose on jaemle..
https://x.com/generation55hi1/status/1878711556437074253?s=46
Hello Jay 🫡 I did come back like I promised to ask for a director’s cut of double-barreled shotgun ⁽͑˙˚̀ᵕ˚́˙⁾̉ I read your responses to my comments and the other two posts you made for the fic and I love the story even more aaaaaaa 🥹🩵 especially because the director’s cuts are from scenes that I adore because of how everything had unfolded between them so far at those points 🙂↕️ it took me soooo long to decide on a scene cause I want to know everything LMAO but if you could pretty please do a director’s cut of the restaurant scene that takes place during Chenle’s birthday I’d appreciate it ჱ̒ ー̀֊ー́ ) it’s one of my favorites ᐕ
welcome back!! thank you so much for leaving the best comments i've ever received in my time posting on ao3, i'll tell you how appreciative i am of you until my dying breath i promise :)) i'm very happy you asked about that scene because i've been thinking it over since reading your comments, so here's all my thoughts
I think love me right Chenle has altered my brain chemistry permanently
chenle calls anyone and everyone oppa but when he does it to nomin by brain goes brrrrrrrrrrr
hi jay. thanks always for your replies and advice and was curious if you have a take on writing poly fic? specifically threesomes where you only ship two or even just one of the threesome. i think it’s fine if jealousy is the point of the fic but sometimes it’s not and it’s still obvious if the author only favors some of the ships. i just took on this prompt by request but now i feel like maybe i shouldn’t if i don’t feel strongly about one ship it’ll come through especially since all three of them ending up together is the point. i’m just not sure what to do.
i like writing poly fic a lot but honestly it's so challenging... so many thoughts and bodies moving at once... is there a particular reason why you took this prompt request? i guess in general, i always hesitate to take requests because i think fic is best when you came up with your own ideas from your own free time, that way you can enjoy the writing process the most (and this goes beyond whether the ship is poly or not) if it's a comm, talk with your commissioner about what they specifically want from you, and tell them your concerns about writing poly. if it's just a req, i hope you know you don't ~have~ to write it if you don't want to
for specific poly advice, i think people forget that poly ships aren't just about three individual ships combined, but rather how the trio+ actually works. nahyuckle isn't nahyuck + jaemle + hyuckle, it's nahyuckle. how nahyuckle work will ofc have overlap with the three individual ships, but they're their own three. when i was writing same3 (my jenlesung fic), a lot of it was remembering to balance of lawful-neutral-chaotic that jenlesung live in, and also playing with displays of affection because jenle are so opposite with them but so oddly similar with them when it comes to jisung specifically. with the threesome ship you're writing, there are always details that separate them from the base three ships, so keep those in mind as you explore their dynamic. if you have a specific trio in mind, i can try to offer thoughts on them too!
Crying because of the pics Chenle posted of and with Daegal… the one where you can clearly see his cheek mole 😣 my favorite dad-daughter duo
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