i feel like yj is always a little bit ahead in that relationship emotionally, mostly bc bg is floating in his introverted bubble, learning to open up etc. but i also think their relationship is really solid bc they didn't get together until enough growth happened on bg's end. soooo i envision them continuing on a similar wave.

yj graduates. bg freaks out a little bit. yj doesn't freak out at all bc from his perspective of course they're going to be fine, they'll adjust. they have a sweet summer that is mostly long distance (bg goes home to daegu for the break) and on bg's end mostly him wondering if they'll really be okay. come autumn yj is working full time in the city and he does his usual: he comes to visit bg on campus, invites him to his apartment, he continues on with his soft eyes and smile and of course they end up fine. essentially, i think if their story had a chapter 2, it would be about bg learning to grow into his adult self while their relationship changes and grows naturally with life.

if they had a chapter 3, it would be about bg choosing to move to seoul once he graduates. he'll make the decision himself and quite quickly, which will surprise yj (who will be trying to give him space and not pressure him by asking about it). it would be an echo of in the cold, i'm afraid where bg is the first to kiss him. he'll make the decision to move to seoul to be with him and act on it first. i think he'll make the decision so quickly, and get on that train from daegu to seoul so fast, that yj will barely have any time to tell him not to sign a lease on any apartments and to move in with him.

☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍 hope that's satisfying! in my head they stay together drama free and it's more about personal growth. thank you for the love! 🤍🤍

ideally i get inspired by a feeling or an atmosphere and go from there. i find that "sparks" of inspiration are easier to stick with rather than trying to brainstorm a story from nothing and then writing it, because the spark represents something you connect with emotionally in the first place.

this did not really happen with bifs lol. with bifs i tried to manufacture the inspiration bc i was stuck. i wanted to write a "college" fic because university (specifically the early 20s, the relationships, the bubble of campus) is a feeling i like. some of the atmosphere is romanticized and some of it is based on real memories. so that was kind of a "central feeling" and a driving point i created in the story. it was important to me they took the bus home from the party, that cafes were around campus etc bc that's when you could feel that atmosphere. also the slight ridiculousness of characters like Door Guy, it all feeds the social setting.

i didn't have much else inspiring me with bifs (which is probably why i struggled writing it so damn much) but what i did have was that first scene (which i rewrote a dozen times, and yet the premise stayed the same) where yj was walking home, tired as hell, and bg came up and terrorized him and it was supposed to be obvious bg had feelings for him. that set the dynamic for the rest of the fic and i worked with that bc i found it interesting/fun.

not quite summer is based on the feeling of late spring/early summer in the woods. i took my memories of that and set it as the atmosphere. it was also a bit manufactured lol. originally a big driving point of that fic was a hookup scene where you could see the stars outside the window. that got scratched entirely and my inspiration shifted heavily to leaning on that spring-like feeling. tbh i struggled a lot with not quite summer too, and scenes like the bathroom scene that are very "senses-centred" drove that fic to completion and that's probably why they feel so "hazy". for bg and yj it was a sex-haze, for me it was the haze of writer's block.

i guess it goes to show you don't always "need" a strong burst of inspiration. you can still write something you're proud of and enjoy reading back without it. but inspiration makes the process soooo much easier.

in comparison, fics like blue and 0x1=remember me were soooo easy to create. because they came from that "spark" of inspiration i mentioned in the beginning. blue has an atmosphere that hits me a lot. if i go for a walk on a hot day and look up at a blue sky between power lines, i'm hit with the same feeling i had when writing blue. i find writing out those sparks the easiest because they represent something inside you. where do you get those sparks in life? you could try playing with those feelings.

writing can be difficult because you might feel pressured to manufacture inspiration simply to keep going/ to find something new to start writing. but i find that allowing it to be natural makes the process much easier and allows you to be more creative. especially with long fic, i think it makes a huge difference for there to be an atmosphere or theme that really inspires you and keeps you going. in this regard, i find that fantasy/history/otherworldly settings naturally drive inspiration, while more real-life stories (like bifs) require you to lean more on feelings and relationships and subtle atmospheric cues for inspiration and can be more challenging. but maybe that's just me. i always feel like alien fic wrote itself bc there was so much to play with in terms of snow, ice, heat etc while bifs met a lot of dry points where i was like "okay... what next???" that's probably why i put ghosts on yellow st tbh. i needed something exciting to drive me because i was so stuck and had rewritten that scene like 3-5 times.

i hope that helps! thank you for asking and thank you for the love on my fics. ☺️ sometimes inspiration can also come from the excitement of wanting to share a feeling or atmosphere with people who enjoyed your work/ knowing that audience is there and will connect with the feeling too. i appreciate you 🤍

i think it's because i'm a sensitive person (the thing we were all told Not To Be growing up... joke's on society) and also very in my head. when i write i see fragments, but i don't see a full picture. it's like if a bunch of pieces of a whole picture were attached by strings, and you had to carefully push and pull them to get the sensations of the moment across. to bring it all together in order to express what the character is feeling (or what multiple characters are feeling). it's probably bc i feel deeply, but i process most things in my head. and so the irony is the fact that i think more readily than i feel actually becomes an advantage in its own way (i have a lot of air energy in my natal chart, if you're into astrology). i write from that perspective and bring the pieces all together to make a moving picture.

i like subtlety and i've learned to reallllllyyy appreciate simplicity. i think it's so effective and a skill you can develop. i grew up reading classics and used to think i had to write like a man from the 1800s. there's nothing specifically wrong with that, but if it's not your genuine style, it won't feel fulfilling. simple writing feels very satisfying to me bc i feel like the reader understands and pictures what i'm saying without extra details that may overwhelm them. maybe bc when i get overwhelmed by a description, i basically stop picturing anything in my head at all. i try to avoid that when i write bc i assume the same thing about other people, whether it's true or not. bc it's how i perceive things.

i always say writing is an expression of yourself. i suggest dipping into how you experience or feel things and trying to write from that place. you're going to have a beautiful way of writing that's all your own, a reflection of you. and thank you for the love 😊🤍

practice! writing is a craft that you hone with time. you're going to grow naturally through experience. don't beat yourself up if you feel like you're not where you want to be. it's supposed to begin that way. when i first started writing, i posted a fic online and the only person to comment left me a paragraph telling me what a shitty writer i was. ignoring that kind of malice, and making sure you don't speak to yourself that way either, is how you're going to improve and actually enjoy yourself.

i personally find that the build up to better writing is gradual. you start picking up things like style/structure as you go. if i look back at Blue, which i only wrote 1.5 years ago, it's clumsy compared to what i write now. you also develop your own voice through experience. the same way you might read an author's fics and see their "tells" (like wow, they always use x or y metaphor, or word things this particular way) the author learned about themselves along the way, too. because writing is an expression of yourself.

as with anything, making sure it's sustainable (so, being kind to yourself) and sticking with it even if it's frustrating at times (taking breaks but making sure not to give up is crucial) is what's going to give you the progress you want.

and if you're nervous about posting/feedback, do your best so that you're proud of what you've written, and then post it anyway. people can be kinder than you expect and surprise you. and anyone who is mean is just insecure about something on their end. if you focus on writing stories YOU enjoy and feel excited about creating, then you connect with the writing process more deeply. this will carry you through the growing phase.

🤍