I've been tagged by BasilGrey, wordlass, and _virago (and probably others) to do this awesome tag! I appreciate that for once a tag is actually relevant to anything XD

Basically, I get to talk about two of my favorite things: myself and my writing. Yay!! Let's do this!

Describe yourself as you would a character in a fanfic.

There is nothing up above but clear blue sky.

Well, clear blue sky littered with a few fluffy clouds. And the tops of the snow-capped mountains that stretched up towards the sun. And the actual sun. And that black dot that's get bigger and bigger and — 

"whoooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Wings hurtles down through space towards the ground. Suddenly, her wings whip out, huge grey feathers fanning out and catching her, forcing her to come to an abrupt halt just a few feet above instant doom. Her feet swing forward and daintily touch the ground for a graceful moment — and then the rest of her weight lands, and she trips over herself and falls face-first onto the grass.

"Aw yea!" comes a muffled voice beneath her wild blonde hair. She sticks up a single thumb and just lays there for a moment.

Then her head shoots up, and a few grey feathers drift off her head. "I'm gonna do that again!"

Do you have a ritual before/during/after you write?

Not really a ritual, but I have to be on my laptop, Spook, in Microsoft Word with the page at 100% size and the font set to Calibri 11, to write my fictional stories. Stuff like this I usually type directly into Wattpad, but I'd never ever ever trust Wattpad with my precious stories. Never.

Other than that I can basically write anywhere at any time in any position. In class, in transportation, lying on my living room floor - it all just depends on how I'm feeling.

The music I listen to when I write varies. Sometimes it's nothing, other times it's Mikky Ekko or Son Lux or Imogen Heap or Wilsen or The Bright Light Social Hour. Mikky Ekko is my main Gravity Rises music artist, which is weird cuz his songs really have nothing to do with it except the general sound/mood. Ah well.

Which fanfic was your favorite to write?

Hmm. . . I mean, Gravity Rises in general, but specifically, I really enjoyed writing Pacifica Falls and the climax chapter of Spectre Theatre. The former because it was dramatic and making the "code" in the last chapter was awesome, and the latter because I've been sitting on that Babel speech for so long and I was so happy to finally share it.

The ancients once tried to build a tower to heaven. . .

Authors you admire?

(I'm gonna go broader and list writers, not necessarily authors who just write books.)

Orson Scott Card, for his amazing prose and ability to captivate you no matter what he's talking about. Even his TED Talk where he just read off his note cards is utterly captivating.

Alex Hirsch, because Dipper is the best self-insert ever and it's proof that self-inserts aren't inherently bad. (Plus many other reasons.)

Brandon Sanderson, for his world-building.

Brandon Mull, for being a cinnamon roll who loves his fans (aside from still being a great writer).

Bill Watterson, for everything.

Imogen Heap, for having such beautiful lyrics.

Christopher Nolan, for his crazy timelines.

Douglas Adams, for his humor.

How many words do you think you could write in an hour, if you really concentrate?

My current binge-writing record is 6,839 words in 8 hours, so. . . 854? I'm not really focused on how much I can write in a hour; I think more in days or months (like my general goal of 10,000 words a month for Gravity Rises).   

What was your first fanfic pairing and plot?

"Paring and plot" as if they aren't usually mutually exclusive.

. . . What I didn't say that pay no attention to that.

Anyway, I don't write shipfic. I write fanfic. And if it happens to lowkey involve ships, that's okay too. Ships are lucky guests in my writing, not the main event.

But anyway, my very first ship I ever wrote about. . . ?

Um. . . Martha and the 10th Doctor? It wasn't actually shippy, it was just a one-shot involving them. I really don't write ships. The first kiss I ever wrote in a fanfic was Dipper and Amanda, and that was summer 2016.

And then my very first fanfiction plot was a fairy tale retelling when I was four or five.

Inspiration, time, and motivation?

What about them?? They're all pretty great when you have them. Time as an entity is one of my biggest enemies. Inspiration comes pretty easily to me. Motivation. . . varies.

Why do you write?

Because it's what I do. Because I'm good at it and I'd much rather foster a talent I already have than create a different one out of nothing. Also I get attention, but if money/fame were my main objectives I would've abandoned writing a long time ago for something like pop music (*shudders*).

Are you planning on writing anything other than fanfiction?

I wrote original fiction long before I wrote fanfiction, and yes, writing is going to be my career, and I'm gonna write so much more original fiction. So much.

(Details about my biggest original project in the previous nine chapters if you're curious.)

What inspires you the most?

The feeling I get when I connect to a work of fiction. It's a particular feeling I get when I snap into the zone and I can't find the words to describe it. But yeah, my emotional connection to stories, whether my own or others', are what drive me. 

Out of your fanfics, which is your favorite?

Gravity Rises, of course. My favorite episode of GR is. . . probably Nightwalkers.

Strangest thing you ever wrote or thought about writing?

Having a magical clone of my main character get turned into a pig by a character with a magical amulet who really doesn't know how to use it as well as he thinks, after which the pig becomes the pet of the main character's twin brother, was a pretty weird one. Probably not the weirdest.

Which fanfic do you wish you had written better and why?

I don't really wish I'd written any of them better, because I wrote them when I did at the level I was capable of. The fact that I wrote them at all and used them to get better is good enough for me :) 

What is the best fanfic you've ever read (not your own)?

Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality. Hands down. Always. 500K words of pure awesomeness.

What is your guilty writing pleasure(s)?

Um. . . kidnappings. I really love writing kidnappings. Just last night I had a dream that revolved around myself getting kidnapped. The entire plot of Spock hinges on a kidnapping. There's been at least one in Gravity Rises so far and will probably be more.

I dunno. I just really like writing kidnappings. (Unless the reason for kidnapping involves any type of sexual abuse. Then I'm 1000% out.)

Do you plan your story out beforehand or just wing it?

The answer to this question is fluid, but since starting Gravity Rises I've gone more and more towards plotting. For Spock, my first draft was my outline. For Gravity Rises, I've made outlines and other types of planning things (like jotting down the Babel speech when it came to me or mapping out Weirdmageddon). Basically whatever I feel like. And my outlines are just me writing down what's gonna happen in huge paragraphs. It's pretty informal, but it's been working so far.

Are you a fast writer?

There are many different answers to this question depending on the context. I'm an extremely fast typist. I'm a slow hand-writer. I'm pretty medium at actually coming up with and writing down prose. I've written 200,000 words in a year and a half. So. . . maybe? I'm a fairly prolific writer, I'd say, but not necessarily fast.

How old were you when you started writing stories?

Um. . . four or five? I've been doing it for as long as I can remember. I decided it was going to be my career when I was maybe seven. My life/career plans have changed a lot, but publishing some kind of writing has always been a part of them.

Why did you start writing?

I was born. Someone taught me how to use markings on a super thin piece of wood to create meaning. The rest is history.

List six sentences/excerpts from your work that you're really proud of.

Eh, only five. Two works and three Gravity Rises episodes. I could've probably found stuff from Gravity Rises season one, but I was too lazy, so I just grabbed stuff from season two.

Ambient Valley

"If you try to force me back on that bus," Dani said, "I'll run off into the forest and jump through the trees like Tarzan and you'll never find me."

"You probably won't," Isaac agreed. "She's the best hider you'll ever meet."

Dani grinned wider and stepped towards her brother.

The bus driver looked between the two of them. Then he put his hands up. "Fine, but don't you blame me when your parents find out."

"We won't," Dani promised. "We'll tell them we forced you to drive away at knifepoint, if you want."

The bus driver was looking more and more like he wanted to get out of there. "Um, no, that's fine. Do you even have a — ? Never mind, I'll just — um, here are your bags."

"I snuck some bags on too," Dani said cheerfully. "Here, let me help you with those."

The bus driver unloaded all the bags, positioning himself as far away from Dani as possible. As soon as the cargo was off his bus, he got back on, pulled the bus around the circular dead-end, and drove away, leaving a cloud of hasty exhaust in his wake.

Dani put her hands on her hips and watched him drive away. "Nice man," she said once he was out of sight. "It's always good to have another irresponsible adult in this world. Too few of those these days, you know?"

Chlorophyll

"Gabi, we're busy," Evan said, picking up his keys and putting them on the couch's armrest.

"No, you're not. You're sitting there being all cutest-couple-in-the-school-y. That's not busy."

Genius Loci

"Daddy," Pacifica said, "why didn't you tell me I was the heir to a cult?"

~~~~~

"What's this about a party?" Gideon asked.

"We're holding a town party tomorrow to celebrate the re-opening of the Museum." Dipper gave Gideon a meaningful look with the word re-opening. "And you're not invited. So go ahead and go check on Pacifica with Ford."

"You seem to think that will offend me," Gideon said smoothly.

"The fact that you said anything means you're offended," Dipper shot back.

~~~~~

Ford growled at it. "We have to hurry, kids," he said under his breath.

"Why?" Dipper asked.

"Because he'll melt our brains with bad puns if we don't."

~~~~~

"Okay," Mabel said, "I went over a lot of ideas in my head about what might happen tonight. But a mainstream-hating, pun-loving ghost with a vengeance was not one of them."

Back to the Bunker

"Where are you going?"

Ford started, "That's class—"

"On an adventure!"

"—ified."

~~~~~

"Wow, Mr. Pines," Candy said. "You're a worse liar than Greyson."

Ford glared at her. "Melody," he said, "is it wrong to punch a child?"

Melody patted his arm. "Yes, dear."

~~~~~

And then Ford was laughing.

It startled Mabel so much she nearly lost her footing (again). "Wh-what?"

Ford just laughed louder. "I haven't run like this in thirty years!"

Spectre Theatre

"Watch out for yellow triangles," she told Robbie. "In your dreams. Don't approach them."

~~~~~

Mabel started to retort, but Babel cut her off by banging on piano keys. With Mabel's head.

~~~~~

He started climbing slowly, ever so slowly, onto the chandelier. "Do you know," he said conversationally, "why I chose the name Babel?"

Dipper didn't answer. His mind raced for ideas.

"The ancients once tried to build a tower to heaven," Babel said. "The Tower of Babel, they called it." His foot braced itself on the chandelier. "They were so certain it would work." His hand gripped a candle-holder. "But the higher they got. . ." He pulled himself up. "The more unstable the tower became."

His weight shifted onto the chandelier, and the entire structure shook.

"And the more unstable the tower got. . ." Babel opened his wide, yellow eyes and smiled at Dipper. "The easier it was for the devil. . ."

He reached up and grabbed the rope that held up the chandelier.

"To drag them down."

Babel pulled.

And the chandelier fell.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, there you go! Not gonna tag anyone cuz this thing has spread like wildfire through my friend circle anyways.