#if they get a meniscus tear and their knee isn't locking

[not-poignant]

I'm late to the party but if you're still doing the fanfic meme...I'd love to know 2 and 14 for Stain!

Woo let's do it! For A Stain that Won't Dissolve:

2: What scene did you first put down?

I feel like I've been saying this a lot, but the first scene I wrote is the first scene everyone reads. I've been writing in chronological order for a while now!

I ran a lot of scenes in my head mentally first. Because my first image of this story was of them as like... the ages they are in the game, and it just wasn't working. They were too young, and not mature enough. Things really kicked off when I was like 'okay, what if Sebastian is a divorcee who leaves and comes back' and then really kicked off when it was like 'what if Alex becomes a cleaner to pay for his grandparent's medical debt.'

All of those things came in stages and I really noodled on this story and its structure for over a month.

By the time I started writing, I was ready to start writing. And I knew I'd start with Alex being like, quite provocative and shocking to set the tone, so the first sentence is literally around him reminiscing on the fact that he used to imagine forcing Sebastian to give him revenge blowjobs lmao.

14: Is there anything you wanted readers to learn from reading this fic?

I don't really like to be didactic with my writing. Like I don't set out to 'teach' moral lessons or anything like that, and I'm maybe even a little selfish in that I'm often not thinking about the reader in that way at all. I'm thinking about writing an entertaining story for myself with entertaining characters. I really want to entertain the people who read the story. I think more about emotional responses than learning. I'm not trying to teach, I'm trying to entertain. But teaching can be a byproduct, it's just not the focus.

BUT, I do think I like exploring themes around classism, small-town dynamics (it's not the first time I've explored this), attitudes of learned helplessness, what real support in a community looks like vs. lip service support, etc.

In a perfect world, I want readers to go away having enjoyed the fic and gotten something meaningful out of it. Even if that meaningful thing is simply that they felt comforted during a tough time, or they got to escape from reality for a while and feel happy for the characters at the end.

I don't know if I need them to learn anything new about something grand or whatever. I'm not out here trying to teach deep lessons, but because my characters are often learning deep lessons, sometimes that happens anyway. Alex for example, devaluing himself the way that he does? A lot of people (including me) relate to that. Giving someone like Alex access to support, means some people (including me) get to vicariously experience that getting support or looking for it can be scary, but often lead to good things.

That's not a bad thing to take away from any story.

But I'm pumped if people enjoy it, and I'm not out here trying to teach big lessons. My goal is always the emotional responses and the emotional engagement and the emotional journey. If people read my stories and feel nothing at all, then I'd be the first to be like 'hey, um, hey, there's better writing out there, you'll enjoy that more, trust me' lol

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From the fanfiction / AO3 fiction meme!

#asks and answers #memey goodness #a stain that won't dissolve #thespectaclesofthor #i think one thing i return to thematically #is that it's very easy to put people in rigid categories #and they often don't apply in simple ways #but i also assume many people *know* that #so i'm not trying to really teach it as a lesson #okay wait the one thing i want people to learn from this fic is that #if they get a meniscus tear and their knee isn't locking #to just NOT get surgery first #and go see a physiotherapist / physical therapist #because the outcomes are the same-if-not-better without surgical intervention #that was legit folks that one's real #doctors will almost always recommend surgeons first #and surgeons will never recommend physio if they can stick a knife in your joints instead #the regret rates for knee reconstructions are really really really fucking high #just go see someone who recommends exercises and support first #you might be surprised sdlkfjas