kicks ✓ || namgi || k.th

010.5: q and a, part one

what gave you the idea for 'kicks?'

I honestly got the idea for 'kicks' before the coronavirus took over the world. I know when it comes to fanfiction, especially RPF, that I want to write something authentic. I did this before on my previous account. I can't write the same story where I travel to Seoul and meet BTS. I know nothing about Seoul! By contrast, if I write about something I know, it's easier for me to write the story, and it comes across better to my audience.

I've lived in America my entire life. I've been all over the place, and I often set my stories in places I know. The Story Of Light is the traditional "you meet BTS" second person story, but it takes place in Los Angeles. And I'm writing a bigger BTS fanfic that takes place in LA as well. Writing about America means that I understand the cultural norms firsthand and I don't have to spend hours doing research on things like heated floors and weather patterns in Korea.

There are several things that are just so culturally America. A lot of them make me want to barf, especially as a queer person who also strives to stand for the rights of POC in my country. But an old school one that still stands as a good trope is the old fashioned road trip. After World War II, it became fashionable for people to get in their cars and travel across the country. There were several roads that led across the country; the most famous is Route 66. There's a song that goes, "Get your kicks on Route 66," and that's where the story name comes from!

I thought to myself, I'd love to write something about BTS that's just light and fluffy and fun, but what's the kind of story that I myself can tell? A story that nobody else can write? And I got this vision in my head. I get these all the time, and sometimes I entertain them, sometimes I don't. The vision in my head was of a purple church van, traveling across the desert, and BTS was inside. The ideas came from there. Where were they going? What was BTS doing inside a church van? And as I came up with answers, I asked more questions, until we got to where 'kicks' is now.

Honestly, I didn't see 'kicks' becoming my main story at all. I've been working on a much longer BTS fanfiction, but that got put on hold with the coronacrazy. It's hard to write a book when you don't know what reality is doing. So I put writing that one on hold, and started work on 'kicks' instead. That's part of why I also set 'kicks' in an alternate past: you can write whatever you want, and your basis is the recent past, so the virus isn't getting in the way.

(Yeah, I know, I type WAY too much, I was once a published author at trade shows and I clock in at 103 words per minute, so sue ~)

does 'kicks' have any basis in reality?

Kind of? There are definitely things that have happened in my real life that I've pulled to put in 'kicks.' We owned a purple van when I was a kid, but it was just a minivan, not a church van. I've traveled in church vans many times, for church and for school, so I know how many people can fit in a twelve passenger van comfortably. (Spoiler alert: it's sure as heck not twelve.)

My family didn't travel THAT much when I was a kid. Even now, when we go on vacations, we stay relatively close to home, or we go places that my parents know about. We did go across the country one time, to visit family. It took us two days to drive across, so I have memories of staying in hotels and fast food and the wide, WIDE expanse that is Kansas. I get carsick all the time, but I didn't get carsick when we drove in Kansas! There's literally nothing for MILES. Hmm. I'll have to make sure the boys travel to Kansas.

But in addition to that, there's a lot of places I'm writing about that I haven't been, as well. As BTS goes there, I'm learning about them, too. So now there are all sorts of places in America that I want to travel to after this coronacrazy lifts. If you live in America, I hope it inspires you to travel, too, even if it's just to places you've never been before in your own hometown.

what's the deal with the 'supercharged' button?

Well, if I told you everything, that would spoil it, wouldn't it? I originally got the idea because it seemed boring to me to just have BTS drive in a straight line across America. There'd be lots of moments where they'd just be traveling for days. In addition, it means they'd have to stick to one road, cross country, and they wouldn't be able to deviate from that. Of course, if you start making up magic stuff, it has to have a reason, which will be revealed. Eventually.

Oh, and on a side note: one of my dad's cars had the word 'supercharged' on it when I was a kid. So that's where the idea FIRST came from.

why namgi?

The short version is I'm a sucker for the rap line. No, seriously -- when I got into BTS, I got into the rap line first. So for a while I just paid attention to RM, Suga, and J-Hope. The vocal line would come later; Jungkook is a serious bias wrecker for me now.

As for the idea of including a BTS romance in this, it just came naturally to me. As a queer writer, I definitely want to portray those types of relationships in my own work, but I didn't want to force it. This one seemed right. It's the only intra-BTS pairing you'll see in 'kicks,' but it's not the only romance. Promise.

does 'kicks' have a theme song?

It does! Well, kind of :) I've been listening to city pop nonstop, which lends itself really well to a realistic fantasy set sometime in the 90's. If you've ever heard Plastic Love, you know what I'm talking about. But as I was going over my story notes, I was like, this sounds like the longest summer vacation ever. And then it just reminded me of Phineas and Ferb.

If you don't know what Phineas and Ferb is, it's a cartoon that played on the Disney Channel here in the States about 10 years ago. It's about two brothers, who decide to do something different every day of their summer vacation, and the ideas they come up with border on the impossible. It reminded me of seven brothers, who end up traveling somewhere different every day of their summer vacation. So now I have the Phineas and Ferb theme song (easily found on YouTube) stuck in my head.

Other than that, it's basically been me listening to Yamashita Tatsuro nonstop. I think I'll have a better idea of what songs of his go with what by the next Q & A.

what can we expect next in 'kicks?'

Lots more places to travel, and LOTS more romance. I got some interesting tricks up my sleeve, and I hope you don't mind them :)