kicks ✓ || namgi || k.th

049.5: q and a, part two

what was your favorite part about writing 'kicks?'

I really loved how I would update and people would respond or vote immediately sometimes. 'kicks' was the first story I had that was a hit like that. So I would update and sometimes my notifs on my phone would blow up, and I'd show my partner and sing the Popular song from Wicked. That's a memory that I think I will keep for the rest of my life. I didn't really "blow up" like that when I was writing in the Before Times, and I certainly didn't have a mobile phone with a screen that kept lighting up while I was at work!

did you have a favorite section or location to write?

I remember really enjoying writing the scene where they were all on the funicular in Pittsburgh, going up the mountain ever so slowly. And the bar scene in Rochester. That was a lot of fun not only because we had drunken Namgi all over the place, but Sara started being a thing and that had a lot of people asking questions.

what was it like integrating sara with the rest of the group?

People really did not like Sara at first, so it was interesting knowing all of this stuff about her and going, Just you wait until you see what's really up! Part of me wishes I would have introduced a lot of that earlier, but what a lot of people don't know is that the plot of 'kicks' was a bit random on purpose. Every chapter I wrote was set to random parameters that I then had to fill -- where they were going to travel, if Namjoon and Yoongi were going to have a moment, if the cops would find them, etc. And then I had to weave the story of Sara and the Mikrokosmos Project in with THAT. That said, I think I did an okay job. Sara ended up being a type of female protagonist that I usually don't write; I'm used to stronger women who know what they want and go after it (kind of like Marisol Verda in Midnight Lady). Sara is a lot more reserved and a bit more type-B, but she still knows how to use things to her advantage when the going gets tough. There's nothing wrong with being more submissive or simple, as long as you find people who accept you for who you are, and I think Sara properly and finally did that. Just took her some jumping across time and space to do that.

was life really like that in america in the 90's?

I grew up in the 90's, but I remember a lot. I remember special classes and assemblies on AIDS, how it was spread (there was no mention of The Gay, but a lot of talk about blood transfers and getting it from parents), and how to treat people the same. I vaguely remember the Rodney King riots in 1992, and I see so much of that paralleled in George Floyd and Breonna Taylor today. It's convenient to shove the real troubles this country has behind a more urgent national emergency -- in the 90's, it was 9/11, when it suddenly became convenient to shun and discriminate against Muslim peoples and be loyal to the "American Way." Now, it's the coronavirus and all of us trying to hold on for dear life while the people on the news promise to make things great again. But see, here's the trick. Things have always been great in America. You just don't see it on TV. It's the little greatnesses that make it special, like a new family buying a house, or even forming a family for the first time. It's these small happinesses that should be made available to everybody with equity, not equality. I can't change the world myself, and because of my sensory issues, I am a liability during a protest. But I can write, and so, I will continue to write about the world I knew, and the world I know now, and I think in the short future, I will be able to write about a world that I want to see. I hope you will continue on with me as I do so.

do you think the boys found their happy ending?

I'm sure they did. They always do.

--

This marks the end of 'kicks.' Thank you for reading.

-- If you like stories in a serialized format, NeoNara is my new serial. It focuses more on TXT instead of BTS, but still has the edge-of-your-seat updates-randomly serial format.

-- If you love BTS but weren't so much into the whole BL/slash thing, Midnight Lady's first book, Bitter Sweet, is publishing now. It is a romance featuring an original character with Suga, and the entire rap line creating music together in an American setting.

-- If you love BTS and you LOVED the Namgi in this story, and you HAVEN'T read Dream On, Cinderella yet, well, what are you waiting for? DOC is the first in a line of Big Hit Pride books I have planned that will only update during Pride Month in June. Catch up now before next summer hits!

Thank you again for reading, and I look forward to seeing you in the next book you read.

-- Asterhythm