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Preface:
These will be a compilation of interviews (hopefully) with prominent 🐢 for pointers, recommendations and advice as kind of a starter kit for newbies.
Also, my intent is to provide some translations of the interviews (if you’re also interested in translating, let me know thru’ my twt acc) for international fans and contribute my grain of salt to thin the language barriers and get to know more fans around the world or simply, know better your fave person in fandom.
With that being said, this is my first interview, please, bear with me, any constructive FB is welcome!
Also, no bashing to the interviewees, no excuses, these are personal opinions after all.
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Thanks so very much for accepting my first ever interview, Renren 🙏
So, the first question is kind of a mandatory introduction.
- Please, tell us a bit about yourself. How you like to be called or how do you go by in this fandom and how long you’ve been in the swamp?
I’m Renren, but most folks call me Ren. I’m a fic writer and a szd shipper (which for new folks means I believe they’re actually in a relationship, this is also called being a tinhat lol).
I watched The Untamed in January 2021, and then watched the official BTS, and saw a shipper in the comments and was like “huh, people ship real people?” I was no stranger to shipping fictional characters (I’ve written Reylo before), but RPS was brand new to me. But the more I watched of the BTS and then the unofficial BTS, I was like, oh yeah, there’s something here. The cave BTS sealed it for me.
So, I’ve been in the pit since January/February 2021. I lurked for a long time, then joined fandom more actively in the fall of 2021, and started writing and released my first Yizhan fic in Jan 2022.
This is your first RPS? Wow, how cool is that? To debut with such a power couple! ☺️
- When you were a lurker, which SNS did you mostly use?
Which leads to the next question…
- Where are you most active/ favorite place to dabble in fandom-wise?
I lurked on tumblr mostly, and read Twitter without an account. I didn’t make one until August, and I don’t think I used it to post until September/October 2021.
I’m active most on Twitter, with Tumblr set up as my backup to Twitter.
I’m also on AO3 as TheDevilandMrsRen.
- By the way, you have very distinct profile pic (wyb with an octopus plushie on his head!). Did you always use it?? Is there a reason why you chose that? 🤭
I think I had a different one when I signed up, but I can’t remember it - I chose it because I like tentacles lol
- As in a fic trope/kink? or something else? 😆
Both lol, I’ve always loved octopuses, I think they’re darling, but I also enjoy tentacles as a trope.
We’ll come to that later〜〜! There’s a question regarding that afterwards.
- What was your first drive/motivation to start writing about them? Would you share a link to your first fic?
It was Xiao Zhan’s lightsaber video!!! I had this idea for a Star Wars AU with the two of them, and it took me over body and soul and I finally had to write it.
The first story I posted though was the first Golden Girls AU
then the Star Wars AU came out a month later.
By the way, you guys have to go read Renren’s Golden Girls AU cos I can assure you, you are going to enjoy it SO much, if you haven’t already!!
So on to the next one!
- How many fics have you written so far? Which one is the one that you’re most fond of and why?
I’ve written 15 Yizhan fics so far, and drawn 10 mushroom fanarts! I’m not sure I can pick a favorite, but it’s between “Fireworks in the Stars” because it’s an original concept that I’ve been playing with for years and want to eventually write a full original novel with it, and “Houseboat of Love”, because I had so much fun with the exes-to-lovers concept. It was a bit angsty but I also wanted it to be a fun time with Xiao Zhan thirsting hard for his not-actually-ex-husband.
But I love everything I’ve published, if I don’t love it, I don’t release it.
I had totally missed that Renren’s mushroom posts are fanarts! I had to rush to see them and they are all SOSOSO Adorable, with capital A! The puns are sublime. I loved them all to bits and she has confirmed there’s more to come in the future!! Be on the look out, you guys!! 🥹🥹
- What’s your favorite trope to write/draw or a new one that want to try this year?
Oh, that’s hard! Because it’s different from my favorite tropes to read.
I really like to write getting together stories, especially if there is only one bed/they’re stuck together in some way.
But this is the year I’ll finally write tentacles, which is actually so much harder than I thought because a) I want to do it justice since I love it so much and b) there is SO MUCH choreography involved with all the extra limbs. You Belong in My Arms is my tentacle WIP, with chapter one out. Chapter one just has a tentacle kink, but no actual use of tentacles in a sexy way.
All I will say is that Renren’s octopus is so cute like an underwater jianguo. I am hopelessly hooked to her fic that am anxiously looking forward to new chapters! But I digress…
- Are you bjyx, zsww or lsfy? Is this dynamic important to you when writing? (Or reading?)
So I am a bjyx-leaning lsfy. I enjoy reading everything, but I prefer writing bjyx or Yibo top lsfy.
That sounds like it’s the same thing, but the power dynamics are different between them (bjyx Yibo is IN CHARGE while it’s much more neutral in lsfy).
- You mean like, Yibo makes the move? Or that he decides how he wants XZ?
Yeah, in BJYX makes most of the decisions, he’s very dominant in the bedroom and outside of it.
I like strong Yibo, indeed 😏
- What’s your most fave 🍬? Have you written about it? Where do you get most of your 🍬 sources?
My most favorite candy is the tattoo cpn! I have used it, most literally in an unreleased work, but I love to give both of them tattoos in my works anytime I can.
My candy sources are from Twitter (overthinkingthis, ecah, shirasagis, ventus for older candies) and tumblr (accio-victuuri), and I avoid folks sharing stalker footage or making wild claims like they know someone in the business or disparage their co-stars, because it’s harmful to the boys & just flat out rude.
I think for us newbies, we need to be careful and prudent on that and not fall for everything we see or outright edited (fake) info, cos it’s becoming harder to distinguish 😵 (out of my own experience)
So, the next question is selective, you can choose either or both…
- A) Did you read THE fic? The controversial 22/7 one? How did you like it? How would you end it?
AND/OR
- B) Do you wanna talk about wyb’s latest NYG’s LtS performance?
A) I didn’t. I didn’t even go looking for it, it has so many emotions and events attached to it, I think it’s best to just let it rest. No judgment for folks who decide to read it, though! Just my opinion.
B) Yes I do!! it was gorgeous and emotional, all about the yearning and longing you feel when you’re away from your partner and the bright warmth you feel when you’re back with them. It felt real, like he was pulling it from the depths of his soul.
It’s raw and vulnerable, and he did such a good job, I’m so proud of him! (And no, I don’t think it’s a breakup song or born from anything other than long distance relationships being hard.)
That performance was so heartfelt indeed 🥲
- Who is a content creator (writer, artist, v/blogger… etc) you would rec to a newbie? (Name as many as you wish) And lastly, a piece of advice for newbie 🐢!
Oh gosh, so many people! It’s hard to not just list all of my friends lol.
OldObsess/Overthinkingthis is a fantastic writer and candy librarian, her fics have great footnotes with all the different things she references in her fics.
Elisamiao is another amazing writer and she is so supportive of new writers in the fandom. I call her the fandom’s librarian because she is fantastic at fic recommendations, and can find what you’re looking for so fast!
Jalpari runs great events, and is a prolific writer, her Yizhan Through the Years is the first/second most kudos’d fic in the fandom. She is also very supportive of new authors/artists in the fandom!
BJYXObsessed is hilarious, her fics are so good and her meme threads are laugh out loud funny, I see them all over the place as reaction memes.
Bjyxnoa is a great update account on Twitter, and for deep cpn and candy discussions I like to go to Accio-victuuri on tumblr.
A piece of advice I have for new turtles is to not worry too much about proof of their relationship. They don’t have to prove anything to us, and each person has to decide for themselves how to interpret the things they do tell us. Everyone has their own “realness” comfort level, and that’s okay! It’s okay to be 100% szd and it’s okay to not be!
Lastly, their privacy is extremely important. Stalker footage is wrong, even if it “proves” what you want to see.
And don’t break the fourth wall with them, for example, if Yibo makes another Instagram post, don’t flood the comments with shipper comments, their social accounts are for work, and so we should keep our comments to the individual and the work they’re doing.
END
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End notes:
I can’t thank Renren enough for accepting my offer and come on board with this wee project of mine, and especially her wise words of advice 🙏🙏🙏
It’s a great reminder to all of us 🐢 that we ought to keep in mind and keep our recklessness in check. If we really love and support them, we must first respect their individual works.
ETA: This interview is also available in Tumblr!
And that’s it for today, folks! Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it.
You can find me on twt as Fleur_1005 for suggestions and/or comments!