WIP Questionnaire Tag

WIP Questionnaire Tag

Thanks for the tag @diabolical-blue (here)!

I'll go with Supernova Initiative for this one!

1. What’s the first part of your WIP that you created?

I had wanted to write a science fiction/space opera story for years now! I've always been a huge fan of Star Wars and similar series, and I've always wanted to write something similar! I guess that the actual first part of this WIP I've ever created was the setting - it has remained the same/similar from the first iteration of an idea of this story, while the main characters, title, and plot underwent many, many changes until it all got to the version I'm currently writing!

2. If your story was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?

Curiously enough, the Supernova Initiative book series is going to be more akin to a "TV Show" format - like Clone Wars, The Last of Us, or Game of Thrones - than a traditional novel format. That's a bit complicated to explain further, but the gist of it is - the chapters are going to be the "episodes", which in turn will be divided into acts/seasons that take place in specific time frames, with the first (5 episode/chapter) taking place 10 years before the main story!

If I had to choose, I would say that the theme song would be a rather energetic rock/pop song! With a similar vibe to these:

(Check out the full WIP playlist)

I'm Dangerous - The Everlove

Shame! Shame! Shame! - Reinaeiry

Let's Do This - Outskrts

El Dorado - Stellar

Anti-Gravity - Runaground

I think that the song would need to have this rebellious/badass energy, mixed with a generally fun beat and good lyrics that touch on the overall theme/plot of the series! Plus a generally youthful vibe!

3. What are your favorite characters that you made? Why?

I really love most of the main cast from this WIP!!!! But my Top 3 definitely are Jack Tithus, Gabi Ophyria, and Deimos Soll!

Jack is a really sweet, kind, and slightly reckless guy, who is at the same time outgoing, extroverted, and funny when he wants to be. He is defiant towards authority and fiercely protective of those he loves, to a dangerously selfless degree, all of which are tropes/traits I really enjoy in characters.

(Plus, in a way, Jack is one of the characters that kind of holds a condensation of some of my own personality traits, in good and bad ways - which was something accidental at first, but which I then embraced. )

Gabi Ophyria was one of the characters that came to me a bit later during the plotting of this book, which was surprisingly clear to me from the get-go. She's a brash, loud, fierce girl who lets no one talk her down and who believes in fighting for what she believes in. She also has anger issues - which is something she struggles with and eventually overcomes as her arc progresses, especially as she learns to let herself be vulnerable and trust others rather than try to be unbreakable all the time.

Deimos Soll is one of the most badass characters in this WIP and I just adore him. In a superficial, bad summarization, lol he's basically a young adult, alien version of John Wick and honestly is one of my all-time favorite characters I've ever written. He starts out in the backstory chapters as an awkward, fearful teenager lost in a moon he knew nothing about, but eventually grows into the deadliest and most efficient sniper this galaxy has ever seen, and one of the biggest threats to the Junction. I just adore writing introverted badass/morally grey characters who have a heart of gold. One of my favorite tropes!

4. What other pieces of media do you think your fanbase would share?

Definitely other space opera/sci-fi adventures like Star Wars, Star Trek, or Voltron! Those stories introduced me to the space opera science fiction genre which I love so dearly, so I think that pretty much anyone who likes that genre will probably like one of those movies lol. I also think that my future fanbase might also like Six of Crows or the Bad Guys (the DreamWorks movie), as the "found family of misfits working on a heist" trope is a pretty big trope in the first acts of this WIP as well!

5. What has been your biggest struggle with your WIP?

I think the hardest part about this WIP is that its structure is something I haven't seen before - as in, it's essentially a "TV Show but make it a Book Series" at its core. That means I have to improvise a lot with how I structure the story's chapters and how I structure all the events of the story. One good thing about this format I'm trying to recreate is that it is really visual, and I'm a really visual writer/person, so that means I get to make a really vivid world and characters!

6. Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!

There are! A lot of them actually. Since this is a science fiction/spare opera adventure, a lot of the story involves the main characters traveling from planet to planet, especially during their heist mission and after the plot progresses.

They visit all kinds of planets and thus all kinds of biomes - the dusty mining moons like Cethea III, giant winter desert planets like Ivion, or flourishing forest dwarf planets like Stryxus. Cethea III - the homeworld of the MCs in the backstory chapters - is known for giant elk-like oxen that roams the dusty wasteland, as well as smaller lizard creatures and a few strange, venomous mammals. They also have giant birds, known as Harpies, which have a powerful screech capable of blowing out one's eardrums when too close.

Ivion is a gigantic winter desert, home to equally gigantic winter creatures, ranging from two-headed mountain lynx to absolutely enormous dragon-like creatures that burrow underneath the blanket of ice. It is also known for famously adorable, three-eyed, surprisingly big rodents similar to lemmings, which live in packs.

Stryxus has a biome akin to that of a tropical rainforest, which means the wildlife within it is incredibly varied despite the planet's small size, and that it has a vast variety of insects, mammals, lizards, and all kinds of animals you would expect from that environment. And even some you wouldn't expect.

The oceanic depths of Thallassen, in the heart of the Khosmonian galaxies, host especially gargantuan creatures, from pacific whale-like creatures with four, giant glowing eyes, to monstrous predatory lamprey-like creatures that lurk in the water.

7. How do your characters travel/get around?

The main form of transportation between planets, settlements and galaxies are starships/spaceships of varying shapes, sizes and fuel capabilities. Each planet has its own varied form of in-land transportation, but ranging from different animal mounts, hoverbikes, bullet trains, specialized boats/ships, submarines, and/or especially flying cars in the big cities.

8. What part of your WIP are you working on right now?

I'm currently writing the first draft of this WIP, and am around the third or fourth chapter of the Prologue Act (which consists of five chapters, or episodes). I already have an alpha reader (@sarandipitywrites) who is helping me a lot with ironing out the details of this story! I'm really happy about the progress I'm finally being able to make!

9. What aspects (tropes, maybe?) You think will draw your audience in?

General tropes: Found Family, Heists, Space Exploration, Whump (especially Lab Whump), rebelling against the system, Dystopian Utopia, Secret bioengineering scheme (as the main threat from the villains), loveable cyborgs/robots, etc!

For romance: Friends to Lovers, Rivals/Enemies to Lovers, Grumpy/Sunshine, etc

Familial/Friendship Tropes: Wholesome father-daughter duo (who are a former assassin and his feisty adoptive daughter), Protective Older Brother & Willful Younger Sister, Adoptive Siblings, general group of misfits fighting against an oppressive government, etc.

For more tropes & details, check out the WIP Intro!

10. What are your hopes for your WIP?

I hope I'll be able to finally finish the first draft of this story this year and that I'll publish it (probably self-publishing or something similar!) in the near future! I generally also hope to have a lot of fun writing it, and that other people will have fun reading this too (especially my friends)!

Tagging (gently) @your-absent-father @ray-writes-n-shit @drchenquill, @saltysupercomputer @agirlandherquill

@sleepy-night-child, @kaylinalexanderbooks, @smol-feralgremlin, @oh-no-another-idea, @littleladymab,

@winterandwords, @cowboybrunch, @eccaiia, @sarahlizziewrites, @illarian-rambling

@agirlandherquill, @anoelleart @sm-writes-chaos

@leave-her-a-tome, @writernopal, @anyablackwood, @unstablewifiaccess, @forthesanityofstorytellers

@i-can-even-burn-salad, @cakeinthevoid

@lassiesandiego, @thepeculiarbird, @clairelsonao3, @memento-morri-writes, @starlit-hopes-and-dreams

@the-golden-comet, @elshells

And OPEN TAG

24. What is an alternative life path your OC might have gone down? How different would their life be if they'd made those decisions?

Thank you for the ask, @saturnine-saturneight!!! I'm going to go with some of the cast of Supernova Initiative!

None of the AU's below are remotely canon, but they are indeed a fun exercise in creativity!

Ask Game Here

24. What is an alternative life path your OC might have gone down? How different would their life be if they'd made those decisions?

I'll go with three alternative universes: an evil/worst-case scenario one and a best-case scenario/perfect world (utopian version) one.

SUPERNOVA INITIATIVE

Jack Tithus -

(Canon/Current Jack Tithus - A charming intergalactic thief who steals from the government as a form of rebellion, and who will do anything to keep his sister and his friends safe.)

Evil AU -

What would cause it: Firstly, Jack is such a good person that it is very difficult to take him into a villain arc, but not impossible. For this Dark Version of their universe to take place, their story started out pretty similar but had a much more tragic end - for Jack to turn evil, something terrible would have to have happened to his siblings. So, in this Villain AU, before the siblings could leave Cethea III, during a harsh winter, Cassie and Deimos ended up killed by Junction Sentries, and Jack narrowly survived. In this Dark AU, Jack - broken by the deaths of his siblings - becomes a rebel extremist, who rouses a revolution against the Junction, targeting the regime's big cities with lethal chemicals as a way to punish those who ally themselves with the government. His grief would lead him to have "an eye for an eye, blood for blood" outlook, probably becoming precisely the type of person he swore to defeat.

Perfect/Utopian AU -

What would cause it: In this AU, their galaxy was never under the dictatorial dystopian regime of the Junction, and thus their moon was a thriving merchant settlement rather than an oppressed mining colony. Jack's parents were never killed, and so the siblings - Jack and Cassie - had a comfortable life and never had to struggle to survive. Jack becomes a pilot, trained by their mother, and Cassie gets an internship at a prestigious academy, where her inventor talents thrive and she becomes one of the best robot engineers in the galaxy. The main difference is that, in this version of their world, the siblings would probably never meet Deimos, as without the Junction's crooked influence over their planetary system Deimos would not have been kidnapped by slavers and brought to Cethea III in the first place. The first difference would probably be his personality. In this Utopian AU, Jack wouldn't have to have become so confrontational and rebellious, and likely wouldn't have been so blatantly defiant of authority and overprotective of his sister, while he probably would still be an outgoing and doting older brother. He also wouldn't have become an intergalactic thief, as he would not have had the need to be one in the absence of the Junction's oppression.

Deimos Soll

(Canon/Current Deimos: Deimos is the best sniper in the galaxies and the first member of Jack and Cassiopeia's space thieves' crew. He is cold and ruthless, but above all, a loyal friend, despite their differences at times.)

Evil AU -

What would cause it: What if Deimos hadn't escaped from General Laylah in time? What if she managed to break him into the perfect living weapon during the five years he spent away from his friends? I think that Deimos' 'Dark AU' would be centered around that premise. He did some fucked up things in his time away from the crew and became a lethal sniper, yes, but he was never needlessly cruel, never hurt innocents, and always hunted down evil people who oppressed others. But, when he was captured by General Laylah, if her torturous experiments had worked she would have been able to strip that humanity away from him, and all that would be left would be a dangerous husk, with the skill and capabilities to cause massive damage, now unbound - and without his kindness and morality to hold him back, few people would ever be able to stop him. The most dangerous killer known to the galaxies would have been created, and one under the complete control of an unhinged warlord set on spreading her empire - that is a disaster for anyone standing in his way. Honestly, the galaxies are lucky this isn't the Canon Route, lol.

Perfect/Utopian AU -

What would cause it: I think it would be pretty much like Jack's Utopian AU. No Junction, no civil war, no slavers. Deimos' people wouldn't have been forced to become ruthless to survive, he wouldn't have been seen as a weak link, his Nestmates would still be alive and he would never have been kidnapped and taken by raiders to Cethea III by force. Overall, I like to think he would have become a Paladyn - a knight of his people - and used to talented aim to watch over his people. I also like to think he, Jack, and Cassie would have eventually met - like they do in the canon story - at some point, under less dire circumstances, and become best friends either way.

Gabi Ophyria

(Canon/Current Gabi: The adoptive daughter of the galaxy's most famous assassin, Gabi is a rebellious girl with a heart of fire who joined an underground rebel group to undermine the Junction.)

Disclaimer: Since her current situation in the story is actually the best-case scenario that could've happened in her situation (which was pretty screwed up because of the villains), I'll go with two different "Evil AUs" instead!

Evil AU 1:

If, all those years ago in the past, after completing his mission Pyerce hadn't connected the dots and run away from the Junction with young (then orphaned) Gabi under his wing, things could've turned out a whole lot different. If the Junction had acquired her through some means, she would have been trained as a super soldier, much like Noctus was, no doubt to break the spirit of the rebels still loyal to her family name. With her memories wiped and no one to dotingly watch over her, Gabi would have been turned into a fierce soldier, like a 'war hound' ready to follow every command of the Junction. With her strength and perseverance, she would have been a tough enemy to contend with, and would likely be turned against those who were loyal to her family in the past as a way for the regime to mock them, and she would have no idea of it.

Evil AU 2:

This AU starts out very similar to the Canon. Pyerce deserts the Junction after finding out the truth about his 'mission', and flees the galaxy with a young Gabi, whom he adopted as his own as a way to atone for what he'd misguidedly done. Where the story takes a dark turn in this Evil AU, is that - some years later - instead of being able to settle down peacefully on a flourishing planet in the Khosmonian galaxies, the duo ends up found by mercenaries sent by the Junctions - Pyerce's former colleagues - and Gabi is forced to watch someone she considers as family (Pyerce) be killed, like her biological family was. This makes Gabi's already fiery nature turn wrathful and filled with a thirst for revenge, and after she escapes, the girl would likely train and become an assassin deadlier than Pyerce ever was, on the road to brutally kill one by one of his former associates, those responsible for his death. However, on this search for revenge, Gabi would probably blur the lines between wrong and right far too much and go past a point of no return, and become her own worst enemy without even realizing it.

Heads Up Seven Up

Thanks for the tag @saturnine-saturneight (here)! It's way more than seven lines, but I wanted an excuse to share this snippet so here it goes!!!!

"I despise you." Kye snaps, teeth chattering in the biting cold. He was sitting further into the cave, huddled with his knees to his chest and face scrunched up like a kid about to throw a tantrum.

Artemis huffs, his breath coming out like a tuft of white smoke in the dry, frigid air "You know what?! The feeling is fucking mutual. Maybe if someone" He gives the alien a pointed look, crossing his arms over his chest "Hadn't sold me and my crew out to those raiders, we wouldn't have crashed here, now would we?"

The other rolled his eyes, "Ugh, for Thuvar's sake, human. Do you think any of my plans included spending an unforeseen amount of time in this frozen shithole? Besides," Kye looks away, staring at the graphite grey cave wall "I wasn't the one who sold you out. At least not this time. I backed out of the Syndicate's deal - don't ask me why. I don't know. A momentary moment of morality and it got me stuck here with you of all people," He laughs, bitter "I guess I should've taken the deal. It seems those raiders simply weren't stupid like I was and went ahead with it. And now I've gotta freeze to death here with a starsdamned space-outlaw-goth-wannabe."

Artemis flips him off with a scowl, glaring at the sharp sleet storm in the wind outside, "You are just the same sorry candy-ass as you were all those years ago, and I don't know why the fuck Jack keeps you in the crew."

Kye shrugs, with a sharp grin "Apparently your leader is a man who recognizes talent when he sees some."

"I'm not even going to answer that one."

Tagging (gently): @sleepy-night-child, @kaylinalexanderbooks, @smol-feralgremlin, @oh-no-another-idea, @littleladymab,

@winterandwords, @eccaiia, @sarahlizziewrites, @illarian-rambling

@agirlandherquill, @anoelleart, @ray-writes-n-shit

@leave-her-a-tome, @writernopal, @anyablackwood, @unstablewifiaccess, @forthesanityofstorytellers

@i-can-even-burn-salad, @cakeinthevoid

@lassiesandiego, @thepeculiarbird, @clairelsonao3, @memento-morri-writes, @starlit-hopes-and-dreams @the-golden-comet, @urnumber1star

@ominous-feychild, @anyablackwood @amaiguri

@finickyfelix, @elshells, @thecomfywriter & OPEN TAG

What emotion is the hardest for your OC to process? How about express?

Thank you so much for the ask, @kaylinalexanderbooks!

I'll go with the cast of Supernova Initiative for this one! Since I wanna do something different/unique and I love using songs to inspire myself when it comes to writing characters, I'll link some of those songs to illustrate my answers! (:

Jack Tithus:

Hardest to process: Betrayal. Jack is an extremely loyal friend, and though he is no stranger to betrayal and people who screw others over, his knee-jerk reaction to these kinds of situations - especially when the betrayal comes from a friend rather than a stranger - is to think "what did I do wrong?". Like, he considers it a failure on his part to not have noticed something like that was about to happen.

Hardest to express: Vulnerability. Jack is a very self-sacrificial guy, who tends to be rather stoic about his true feelings and how much he is suffering, for the sake of keeping his sister happy and his friend's sake. He's very good at pretending everything is okay and maintaining his usual unfazed, charming, and happy self, and feels like a burden whenever he needs to ask for help.

I think that a song that illustrates this aspect of Jack's personality very well is Strong For Somebody Else by Citizen Soldier.

(Strong for Somebody Else) "My personal hell, I'll bury it, bury it Weight of the world, I'll carry it, carry it Pile it all on, I've gotta be strong For somebody, for somebody Put my pain in a pill, I'll swallow it, swallow it Too numb to feel, I'm hollow, I'm hollow I have to hold on, I've gotta be strong For somebody, for somebody Somebody else"

Deimos Soll

Hardest to process: Shame. Deimos has a serious low self-esteem issue, which he masks behind an aura of arrogance. His feelings of low self-worth have haunted him since he was a kid. Due to his past traumas, Deimos is terrified of failure, which also makes him terrified of the feelings of shame that are tied to failure - he is viscerally terrified of humiliation. He is a perfectionist and strives to be the best at every single thing he does, and misguidedly thinks that if he "can't remain the best" then he "isn't worth anything at all".

I think two songs that fit this facet of his very well are Gladiator by Jann and Shame! Shame! Shame! by Reinaeiry

(Gladiator) "I know your addiction's attention, let's start a show Is it everything and more than you were hoping for? Show us something we ain't never seen before Smash your competition, baby Show us some good entertainment Victory's your only payment Gladiator, gladiator"

(Shame! Shame! Shame!) "Where does it end And where do I begin? Is there something to blame? At the end of the day The end result's the same Oh, Shame! Shame! Shame! Keep it to yourself Don't sully the family name"

Hardest to express: Remorse. Partially due to his extreme perfectionism, Deimos has an unfortunate tendency to get defensive whenever he does something wrong - it's an unconscious impulse, practically. He doesn't like to admit something that went wrong is his fault because that would mean he did something imperfectly or that he made a mistake, which then circles back to those feelings of shame he dreads.

Kye Thalax

Hardest to process: Lack of Control/Frustration. Kye doesn't like when things don't go his way, nor does he like when a situation is out of his control. He's been deprived of feelings of agency for so long, that now that he has that agency he doesn't want to lose it ever again. This means he can often be quite frazzled with trying to keep everything within the range of what he can control because chaos - as far as he knows - only means pain. This also makes him incredibly easy to frustrate as he is dealing with too many things at the same time and neglects the management of his own feelings. I think the song Control by Halsey, fits this side of his personality quite a lot.

(Control) "I can't help this awful energy Goddamn right, you should be scared of me Who is in control? I paced around for hours on empty I jumped at the slightest of sounds And I couldn't stand the person inside me I turned all the mirrors around"

Hardest to express: Affection. It's not that he's not a good person. Deep down he is. He has empathy and secretly cares more than he realizes. But he is a bit emotionally stunted and paranoid that everyone who gets close to him is going to hurt him eventually and that it's only a matter of time before he is betrayed. So he has developed a prickly personality that lashes out at the first sign of trouble in order to not risk trusting the wrong person again. This also means that, for most of his interactions, he can be quite superficial, petty, and often selfish - until he realizes he actually does care for the person he is interacting with, which takes a long while. He yearns for affection and attention but does not know how to verbalize that need out of fear of being used or betrayed. Living Hell by Bella Poarch

(Living Hell) "You know I don't believe in ghosts or Letting people close I'm good at letting go You kiss my lips until they're colder Think you're in control, but I should let you know Well, the good guys don't always get the glory Can't you see the warning signs?"

Inspiration Tag Game! <3

Thanks for the tag, @ray-writes-n-shit (here)!

Rules: Show what characters (from shows, movies, books, music, etc. just any media or concepts) inspired your OC! If your OC wasn’t inspired by a character, show characters that you believe are similar to your OC! (Make sure to credit the source material!🖤)

I'll go with Jack Tithus, and Kye Thalax from Supernova Initiative! My characters aren't really inspired by any other characters, so I had to think for a while and found some characters that are somewhat similar in personality lol.

Characters under the cut!

Jack Tithus

Inspirations:

Poe Dameron // Star Wars (2015-2019)

...

Dean Winchester // Supernatural (2005-2019)

...

Richard "Dick" Grayson // Titans DC (2018-2023)

Kye Thalax

Inspirations:

Loki // Marvel Cinematic Universe

...

Kaz Brekker // Shadow & Bone (2021-2023)

...

Lotor // Voltron (2016-2018)

Tagging (gently): @sleepy-night-child, @kaylinalexanderbooks, @smol-feralgremlin, @oh-no-another-idea, @littleladymab,

@winterandwords, @eccaiia, @sarahlizziewrites, @illarian-rambling

@agirlandherquill, @anoelleart, @ray-writes-n-shit

@leave-her-a-tome, @writernopal, @anyablackwood, @unstablewifiaccess, @forthesanityofstorytellers

@i-can-even-burn-salad, @cakeinthevoid

@lassiesandiego, @thepeculiarbird, @clairelsonao3, @memento-morri-writes, @starlit-hopes-and-dreams and OPEN TAG

Character Voice Tag!

Thank you for the tag, @willtheweaver (here)! I'll go with the main cast of Supernova Initiative for this one!

My Line: Stay with me, help is on the way! Your Line: Didn't think you had it in you to be this petty. Nice!

Jack Tithus: "Hey, hey, hey, look at me. It's going to be okay, you're gonna be fine in no time, buddy! We've just gotta wait for a little while - can you do that?"

Deimos Soll: "No, don't close your eyes yet! (Taps person insistently). Help is coming, but you need to be somewhat alive to be helped so just stay with me."

Kye Thalax: "Oh, for fucks sake. How could you be so careless, human?! I don't know why I still help you! (Rolls eyes, then sighs) Of course, I'm sticking around until they get here - but I'm so still going to make you regret it. Now stay awake."

Cassiopeia Tithus - "Crap. No, no, no, no. Oh stars that must hurt like hell, I'm so sorry... So, um. Hold my hand, it's... gonna be fine eventually. Let's talk about something else in the meantime, you could use a distraction and I'm panicking, um. So, robots- (continues rambling)"

Gabi Ophyria - "Hey! Don't you pass out on me, you dummy. Help's on the way, so let's just get through this together, alright?"

Vesper Foxx - "You are not allowed to die. Not on my watch. You hear me?! They're going to fix you right up, I swear it. Or they'll have to deal with me."

Aleks Keldora - "Shit. Shit. Okay, so. Oh gosh, I'm sorry, it's not okay, bad word choice here! Sorry! Uh - Want a smoothie? Wait no, you're bleeding, a smoothie won't help anyone. Um... hello. Are you there? Oh gosh, they passed out already. Shit, shit shit-"

Noctus - "Do I really have to help them? (It's the right thing to do) Of course. But do I have to help them though? (They're literally bleeding out right now). Yeah. But do I have to help? Like, is there a law? I'm not sure it is my jurisdiction or any of my concern, to be frank."

Tagging (gently) @your-absent-father @ray-writes-n-shit @drchenquill, @saltysupercomputer @agirlandherquill

@sleepy-night-child, @kaylinalexanderbooks, @smol-feralgremlin, @oh-no-another-idea, @littleladymab,

@winterandwords, @cowboybrunch, @eccaiia, @sarahlizziewrites, @illarian-rambling

@agirlandherquill, @anoelleart @sm-writes-chaos

@leave-her-a-tome, @writernopal, @anyablackwood, @unstablewifiaccess, @forthesanityofstorytellers

@i-can-even-burn-salad, @cakeinthevoid

@lassiesandiego, @thepeculiarbird, @clairelsonao3, @memento-morri-writes, @starlit-hopes-and-dreams and OPEN TAG