rinharu | The Author Hub Post for Fic

so what prompts are you eying up?

Firsts
- BLUE: a sea of light that spreads endlessly
- RED: a flame that kindles in your heart
- WHITE: Setting AU (arabian, future fish, historical, time travel)
Departure
- BLUE: what sort of sight are you seeing now
- RED: absence makes the heart grow fonder
- WHITE: Professions AU (artist, musician, doctors)
Reunion
- BLUE: you could’ve called
- RED: letters that were for you
- WHITE: Couple Day AU (anniversaries, weddings, being parents)
It's My Turn
- BLUE: you took my hand
- RED: I reached out
- WHITE: Supernatural AU (angels, merfolk, ghosts, hybrids)
Don't go where I can't follow
- BLUE: everything went dark
- RED: I’ve always admired you
- WHITE: Dark AU (dystopia)
Flight
- BLUE: the sky that I want to find
- RED: lift your head and look
- WHITE: Transformation AU (body / personality swap, hybrids)
Take Your Marks
- BLUE: “ready, set”
- RED: “go!”
- WHITE: Sports AU (dance, ice skating, basketball)
Eternal
- BLUE: like the oceans that connect us
- RED: like the thread that ties us
- WHITE: Crossovers AU (movies, animes, books)

ngl i'm having problems choosing because the prompts all look so good and i should really be picking one and getting on with it about now. how's everyone (anyone?) else getting along?

(also, you can find the prompts + how they work here: http://rinharuweek.tumblr.com/prompts)

I want to try this from a writing perspective. It's different from art so I have to think differently.

First of all, what ideas do you have for the first one? If I had more confidence in my ability to plan and be consistent I would write some continuous story with all the prompts. But the first one strikes me as being good for some atmospheric setting for them, if taken more literally and it's about actual seas or maybe campfires. At least, that's what I get from brainstorming. But how are you considering approaching them?

I'm thinking of going with "absence makes the heart grow fonder" for now, but knowing me it'll turn into a long WIP kind of thing & I'm not sure that's allowed? =/

... and I'm having so much trouble with the tenses and dialogue. I just have no idea what to do with what I've already got typed up. I want to ask someone for help/ideas but how do I go about that? "FIX THE ENTIRE THING FOR ME PLEASE." won't work, right? SIGH.

I doubt they would restrict you against it or anything, as long as it fits the guidelines right?

http://rinharuweek.tumblr.com/guidelines it says you can make it as long as you want.

And I wonder if anyone else here would be willing to beta for you? People can look it over and all.

Is there something that you want to develop especially? Tell us your main idea if you don't mind, something you're stuck on, and maybe we can give our ideas too?

Haha! I should know more about this, considering I helped out with setting things up a bit here and there. :'D But, what I'm worried about is that it'll be unfinished? Maybe I should try and come up with something else.

I'd appreciate someone beta-ing, but I'd feel bad giving them all this stuff to sort out. *laughs!*

Basically, I can't figure out the tenses I'm using. X.x It's written in Rin's POV and starts out as him kind of remembering the way Haru behaved at the start of their trip to Australia and then slowly has them growing more comfortable?

At the start of their impromptu trip to Australia, Rin had only ever caught mere glimpses of it: a worn looking corner sticking out of Haru's travel bag as Rin impatiently prompted him to fetch his passport for check-in at Tottori Aiport; its navy fabric-wrapped spine trapped between Haru's thigh and a neatly folded airline blanket while they prepared for take-off; restless fingers nervously playing with its frayed ribbon marker when the plane began descending...

Never anything more than that, because Haru had seemed dead-set on waiting for Rin to fall asleep before taking it out of its hiding place and opening it up—which he obviously wasn't going to do on a short domestic flight like that, so why hadn't Haru simply stored it away in the overhead compartment along with their bags? Rin would've been lying if he'd said his curiosity hadn't been piqued, but back then he'd still been able to shrug it off with relative ease. He had more pressing matters to deal with, after all. Namely making sure he didn't lose sight of Haru while they made their way through the crowded airport (dodging incoming luggage trolleys and avoiding collisions with harried looking tourists) without being too obvious about it.

"C'mon, Haru..." He'd urged so many times he'd actually lost count. "Stop dragging your feet already!"

Like so, except I'm really not liking it? It eventually settles back into the regular past tense halfway through the chapter. (I hope that makes sense... X__x)

Another problem is that I have no idea how to characterize Haruka & Rin here. Did they even talk at all on the way to Australia? It seems like Haruka didn't get annoyed enough to ask where they were going until they were already in Sydney. Were they grumpy with each other? Rin is really gentle with Haruka throughout the rest of the episode, though... *tears hair out!*

ON TOP OF THAT: I think my main issue is that this fic was supposed to turn into a longer chaptered fic where Rin & Haruka don't get together right away, but have a mutually acknowledged UST between them while Rin is training in Australia. To keep each other motivated while they can't technically race each other they keep a makeshift scoreboard with their "swimming idols" best times on it that they intend to beat by the time they make it to the national team together. It was meant to happen when Haruka gets fed up with Rin constantly peeking at his sketchbook and jokingly going, "You should get your own." and Rin thinks that's a brilliant idea? (Aaaand in the meantime they battle with the urge to get into each other's pants, even though they kind of agreed not to do anything stupid because long distance relationships are hard for anyone---let alone two idiots who haven't dated anyone before. ever.)

Augh, my head is pounding too much to figure out tenses at the moment, but anyone else have any advice on that side of things?

While Haru might have been reluctant to open up during the trip to Australia, I don't think that Rin was grumpy with Haru. Rin was probably understanding that Haru wasn't feeling up to talking at that time and didn't bring up the issue. Nor do I think Haru was grumpy with Rin either, more just feeling weighed down by matters on his mind.

That sounds like an interesting kind of plot! It does sound like it can be long, but maybe you could write a part of this story for Rinharu week and continue the rest of it afterwards?

I think the canon skipped over any scenes of Rin and Haru on the way to Australia just because it would've been a NIGHTMARE to try and portray. They'd have to get Haru packed, get him onto the train to Tottori, get him onto a plane to Tokyo, and get him onto ANOTHER plane to Sydney, so for them not to have spoken at all during that time seems unlikely.

However, if they spoke, I doubt it was anything to do with their lives at the moment, by mutual silent agreement. Suggesting grabbing a bite to eat before boarding a plane, offering use of a blanket on the overnight flight, loaning use of an mp3 player (probably full of English songs that Haru would decline)--that kind of idle stuff I can see. Kind of like pointedly ignoring the Big Stuff but still being civil with each other, as suggested.

Re: the tenses, I've had similar issues. It comes up quite a bit when you write long, extended flashbacks, because you're compelled to write in pluperfect to remain explicitly grammatically correct (e.g. "Rin reflected back on their time together and remembered when they had first met. He had been eleven at the time, and Haru had just kicked his ass in the pool." -- lots of 'had', in other words). But when you're writing thousands and thousands of words of that, it's easy to forget you're not writing in simple past.

So writing in the pluperfect, as Lin has done in the excerpt, is correct, because Rin is thinking about action-before-the-present, when 'the present' is already written in the past tense. That tense should be stuck with as long as the flashback is happening (or as long as the character is thinking about things that happened in the past), though I must confess that I've cheated and slipped steadily back into the simple past for extended flashback passages (like All That Glitters).

Hope that helps!

That makes sense. How many hours is that trip? It would be too long for no exchange of words at all. Though I'd so like to see something with the ride home.

Huh, while I need to process all that, the advice seems quite useful!

Thank you, ~~Courtney~~ senpai! <3

You'd already helped so much on IRC, but being able to re-read it here calmly (without Rin's assets being a distraction) is really useful. Much appreciated!

I suppose there's nothing to it, then. I've asked sexuallyfrustratedshark to read it over for me & she artist-picked it wonderfully and assured me it's not as boring to read as I feared it was... maybe now it's up to plaemon to shake any more kinks out before I submit it for rinharuweek and move on to the next prompt. :D *sweats nervously!*

P.S. I never noticed you slipping back into simple past! You're very good at hiding it, haha. I guess it's not as heinous a crime as some other tense swapping would be... :'D

Haha! Oddly enough, I deleted one paragraph & now I already feel a lot better about the entire fic/chapter. *blinks!* Funny how that works...

Definitely taking your advice. Thank you! <3 (I think it'll fit better for Day #4 then, though... HMMM...)

^- Whoops, that was me. It logged me out when my Firefox crashed earlier, I think. xD

Hm I guess you feel that the paragraph might have been interrupting a flow or something? At any rate, that's good that you feel better about it now.

Oh or you could write different parts of the big idea that you have for different prompts, but part of an overarching story?

I'm doing #1 (Arabian AU), #7 (both Blue and Red as connected pieces from Haru and Rin's POV), and #8 (crossover with Haikyuu!!). Or those are the plans, at least, lol. #1 is definitely getting done because it's already halfway there, and probably #8 as well because I don't expect it to be very long. #7 may or may not, depending on time. Aaah I just want to write fic all day @____@

Looking forward to these already XD

Confession time: I was the anon who asked the RH week account about "hey I have this AU that doesn't seem to fit anywhere...can I do it for one of the non-AU prompts instead?"

But I decided to do it for my Christmas Exchange fill instead because it fit eerily well with what my recipient requested XD

LOL! All good XD I'm glad that it all worked out in the end.

And hey, at least you were polite. We've had a few snarkies come by XD

I JUST CHECKED WHO I GOT FOR THE XMAS EXCHANGE. LOOOOL.

Well I'm pushing myself as-is XD any more and I wouldn't have been able to do a good job of it (and because I'm not doing it for RH week, I get to do the HQ crossover instead).

AND NOW I'M CURIOUS. I don't recognize my recipient, but THEY'RE GODDAMN LUCKY IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY.

I'll say. Dammit. Why hadn't the stars aligned and made you my Secret Santa XD (hell yeah, HQ!!)

Hahaha well, you would know who my recipient is ;) I'm just contemplating on whether or not I should fic or pic. The prompts are pretty cute but I'd need to create a doujin to complete the one I like, so I might write something.

Decisions decisions...

Aaah man I wish I had art talent. I'D LOVE TO MAKE DOUJINSHI OF MY/OTHERS' FICS, OR EVEN JUST SHORT COMICS OF SCENES I LIKE. I'm jealous of u guys ;~;

Hmm, mind going into more detail about these ideas? Particularly what would you do for 7 if you have the time?

Sure :D

Well, as I view the prompts, [BLUE: “ready, set”] brings to mind preparing and getting ready for the future, which leads to training/earning spots on the National Team, whereas [RED: “go!”] is more 'in the moment'/'on the road', aka they're competing at international tournaments.

I've been wanting to write something set not TOO long after the canon ends, and this will (hopefully) be my chance to do so, with the piece from Haru's POV involving his feelings on Rin coming back to Japan to earn his spot on the team/train with the team a bit, while the piece from Rin's POV will take place in the same 'universe', perhaps a few months later, around their first major tournament (either the night before competition or after, before they come back) and involve Rin reflecting on how it feels to be here, thousands of miles away from their lives, with only each other and the water to focus on.

I'm just hoping to be able to go into their feelings on their new situation, finally 100% committed to standing on the same stage together and seeing this new world (figurative and literal) together :)

#1 will be an Arab AU involving mermen and forced marriages (fun all around XD;), and #8 will be a HQ crossover set the night before Olympic opening ceremonies when Kageyama and Hinata wind up having to share a flat in the Olympic Village with Rin and Haru :D

These sound pretty good! This is all very helpful for ways for me to view these prompts in too.

The whole situation of them getting into this as their career now is going to be very interesting. The canon so far leaves off at what feels like just a beginning. And I've heard things about the Olympic Village.

*lines up impatiently for #1 and #8!* :'D

Yesssssssss.

I'm drawing for three friends.
-Dark AU
-Eternal
-And I'm not sure about the last one because they didn't want to choose a prompt so it's up to me to decide. Perhaps the Couple Day AU.

But I want to write something XD

You can also use the artist post if you like! I should also ask there what people plan to do for Rinharu week, I'm more on the art side too. What's the dark AU like?

What kind of story would you like to write most?

Ah, you draw too? That's awesome :D Thank you! I'll check out the link.

If I had the time, I'd like to write a story that explores how Rin and Haru will inevitably return to each other. I'm not that fond of reincarnation fics, but I'm tempted to write one XD

It's mostly for the sake of organization, so artists and writers can see each other faster amongst the comments. I suppose comics or doujin can go in either.

OH NO I feel so conflicted on those because they're both hopeful but sad at the same time. That line really would work for that kind of story. Now you got me emotional just thinking about it. I don't have a sad icon for this.

But honestly, I don't have any ideas and no inspiration. Help? Any suggestions?

Hmm! Let's start with what kinds of stuff you like to write first. And which of the prompts catch your eye like right away, like which sound the most interesting just by looking at them.

I think I'm pretty good at AUs. I can think of some stuff for the AU prompts, but I don't want to write only AUs! For the normal prompts I'm just drawing a blank though.

Hmm... I'd love to see someone tackle Haru visiting Rin in Australia, or Rin stopping over in Tokyo before going to see his mother & Gou? Unfortunately I'm kind of stuck, too. ^^;;

I'm not the same anon, but uh. you'll be seeing that around Christmas....

Haha! I'm afraid to ask too many questions, since it kind of sounds like it'll be for the Christmas exchange? :D I'm currently working on my fill for that (which I'd otherwise have written for rinharu week, oops!). I guess I'm really lucky I get to write something I'd already wanted to for a long time, though.

Anyway, really looking forward to that then!

Edited (I hit post to soon! x.X) 2014-11-13 21:12 (UTC)

hahahaha yes, "around Christmas" aka on Christmas, aka for the Christmas exchange :p (that's why i'm on anon, b/c the prompter might see this and know it's their prompt...) (actually, i didn't have an account until just now, but keeping anon for those reasons anyway)

i hope you + the requester + anyone else reading it will like it, then! uvu (i hope i do it justice, haha)

Ahahaa! I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't have said anything. *sweat!*

Good luck with it though! I'm sure we'll all love it. :)

Aw it's good to be curious though! I hope everyone can mingle well and help each other out, I'm in a rush for a lot of things lately and can't be as helpful as I'd like to be.

Hmmmmm...

Is it the fleshing out of an AU setting that you like especially? You could do a thing where they take up other occupations after retiring from pro swimming. Like they open a cafe not far from a pool. So not an AU really. Which prompt would that be under?

Professions AU maybe?

Maybe, but other anon said they didn't want to write only AUs! So this is like writing them in other professions except it's still in Free's timeline/setting instead of an AU.

This is admittedly a stretch but maybe you could work occupations after pro swimming under RED: like the thread that ties us? Like a what happens after kind of thing and how they're still 'tied' even after they both retired.

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