Topic of the Day: Did your OCs' relationship start with friendship or butterflies? : The romance/relationship writing thread (all romance, all the time) (but sfw tho.)

[Leyelle]

I agree, though I think a two friendship can stay as devoted even while more pieces are added to the person's life

[Leyelle]

Alicia: Kattar is steady and reliable. You know he's going to be there for you if there's any possible way that he can be, and he'll do everything in his power to keep you safe, even from yourself, and cared for.

Kattar: That Alicia is unashamed of her emotions. She's willing to cry, she's willing to yell at him or snap back at him, she's willing to tell him she loves him, all without hesitation.

[Leyelle]

For anyone who doesn't know, fish-eye kiss is the trope where someone impulsively kisses their crush and it shocks them.

Between Kattar and Alicia, Kattar would never in a million years kiss Alicia impulsively. He thinks everything he does through 100%, so if he was to kiss her, he would have already been debating that for quite some time. On Alicia's part, she also tends to be an overthinker, but occasionally her nerves and emotions get out of control, so it's very possible she would kiss him impulsively, and then immediately me mortified and apologetic, while he would try to calm her down and insist that he's not upset.

[KevinReijnders]

Seeing as Kyara is defined by her impulsivity, I'll leave it to you to fill in the blanks

[Leyelle]

i thought she was defined for her love of sleeveless shirts, but impulsivity works too

[KevinReijnders]

What can I say, she is a character with a lot of depth

[Leyelle]

So Alicia get's flustered fairly easily, and isn't good at hiding her feelings, so she blushes occasionally, but it doesn't show super clearly because of her complexion (a saving-grace for her.) On the other hand, Kattar is pretty good at controlling his facial expressions, so managing to get him to flush is difficult. And Alicia spends a portion of "A Spoonful of Sugar" specifically trying to get this to happen.

Read Damsel in the Red Dress :: A Spoonful of Sugar | Tapas Novels

Kimberly, like Kattar, is pretty good at controlling her emotions most of the time. But Jinwoo does ocassionally (accidentally) manage to get a rise out of her. On the other hand, he rarely tries to control his emotions, yet isn't easy to make flustered, because he doesn't pay a lot of attention to the world around him.

Read Hushabye Prince :: Mini 03 | Tapas Comics

[Leyelle]

Eliza and Aaron flirt with each other a lot, but they have no need for hesitation as a married couple.

For most of book one of "Damsel in the Red Dress" they never flirt with each other, but there are a few times when Kattar behaves in a mildly flirtatious way. Most notably, in "White Hot Sugar."

Read Damsel in the Red Dress :: White Hot Sugar | Tapas Novels

On the other hand, while Alicia never flirts openly in the first book, she does attempt to make Kattar a little flustered in "Cinnamon Skin."

Read Damsel in the Red Dress :: Cinnamon Skin | Tapas Novels

She's too depressed, angry, and unsure of everything in the confusion of their lives to try to flirt very intentionally with her crush. She's not even sure she wants to forgive him and start dating him. By book two, though, she is a lot less depressed and more confident, and begins a game she will play with herself, and technically by default with Kattar, to try to make him crack and show his feelings for her.

*

"Hushabye Prince"

Jinwoo never ever flirts, though some things he says might seem like flirting.

Kimberly does flirt, but it does her very little good.

[Leyelle]

This honestly goes beyond romance and into the realm of family as well. Do you find that the people you write who love each other, be they family members or lovers, have too similar ways of speaking to each other?

I think in my old writing, every boy reacted to his crushes the same way, but as my writing improves, I'm doing a better job of catering their expressions of love to their personalities, and with families and parents too.

While Aaron from "Lion Proof" is more overtly flirtatious than Kattar is (at least at the moment) he also tends to express his exasperation with his sweetheart more than Kattar does, which makes sense, given the context of all the characters. Eliza is a little crazy and very impulsive, the exact opposite of Alicia, so despite both men loving their sweethearts, one has a definite overlay of exhaustion, even in his affection.

The way that Alicia's father spoke to her (which will be seen in next weeks episode) is very different from the way Mrs. Moon speaks to Kattar, though both are affectionate, her father's is a bit more like teasing her for being so serious at such a young age, while Mrs. Moon doesn't seem to realize Kattar's age at all. She's always treated him like a baby, and expected him to know how to behave at the same time.

[cherrystark]

Nope. For me, the keys to good dialogue go back to writing your characters as people and focusing on their behavior. In my main series, my FMC's dad has two love interests. He has history with both women but since their histories are different, he talks/relates to them differently.

[Leyelle]

two love interests at the same time?

[Leyelle]

So today's topic was the idea behind someone else's dead thread, but I thought it would be worth revisiting.

For "Damsel in the Red Dress" characters

Kattar's feelings for Alicia would best be described in the song "Lose it All" by Sam Tompkins. He loves her (almost literally) to death, and losing her would be the most painful thing that could happen to him, as, to be completely honest, he loves more than anyone or anything else in the world. Despite having quite a few friends, being a small celebrity, and having a mother who adores him, he's led a pretty lonely life, but Alicia's friendship was the first thing that broke through his hollowness, and to lose that would be a nightmare. He's not even sure what he would do if it happened.

While Alicia's feelings for Kattar would probably be described in the song "Naked" by James Arthur. She's sick and tired of waiting for Kattar to be willing to admit he loves her, so she's basically tearing to shreds the facade to force him to face the facts. She knows he loves her, she's just waiting for him to have the humility to say so.

For Hushabye Prince Characters? That one's a little trickier to really nail down, but maybe:

Jinwoo's feelings for Kimberly could be described in "Can I Be Him" by James Arthur. He wants to be her hero, to be able to love and protect her, be her male lead like something from a story. Also, the moment he met her it completely changed his life in ways he'd never experienced before, and that was rattling, but now he wants to find a way to be able to be with her.

And Kimberly's feelings for Jinwoo with "Like My Father" by Jax, or "Rewrite the Stars" from The Greatest Showman. Not so much that she's comparing her life to her dad's relationship with her mom, but that she wants a sweet, wholesome relationship like that. Possibly also "rewrite the stars" just because forming a relationship with Jinwoo is extremely difficult, but she believes, despite most people's logic on such things that it's possible and is going to try despite the fact that it looks basically impossible.

[ThunderChicken]

More Than I Can Say by Leo Sayer. Specifically the lyrics:

Oh oh yey yey!
I love you more than I can say!
I’ll love you twice as much tomorrow!
Oh love you more than I can say!

[Leyelle]

Oh, lol, i was entirely talking about the lyrics. I suppose the music could work, but for most people that would just be smooth jazz

[Leyelle]

My lead's first kisses (in both series) have yet to be shown yet, though there's a scene in "Damsel in the Red Dress" that appears to be their first kiss in one of the released chapters (won't tell you the context on that one lol) their real first kiss is entirely different from that scene.

I have yet to decide how their first kiss goes in "Hushabye Prince," but I tend to make the first kiss fairly climactic parts of my story, because to me it's a big deal for a couple to lead up to and reach that point.

[KevinReijnders]

It is written! And it pretty much serves as the big climax of the scene it's in, which itself is the climax of that particular romance subplot.

It's also a big turning point in the overall story, as it's the last big happy moment that happens before things take a darker turn

[Leyelle]

why you gotta be like that for your poor leads. let the kids have a break!

[KevinReijnders]

I gotta maximize the drama

[Leyelle]

one of those moments when you realize how being an author has turned you into a villain

[cherrystark]

Yeah, but it's not really a love triangle or rather a traditional YA style triangle. He is in love with his best friend, she's his heart. But then his wife, who he thought was dead, comes back into the picture. He and his wife still have crazy emotions between them