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The Reading Thread

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nicksgal:
I think it's easier to read depressing things than write depressing things! I am definitely fine with some depressing subject matter when reading, but if I'm writing it, I need to take frequent breaks. I don't know why that reminded me of that one, I think I attempted writing it when I was 15 or 16? It's a really old idea.

I feel for him because he had a lot going on anyway. I always wondered why AJ did not also get the same treatment? Not that I can sit over here saying "Leave Nick alone!" to everyone else or anything.

RokofAges75:
I think for me, I would actually say writing depressing things is easier than reading depressing things.  I like doing both, but when I'm the one writing it, I'm in control of what happens.  I know what's coming, and I also know I can change the outcome if I really want to (although I usually don't).  Whereas when I'm reading someone else's depressing story, I don't know for sure what's going to happen, and that makes it more emotional when I get blindsided by something sad, like a character death.  I love a good tearjerker because it's cathartic to cry over sad fiction, and it often makes me feel better about my own real life problems (as in, things could always be worse).  But I definitely cry more reading other people's stories than I cry or feel genuinely sad while writing or rereading my own.

I don't know why Nick gets tortured so much more than AJ or any of the other guys.  I guess it's because he's the fandom's favorite, but he's not my favorite Backstreet Boy, and yet he is my favorite fanfic victim, if you go by the numbers LOL.  I have definitely done more to him than the others over the years.  Maybe the fact that he has had a lot to deal with in his life makes him a good victim.  He tends to attract drama, in real life as well as in fanfic.  AJ has his demons too, but it's mostly just his substance abuse issues, whereas Nick has had those on top of family problems and relationship problems and everything else.  There's also a lot of different sides to Nick, which makes him fit well into the main character role for a lot of different storylines.

nicksgal:
I think it depends on if I know it's possible in whatever I'm reading or watching. I love This Is Us, but I definitely DVR it and then pick the appropriate time to watch it (e.g., "Can I handle crying for two hours right now or not?") If it's out of left field for me, then it takes longer to process. Like this morning, I read an article written by the owner of that dog Tuna about how Tuna changed his life and accidentally became an internet sensation and bawled hysterically for about ten minutes. Although, I say that and then I took a course in college to fulfill the "Multicultural Literature" requirement and I chose "Literacy of the Holocaust" and the professor was awesome, the class was great, and all the books were great, but even knowing that it was going to be a processing course, I definitely sat and stared at the wall for hours some days after finishing our reading contemplating existence and humanity...

I think you hit the nail on the head. There's a good basis for how he might react realistically to something, no matter how outlandish it might seem. I don't want to say it makes it easier, but "more fun" might be right? It takes less willing suspension of disbelief on the part of your readers? And even something crazy and fantastical seems fine. Like I remember writing Gobosei (The Backstreet Project on steroids, really) and was like Nick's going to get magic powers and be stoked. Not even quietly accepting, stoked as hell. And the others will be like, "What is going on?" and Nick will just be so excited about the whole thing. I loved drawing that page when it was a comic because of their reactions. It was my favorite.

RokofAges75:
Aww, I love This is Us too.  I think I cried at every episode the first season.  It hasn't made me cry as much since we got through the fire episode in Season 2, but it's still good.  I cry at all of those animal videos and articles too.  And anything involving the Holocaust for sure.  That would be a hard class to take.

You have a good point about Nick.  He is so much more public than most of the other guys, between his social media posts, the reality shows he's done over the years, and so on.  It's made him easier to write because we see all those different sides of his personality, not just his stage persona.  We've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly.  He has given us a lot of material to work with.

nicksgal:
I cried a few times at this season's premier and haven't made myself get reinvested in it yet. I've been distracted writing, I guess, haha.

I think that's probably because celebrity felt more normal to him than his home life back in the day, somewhere where he could be mostly him and not navigate family politics. I know he said so many times in his Masked Singer clue packages that he felt like he could be the real him behind the mask, but I feel like he's always given 100% him (maybe just to BSB fans). He gives off too many "main character" vibes, haha. We're all characters in a book or tv show somewhere and he's still a main character.

I had the stupidest dream the other day that I decided to publish PBox and he tweeted about it (I don't really even use twitter that much so dreaming about someone else's twitter is just weird...) and said he really vibed with the main character (who was named something else at that point, obviously) and I was like, "Do I tell him? No, probably don't..." And I was embarrassed for myself that he read it.

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