A conversation about Levihan fanfiction between Ness @glassesandswords and RK @djmarinizelablog.
Listen to the interview on Youtube/Google Drive or read the transcription below.
Ness: When did you get into AOT and Levihan?
RK: I started Attack on Titan in 2019. I saw the anime first around the third season. I got married and then the pandemic happened, so I figured I wanted to do something that I would enjoy during those times. That's when I started writing fanfiction. Apparently, there's already a huge readership for Levihan, especially when I discovered the authors like @fanmoose and @TundrainAfrica. They were pretty much the pioneers of the fanfics in the Levihan fandom.
SOS is actually my first Levihan fanfiction. It's pretty much like a comedy, because I needed something to distract myself from the angst. And then I wanted to try my hand in rom-com, so I came up with Free-Falling. That was the fic that I was able to finish before publishing the first part.
And now here we are.
Ness: I wanna fangirl about Free-Falling. What goes behind the research for the fics that you write? In Free-Falling, you have a lot of terminologies that are related to skydiving. How did you come across this idea and how did you go about in writing it?
RK: For Free-Falling, I was particularly interested in those moments of skydiving, so I watched a ton of Youtube videos of people just jumping out of the plane. If I were to write a scene about this, how would I describe it? How would I describe the stunts, the sounds and sights? What's the feeling of free-falling upon jumping out of the plane? They just go together, you know? Being able to visualize and imagine how Levi as a skydiver would actually fall in mid-air...
I also researched a lot of skydiving terms--what do they call the gear that they use? When they do a parachute land, how do they do it? I also looked up the science terms that Hange uses: What are the things that PhDs usually talk about, aside from getting stressed out? I even Googled Physics thesis papers and dissertation titles!
I do that for all the fics that I write. In Handle with Care, Levi is a lawyer, so I'm trying to figure out all the appropriate legal terminologies that a lawyer would use. In the story, Levi handles the case for Erwin. What happens when someone drafts an appellate? How does one handle a case?
In Surf Town Summer, I try to imbibe the tropical beach vibes that remind me of the Philippines. There's a lot of imagery for the clear waters, white sand, and blue skies. With Levi being a surfer in that story, how do you subscribe the stunts in the water? It's the same thing with Free-Falling: what's the feeling like when he's together with Hange?
It's really up to us as writers to indulge our readers in a world that they can believe in. How do we guide them throughout the story that we have created ourselves?
Ness: I could feel my adrenaline pumping when I was reading Free-Falling! Have you ever gone skydiving yourself?
RK: (laughs) No. My husband--he's been trying to invite me to go with him. Hopefully, when things get better around here, we could try it out. There's actually a skydiving center near our place here.
Ness: That's amazing! Can you tell us more about Down with the Gold?
RK: So Down with the Gold is actually an Erurihan fic. We have Erwin, Levi, and Hange as treasure-hunters in this jungle where they meet different clans and tribes. They meet the Warriors and the Hunters and then they get involved in this entire treasure-hunting mystery. I don't want to spoil too much right now, but all I can say is please read it and support it if you can.
Ness: I'm excited to read it! It's Eruhan and Levihan in one!
RK: I love treasure-hunting stories. I've watched too many adventure films that inspired it. I'm excited to finish the entire story. I have friends who have given me plot points on how to roll out the story; they have given me advice on what to do for the next chapters. I'm always thankful for that.
I think that's the wonderful thing about being an author and being friends with fellow writers and artists.
Two of my friends, @ackermela and @zoevihan on Twitter, made fanarts to go along with the fic. Please check them out if you can.
Ness: You have 20 works in Archive of Our Own. Which one are you most proud of? Do you have a list of your top 3 or 5 works?
RK: A lot of people are more familiar with my multi-chapters as I try to update them once a month, so I'm gonna focus more on the one-shots. I don't really look back on those once I publish those fics.
So one of the earlier Levihan fics that I've written is Sycamores. It's a post-canon Levihan story where Levi and Hange finally meet in the afterlife. It's actually tagged MCD but I swear it's a happy-ending story. Please don't be too scared of the tag! Just read it. It shows how these two try to find each other in another lifetime. I'm not gonna spoil the story if you haven't read it yet. You can check it out on ao3. Rika actually read it and she even left a super comprehensive comment about the fic. Hi, Rika! aka @pinkweirdsunsets
We wouldn't be this tight-knit of a community if it weren't for her and this server that she created.
Ness: Rika's amazing! This is a Rika appreciation segment. And also a Rika slander (affectionately).
RK: And also gotta yourself credit, Ness. I've read most of your meta essays that you've written on Tumblr. I love reading how you depict Levi and Hange's relationship and how other people in the fandom see them, whether in canon or in AUs. I enjoy it when people are able to make a spin-off from their relationship and create an entirely different world in their stories.
Ness: Do you have any particular writing rituals? Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what do you listen to? Or does it change according to the genre?"
Sometimes I usually stream my WIPs while I'm on the Discord channel. You guys are more than welcome to hop in and vibe with me.
Ness: Do you have a playlist?
RK: I do! I actually created this OPM Levihan playlist. OPM stands for Original Pinoy (Filipino) Music. This was in collaboration with my fellow Filipino Levihan friends. They helped me collate all these songs that remind them of Levihan. It's on Spotify!
Ness: What's your favorite Attack on Titan soundtrack?
RK: You know me--I like rap. So, K21 is really one of my favorite songs. Some of the kids on the server want me to rap that for them.
If you can choose between spending a day with Hange or cleaning the barracks with Levi, which one would you prefer?
I like cleaning. As much as I love Hange, I might chop my ears off by the end of the day just listening to them talk about titans. Levi can order me around the barracks all day and I'll probably learn a new cleaning solution. Maybe. I don't know.
Ness: Or you can have Hange talk to you about Titans while you're cleaning the barracks with Levi.
RK: Oh, there you go. Why not both?
Ness: What would be your relationship advice to both Levi and Hange if they were your friends?
RK: What! I think THEY need to give me relationship advice. I'm married to a wonderful person; he's the love of my life. Sometimes, Levihan really reminds me of my relationship with my husband. We bicker a lot; we tease each other a lot; but the end of the day, we love each other.
So, just keep going, I guess. Keep loving each other, that's it. Go, Levihan. Good job. You're doing great.
Ness: Let's say you can only choose a universe from one of your fics. Which one would it be?
RK: It's funny because Soo gave me this sample question before. They also gave me the answer that they wanted to hear as well. Props to you, Soo @argethara, so I'll answer Free-Falling.
Imagine being part of the skydiving squad. Being able to jump with the two of them. And do free-fall in the sunset and watch Levi and Hange kiss in mid-air.
Ness: Yes! Are there any other Attack on Titan ships that you are fond of?
RK: I like Aruani. I feel like if the canon extended past the intended story, we would have seen more Armin and Annie interactions. But hey, that's what fanarts and fanfictions are for.
Ness: What's your favorite part of writing a fanfic?
RK: You know what's funny? 'Cause whenever I write a fanfic, it's more of 30%, no, it's always 20% actual writing and 80% doing anything else aside from writing. I don't know how to feel about that.
I'd rather do anything else aside from finishing the chapter. Maybe I'll watch a movie, maybe I'll listen to some music, maybe I'll do something else. Clean the house. Anything that doesn't involve writing.
I have a full-time job, and I have a lot of things to do around the house as well, so.
Ness: How do you manage everything this, like everything at the same time?
RK: Hah! I don't know, Ness, how do you manage this fandom? How do you do it? I'm throwing the question right back at you.
But I'm sure you also have this experience as well since I know you also write stories. The moment when you finally realize how you're gonna write a certain scene. Or when I finally realize how to do the scene that I want to happen. It's like a Eureka moment, like, Yes! This is it!
Then I just let go.
Ness: Once you start writing, you just tend to forget about everything else. It takes so much effort to sit down and actually write something.
RK: You know, the best solution to combat that is to read a lot of other stuff. Read other people's stories, other people's fanfiction. And just consume any other kind of art that inspires you.
I think that's what art is all about.
That's why I like reading other people's writing, and if I enjoy it, I leave a comment or kudos.
Especially for the younger ones. I am a personal advocate of inspiring the younger kids of the fandom to pursue the art. Don't be embarrassed about what you want to do. Don't think too much about how other people will perceive it. I guarantee you that you will always find someone who will appreciate the art that you put out there for others to see. As long as it's done well with the heart, and that you enjoyed whatever you did, I'm sure people will appreciate that.
Ness: I honestly love this. Because I remember you were one of the people who commented on my fics when I first started writing, so that really inspired me, and that just made me want to write more because it really made me really, really happy. So thank you so much, Ate RK. You are the best.
RK: I tried. I try to be a big sister to everyone in the fandom.
Ness: You are. You definitely are a big sister to us. Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview.
RK: Thank you for inviting me as well! I know we've been planning this for months, so I'm glad we're finally able to do this.
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