#sillage
a compilation of answers to all of the frequently asked questions I have had in regards to each and every one of my fanfic pieces. this post will be updated as my master list grows, so keep an eye out!
be aware that these questions contain heavy spoilers!
SILLAGE QUESTIONS
What is the sillage? How is it initiated?
it is the sensation of touch that is formed between two soulmates, where when one soulmate, say, pinches their own thigh, the other soulmate will feel that pinch depending on the proximity to their other half. it can be developed once the two soulmates interact, whether it be physical or not. so the soulmates may brush hands, which initiates the sillage bond, or they may simply lock eyes from across the room, which also forms it. basically, it is the acknowledgement of the existence of the other half that causes it to develop.
How do people just find, or happen upon their soulmate?
I like to think that there is some kind of outer force that gradually brings two soulmates together, kind of like destiny, where you go to that cafe on an odd Wednesday and accidentally bump into the guy walking out of it, or you unintentionally brush hands with that girl who reaches for the same handrail as you on the bus, because that is the outer force bringing you to them, as they are your soulmate.
and it is not necessarily instant, like: brush hands > feel the sillage > oh my god we are soulmates! love of my life, come to me! but more so, the first touch connects them and they do not really realise that straight away, but then the outer forces keep bringing them together in different situations, over and over until they come to realise this person is meant to be in their life.
Does the sillage proximity become greater as the bond between the two soulmates grows stronger?
definitely – as the relationship of the soulmates becomes more intense, the proximity of the sillage sensations certainly grows. so when they first meet, the sillage may only be felt between them in direct proximity, whereas after they have come to known each other for a year or more, their sillage can be felt from the opposite ends of the city.
take jimin and taehyung for an example, where they cannot feel the sillage of one another because they are separated by an entire sea, even though they grew up together and have been in love for over eight years. but if jimin were to fly over, they would be able to feel each other the minute the plane enters the state.
Is the sillage just a physical bond, or also psychological?
it is just physical – pain and pleasure. the pain aspect, of course, is much more intense than the pleasure. death is a horrible occurrence between soulmates, where it quite literally feels like the other half is dying too. the pleasure aspect is just heightened, where kissing, sex, and other intimate acts are indeed very, very intimate and special.
Does everyone have a soulmate? Can they reject their soulmate?
nope. some people do not have a soulmate, but that does not mean they cannot love somebody who is the soulmate of another, or be in love in general.
people can certainly reject their soulmate, but you would not want to because you are quite literally drawn to them in every possible aspect. to put it simply, there is no reason for you to not be with them, to deny them, because they are your perfect match – to break things off with them would be due to very extreme matters. though the outer forces regularly tie two people together who are actually not suited at all, for example the parents of jeongguk’s soulmate, and thus, divorce and such is still very possible in their world. also, some people who do have a soulmate never actually find them due to being separated by land and ocean, or they simply die before they meet.
Will you delve deeper into the Sillage!VMin relationship?
once the series is complete, I plan to write a oneshot that goes into the history of taehyung and jimin’s relationship.
What does Sillage!Jeongguk smell like?
he wears a lot of cologne since he is always sweating with his sport and such, and the one that he uses is a chypre fragrance that has a woody, patchouli, lavender and sage aroma. he smells like a forest. but his kind of natural skin scent is a faint, sweet honey, since he uses a vanilla and honey body wash.
AN ETERNITY OF RED (AEOR) QUESTIONS
Is there a specific order to which AEOR needs to be read?
nope! just make sure that you pay close attention to the ages of each character that are addressed at the top of each drabble.
Are they both vampires?
yes, jeongguk is the one who turned her and that is why she sticks with him.
Why does she hate Jeongguk so much?
as a human, she was very suicidal and basically wished for anything but an eternal life. jeongguk provided her an eternity of suffering, to put it simply, for his own selfish desire of no longer wishing to roam the world alone. thus, she hates him for that.
How would you characterise the love Jeongguk has for her?
their companionship is extremely toxic and unhealthy, where he is possessive and obsessive over her, and she manipulates him to get what she pleases. it is not a healthy love that should be encouraged. when I am writing it, I look down on it greatly. he pined after her because she is exactly the same as him, he was drawn to her loneliness by his own, and often he cannot decipher whether he loves her or the darkness that she dwells within.
she does eventually warm to him (around 200+ years after she has been turned) when she almost loses him to a mob of hunters. this makes her kind of realise that she does care for him in her own, private way.
truly, he does care so much for her. but he does not express it in a healthy way. nobody should take relationship advice from him.
How does she feel about Jeongguk kissing and touching her?
no matter how casually jeongguk holds her hand, kisses her, touches her, she does not feel any romantic feelings towards him, but lets him do it anyway for his own satisfaction. these sorts of actions do not bother her, but if under any circumstances she tells him to stop, he would, instantly.
Does she emotionally manipulate and use Jeongguk? Does he give into it, and what would his limits be?
most definitely and he more willingly than not gives in to her manipulating ways. he is basically willing to do anything for her, but he thoroughly believes he would not die for her, nor in place of her.
What are vampires generically like in this series?
the vampires are pretty feral and masochistic creatures. they willingly break their own bones and remove their own skin, and they act quite animalistic towards one another, for example, how jeongguk will lick her face clean of blood, etc.
What is the importance of a vampire drinking from another of their kind?
it develops an intimate bond between the vampires, one that is only supposed to be shared between two vampires that are in love with one another. the two AEOR characters form this bond in a time of dire necessity, which ultimately brings them much closer.
Does AEOR!Jeongguk have any tattoos or piercings?
he has a tattoo of an anatomical heart over his own heart, drawn in black ink and it has a slight geometrical look about it. beneath the lines, there is a crimson red water colour effect tattooed, which spills a little onto his ribs, so that the heart looks like it is bleeding. on his inner right bicep, he has the end of a friedrich nietzsche quote – if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you. he also has the roman numerals MDCCCIX (1809) tattooed above his left knee, which is the year he was turned, and then MDCCXC (1790) tattooed above his right knee, which is the year he was born.
in regards to piercings – he has an orbital, rook, standard and upper lobe piercing on his left ear, while on his right, he also has a standard and upper lobe, with a daith and helix.
DAMN THE DELIVERY BOY QUESTIONS
Are you writing extra drabbles for DTDB?
yes I am! they will just be little fillers for when I am struggling to write anything else and will be posted at any random time.
SLIP THROUGH THE SEAMS QUESTIONS
How did you come up with this idea?
it was a combination of things! and three months of planning.
to start with – I really adored the concept of my favourite book ever, the time traveler’s wife. the main character suffers from a rare genetic disorder that causes him to drift uncontrollably back and forth through time. at first, I was thinking of doing something similar in regards to time travel, though I thought it may possibly get too messy and intricate for something that I was initially planning to be short and sweet (woops 21k words later) and thus, I decided I may attempt to come up with something different.
then – about a month after becoming pegged on this notion, I watched the filmjumper. the main character has the ability to instantly transport to any location he can imagine, which basically opened up a whole new concept in my head of using teleportation, rather than time travel.
so in a way, I somewhat mashed the two together. I made the lead character have the ability to teleport alike to the character of jumper – but she was not capable, at first, of controlling it, rather it occurred at uncontrollable times alike to the lead character ofthe time traveler’s wife. also in common with the latter, it was a hereditary ‘disorder’ or ‘disease’ where a lot of generations prior to her own have experienced such an anomaly as well.
and then of course, there was the love interest of Taehyung, and I thought how magnificent it would be to spice things up and make him live in a completely separate country to her. I was initially going to make the language barrier much greater, but again, I was planning to keep it short and sweet, so I decided to have him understand basic english, etc.
but yeah! to be honest – I had the smut scene written down since the moment after I had watched the movie (when the idea of making her an uncontrollable teleporter arised) because I was infatuated by the idea of him trying to keep her grounded, mumbling stayagainst her lips, basically being the core reason why her seams do not rip her back to where she belongs. but it was literally not until last week, so three months after the intial idea had formed, that I opened up that document again and was suddenly so inspired to write the whole entire thing within three sittings.
Why was Taehyung so calm when she appeared in his apartment?
he discusses with her how he assumed she was a new neighbour that accidentally received the keys to his apartment instead of her own, that was, until he saw that she was wearing his clothing. he also mentions how it is not uncommon for him to arrive home and find strangers / crazy fans rummaging through his stuff, as they have somehow managed to slip past the guards. the personality of taehyung in this story is very placid and calm, he is not one to freak out, rather he maintains his cool and deals with the situation as best he can.
Why was the Will and Testament out on the table that day?
he was most likely dealing with matters that revolved around the death of his parents that required paperwork. at that point, she was arriving at his apartment on a near daily basis, so it was highly likely that she would have encountered it.
Why did she not get on a plane and look for him?
she talks about how she does not have the money during the bath scene. nonetheless, she has never flown before due to her seam slipping, which can teleport her away and then back to her most recent location – which could potentially just be mid-air, where she would then fall to her death. such a matter has not been tested, but she does not wish to risk it, just in case.
How did Taehyung manage to find her in the end?
she frequently told him about her hometown (although it is never mentioned) and so he knew precisely where to fly to. due to his fame and money, he was able to cover the expenses to abandon his idol life and move over.
Now that they live together, how do they deal with her seam slipping?
it never happens anymore, thus they do not deal with it. this is explained throughout the ending of the story. the reason why her seams stopped travelling her to him in the first place was due to the fact that her abilities were starting to fade, bringing her back to her original roots. near the end, she frequents the usual places – the meadow, the library – she was slipped to before the anomaly of being transported across to his apartment occurred. by the seventh month after she has been separated from taehyung, the seams leave her completely – meaning that she can no longer travel anywhere at all. that is why she is considered one of ‘the lucky ones’.
RED WILL HAVE YOU DEAD QUESTIONS
(Will be updated when / if questions are asked)
