Presenting: Author Spotlight, August 2026!!

Favorite genres:Drama, Romance, Fantasy, Mystery, Adventure, Fluff.
Favorite fandoms:Stranger Things, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Dragon Age, Grishaverse.
Favorite dynamics:Chemistry, enemies, enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, healthy destined lovers, complicated shared history, and dynamics that leave marks on every character involved.
Currently craving:More. Time. To. Write. More. Stuff. Why is a day so short?

When did you first start roleplaying, and what pulled you into it?

I first started roleplaying when I was 13, with my real-life friends over YouTube DMs. Looking back, I think it was our way of playing pretend in a slightly more mature disguise, because apparently you're far too cool for that when you're 13, lmao. Not that anyone outside our little group knew what we were doing, but we absolutely loved creating our own stories and fanfiction together.

I've loved making up stories and AUs for as long as I can remember. As soon as I learned to read and write in elementary school, I was already creating my own little worlds and stories. So roleplaying felt like a very natural extension of that. It just gave me the opportunity to build those worlds together with other people.

What really pulled me into roleplay as a serious hobby, though, was BBC's Sherlock in 2013. I came across fake Facebook posts written in the characters' voices, and I thought they were absolutely hilarious. That led me deeper into the fandom, where I started experimenting with more complex themes and storylines in my own writing. Was it good? Probably not, lmao.

Was I having the time of my life? Absolutely.

And I've been roleplaying ever since!

What kinds of stories do you enjoy writing most?

I love stories about deep, meaningful relationships with incredible chemistry, especially when the characters have a complicated history or a connection that feels like it has so much more to explore.

I'm particularly drawn to characters who are rough around the edges but have so much more going on beneath the facade. Give me someone who acts like they don't care while secretly caring way too much, and I'm probably already invested. I also love stories that feel incomplete in canon, the characters or relationships where you finish the original story thinking, "Wait, but there's so much more here!"

Overall, I think my favorite stories are the ones that let you see the softer side of characters who don't usually get to show it. I love exploring what happens when someone who has spent their whole life being tough, guarded, angry, or emotionally unavailable finally finds a person or a relationship that makes them feel safe enough to let some of that armor down.

Basically, give me complicated people, complicated relationships, and the occasional glimpse of a soft heart that they're desperately trying to hide, and I'm happy.

Do you prefer writing canon characters, original characters, or a mix of both?

I think I generally prefer writing canon characters. It's easier for me to get into their headspace and find their voice when there's already something established to work with. I tend to work best when I have a foundation to build upon, but I love taking that foundation and seeing how far I can expand it.

Varania is probably the perfect example of that. She's technically a canon character from Dragon Age, but she's such a minor character that canon gives me very little to work with beyond the fact that she's a canon character’s sister. And honestly, that was enough to give me a million ideas. I love taking those little pieces of information and asking, “Okay, but what else is there? Who is this person when they're not simply serving someone else's story?”

Even when I create original characters, I usually find myself connecting them to an existing canon somehow. For example, Valerian is an OC who is Hadriana's son, so even he was created within the framework of an established character and world.

So I suppose my answer is: canon characters, but with plenty of room to make them my own. I love having something that's already there to get me started, and then building upon it until I discover something new that still feels like it could have been there all along.

Is there a fandom, genre, or setting you’ve always wanted to write in?

I’ve loved Avatar: The Last Airbender since I was 10 years old and it was the first fictional story I was thoroughly obsessed with. I’d love to write something in that universe, especially now since I’ve made a Zuko.

I’d also be happy to see more Dragon Age and Grishaverse, and of course Stranger Things, which is currently my main fandom!

What kind of plot will almost always catch your attention?

The mysterious and emotionally dramatic ones, without a doubt. I love plots that make me ask a million questions and slowly reveal answers that somehow create even more questions. Give me secrets, hidden motives, unexpected twists, and characters who are forced to confront things they'd rather avoid.

I think the best plots for me are the ones where the external mystery and the internal emotional journey are closely intertwined. I don't just want to know what happened, I want to know what finding out will do to the characters, how it will change their relationships, and whether they'll be able to live with the answers once they finally get them.

What is your favorite type of character dynamic to write?

Enemies, enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, and complicated dynamics with a shared history, like former partners. Basically, I love relationships with layers.

I'm especially drawn to dynamics where two characters can argue the absolute hell out of something, clash over their beliefs or personalities, and still choose each other when it really matters. I'm also a huge sucker for destined lovers, as long as destined doesn't mean toxic by default. I love the idea that two people can be meant for each other and still consciously choose each other, rather than simply being together because fate said so.

More than anything, I love dynamics where both characters have a profound impact on each other. I want them to challenge one another, change one another, and leave a permanent mark on each other's lives. I think the best relationships are the ones where neither character walks away unchanged, and where they somehow manage to make each other better without losing who they are in the process.

Do you like to plan everything out, wing it, or something in between?

Definitely somewhere in between, and probably leaning a little more toward planning than winging it. I love having a general idea of where a story is going, and I can get very excited about planning character arcs, dramatic turning points, and all the delicious little details in between. But I've learned that there's a difference between having a plan and trying to control every single thing that happens.

These days, I prefer to have a roadmap rather than a GPS that keeps yelling at me because I missed a turn. I want to know the general direction we're heading in, but I also want my writing partners and our characters to be able to surprise me along the way. Some of my favorite moments have come from things that weren't planned at all.

I also try to keep things as easy-going as possible. Roleplay is a hobby after all, and I never want my plans to turn into pressure for the people I'm writing with. I think the best stories happen when everyone has room to breathe, experiment, and occasionally throw the entire plan out the window because someone had a brilliant idea.

What makes a writing partner easy for you to connect with?

Patience, engagement, humor, and that magical feeling when the chemistry between two writers just clicks. I love having the feeling that we're equals. Not only when it comes to inspiration and enthusiasm for the story, but also when it comes to respecting each other's preferences and boundaries. I want a writing partnership to feel like a creative conversation where we can surprise each other, get excited together, and still feel completely safe saying, "Hey, I'm not comfortable with this."

For me, the best partnerships are the ones where both people genuinely inspire each other and are equally invested in making the story something they both love, while also keeping patience and respect for RL as a top priority. And, of course, being able to laugh together when our characters inevitably make absolutely terrible decisions is a huge bonus.

What is something you wish more people knew about writing with you?

Once we start a story, I'm all in. Literally. I will think about it day in and day out, almost like I'm in love. My hyperfocus knows no bounds. I'll edit pictures, make layouts, do ridiculous amounts of research, create character and plot overviews, make thread trackers, and generally find approximately seventeen new ways to organize or expand our story. I will probably even dream about it.

Sometimes, unfortunately, that also means I can get so deeply immersed that I exhaust myself and need to take a step back for a while. Oops.

I think that's probably the biggest thing I'd want my writing partners to know: if I need a break, it doesn't mean I've lost interest. Quite the opposite. Usually, it means I've been too invested and have forgotten that I am, in fact, a human being who occasionally needs to eat, sleep, and exist outside of fictional characters.

For me, writing isn't just writing the actual replies. I tend to fall headfirst into the entire world around a story.

What does Billy want most right now?

Most of all, Billy wants his former stepsister Max to wake up from her coma. Their relationship has always been incredibly complicated. His dad's marriage to Max's mother turned Billy and Max into siblings, but his abuse and the way he constantly pitted them against each other made it almost impossible for them to have a healthy relationship.

Despite everything, Billy still, or finally, sees Max as his little sister. More than anything else, he wants her to wake up because he needs the chance to tell her all the things they never got to say to each other.

What does Varania want most right now?

Probably a cup of tea. Or a good book. Or simply some peace and quiet.

The more complicated answer is that Varania doesn't really know what she wants. Not yet. She has no emotions, and therefore has to navigate the strange question of what it even means to want something when desire itself is no longer something she can experience in the way other people do.

Perhaps what Varania wants most right now is something much simpler: time. Time to understand herself. Time to figure out what wanting actually means to her. And, perhaps, the freedom to decide for herself whether she truly wants to become the person she once was, or whether she even knows who that person is anymore.

What kind of trouble do they usually find?

Billy usually finds physical altercations. Usually after some combination of smartassery, careless flirting, or standing up for someone in a way that is more provocative than necessary. Sometimes, he's actually trying to do the right thing. He just has a rather spectacular talent for going about it in the most confrontational way possible.

Varania usually finds trouble by overhearing conversations she's not supposed to, whether intentionally or not. People tend to say things in front of someone they believe isn't paying attention. The problem is that Varania is paying attention.

What is your favorite thing about writing them?

For Billy, I love exploring who he could have been if he'd had the right people around him. I love exploring what healing from trauma might actually look like for someone like him, and what the aftermath of being possessed by the Mind Flayer could do to him.

For Varania, I love exploring her condition through the act of writing her. Almost every scene surprises me, because Varania seems to have a mind of her own. She brings out a much more philosophical and observant side of me, and I feel like I'm getting to know her better with every moment I write.

What kind of scenes do they shine in?

Billy shines in scenes that either trigger his defenses or create the safety he needs to finally lower his guard. He's at his best when there's something emotionally significant at stake, whether that's conflict, fear, anger, vulnerability, or genuine affection.

Varania shines in philosophical scenes and mysterious fantasy moments that bring out instincts and impulses nobody expected from her. She often sees far more than she lets on, only to suddenly say something that makes everyone stop and think.

What kind of connection, plot, or storyline are they currently open for?

Both of them need more friends and more people to talk to. Bigger stories may have to wait, but plotless and fun banter is always welcome. Whenever grummelwau posts something in the Writing Open category, anyone is welcome to comment.

Want to plot?

You can DM @grummelwau on RoleplayLives or reach out on Discord under the same name. She is definitely open to banter anytime, though bigger stories may have to wait until her health catches up again.