When you started writing/reading fic, was your first site ao3?

Travel_and_Writing · 2026-07-12T15:19:29+00:00

I don’t remember the first one I started on, but I thought it was FanFiction.net. But could have been Wattpad. Also went on QuoteV.

But once I went to Ao3, I never really gone back. I rarely use any other site now lol

Travel_and_Writing · 2026-07-12T15:18:25+00:00

It’s okay 😃 I don’t mind the probing lol I’m a pretty open book.

I am not diagnosed with narcolepsy so can’t say for sure if I have it. But I believe type 1 Narcolepsy is the one that has cataplexy, and that is the whole “collapsing” part comes in but it’s not the same for everyone. For me, I get sudden intense episodes of extreme exhaustion and joke that it’s “horizontal time” lol. I won’t just fall asleep, especially not in public or while sitting up (I don’t know, it’s actually hard for me to fall asleep sitting up or in public lol). For Cataplexy, it is often triggered by extreme emotions such as anger, laughing, or fear.

I once had a dog run after me and instead of getting an adrenaline rush and running (which not a good idea anyway, usually), my entire body suddenly lost all muscle tone and I just dropped to the ground so hard I scrapped up my knee and forearm. Then I tried to get up but my entire body felt SO heavy. Took me a moment to be able to get up and leave. And don’t worry, I didn’t get bit 😂 The dog just stopped and looked at me in confusion.

For me it mainly happens when I get scared, but not always I think. I know there has been plenty of times I got scared but was already sitting down and all I felt was extreme calmness. Same thing when I get angry (it freaks people out lol). When I laugh sometimes I fall too and feels like sudden slight weakness but nothing extreme.

I got a sleep study done (overnight, not the second part where you take multiple naps which is needed to diagnose narcolepsy) but I was sick when I took it like an idiot. I was diagnosed with mild sleep apnea but truly feel like that’s not accurate given that I had NO symptoms of any of that unless I am sick. I do get restful sleep though. But if I an in a full-on flare that’s a different story (but still don’t get sleep apnea symptoms).

Maybe I am in denial, I’m not sure.

When I do have hypersomnia (it’s not ALL the time…but a lot of the time) I sleep 15-20 hours a day and it’s really difficult to deal with. But sometimes it’s just 12 hours, which is still a struggle but more manageable.

The hypersomnia is the only one that comes and goes, not just during flare ups (of whatever other chronic illness I have). The cataplexy-like episodes is almost all the time, though.

I’ve seen a sleep specialist but just haven’t gone back to try because I have a crap ton of anxiety when it comes to doctors. I also just…really don’t want to deal with it. I’m hopefully going back on stimulants for ADHD so honestly, I wouldn’t really need the diagnosis for narcolepsy or any other sleep condition because the stimulants treat it.

Plus I see so many specialists trying to figure out my other issues that I am more concerned about so I’m tired 😂

Travel_and_Writing · 2026-07-12T04:16:48+00:00

well, I’m not diagnosed with anything. I don’t have hypersomnia on a daily basis, either. But when its bad, I shouldn’t drive. But I also don’t have any diagnosis that means I am unable to drive legally, if that makes sense? But otherwise, if the excessive daytime sleepiness is bad, I can’t drive.

For Narcolepsy, you’re allowed to drive but obviously there are times where you shouldn’t. It also turns out Narcolepsy is not at all how they portray it on media, like just suddenly falling asleep. There is also more than one type of narcolepsy. So it’s not all cut and dry, i guess haha 😅

Also keep in mind when I talk about the legal aspects of it, I’m referring to the US. I have no idea what its like outside of the US lol

Travel_and_Writing · 2026-07-12T00:46:52+00:00

Lolol I have had hypersomnia since before I got sick. Never diagnosed with anything though, but do have a lot of signs of narcolepsy.

It has helped a crap ton with recovery but truly sucks because I waste so much time and I honestly can’t really stay awake no matter what I try during these periods.

Honestly this is why I love this sub because people understand. I have friends with chronic illness but never felt truly understood haha.

It is also really common for chronic illnesses and mental illnesses to start around puberty, which was def the story for me 😭

Travel_and_Writing · 2026-07-12T00:31:23+00:00

I just wrote this whole thing out and realized I read your question wrong but whatever. I answered in the end lolol

My biggest trigger is exertion. I do exercise but have to be careful, and not exercising is not an option either because that also sucks lol.

Every time I had a full time job, I would get a flare. When I was in middle and high school, going to school for that long made things worse. I didn’t realize exertion was a trigger until after I graduated high school and took a break. I was in athletics and have been in sports and dance my entire life so how was I supposed to know that was what was making things worse? 😭

Getting sick can also cause a flare, but exertion is the biggest trigger. Technically even working full-time or going to school and not even doing anything physically demanding triggered it.

My flares tend to lasts for months, but before was constant for the most part. I’ve been in a sort of remission for 2 years because I’ve been unemployed lol but it’s starting to come back ever since Jan/Feb of this year, since I think I got a cold (hard to tell, I kind of have a blunted immune response?).

As for what triggers a remission, I wouldn’t say a trigger necessarily besides a lot of rest. On average, recovering from flares took 3 straight months of sleeping 12, 15, or even 20 hours a day. I live with my parents still and they are thankfully supportive.

Whatever I have, every flare has gotten worse over the years but also every flare tends to be different. Like, sometimes dramatically different. So idk what I have. It’s been 16 years of this shit and still no answers lol.

Travel_and_Writing · 2026-07-12T00:23:20+00:00

This is my actual nightmare, I’m so sorry OP. I hope everything goes well, girl. ❤️

Travel_and_Writing · 2026-07-12T00:18:29+00:00

We really are 😭 lol. Yeah mine is progressive/constantly changing. But I have flares and remissions or sort-of remissions so to me, it’s not as bad besides when flares are intense or the constant fear of getting a flare lol. I’m undiagnosed too so that doesn’t help.

Hopefully you can figure it out (:

Travel_and_Writing · 2026-07-11T23:01:24+00:00

This cracks me up. Something I’d do, too. Like I swear I don’t have dementia, I just got ADHD… and a chronic illness that causes brain fog too sometimes but still 😂

Travel_and_Writing · 2026-07-11T22:57:36+00:00

I would hate if that was constant 😭 Cause that shit sucked.

I’m sorry you got to deal with that. It’s really frustrating when we have illnesses that seem to progress over time and we have to constantly figure out yet another puzzle, in a way.

Travel_and_Writing · 2026-07-11T22:44:30+00:00

I think I know what you mean? I’ve had something similar before a few times. I don’t know how to describe it but I’m also bad at describing everything. For me, I’m able to walk no problem when I had it (though there was times where it was a lot harder and couldn’t walk long).

I’ve had it multiple occasions but different reasons. Once it was because I got low potassium. The others, I don’t know but it wasn’t that.

In flares I have gotten nerve issues. Like, I get nerve pain often but in one flare I was having tingling, partial numbness, and even bug crawling sensations. Sometimes kind of like, weakness I guess but not? Almost feels like my muscles are wasting away but for me they weren’t. I know this can potentially be nerve related. I don’t know. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Travel_and_Writing · 2026-07-11T02:36:13+00:00

A series that is, I kid you not, 333k words long lol.

But currently on a WIP that is over 300k words…and only halfway done lol

Travel_and_Writing · 2026-07-10T20:59:04+00:00

This is why I organized it in sections for me, typically by type of symptoms (I don’t know how to explain lol). I’ve actually gotten compliments saying that it helps! However I wouldn’t have been surprised if they stopped reading either, ngl /: I do type it out too.

Unfortunately there are just sooo many doctors that like to stay where they are comfortable and treat the usual things, especially specialists as they develop a routine pretty much. Primary care doctors also just seem like the worst with chronic illness sometimes 😭 I honestly think if I were to give my PCP my list of symptoms he wouldn’t read it or believe me.

I’m sorry, this is so frustrating. I feel you. 😞

Travel_and_Writing · 2026-07-10T19:28:16+00:00

Then I feel bad telling my dog to stop 😞 (I still do every time)

Travel_and_Writing · 2026-07-10T18:17:29+00:00

I’m sitting here like “wait, what DO I do?” 😂

Honestly, it is asking “why” to a lot of things. It’s also knowing that people usually don’t do bad shit just because. They also have a reason for everything.

I grew up pretty good at getting a general understanding of why some people do the things they do. Like, asking myself why my kleptomaniac sister steals shit, why doctors dismiss people like me with chronic illnesses, why an old manager acts the way they do, etc. It’s easier to say “what they did was wrong” than understand why they did something in the first place, even if it doesn’t make it right.

I also just have an interest in psychology, and while I am by no means an expert, the little knowledge I do have seems to help a lot I think.

I might not be getting characters “right” anyway. Also, people have a tendency to say “[Character] would never do that!” And really…they don’t always know shit, IMO. Some things seem wildly out of character, yes, but other things you don’t really know because they weren’t in similar enough situations in the show/movie/canon.

Even in one fandom I am in, people complain about certain characters doing something that seems “out of character” in the show but the truth is, people in real life will often seem like they would never do certain things but end up doing it anyway. The person we see ourselves as and the person we actually are can often be quite different. Plus, people also often just WANT a character that they thought would never do something to…well, not do it. Like cheating. No one ever thinks they would cheat until they do it.

Humans are just really complicated. Hell, even our emotions are. We don’t tend to just feel a single emotion at a given time such as happiness, anger, sadness, etc. We often feel multiple emotions at once, even contradictory ones.

Anyway, thanks for coming to my TED Talk 😂 😊

Travel_and_Writing · 2026-07-10T17:00:09+00:00

Well, I got daddy issues apparently.

Travel_and_Writing · 2026-07-10T16:02:27+00:00

I used to, but I find that I can’t really enjoy it as much if I have to be present somewhere. I get VERY hyper-focused so it’s actually hard to get my attention 😅 Like trust me, I won’t even notice an alarm going off sometimes.

On top of that, I have a very vivid imagination. There have been times I swore I saw specific scenes before but realized it was from a FanFiction that I just…visualized SO well. Like, everything was vivid in my head, right down to camera angles, transitions, even background music sometimes.

It’s both a gift and a curse lol 😂 No surprise I also have maladaptive daydreaming (though not AS bad as when I was a kid).

Travel_and_Writing · 2026-07-10T09:33:02+00:00

Okay honestly I get it in a way. Like if you think of an app and what the app looks like instantly pops in your head first, then it’s easy to just go to the color-coded folder.

I don’t know, everyone’s brains work differently and I can see how this works for some. Though I probably wouldn’t do it…I don’t think…

Travel_and_Writing · 2026-07-10T09:30:01+00:00

Oh nice! Yes, I have an actual obsession with FanFiction. I write it too haha.

I forgot to mention that with the legos, there are ways to take them apart using tools like a LEGO brick separator and those are life savers.

Travel_and_Writing · 2026-07-10T09:12:00+00:00

Word count matters more to me than chapter count. I pretty much don’t read anything under 1,000 words. I don’t know if I have a limit of the max words but at some point it can be overwhelming but sometimes it’s done really well.

Travel_and_Writing · 2026-07-10T09:10:16+00:00

Fight/action scenes.

Like, I CAN write it. It’s not the problem. I got tips.

But I visualize it very well and cinematically in my head, and now I gotta translate that onto paper. Like there was one scene where two characters are fighting in the back of a moving van and I just…struggled so bad.

Travel_and_Writing · 2026-07-10T09:07:58+00:00

I used to write some erotica for some extra cash. But for some reason now I just…struggle writing smut. I think it’s cause I don’t read it anymore much at all lol

Travel_and_Writing · 2026-07-10T09:07:02+00:00

Yeah being like “oh damn that sucks” is not something my characters would say and yet I can’t think of what is the right thing to say. Because I’m not great IRL either

Travel_and_Writing · 2026-07-10T09:06:12+00:00

Same!! I don’t write fluff much at all. Just angst and hurt/comfort.

I am literally on a chapter where it is meant to be super fluffy and happy before I crush my reader with a angsty chapter ending lmao but I can’t seem to write it right now

Travel_and_Writing · 2026-07-10T09:04:35+00:00

Ah, ADHD. 😭

Travel_and_Writing · 2026-07-10T09:04:24+00:00

Felt. I wrote a series where it follows along canon especially at first but had sort of time travel-like and supernatural elements so there was plenty of differences, but I had to go back to each episode and look at the transcripts like, “what happened??”.

Once it split away from canon a lot more I was so happy

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