FAQ (FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS)

THE FOLLOWING ARE QUESTIONS ASKED TO THE AUTHOR OF

INSTRUCTIONS ON THE BACK, TOPHATGIRL,

VIA PRIVATE MESSAGE ON IN REVIEWS.

Q: It's over! Will there be a sequel?

THG: Probably not, considering how they're all dead. Sorry, kiddos. But I do have some ongoing fictions if you haven't gotten enough of me.

Q: Blaine's the killer? That doesn't make sense, because he has: hazel eyes/not crazy/too short/blah blah blah

THG: Seriously? This? Okay, for the hazel eyes thing, I had no idea. I just assumed brown. That I apologize for. Everything else is just reading way too much into anything, or not reading closely enough.

Q: THEY GOT ENGAGED.

THG: ...that's not a question.

Q: YAY! SANTANA'S STILL ALIVE! But why?

OR

NO! SANTANA'S STILL ALIVE! But why?

THG: Yes, Santana is still among the living. Why? Because she's a badass and I love her character. No, I'm not really playing favorites. The real reason is that I wanted there to be a survivor left, someone to tell the tale. Because how else would any policemen know about the cards or anything else? It made sense. If you are really that upset over it, then just mentally erase her interrogation from your mind. Wimp.

Q: I liked the original prologue better than the updated!

THG: I'm still unsure which one I liked better. But thank you! I guess.

Q: YOU BITCH! YOU KILLED BRITTANY!

THG: I am not a female dog! Yeah, I know. That chapter was by far one of the hardest. That, and Puck's.

Q: I really dislike Klaine and am angry that you had that in.

THG: I'm not the BIGGEST fan of Klaine, especially since it seems every story is about it now, and that it seems unrealistic in the show, but I love Darren Criss, so I put up with it. This story wasn't about Klaine, and if you're focusing on that, then you're completely missing the point. Also, it wasn't really 'klaine'. Blaine was nuts and Kurt had that whole "when in rome" (or more accurately, 'when I'm going to die') idea, and just went with it. I just wanted to have some tear inducing "oh god that's so twisted but sweet?" reading there. I could go into SO much detail with this, because everything I did had a purpose, but then you'd get bored. If you are really curious, then just message me; people have done it, and I've answered them.

Q: WHY DIDN'T YOU HAVE [insert couple here] TOGETHER?

THG: I tried to stick with canon couples here, because I thought that would distract from the story if I also threw romance in there.

Q: Who's Matt?

THG: Curse you into the deepest pits of hell! I HATE YOU. Ahem, ask someone else, dear.

Q: What inspired this story?

THG: A lot of things. One was a novel called: And Then There Were None. Another was a book called: The Messenger by Marcus Zusak. Yet another was a fanfic about Arthur characters (yes, the kids book!) getting killed off one by one. Yet another (!) was a book called Endgame. Yeah, I read a lot of books. But most of it was just me being bored.

Q: You were really bad in the beginning? Why?

THG: I wasn't trying. When I published the first two chapters, I got so many reviews that I was so excited to start the next chapter. So I would write them in 30 minutes or so, eager to publish. Then came that review (which I took down from the chapter) that opened my eyes. I put more time and effort into it, and got into the characters that I actually cared about.

Q: Why didn't the kids do anything?

THG: Because they couldn't. Honestly, you wouldn't be able to either. Seriously, what would you do if a psycho killer was after you? Call the cops? They're blackmailed. Run away? He'd find you. Fight? He has shiny weapons. Despite what the movies say, there is really not a lot you could do, and that's true in real life.

Q: Did Beth ever get Puck and Quinn's letter?

THG: Maybe. You'll have to decide for yourselves. Blaine did have the letter in his backpack, which the police collected. It could have gotten to her.

Q: Will you ever get around to redoing everything?

THG: Probably not. I'm dead tired and really really want to focus on Mental Quirks.

Q: You stopped telling us which songs are which! Can I get a soundtrack listing?

THG: Phew. Okay, here's the list of songs used, in order of appearance:

Help I'm Alive by Metric

Skeleton Song by Kate Nash

Heart In A Cage by The Strokes

Spaceman by The Killers

Take Me To A Higher Plane by Kate Nash

Blinding by Florence + The Machine

Tick Tick Boom by The Hives

Can't Stop Feeling by Franz Ferdinand

Happier by A Fine Frenzy

Mardy Bum by Arctic Monkeys

Stranger In A Strange Land by Barbra Streisand

Get Happy by Judy Garland

I'll Follow You Into The Dark by Death Cab For Cutie

Q: What the fuck took you so long to come out with the last chapter/ epilogue/ faq?

THG: I got busy. I had school. Then I got it all typed out and fancy. Then my computer died and deleted all of my files. I got pissed off and didn't approach it again for a few weeks. I'm really sorry about that.

Q: Who's Owen Cobalt and Corinne Anderson?

THG: OCs. Owen is by me, and Corrine is by Blame It On The Alcohol, who won a little contest I had. If you didn't really get what roles they played, re-read the epilogue.

Q: The epilogue was really interesting and/or terrible! Why did you format it that way?

THG: Because I wanted to clarify a few final points with ease. It was a simple way to get the other character's experience in a condensed form.

Q: You're fucking insane! How did you come up with this?

THG: Uh, I have no clue. I already told you a lot of horror books that gave me inspiration, but for the death scenes, I dream up a lot of it, and generally gather ideas from my everyday life, including friends, family, school, etc. You guys did give me fantastic ideas, which I sort of used as a platform for my more sickening things.

Q: What happened to Jean?

THG: That was a hard one to miss, I don't blame you if you didn't catch that. In chapter 15, it says here, and I quote: "Before he does anything, he presses a tiny red button on his watch. I wonder briefly what it does." That was the button (mentioned in the 'victims' chapter) that killed poor Jeanie instantly. Yeah. -points to previous question-.

Q: You got a lot of reviews, how did you do it?

THG: I'm surprised I was asked this, via PM, because there are lot of other authors out there who've gotten a lot more reviews for a lot better writing. But I do have a few tricks to get reviews, which aren't really tricks at all. Get people involved in your story. Have them vote on couples, or plots, or anything. Don't threaten them, by saying, "I won't update until I get 10 reviews!" or something like that. It's annoying and will probably alienate readers. Also, it all depends on the content. People are sick freaks, so they read sickening things, AKA this. If it's cliché, then no one reads it. There's a million Klaine fics about how Blaine goes to McKinley. People get bored of it. Provide something interesting, and people will follow.

Q: This story actually wasn't that good. It wasn't that scary, I wasn't disturbed in the slightest, and I think you're getting a lot of unnecessary praise for it.

THG: Not a question, per se, but I think I'll attempt to tackle this one. Twilight wasn't that good. It was creepy, it was poorly written, and got a lot of attention it didn't deserve. But people read it, they like it, they thought it was well written. See? It's a matter of perspective, and whether I deserved what I got or not, it's your choice whether or not to let it get to you.

Q: What was, in your opinion, your favorite chapter to write?

THG: Isn't that like giving yourself a high five? No matter. I really loved writing Tina, because she's very poetic in my fics, so I like to bring out that descriptive side. It also showed intelligence in Blaine, which I always like to point out. Second favorite would probably be of course Kurt's death, because it had just a breath of fluff in an otherwise dark story, and it was a huge challenge to keep it in...again, no one cares. Ha.

Q: Who's going to actually read an interview with the author?

THG: There's someone reading this right now.

Q: What the hell is the point of this FAQ?

THG: Beats me. People have a lot of questions.

Q: Any closing words?

THG: To everyone who reviewed, alerted, favorited, or just was an invisible reader, I thank you. Even if you were a hater, you made me better. I was overwhelmed by the love and support of all of you, it warmed my heart. If I were to go on a killing spree, I'd spare you guys.

Thank you, and have a happy, murder free life.