#:’-] I have 97 fics I want to write and no time lord end my suffering

[ziracona]

So Quentin is pretty obviously one of your favorite characters to write lol. Why is that?

Haha, well, I do enjoy writing him and I can certainly see why he’d look like an all time fave, and he definitely is!—But! I’m pretty sure he’s tied for that spot with like 16 characters from DbD haha. Genuinely after writing ILM I really don’t think I have a favorite-favorite to write. Quentin has a lead in most of my stuff on AO3 for 2 reasons—wait no, 3 reasons—1: I love him, and he’s very fun to write. 2: Quentin out of all of them scores near the top in both most likely to do something wreckless, selfless, and martyry to get into the kinds of injured and in trouble scenarios that are fun to write, and in being open to connecting with/forgiving a killer if they truly seem to feel remorse and want to be better while giving them deserved hell and fighting back if not (boy is ready to kill a killer and the laws of this land will not stop him), and in having wild vibes with almost any person he’s stuck with, so he just ends up being likely for a lot of stuff. 3: out of the four fics he’s a main player in, New Dawn Fades, Half-Life, From the Earth of No Return, and Not the Kind of Person Who, three of those are gifts, trades, or commissions, and only one is a fic I wrote 100% just cause. That said, I could not be happier about so many excuses to write Quentin, becuase like all of my children, I adore him. I do certainly have a soft spot for his personality too. Hmmm, well, while I really don’t think I have a favorite to write, there are a few I saw myself in to some degree (there’s more people then you’d think in this category, but Quentin and Claudette, while neither is actually the one I think I’m most like, are definitely two who called to me). Quentin is super fun to write though, and I wholeheartedly recommend it!

Let’s see, what makes son boy especially fun?

Well, characters with conviction speak to me, and they’re enjoyable to write because any time someone has a strong personal code, they��ll work to adhere to it, and you have immediate easy built in conflict any time that code conflicts with personal desires, the situation they’re stuck in, what they’re being forced to face doing, etc. It makes for good writing and layered characters and stakes. A lot of the time with Quentin, he’s in situations where he’s struggling over if the thing he wants (like being kind to Anna near the end of Half-Life) is also the right thing to do, considering she uh, well, kidnapped him and is keeping him locked up. Which, objectively, not a situation you should pity your captor in. I appreciate he strives so hard to do the right thing. It’s admirable, and it’s sweet. And a little sad. He’s also got a boatload of issues he needs to get help for and address and a martyr complex so big he’d throw himself in the way of an oncoming train for a complete stranger, can be a both sweetheart with puppy dog eyes when kicked and snarky little shit who will drag himself up the scaffolding with a pipe while shot through the chest to stay between a monster and someone else Kyle Reese style and keep beating on it until it dies or he does, and the boy is (depending on characterization) anywhere from 16 to early 20s, so still a child, and also he is in love with a girl he’s basically suffering eternally in hell for so she can be okay, so there’s a lot to work with right out the gate. Like holy fuck kid, are you okay? No. No he’s not. But damn does he have heart and make for some good fiction. I like seeing characters who are miserable and trying and suffering unfairly, especially when they’re suffering for somebody else, get to get better and find happy endings. I wish I had the power to grant that more in real life too. : /

Haha, uhhh, so anyway! I like writing Quentin because he’s got a lot of range, mostly, and him being both selfless and forgiving, while simultaneously very just and full of conviction and ethical standards he will hold others and especially himself to, makes him super interesting and fun to write. I think it’s admirable he’s able to suffer like he does and still adhere to a religious faith and not only adhere, but have it remain so comforting and important to him. He’s a fellow ADHD disaster, and he’s never been chill one day in his life, and I can sympathize please let this poor kid sleep. He’s also got one of the single most disgusting and detestable nemesis of any DbD character, so there’s a lot to work with as far as like, endgame climactic fight structure type stuff and running tension go. Homeboy can’t even go to sleep in peace. Plus, he’s literally growing up in the realm, which is beyond traumatic, but is also an experience unique to him, Nea, and at least to a large extent Laurie as well. I also feel like NOES2010 gets a lot of flack it doesn’t deserve, so I’m really happy he got a second life in any form whatsoever. He was a good character, and he deserved it. TuT uhhh haha I could say a lot more about why I enjoy writing him or any of them, but this is already getting long so ima pull the plug, but I hope it answered your question!

TLDR is just Quentin is tied for favorite with all of my 16 other children, and I’ve largely written him more as a combo of “because he’s super easy to get into shit” and “I did commish/gift/trades where he was requested, but I could literally not be happier abt that because I absolutely love Quentin and would die for him”.