#Fanfic writers can add that monster strength of his to their stories

[herefortheships]

I recently saw a gifset of Delores stapling herself together, and while that ofc was a very hot scene...

... am I being weird for thinking that alive!Betel having the strength to cleave her head through to the collarbone - and her torso from her hips, and cut through both thighs etc, all while dying of poison - is also pretty, uh, impressive? Shows some serious upper body strength. I guess lifting dead bodies every night to search them for valuables is a great workout.

Not weird at all. That does require some impressive strength, now that you mention it! He was definitely strong while alive. Rage is also known to boost strength and so is adrenaline, and our poor Betel had both surging through his body at that moment, too.

Great natural strength plus all that rage and the boost of adrenaline, as the realization of his own imminent death set in, allowed him to exact revenge as his final act in the most gruesome way: hacking his murderer into pieces. Hopefully it gave him some satisfaction to slice her, too; she deserved it after using him only to kill him and steal his soul! She didn't get to complete her ritual; stopping her from taking his soul and completing her ritual added to Betelgeuse's motivation there, as well.

Great observation, btw. 🖤

[honeylikewords]

This is working! Yay! So the ask I wanted to send you was, what do you think about the writer of the punisher trying to claim it for blm, since so many of the Nazis try to use him as a hero? I know that you've unfortunately have had some trouble with people using your fanfics for things like that, which sucks, as I like your castle fics and wish they weren't used by ugly people. Thank you for changing your theme!

I’m so glad it’s working, too! It’s good to know my theme is functional and accessible, now!

As for the ask, whoof, there’s a lot to unpack. And a lot to say. 

I want to answer this as delicately, thoughtfully, and honestly as I can, so I’ll speak from the heart and from my own personal, political perspective; obviously, I’m not a Black person myself and don’t want to speak over Black voices with regards to BLM and the global experience of systemic racialized violence, so my opinion is only my own, based off my own experiences, and what I’ve discussed with Black people and other people of color. 

I also ask that no one reblog this; I don’t really feel like getting into internet arguments about this topic or having this post spread around; it’s just my personal opinion, and people should be critical and form their own in their own ways vis-a-vis their own experiences and understanding.

That being said...

It’s complicated.

I think that there’s an inherent problem with The Punisher as an extant story. As a character. Regardless of creative intent nowadays, he is very much a product of male violence fetishization; he has been from his very inception. He has lasted as long as he has as such a major comic figure because people are drawn to his brand of lawlessness, his violence, his darkness, and that’s... really, really bad.

That isn’t to say we can’t have antiheroes, or violent stories-- we can and should explore many different kinds of stories, even dark ones-- but that the way we hold them up in culture, especially here, in America, can become toxic very, very quickly.

The Punisher has been a symbol of white, male violence for a very long time. The Punisher skull being coopted by actual US troops and police officers has been going on long before the Netflix show, long before The Punisher was ever on my radar. It’s been going on since he first stepped into comics, because he represents the ultimate power fantasy for these kinds of people.

He represents a distinctly male, distinctly American fantasy; if someone pisses me, off, I get to kill them. Cop or not, legal or not, fair or not, I get to make the rules about how the world works, and if I don’t like something, I get to kill it. That’s the ultimate power fantasy for so many of these people, and especially for white supremacists, violent cops and soldiers, who get into these jobs not to serve, protect, or allow peace to prosper, but to assert themselves as the dominant force and make others submit to their will by threat of force, or, worse yet, to fulfill their desire to hurt and harm, to kill, and to oppress.

No amount of reclaiming can ever really take what The Punisher stands for out of the hands of N*zis, cops, or the military, because he represents what many of these people aspire to be: a violent force above and outside the law, irreproachable. 

His skull being a dogwhistle between cops that they accept and encourage a level of targeted violence towards “the enemy” isn’t an accident. It’s a product of what The Punisher narrative always has been.

So, to that extent, I think it’s, frankly, kind of impossible to really “reclaim” The Punisher when he, himself, is the idealized form of these hate groups. He is the unimpeachable killer. He is his own lawmaker. And these cops, these N*zis, they use him for a reason. 

The closest I saw a narrative ever come to being able to reclaim Frank was Season Two of Daredevil. It really recalibrated the concept of the Punisher and put him in a finite cage, a space of operation; his war wouldn’t be endless or indiscriminate. It was targeted at a specific group of criminals, who were not chosen by race or creed or anything else, only by their specific actions in correlation to Frank. It framed him as a failure of society to protect the vulnerable, and as the frightening extreme of vigilantism; he was not a hero or a villain, but a man in the middle, as equally inclined to protection as he was to savagery. 

But they threw all that shit away the moment they allowed him to befriend an actual fucking N*zi in Season Two of Punisher. Any growth he had, any constraints, any hope for change, any understanding that nowadays, in an America ripped apart by white supremacy, gun violence, and extralegal violence, the Punisher was no longer a welcome narrative, was all flushed down the toilet.

Season Two ends with him shooting up a locked room of brown teenage-looking criminals.

It speaks for itself.

He has such a long-standing history of violence that trying to coopt him to represent peace, to represent protection? I dunno.

I believe it’s done in good faith, I do; I believe the artist has the best intentions and can, and should, try to wrest his creation from the hands of monsters. He can and should say “my creation is not for you, my art is not for you, and my character despises you”. That’s a right move. That’s good.

Donating to BLM charities is absolutely good, as well! And seeing that he wants his character to represent equal justice and a protection for the oppressed is good.

But this shit is coded into the very DNA of Punisher, at this point. It’s in the genetic makeup of his stories, his canon, his past. While it may not have been intended by the creator, this character has been in the hands of so many writers and artists who have molded Frank into the ultimate symbol of violent supremacy, of lone wolf shoot-’em-up vigilantism, that original intent seems... moot.

I don’t know if you can take the evil out of The Punisher when it was intentionally written in there in the first place.

We don’t need any more “antiheroes”, in my opinion, at this cultural moment. We are suffering enough. We do not need any more white men with guns taking the law into their own hands. We do not need any more “questionably moral” men. We do not need any more shooters. We do not need any more violence. 

We need to glorify and uplift the voices of the marginalized. We need to romanticize protection, kindness, empathy, strength, and courage. And I don’t think The Punisher can be a frontline voice of that.

At the very least, the utter bottom line, I’ll say this; it is very good to see them saying “Frank is not for you, you monsters”. That’s good. Take away everything N*zis like. Rip it away from them. Remind them they aren’t wanted, aren’t accepted, and don’t get to pretend their participation is normalized. They are to be cast out, called out, and rejected from every single thing they like. Shove it down their throats that they aren’t liked by anyone. 

It is very good to see this artist using his position to support an important movement and to donate to it using an incredibly recognizable symbol and one of the most popular media characters of all time. 

I wholeheartedly support that.

But there will always be a stain in Punisher. There will always be a cloud hanging over it. His story is a story that brings with it the baggage of male violence, white violence, gun violence, vigilante violence. The violence of people who believe they get to decide who lives and who dies. The people who believe they get to decide whose life matters.

And I don’t think that’s going to change.

There’s obviously a lot to say about, like, fanon interpretation, personal reclamation, personal enjoyment, etc., but this is where I stand on the issue of The Punisher as a large media presence, and with regards to my personal politics. 

I also want to add that this is not a personal indictment of anyone who enjoys the Punisher shows or comics or Frank as a character. I totally am aware that people can be politically active, thoughtful, and aware of the media they ingest and its political implications and still like characters like Frank for a variety of personal reasons. 

Still, I think it’s important to discuss these topics and to ask people to be mindful of what they engage with, how they engage with it, and what they support; everything has meaning. Every work of media, every character. And it’s our jobs to look at those works and characters and assess what’s going on with them, what our support of those things mean, and to what degree we engage with them. It means something.

Whew! That was a long one. But I hope it answered your question! 

[aquaburst3]

Fic asks: 2, 5, 8, 11, 13 and 14.

Undercut, because long and spoilers...

2. What character(s) do you find the most difficult to write for? Why?

So far, I guess Grim (Twisted Wonderland). While he’s a fun character and I love how he’s one of the few mascot characters in anime who gets character development, he’s a bit of a handful. That’s an understatement. I have to try constantly think about how he would act in certain points in the story, and how my OC would react to him.  

 I also find it’s hard to incorporate Grim into scenes. Sometimes I want my OC to be alone talking with someone or be by herself. Since the MC dragged around Grim in the game so much, I have to think of a way to include him in or think of a reason for him to stay out of it. 

Jamil and Kalim (Twisted Wonderland) are also hard to write for that similar reason. I want to make the Pomefiore arc happen earlier in the fic, so I have to constantly think of how to write them pre-character development in an arc that takes place after they grew as characters in the canon. But unlike with Grim, it’s in a fun challenge sort of way. Because it has a bit of a butterfly effect on the story. 

(If you don’t play the game, the Pomefiore arc is the 5th one. But I decided for a few different reasons, which I don’t want to get into, that I want to make it the 3rd, make Octavinelle 4th that happens during December finals season and Sacrabia the 5th, which happens over Spring Break. So because it’s bumped up in the timeline, my OC knows those two a lot better compared to the canon, and spent a lot of time with them in the Pomefiore dorm over the month and half leading up to the competition. Their arc is gonna hurt a fuckton more.)  

5. Do you listen to music when writing?

I enjoy listening to lyricless movie soundtracks or nothing at all. I find it’s easier to concentrate that way. Music with lyrics are way to distracting to me, since my mind latches onto them and I’m much slower at writing. 

11. How would you describe your style? (Character/emotion/action-driven, etc)

Honestly, it depends on the story. Some of my fics can be fluffy while others have dark aspects to them and others are character driven. 

How I would describe my writing in a general sense, both fics and original stories? I guess I would describe it as character driven with plot driven elements. I tend to focus on character first and foremost, because I think it’s important for readers to have a compelling character to get attached to push the story forward.  (I had several people say that my biggest strength as a writer is character). But I have a lot of fun and engaging plots, mostly action/adventure, to have these character engage with. I also enjoy doing world building a lot as well. 

The voice for my OCs (both in my TWST fic and in my OG works) is down to earth and witty. A lot of my characters tend to have a sense of snark to them as they try to process the insanity around them, but they still can still feel a wide range of emotions like fear, anger, etc. Though, there are some characters that go against that (like the MC in my reverse isekai original story). 

13. When did you start writing fanfic?

Right in the middle of high school. I got into it, because one of my friends at the time had a FF.net account, and I thought it would be fun to write stories on there. Here I am almost a decade later. 

It’s also how my love of creative writing started, too. My elementary, middle and high schools never taught creative writing in class, and I never took any for my diploma. So, yeah. I’m a self taught writer. 

14. How do you feel about your older work?

Depends on how far back we’re talking as well. If it’s my stuff made during high school, I don’t like most of it outside of a couple expectations. But if we’re talking about my stuff from college and after, it depends on the story. There are some stories I’m pretty proud of years later, expect for how I phrased sentences (before I began learning how to start some sentences with things other than “I” or “Insert Character Name Here”) and odd word choices. Others I think are just weird or outright suck. I think regretting some choices in your past work is normal for any writer. I’m always trying to improve as a writer to create better stories in the future. 

Bonus...since I really want to answer this one...

1. What’s your favorite character(s) to write for?

I love writing for Bill Cipher (Gravity Falls), Pacifica Northwest (Gravity Falls), Vil (Twisted Wonderland), Jamil (Twisted Wonderland) and Ace (Twisted Wonderland). 

Bill Cipher is a chaotic ball of shit. Writing his wit and sass is a lot fun for me. Back in the day, I loved writing him interact with different fictional characters. Though, I only did it for Atem (Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters) and Judai (Yu-Gi-Oh GX) back when I was still into that franchise. (Because I’m certainly not as an adult in my mid 20s.) Might do it for other characters in other franchises if the idea strikes me. 

Pacifica is a complex and interesting character. She started off as the stereotypical mean girl. But with the NWMM episode, we got to see a whole different side of her, which added a lot of layers to her character. I love writing characters who add more complexity to the popular mean girl trope, because I always found them a lot more interesting than the dull MC in bad rom coms. 

Vil never showed up in any of my fics yet, but I’m writing parts with him in it thanks to writing some parts ahead of time. Vil is in a similar vein as Pacifica. In any other story, he would’ve been the one dimensional, vain pretty boy. But instead, he’s a hardworking guy, who wants everyone around him to shine their brightest. He hates lazy people. In that sense, he breaks a lot of tropes. Though, he has his fair share of faults as well, like his control freak tendencies, too harsh with his words and the way he treats Epel isn’t right. As a bi woman, I also love how he’s a guy who wears heels and makeup, but is never once mocked in the game for it. I do the same in my writing. Go, dude. Fuck those gender norms! 

Jamil is a blast to write, because he seems like a layered character to me. He’s a calm guy and collected guy, who he loves wearing hoodies way too much. But he’s also an intelligent, sly, cunning and manipulative guy. He seems loyal at first, but in actuality, he has a trick up his sleeve and wants to take Kalim down. His reasoning for as to why he’s doing this, while doesn’t excuse his actions, are understandable due to his family being in servants to his and him taking out his anger for his situation at the one thing he possibly could. He also has a lot of elements that humanize him as well, like the fact that he enjoys dancing, basketball and watching parrot videos. Tackling a character like him is a lot of fun for me as a writer, just due to how complex and interesting he is. 

Ace is probably the easiest character for me to write. He’s funny, mischievous and cheerful, but yet abrasive, bold, blunt, temperamental, willing to call out other’s bs and a bit of an ass. It’s pretty easy for me to get a handle on him, and understand how he would react in different situations. (As a side note, Ace reminds me of how I used to write Atem and Malik back in my YGO fics that I wrote in high school in that regard. Unlike those stories, he’s actually in character here, instead of extremely OOC like the YGO ones.)  

[ernmark]

Battle At World’s End Part 6 reaction

There were a lot of noises made. A lot.

But more than anything else, my writer brain went back to structure. 

(Spoilers under cut)

First of all: THE SONG! THEY SANG THE SONG TOGETHER! AND THEY’RE TOGETHER!!! AND THEY HAD A CONVERSATION TOGETHER! AND THE DUEL HAPPENED!

And more than anything else, I got the warm, satisfied feeling of watching a beloved story close. 

Because I really do feel like this is the end of their narrative. Arum, Damien and Rilla still have a lot of work to do together, but it feels very much like it’s work that doesn’t necessarily need to be done onscreen. It’s a thousand little conflicts and conversations, tiny victories that work really well in fanfic and slice-of-life drama, but not so much in a story about war and saving the world. 

Also, Damien is now dealing with a broken arm AND leg, and Rilla with a broken ankle. Those injuries will need a long time to heal before Damien can even think of going back to his duties (also consider the physical therapy and retraining to get his arm back up to strength to drawing a bow), and before Rilla can go out gathering supplies in the forest again. 

Also, from a more Holmsian perspective: of Matthew Zahnzinger’s two roles, one has been killed off and the other has finished his major plot arc. I think it’s possible that his contract(?) with The Penumbra was only ever for one season. 

All that in mind, though, I wouldn’t mind seeing them in bonus episodes and the like, or guest-starring in other episodes.

(I should add here that I don’t actually know for sure whether they’re done in the show. This is just the vibe that I get. I’d be delighted to see them continue within the show.)

(Edit: So in the Patreon for the script, we get this:  I'm really excited to dive deeper into some of these character dynamics next season! After mentioning Sir Caroline/Quanyii and our lovely Bouquet. So maybe they’re not done with?)

(Edit 2: God, I need to have more faith in these folks.

Because in literally any other story ever, this is the point where the Bouquet’s story would be done, because “showing the work put into the relationship is too boring” and “portraying it fairly is too much work”. And then I listened to the commentary, in which they talk about how important it was to both of them that they actually do that work and show that relationship. And it makes me so absurdly happy.

Because I love these folks with all my heart, and I don’t want to see their story end, and the fact that they’re in the hands of storytellers who love them as much as I do is something so alien to me that I don’t entirely know how to cope with it.

So yes. I’m not erasing the rest of this, because that was my knee-jerk reaction. I was perfectly happy to take one story and be done with it, because it was already more than I’ve ever gotten from an actual show. And it sounds like I can actually look forward to even more.)

That being said, I don’t think that anybody else’s story is finished yet.

Most pressingly, Sir Marc and Talfryn still have a major unresolved story to deal with. I want to see Sir Marc get his knighthood, dammit. I want Talfryn to keep building his confidence and standing up for himself, and dealing with the conflicts that will inevitably rise out of that.

I want to see Sir Angelo grow even more. I want to see more of Sir Caroline’s past (with Quanyii!!!) and her future. I want to see her find even more people she can trust and open up to until she truly feels at home. 

I want to see what’s going on with the Senate, and with the Senator who arrested innocent monsters on trumped-up charges so he could force them into labor camps. 

I want to see what was really  going on at Fort Terminus back in Pix’s time, and how their story really ended.

And now that the plotline with Damien, Rilla, and Arum is resolved, I feel like I have room in my head to actually receive those stories-- and to receive new characters.

Throughout the series, there was a thread of anxiety in my head that we were going to go off and meet yet another new character instead of resolving the story. That was an awful lot of tension to draw out for that long, and adding even more subplots and distractions would have been agonizing. With that thread resolved, there’s finally enough slack that I can cope with sidequests and new friends. 

That seems more probable with the status quo at the end of the series: Sir Angelo is significantly wiser (and with Damien out of the picture while he recovers, he’ll go on to being the Top Knight in the Citadel), and Sir Caroline is now the Captain of the Guard-- which means that they’ll likely be mentoring underlings who have just lost their previous captain.

Because in the end, this is largely Sir Caroline’s story.

This is the thing hit me the most clearly in this episode: how very much this is Sir Caroline’s story.

She began the season, first with Sir Marc and Talfryn, then with Sir Angelo, and she’s the one who finally unites the Seven Specks with her leadership, comes up with an amazing plan that utilizes their strengths and efforts, and then heroically rescues Rilla and slays the fear beast. 

She’s not the sole protagonist, so much as she is the most main character-- the way Jake is the most main character of Brooklyn 99, from which Second Citadel draws so much inspiration. 

And like Jake in the first season of B99, Sir Caroline was largely the antagonist in most of this season until she grew to the point where she is now-- one where she could do amazing things with her teammates, instead of fighting against them at every turn. There’s still plenty of room for conflict and growth, but finally she’s not in opposition against literally everyone, and that makes for a much more interesting (and to my sensibilities, pleasant) story. 

I think it’s because she wasn’t at that place yet that the story felt so much like it belonged to Rilla and Damien before this episode. Theirs was the conflict that drove the plot, they were the linchpin that united all of the characters, and they were the ones who carried the most immediate stakes. 

Now that conflict is resolved, and we can move into something new, with new characters and new conflicts. And I really like that. 

[deliriousabsol]

More Things Than You Ever Cared To Know About My Writing

This was originally posted by ‘vorchagirl’, reblogged by someone I follow. And I thought it would be fun to just outright answer these in a questionnaire type way, rather than as asks. So here we go =)

Feel free to do this yourselves if you like it. Just please remember to add the original poster.

Fanfiction Questions

Fandom Questions

1. What was the first fandom you got involved in?

Properly? Probably Pokemon. I’ve been writing fanfiction for it for years.

2. What is your latest fandom?

Funnily enough, Sonic, despite being a fan since I was like seven years old. I’ve just never seriously got into it since then until now.

3. What is the best fandom you’ve ever been involved in?

The Pokemon fandom. I’ve made some awesome friends in it.

4. Do you regret getting involved in any fandoms?

You hear things, but I’ve not really come across any toxicity besides the reaction to the Sonic Movie.

5. Which fandoms have your written fanfiction for?

A good few, but the only ones you’ll find are Pokemon, Sonic and Zootopia.

6. List your OTP from each fandom you’ve been involved in.

Zootopia - Judy/Nick

Sonic - Shadow/Rouge, Silver/Blaze

Pokemon - I don’t usually ship in Pokemon, but Jessie/James because reasons

7. List your NoTPs from each fandom you’ve been in.

Sonic/Amy. Sorry. Some art is cute, but it’s not my jam.

Shadow/Maria. I don’t ship animals with humans.

I also don’t ship yaoi/yuri pairings.

I do not poop on any ship. If it’s one I’m not fond of, I just scroll on and leave it be. Shipping can be pretty toxic sometimes, and I just don’t get it at all.

8. How did you get involved in your latest fandom?

I was writing Mask Behind the Monster and my husband’s aunt suggested I join a specific Sonic forum to post it in. So I joined the Amino and posted it, all nervous. The reception blew me away, and I met some awesome people, so I stuck around.

9. What are the best things about your current fandom?

The friends I’ve made.

10.  Is there a fandom you read fic from but don’t write in?

Probably. Can’t think of any off the top of my head.

Ship Questions for your Current Fandom

11. Who is your current OTP?

Shadow/Rouge. Also Infinite/Amy. This is because of my current writing projects.

12. Who is your current OT3?

None.

13. Any NoTPs?

We’ve been over this *looks up*

14. Go on, who are your BroTPs?

Sonic/Tails =3

15. Is there an obscure ship which you love?

Infinite/Amy. I didn’t initially.  But if it’s done right, and there are reasons for them to be together in that setting, then it works. 

16. Are their any popular ships in your fandom which you dislike?

Sonic/Shadow, Infinite/Gadget

I’m also not a fan of most Pokemon anime ships.

17. Who was your first OTP and are they still your favourite?

Knuckles/Amy. I still have a soft spot for it.

18. What ship have you written the most about?

Amy/Espio. I went through a phase... Read a couple of ‘fics and thought ‘Why not? Sounds like fun.’ XD

19. Is there a ship which you wished you could get behind, but you just don’t feel them?

Not really. As much as I like shipping, because I’m a fluff-junkie, I have to just like it.

20. Any ships which you surprised yourself by liking?

Again. Inf/Amy. This one took me by surprise.

Author Questions

21. What was the first fanfic you ever wrote?

Erm... if I remember right, Some cringy self-insert Pokemon ‘fic when I was like 14/15.

22. Is there anything you regret writing?

Everything I regret writing has been deleted.

23. Name a fic you’ve written that you’re especially fond of & explain why you like it.

The End and Mask Behind the Monster. I can’t choose one over the other. They were both written with a lot of meaning and emotion behind them, and I have a soft spot for both.

24. What fic do you desperately need to rewrite or edit?

I keep thinking about re-writing The End, but I worry it will lose its fire if I do...

25. What’s your most popular fanfic?

I think... THINK... it’s Mask Behind the Monster.

26. How do you come up with your fanfic titles?

To Title is hard. System:Reboot was a suggestion off a friend who I have lost touch with. Its working title is ‘Hacked’. A lot of my stories have preliminary working titles until I come up with something. The End was named after a song. Confectionary Conundrum was originally called ‘Sugar Snow’ which is the name of the sweet shop in that story. The Mainframe Saga’s Scrivener file is still called ‘Datastream’. Its separate books have been renamed as I’ve been ‘planning’ them out (as much as I plan).

27. What do you hate more: Coming up with titles or writing summaries?

Probably summaries, because FFNet leaves very little space to do so.

28. If someone were to draw a piece of fanart for your story, which story would it be and what would the picture be of?

I have actually had fanart, so this is hard to say. A lot of people like drawing my cyberpunk Infinite redesign which has surprised me.

29. Do you have a beta reader? Why/Why not?

My husband proof-reads my stuff, and then I question him on it. I don’t have a beta. I’ve thought about it, but I stick to a strict time-frame when it comes to uploads where I strictly give myself very little leniency. So if it wasn’t beta’d in time, I’d get a little frustrated and I do not like to pester people. I also worry I’ll be told to edit and cut a LOT, and I don’t like to butcher my ‘fics. I do that enough while I’m writing 8D

30. What inspires you to write?

My faith. That is a BIG one. You will find references and metaphors to my faith throughout my stories. Particularly in The End and The Mask Behind the Monster. Music is another huge inspiration drive. I’ve come up with entire scenes and even plots or sub-plots listening to music. I was just on a walk listening to some cyberpunk tracks when I got the spark for The Mainframe Saga.

31. What’s the nicest thing someone has ever said about your writing?

Oh boy. Where do I start? I think I was especially moved when someone told me they read The Mask Behind the Monster to their sisters.

32. Do you listen to music when you write or does music inspire you? If so, which band or genre of music does it for you?

Yes. A lot. I listen to a variety of stuff from Christian rock and EDM to cyberpunk instrumental tracks. Main bands are Thousand Foot Krutch, Family Force Five, Cruxshadows, Holon, Misanthropix, Scandroid and Celldweller.

33. Do you write oneshots, multi-chapter fics or huuuuuge epics?

It really varies. I lean towards epics. Even Glitched ended up being longer than planned, if memory serves, although it’s not epic length. The Mainframe Saga is made up of chaptered ‘fics, ficlets and one-shots.

34. What’s the word count on your longest fic?

I couldn’t tell you, because Scrivener crashes when I try to get the word count for System:Reboot XD

35. Do you write drabbles? If so, what do you normally write them about?

I don’t, but I have thought about it.

36. What’s your favourite genre to write?

Sci-Fi. Hands down.

37. First person or third person - what do you write in and why?

I prefer third person, particularly restricted third person, because it is easier to write about different characters. That way the reader knows what’s going on when the main cast do not. I was very surprised I enjoyed writing first person so much in Mask Behind the Monster, though. But I did leap into third person a couple of times to give a wider perspective.

38. Do you use established canon characters or do you create OCs?

I love creating OCs. But I will use canon characters in the Sonic fandom.

39. What is you greatest strength as a writer?

From what I’ve been told, character development.

40. What do you struggle the most with in your writing?

Violence. And tragic back stories. I have legit questioned my sanity when coming up with scenes that include this.

Also... when I write fluff... I kind of grind to a halt and struggle through it. Often interspersed with gazing from the window and thinking well further ahead than where I’m currently at. This often results in forgetting dialogue I think up during my garden gazing.

Fanfiction Questions

41. List and link to 5 fanfics you are currently reading:

I won’t post links because it is much too fiddly. But Guiding Light by Ambyssin, Heart Song by Suetonicsonic, Fall From Power by Lordius Dannius.

Hands of Creation by Namohysip, and The Curious and the Shiny by Nebula Dreams. Both of which I seriously need to pick up again.

I believe you can find all of them on FFNet.

42. List and link to 5 fanfiction authors who are amazing:

Same applies as above. Ambyssin, Suetonicsonic, Namohysip, Chibi Pika and Nebula Dreams.

43. Is there anyone in your fandom who really inspires you?

Ambyssin has provided some amazing constructive criticism on System:Reboot which has resulted in me making a terrifying antagonist out of Gadget the Wolf. I strongly hope no other antagonists will develop what I have nicknamed ‘Socket Syndrome’. His drive and commitment to his writing has been pretty inspirational, too.

But in all fairness, I think most, if not all, of my writing friends have been inspirational and very supportive. I offer digital high-fives to each and every one of you.

44. What ship do you feel needs more attention?

I can’t think of any. People should write what they like. And I believe if you want to read it, and it doesn’t exist, then you should write it yourself if you can.

45. What is your all time favourite fanfic?

Guiding Light by Ambyssin. It’s not often I fall in love with a fanfic.

Fall From Power by Lordius Dannius is another.

46. If someone was to read one of your fanfics, which fic would you recommend to them and why?

The End or The Mask Behind the Monster, because they’re pretty special to me.

47. Archive Of Our Own, Fanfiction.net or Tumblr - where do you prefer to post and why?

FFNet. I’ve been posting there for years. I’m iffy on AO3. I’ve considered posting to Tumblr, but my solution to that is to post links and artwork instead.

48. Do you leave reviews when you read fanfiction? Why/Why not?

If I feel I have something to say, I’ll post a review. I like to make sure I do so, though, and I have been known to make notes on my computer and post reviews in bulk to works posted on Serebii.

49. Do you care if people comment/reblog your writing? Why/why not?

I love comments, and I will try to respond to each one. Reblogs are totally welcome!

50. How did you get into reading and/or writing fanfiction?

I’ve been writing for many, many years. Since before I was ten years old. Pokemon likely got me into fanfiction. I can’t remember writing it for anything else prior to that cringy ‘fic I mentioned earlier (which we will never, ever talk about. Ever.)

51. Rant or Gush about one thing you love or hate in the world of fanfiction! Go!

I love the creativity behind it, especially OCs. Pokemon OCs are my favourites, particularly in PMD or Pokecentric settings. Both Sonic and Pokemon offer a lot of inspiration to create OCs as the worlds are both pretty vast. AUs and canon settings both offer massive scope for creativity. It’s seeing peoples’ headcanons and takes on the franchises that I really enjoy. Yes, I do like shipping, but a story does NOT need it to be a good story. It’s the way people tell it that matters more to me.

I know this says ‘one thing’. But I just want to make it clear, the one part of fanfiction I don’t like, is M-rated stuff. And I will not read it. It... bugs me when a ‘fic I’ve been enjoying suddenly changes its rating XD

(I do not own any of the fandoms or characters mentioned in this post) <- Nervous Nelly moment?