Once upon a time...

Today has been a weird day. I've felt kinda out of it. Posting any new chapters of my WIPs has been absolute no-goings. Things have been hectic with life in general. I can't seem to get any letters of recommendation for Graduate School. Maybe I just asked at the wrong time? I guess I get pretty down on myself, and when one thing goes wrong, I can't seem to make anything else go right. I thought I was going to get a chapter posted tonight, but my head feels fuzzy from lack of sleep, and I'm worried that it's probably still typopalooza where I've gone in and added new stuff. I've gotta stop doing that!

12 – Have you ever attempted an "adaptation" fic of a favorite book or movie but set in a different fandom?

No, I don't think I have. When I was first writing BtVS fics, I think I wanted to adapt Anne Rice's the Taming of Sleeping Beauty series to fit into the 'verse with Spike in the Sleeping Beauty role (someone had accidentally bought the book for me when I was a kid; they really had no idea what it was, and I was shocked to say the least). I do think I've used elements of that series with Sleeping Beauty!Dawn in L'Aurore (not worksafe) and with pet!Spike in a "bridle path" type of scene in Versailles Undone (also not worksafe... at all).

I've sorta been thinking that maybe since some of my fics have taken a harder... edge? to them lately that maybe I should create a separate fanfic/art journal, but that would feel weird, I think. Writing Versailles Undone has actually made me very uncomfortable about my fic-writing ability. At first, I thought the fic was a good idea but now that I'm actually posting it, I feel extremely awkward about it... especially the upcoming chapter that I've put off posting because... I frightened myself with what I wrote. There's a dichotomy there that I don't think is going to sit well with folks. Maybe people will like it though, right?

( Cut for the answer to Days 1-11 and the other 18 questions for the upcoming days... )

I somehow missed a day... O_o;;;

11 – Genre – do you prefer certain genres of fic when you're writing? What kind do you tend to write most?
When I look over all the fics I have written, I have to say that I write... gen!fic? Is "sexy fluff" a genre? As much as I love slash, most of my fics are het, and while I've ventured into dark!fic and NC-17 rated stuff, most of my stuff remains PG-13ish... It's so weird to think about! I guess I've dabbled in a lot of different genres, but I move around a lot when it comes to inspiration. My Spike/Dru fics are generally very dark/horror-humor. My Spike/Fred fics are sexy fluff or gen!fics. My Spike/Angel fics are also kinda romantic comedy-eque. My original Slayer ficlets are all dark gen!fics. I suppose now that I think about it horror and comedy are probably the most prevalent themes.

Help me out. How would you describe the genre I write the most in?


( Cut for the answer to Days 1-10 and the other 19 questions for the upcoming days... )

10 – Pairings – Have you ever gone outside your comfort zone and written a pairing you liked, but found you couldn't write, or a pairing you didn't like, and found you could?
Yes, I have written outside of my comfort zone in both of those situations! For a pairing that I liked but never had been able to write before, I finally was able to write Spike/Tara in Late Fees (not worksafe). As for a pairing I didn't like but wrote, there's Spike/Dawn in L'Aurore (not worksafe either). I'm not sure if I succeeded in either case, but I tried my best. :D

( Cut for the answer to Days 1-9 and the other 20 questions for the upcoming days... )

9 – Pairings – For each of the fandoms from day two, what are your three favorite pairings to write?

Sailor Moon: Naru/Nephlite, Fiore/Mamaru, Fisheye/Tiger's Eye.
Hanson: No pairings.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel: Spike/Fred, Spike/Angel, Spike/Drusilla.
Shoujo Kakumei Utena: Saionji/Wakaba, Saionji/Touga, Saionji/Nanami.
The Dresden Files: Harry/Murphy, Justine/Thomas, Harry/Thomas (I am so wrong, but I don't want to be right).
Harry Potter: Lucius/Narcissa, Snape/Lily, Sirius/Remus.
High Plains Invaders: Sam/Abby... There are no other pairings left... They're all dead. XD
Caprica: Lacy/Barnabas, Barnabas/Clarice, Lacy/Odin.

Oh, redeemable boys... You are so evil, but you have sparkly moments of redemption. The significant others you are paired with will heal your broken, bad boy souls. XD

( Cut for the answer to Days 1-8 and the other 21 questions for the upcoming days... )

8 – Do you write OCs? And if so, what do you do to make certain they're not Mary Sues, and if not, explain your thoughts on OCs.

Yes, indeed, I do write a lot of OCs. I love all my OCs. My oldest and most written OC is Ursula Parthenos. She was in one of my first fics, and she was very much a Mary Sue. I've always paired her with Spike. She's evolved over time into a much more full-fledged, well-rounded character. She went from being a hypersexual mullo (a type of vampire) with a siren song voice to a pregnant video store clerk-and-pub-waitress/failed singer who is barely scrapping by in her London flat. She's matured, and I think she's become a perfect partner for Spike. In my unposted-on-LJ fic the River That Flows, in which she first appeared, Ursula was just... well, she was an insufferable Mary Sue, but by the time James revealed his Spike movie idea and I started to rework her character to be better in my unfinished comic London Calling, I think that she's become an endearing character. I hope that she is, at any rate.

My thoughts on OCs are that OCs are wonderful. Characters come in and out of the canon show all the time, providing a rich tapestry to the story even if we only hear from them once; I think that the same is true for fanfiction OCs. If a person wants to have a Mary Sue/Gary Stu specifically in their story, go right ahead. Let your freak flag fly because you never know what that Mary Sue might lead to storywise. Seriously, I rewrote the River That Flows about seven times, and each time I made Ursula a little less intolerable, but eventually I gave up on the fic all together because of some hatemail I got, but she shows up in some of the first ficlets/drabbles I posted on LJ in her still crazy Mary Sue form. I think she's less awful now, and I've gotten positive feedback about her inclusion as a character, and she's even appeared in someone else's fic! *waves to sistercuervo*

Here's a list of my OCs in order of oldest to newest and the fics in which they appear... I have A LOT of OCs...

( I didn't realize there were so many.... )

( Cut for the answer to Days 1-7 and the other 22 questions for the upcoming days... )

7 – Have you ever had a fic change your opinion of a character?

In one ficlet, Stepping Stones, I didn't so much have to change my opinion of Buffy, but rather I had to make a concentrated effort to make Buffy do something I thought she will never be able to do- admit her faults and seek to take responsibility for her mistakes. In doing so, I had to soften my harsh opinions of her inability to change. However, I view this as making her OOC. I don't believe she can change nor do I believe she will with the way Joss Whedon or any other writers portray her. Instead of changing my opinion, I should say that I left the possibility open that perhaps with a different writer Buffy seeking help for her issues to get herself mentally and emotionally healthy might one day be a possibility.

Similarly, with the chapters in which Buffy appears thus far in Acceptable Losses, I had to "soften" how I portrayed Buffy because I don't believe she's actually capable of empathy nor love at her current state and I had to have her do something that was in a way selfless within the story... Of course, it's only selfless if you interpret her actions to be so, and I did leave that possibility open. On one hand, she's had to give up something that she may not ever get to experience again. On the other hand, did she have ulterior motives besides selfless love and caring in doing so? To be honest, I can't say. That motivation doesn't come into play with the rest of the fic, but I think it lingers as a question. When a "hero" makes a big flowery emotional speech, we tend to take them at their word, but it could be an act, a put-on, or a con just hide selfish reasons why they are doing what they do. Again, I'm not saying that's what Buffy did in Acceptable Losses, but I think it's good policy to question the White Hats every now and then.

And sometimes I need to be reminded that Spike is not a china doll that will be broken into a thousand pieces at the first blush of damage. He has sustained massive hurt-y injuries without shedding a tear or screaming, and sometimes that's difficult for me to remember. I totally blame "Fool for Love" for woobiefying him forever. Come on, all I see in my head is "*shove!* *fall!* *lip wobble!* *sobs!*" Oh the vampmanity! Someone get him a bandaid and a juice box! And then I have to recall the chip and Glory and how it took her trying to scoop out his heart with one finger or him getting nearly crispy-brain-fried to get him to cry out... And then the First... I really don't want to know what the Turok-Han was doing to Spike to make him scream... I have nightmares...

Also, Angel can be goofy as all fuck, and I like that. I think that in writing Acceptable Losses (man, this is making me realize just how much I need to finish posting that fic) that I realized that Angel could be loving. It's one of those things with Spangel where you know that Spike could love Angel, that's just a given, but there's always a lingering doubt of if Angel could truly love Spike or if he can truly love anyone after what he's gone through. I think what really changed him in my view was writing AL, but also some of the lines Brian Lynch wrote at the end of ATF. Angel's true love is his son. Connor is his world; Connor means more to him than anyone else, and no one is going to change that. That's when I realized that Angel is a good man. He gets things so wrong, but he's a good man. If given the chance, Liam would have grown up and been a good man, a good father, a better son. And Spike loves Connor too; they're family, a crazy unnatural dysfunctional family. I LOVE-LOVE-LOVE Brian Lynch's story in the Angel Yearbook because in one of the alternate timelines/dimensions, Angel managed to save Connor from being sucked into Quor'toth, but afterwards became so overprotective that he pushed all his friends away. Somehow, in that timeline, Spike entered the picture, and he was the only person Angel trusted enough to help look after three-year-old Connor. It just really reaffirmed my Spangel love.

I am rambling tonight! Whoo!

( Cut for the answer to Days 1-6 and the other 23 questions for the upcoming days... )

6 – When you write, do you prefer writing male or female characters?

I think that I don't have a preference. I think probably in overall volume I write male characters more, but most of the time I don't think about it too hard. Most of my original characters are female though, which some of them are female for necessity and others by happenstance of whatever gender felt right at the time.

Growing up most of the cartoon characters I like the most were male... and they were all the snarky ones (Raphael from the Ninja Turtles, anyone?), but the female characters that I identified with were very take-charge, cynical, sarcastic, domineering, and often goal-oriented *cough*they-were-usually-villains*cough*. Some might say that those female characters had a lot stereotypically "masculine" characteristics. I tended to dislike title characters, and typically title characters that are female represent "feminine ideals," which I have distain for. For example, Jem from "Jem and the Holograms" with her pink hair and her millions of dollars and her goody-two-shoes ways. She's all, "Oh, poor me, my boyfriend is in love with Jem!me not Jerrica!me! If only I could tell him, but I can't for reasons that I totally made up for plot contrivance. I just like to be dramacakes!" What about Pizzazz, Jem? Do you care that she is only hard-edged to protect the very sensitive part of herself left broken by years of parental abuse? Do you care that Roxy can't even read?! No, you don't! Self-absorbed cottoncandy-lookin' fluffball! Argh! *has an 80's flashback and falls over from too much Tab soda*

Of course, on the other hand, I do like Fifi La Fume from Tiny Toon Adventures, which makes me slightly ashamed since she's basically the female analogue of the most prolific cartoon serial molester of all time. She just wants to be loved... even if it means tying up a guy and holding him captive to do it. We've all been there, haven't we? Plus, she lived in an awesome Cadillac DeVille in a junkyard. You can't go wrong there... Well, you can but... XD

I have no idea what point I was trying to make... Oh yeah, maybe I write male characters more because I just feel more comfortable doing so... or maybe I just like writing guy-on-guy vampire porn which doesn't require a lot of female characters. XD

( Cut for the answer to Days 1-5 and the other 24 questions for the upcoming days... )

5 –If you have ever had a character try to push their way into a fic, whether your "muse" or not, what did you do about it?

When I first got the plot bunny for Acceptable Losses, it was just about Spike, Angel, Connor, and the group of young Slayers. However, Buffy kept pushing her way into the plot when I was trying to turn it into a longer fic. Even though I don't really like writing Buffy (I often feel like I'm going to piss people off by how I view her because my POV of her is usually very different from the general consensus), I decided to let the idea play out as I wrote the outline. I don't think that it necessarily hurt what I was originally intending to do, and it probably made certain aspects of the plot (that I won't spoil since I'm still posting the bloody thing XD ) stronger and will hopefully make the message of the fic clearer by the end. However, it did take the fic in a completely different direction with the focus of the main plot. When I was editing, it made me realize that some stuff was going to have to be rewritten and taken out. One of the biggest reasons it's taken so long for me to finish posting the fic is because of Buffy's presence therein and the consequences of her being there, even for a short time. I guess that's a large part of her being the formerly title character- her presence is felt even when she's not there whether I want her to be a part of the plot or not.

I will also say that in my other current WIP Versailles Undone that a character I didn't expect somehow weaseled his way into the story that I wasn't exactly prepared for when the outline was being created, but there he was and he wouldn't go away... so he gets to stay. I won't say who he is for spoiler reasons, but I hope that he won't be too out-of-place.

I guess Spike could also be a constant answer to this question as well, but more precisely William. I really enjoy writing stories in which Spike can flashback to his past, and I can share glimpses into his childhood. Since we learn nothing in canon about his father, I got to completely create Phineas Pratt as a character, and I do like getting to include Victorian family interludes if I can. Plus, Phineas/Anne has become one of my OTPs. Their love is so adorkably literary and tragically filled with tuberculosis!

Overall, I suppose my first instinct to a character I didn't originally intend to include in a fic wanting to "join in" on a plot is to just let it happen. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. I can go back to the outline and rework what was happening or maybe tweak things to see if I can make it work after all.

( Cut for the answer to Days 1-4 and the other 25 questions for the upcoming days... )

Midnight again!

4 – Do you have a "muse" character, that speaks to you more than others, or that tries to push their way in, even when the fic isn't about them? Who are they, and why did that character became your muse?

Spike. He is my muse, completely and totally. He brought me into my favourite fandom, and he's just such a great character, layered and versatile (not to mention volatile). He's very interesting and passionate. Sometimes I just want to add him into situations and even into other fandoms to see how he would react or how others would react to him. It took me a long time, however, to feel like I could write his voice the way that I felt was true to the actual character. More importantly, professionally I suppose, is that he, and James Marsters by extension, is a muse for my art as well.

Oddly enough, a character that I took to writing instantly that I would like to write more of is Sam Danville from High Plains Invaders. I cannot explain it, but there's something about that woobie cowboy that makes me want to write whole novels about his continuing misadventures. He's a... simple character. His emotions are out there for the world to see; it's hard to for him to hide his feelings. Sam is proof that you can cry and still defeat big uranium-eatin' alien boogs, and he's just adorable. I've written so many snippets about him that I need to finish into a longer fic. XD


( Cut for the answer to Days 1-3 and the other 26 questions for the upcoming days... )

Midnight whooo!

3 – For each of the fandoms from day two, what were your favorite characters to write?
Sailor Moon: Nephlite and Sailor Mars.
Hanson: Isaac, though he's not really a character but he is a character. LOL. XD
Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel: Spike, Fred, Drusilla, Betta George, Connor, and Angel.
Shoujo Kakumei Utena: Saionji, Touga, Nanami, and Wakaba.
The Dresden Files: Harry, Thomas, and Mouse.
Harry Potter: Draco and Snape.
High Plains Invaders: Sam and Abby.
Caprica: Lacy and Barnabas.


Apparently I enjoy writing characters that are either the bad boys with hearts of gold, the nerdy/insane ladies, the very angry women who want to be loved, and anyone played by James Marsters. XD


( Cut for the answer to Days 1-2 and the other 27 questions for the upcoming days... )