Q&A · 5:09pm Apr 1st, 2014
With the recent dramatic events in the life of our heroes Harpflank and Sweets, I thought it was time to open up the floor for a question and answer session. Do you have any burning questions you’ve always wanted to know? Perhaps you wanted to learn more about me? Maybe you want my theories on how Travis survived Blake’s 7 series 2 episode 13?
I will kick off with some amazing facts about myself and my writing:
* My username was originally supposed to be 'Arcanium'. I mean, say it out loud. That's what you think it is, right? Nope! Look closer, it's actually Arcainum! I was quite young when I first got on the internet, and just made a spelling mistake when signing up to my Furaffinity account. It was months before I realised, and by that point, the name had stuck!
* I was a very early entrant into the fandom, starting with the very first episode as I am generally a fan of cartoons for very small children anyway. It was an added bonus to discover that MLP was good, though I still think that bronies are very elitist and would enjoy Strawberry Shortcake if only they gave it a chance.
Because of this Harpflank and Sweets was very different! Back then you see, the background ponies didn’t have agreed names, so I decided that the green and yellow one would be called ‘Harpflank’ and ‘Sweets’. I tried to push this quite hard, but Sethisto would never reply to any of my carefully worded emails, and eventually the (I feel inferior) names of Lyra and Bon-Bon were chosen by fandom. I didn’t want to have to change the name of my story (which at the time was uploaded on my Livejournal) so came up with the clever idea of giving them superhero names.
* My main influences for Harpflank and Sweets are superhero comics, Duck Tales (but only the good later series when it is all about Gizmoduck) and the works of Friedrich Nietzsche.
* I actually have a pony tattoo! It’s quite small, on my arm, and it is of Lyra’s cutie mark. I did it myself with a drawing pin and some poster paint, and I think it came out really well. You can sort of see what it is, around the scarring.
* Travis gets shot by Avon, but it’s clearly sand that pours out of his wound, not blood. Then he falls on the floor onto some sort of blue screen as the camera whirls around and zooms out, and someone in the room plays the Wilheim scream on a tape deck. I would think pretty much anyone could survive that. The same actor also played cabbie Ted in the popular soap Eastenders. I like to believe Ted is actually Travis after escaping from Star One, and deciding to settle down in London’s East End. I did write a long letter to the BBC with a suggested script to make this clear, but they never replied.
So, any more questions for me? I’ll answer anything!
Why is Justin Bieber still popular?
1973281
He's actually not popular at all. I just love him so much I have to buy all his records and associated merchandise.
Can a whee little Yankee like myself ever compare to your superior Britishness?
Who is best pony?
1973293
Avon
We can ask ANYTHING right?
1973305
Unless the answer would see me straight back in the slammer for another ten year stretch!
1973315 Okay. Would you like to write a 100 word guest chapter for my anthology of Fifty Eight Extremely Short, Incredibly Horrible, and Shamelessly Bizarre Slashfics, Plus One That's Just Plain Insane, Not to Mention a Character Uprising, Also a Bomb Threat, With a Few Optional Stable Time Loops Too, and Additionally a Foalnapping?
What are you playing at?
Who are you again?
1973321
Of course! I will start working on my Ursa Major / Breezie shipfic right now!
1973400 Oh Celestia, that's gloriously silly.
1973352
Oh wowwwwwwwwwwwww Blueshift! Eeeeee
You're my favourite writer, you know! Out of everyone in human history! I cry myself to sleep because I know I can never be 1/10th of the writer you are!
1973418 You won't believe the things I can do now!
1973439
It's better to write and die than live with the knowledge that I ran.
1973442 Hopefully your time away has taught you a short, sharp lesson.
What is the likelihood of Bon-Bon coming back to life as a vampire? And will Lyra still love her when she does? Also, will Lyra ever reconcile with her birth parents? Is Metropony Girls ever coming? Why do we never cuddle anymore?
Any chance of something else as ridiculously random and over the top as Twi Hard 2: Twi Harder?
What is the meaning of spoon?