Ask Me Anything Birthday Edition · 9:00pm Aug 20th, 2014
Hey, everyone!
So last year I did one of these Ask Me Anything bloggaboos for my birthday, despite normally being sorta meh about my birthday in general, and I recall having a good time of it, so I figgered I'd do it again! And since I've been kinda quiet lately, I thought I'd start out answering the two questions I've gotten around the site the most recently.
Q: Where'd you go? Are you okay? Did somebody explode? You didn't succumb to the drugs, did you? I bet it was the drugs.
A: I'm alive! Really, I am, I promise. I've been pretty damn quiet here for a while, because...well, I haven't really felt like writing. I've been busy with other, totally not productive things (I'm super close to 100% complete on FTL), and just haven't felt much like writing anything, pony or non-pony. I'm by no means done, nor have I lost interest, I've just been in a not-writing phase for a decent chunk of time.
Q: When are you updating Coming Back?
A: 
So, this gets brought up a lot, much more than any other story I've worked on (though that makes sense considering it's the second story I started on the site and it remains unfinished, while most of my others are, in fact, completed), and the answer is...I don't know? I mean, right now I haven't been feeling like writing anything, but even factoring that out, I haven't really wanted to work on CB for a while. It's pretty daunting a story to work on, what with the rewrites that are left and the bulk of story remaining to finish it, especially when I have an otherwise loaded plate of projects I want to focus on. I don't really wanna disappoint anyone with it and I'd love to have all the time and inspiration in the world so I could just hammer it out and have it done, but more than likely it's gonna be a low priority project for me for a while. So...sorry to those who are waiting for more of it. If I was giving up on it, I'd cancel it, but I'm not going to do that because I'd still like to get back to it at some point.
And, to cut off the next question I foresee:
Q: So how much closer are you to moldering in the ground, you old fuck?
A: I'm 28 today, so you're stuck with me kickin' for a while yet. :P
So with that outta the way, ask me anything!
If you were a chick...When is CB....You talk about writing original shit. What genre and what about?
Edit: you're old as shit.
Why is TwiDash your favorite ship? Not that I'm complaining, I'm just wondering what makes TwiDash so awesome in a lot of people's books. (you've most likely mentioned why before and I'm just being a stupid, if so feel free to ignore)
If you were to write TwiDash child bearing/rearing, who would carry the foal and why?
2386133
I've got a young adult novel that's a supernatural adventure story about animals that talk. Tooootally stretching my writing legs there.
2386134
Well...TwiDash is one of my favorites, though I can't say it's my absolute favorite. I've been on a major TwiJack jag for a while now.
That said, I went into what it is that draws me to TwiDash in a forum post here, which I like just linking to because it's a fairly complete summation of my thoughts on the pairing.
2386140
Twilight would carry, because I don't picture Dash being much interested in being pregnant, especially if she has a partner to carry a child (she'd be bent out of shape about what it'd do to her training routine). Plus, I imagine Twilight would want to carry, so it wouldn't even be much of a discussion for them.
2386144 That makes a scary amount of sense. Now I feel like writing and/or reading some TwiDash...
Aside from Twi, who is your favorite ship for Dash?
Who is best background pony?
What did you think of the S4 Finale?
[Insert question about reading here]
(sorry, I had to!)
A gallon of maple syrup, motor oil, or hydrochloric acid?
Death count on FTL?
What new recipe have you recently cooked?
If you could censor one word or phrase out of existence, what would it be?
Tell me of your biggest man crush.
2386154
2386167
1) Probably RariDash. Maybe AppleDash. They're both pretty close.
2) Don't really care about background ponies that much, since they're mostly about the character designs, which is probably the lowest priority for me in whether or not I like a character. Is Bulk Biceps still considered a background character, or is he a side character now? YEAH!
3) I quite loved it. It wrapped up so many plot threads the show had set out in a really satisfying way, and in a sense made S3 better in hindsight. Probably my favorite finale yet.
2386171
Yeah, yeah.
2386172
1) I would not like to drink any of those.
2) I have defeated 2,866 ships. I am unsure how many times I've died, though I've played 231 games and only 36 of which were victories. That figure is skewed because there have been a ton of games where I didn't play through to victory despite being able to take the flagship because I was pursuing specific achievements/ship quests/etc.
3) I've been experimenting with a pork green chlli recipe off and on for a while.
4) I really don't believe in censorship.
What's the biggest change in the way you interact with FiMFiction over the past year or so? Are you happier now, or do you miss how it used to be?
2386214
Either Neil Patrick Harris or Justin Timberlake.
And considering I'm bi, those are probably just crush-crushes.
2386220
Haven't decided yet. The holdover name at the moment is Such Name Wow.
For a more serious question: If you had to re-do a fic, any of them, from the ground up, with a significant change (one you desire, that is) - which one would it be? Coming Back not counted in this :P
2386233
Well, I'm certainly less driven to post ponyfic now compared to then (though it was starting to taper off), which has overall made me less involved in the site as a whole. I'm not sure I like it or hate it, honestly. At times I wish I was more into it, but on the other hand I am enjoying what I'm doing now and am overall in a much better mood. I guess it's just different, as opposed to something positive or negative.
2386248
Well...If I had to redo a fic from the ground up with a significant change, I probably would just do it, so none? There are a few fics I've vaguely wanted to polish given hindsight, but that isn't really the same thing.
Okay, so the very first fic I wrote for this site is suuuuuper flawed and if I were to rewrite it, it would come with some drastic changes, so I guess that one.
2386150
Alright.
What would the child be (unicorn/Pegasus/earth pony/alicorn)(male/female), which parent would it take after more, and what child rearing drama would you write?
2386285
Really depends on the story. There would be reasonable stories to tell from any sort of combo, though the foal wouldn't be an alicorn, seeing as that appears to be counter to canon for where alicorns come from. I don't have a set 'this'd be the story I'd tell' based on them having foals, and honestly, I'm not sure I'd be terribly interested in writing a TwiDash child-rearing story outside of the continuity I already have established with that.
I'm gonna ask a second one, because Tcherno inspired me.
If you could have a sequel to any fic you've written, without actually having to spend the time writing it (it would appear on the site fully written and edited exactly how you imagine it) what would it be a sequel to, and what would the basic plot be?
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What's your opinion of TwiDash Scootadopt?
How do you define Spike and Twilight's relationship?
What fictional world would you most want to see Twilight and Rainbow get (temporarily) stranded in?
Eyyy, you really are Not Dead!
I know you've mentioned an SF sequel as a possibility in the past; are you any closer to or further away from that? Acknowledging the whole "not writing" thing.
1. Have you ever thought about writing another polyamory fic (like your Room for One More)? Which characters would you choose now?
2. Out of your own stories - which one is your favorite?
3. What's your opinion on Rarijack?
If you could change one thing about the show, what would it be?
Hasbro calls you up and tells you that they're going to make a character gay because they'll be damned if the Supreme Court does to them what it did to Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? Who do you make gay, and why?
Who should MA Larson give wings to in season 5 so Twilight has company at all the funerals?
What would be your favorite concept to 'ponify'?
And what is one thing you think should never be 'ponified'?
I unerstand the no-writing phase, and I sympathize directly with the FTL-ness.
It's good to hear from you.
What are the chances, when you inevitably regain your groove we'll see more Twi, and AppleDash Fluff? I'm ambivalent about polyamoury, but I consider the pair of Dash-pairs to be important to my cheer level.
Gratz on surviving another multi-billion-mile trip around Sol with us. Be well.
~(OvO)~
2386317
Oof, I wish I had that magical power for all writing.
I guess it would be the sequel to Spellbound Fireflies, which would be a story about teenagers pitting their ambitions vs. their relationships as well as an exploration of relationship what-ifs that would center around the major AU element of SF that was mostly hidden in the original story. I say that one because it's the longest thing I want to write that's a sequel.
2386362
Well, the scene where Twilight and AJ kiss, which could totally happen because they're obviously kissing off screen already.
In seriousness, I'm still waiting for that RariDash friendshipping episode.
2386383
1) Well, my most popular fic is a TwiDash with Scootadopt. Now in saying that, I mostly dislike TwiDash with Scootadopt, because there are a lot of inter-relationship things that need to be settled for Dash adopting Scoots to not be weird, and most writers aren't really aware of those sorts of things or at least don't handle them in stories very well.
2) Spike is Twilight's little brother, and they have that somewhat strange sibling relationship that develops when there is not an extremely present mother figure (in this case, Celestia would be the sorta-mother to the two of them, but is distant enough that such a role wasn't super cemented for the three of them) and the elder sibling ends up doing a lot of the parenting for the younger one. It's a fusion of younger brother/son for Twi and older sister/mother for Spike.
3) I'm not much for cross-overs, but I think the two of them would have an awesome time in an Indiana Jones-verse.
2386406
See my response above to bookplayer for a bit of detail on it. I'm not terribly close to writing it, as it's behind at least two novels on the backburner.
2386408
1) I would not write another poly fic; they're a lot of juggling and I did it the way I wanted to in Room. Though if I were to pick a different triad as 'potentially neat,' I think the mirror grouping of RariShyPie would be interesting.
2) Spellbound Fireflies means the most to me personally, I suppose. I think I've gotten progressively better at writing each time out, so my current favorite as far as the writing in it goes is Home Grown.
3) S4 killed RariJack for me. Simple Ways dug the hole and Trade Ya! buried it. I used to make the assumption after Look Before you Sleep that although the two of them had really different outlooks, they had arrived at a place of mutual respect and a little bit of admiration for the other. Nope. Not only do AJ and Rarity have no understanding of what the other one is all about, they are both actively condescending towards the other's outlook and hol it in contempt. Which makes their banter great and hilarious, but would make them absolutely miserable together in a relationship. And that's just not something that interests me in romance writing.
All of the ships are viable, though, it's just rather low on my list of m6/m6 now.
2386447
1) I dunno that I'd change anything. Most of the faults of the show are what makes it such a great world to write fanfic in. I'd maybe up their budget a bit and take off a bit of the pressure in regards to the number of seasons the show may or may not get, so the writers could really do what they wanted to do with it.
2) Applejack. I think she's the character that's most interesting as being gay, and not because of the tomboy thing, or the 'omg, southern people and prejudice, omg.' I just think she's the most quietly confident and put together character on the show and making her gay would be an extremely positive role model choice.
3) I think they should be done alicorning the cast. Twilight's been built to from the start, the others really haven't, and upping the wing/horn ratio of the group would feel samey, cheap, and a cash-in for more toy sales that has no narrative purpose.
Been there, felt that, doing everything to keep from going back. But I understand it so take all the time ya need. At least your not like some authors who disappear for six months, reappear only to write an apology for being gone then disappear again. You're way more active.
Hmmm, question, question, question...
Here's one, weirdest ship you have ever come across?
2386464
I think ponifying things is sort of strange, because so much of the world is already humanlike. It's hard to say what is and isn't already 'ponified,' so pointing out a specific concept would be tough.
Of what shouldn't be ponified, the site really needs to stop with the puns using words that shouldn't be changed. I saw morphine changed to marephine once.
That is wrong, and they should feel bad.
2386481
Well, most of my planned stories seem to be TwiJack, with a handful of sequels that are mostly to TwiDash stories. Not a lot planned for AppleDash currently, save for some AppleDashLight side stories to Room for One More.
2386635
I've seen GummyLestia.
Maybe IronTank was weirder.
Berry Punch/giant talking spider?
This fandom is odd.
Pancakes or waffles?This is kind of building off of Jake's question, but, in the upcoming season five, how would you like to see some of the characters develop? They've all grown since season one, episode one, but how might you like to see them grow even more in the coming episodes? Perhaps Rainbow finding a new dream outside of the Wonderbolts? Twilight embracing her official role as Princess of Friendship? An episode featuring Fluttershy that doesn't teach the same lesson she's learned multiple times? That kind of thing.
2386675
On the subject of odd ships, what is your gut reaction to CelestiPie?
Don't sweat not writing, because if you make yourself do it when you don't want to it just becomes a pointless chore. It's supposed to be fun for both sides of the experience, and you should only write when you feel like writing, unless it's a job or something like that.
Glad to see you're still kicking. I started to worry you'd gone TAW on us, just for a bit.
2386702
I'd actually really love to see more CMC/Spike growth. Part of the issue with the growth to the mane six is that if you mature them too much you start running out of issues for them to overcome, but if you put them in the teaching roles over younger characters, you're getting to see that more mature side of the mane six, while watching characters that have much further a distance to go towards independence have a chance to grow and change.
Also, CREPES.
i.imgur.com/6Xjr4qx.png
2386705
I'm not really fond of the age gap, but personality-wise it's a nice ship.
2386733
A man after my own heart.
2386733
I never thought about it that way, but that would actually be wonderful to see. The more I think about it, the more I want to see the main cast act as leaders/teachers/role models to help other characters learn and grow. I love it.
Well, sounds like someone hasn't had his pancakes today.
Best Ship? Worst Ship? Best Crack Ship? Best Threesome? Foursome? Orgy?
TheWraithWriter must know!
iambrony.dget.cc/mlp/gif/10690__safe_princess-celestia_animated_molestia_dance_grin_headbob_headbang.gif
2386832
Sorta boringly. Two out of three are the practical and forward types to just ask for what they want directly, while the other is brash and has some tact problems. Two of three would probably start dating, the third would express interest casually, or one of the two would express interest in the third, and eventually they'd talk themselves into a triad.
2386837
TwiJack currently, don't like crack ships that much, AppleDashLight, and anything over three is too many chefs in the romance kitchen.
So, my question is based off previous things you've already answered.
You already said there isn't any ONE SIGNIFICANT THING you'd fix about any of your stories in specific if given the chance.
You also answered a question saying that now you no longer see RariJack as working well
That being said (and I know you also mentioned that Coming Back isn't gonna return any time soon, but that's not my question anyways so NYAH), when you do eventually continue Coming Back, and since you're ALREADY rewriting it as it is, do you intend to remove the pre-existing RariJack from it?
2386872
I do not plan on removing it. The RariJack in CB plays an important role as a foil relationship to the TwiDash, and will be a necessary part of the plot in a future arc for it.
2386240 Not Patrick Stuart?
2386922
Man, everybody has a crush on Patrick Stewart.
2386865
omniship is good omniship is right omniship is beautiful omniship is true
2386964
Meh.
2386951 whyevolutionistrue.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/picture-22.png?w=563&h=325
2386231 To ask the question Posted really wanted to ask, if you could pick one word to eliminate from reality, what word would that be?
2387024
Moist. It sounds gross.
Nah, I dunno. How about yolo? Are people tired of yolo yet? Hashtag? Twerking! Let's eliminate 'twerking' from our vocabulary.
derpicdn.net/img/view/2013/11/29/485176__twilight+sparkle_animated_meme_suggestive_princess+twilight_plot_discord_vulgar_out+of+context_spoiler-colon-s04e01.gif
2387031 What the FUCK is that? It looks like.. I dunno, a knee stretching out a scrotum.
2387066
That's Discord in Princess Twilight pt. 1. They interrupted his bath, so he dried his ass with a fuzzy pink towel in Twilight's face.