Questions and Answers · 3:53pm March 21st
Hey! If you've been poking around fimfic lately, or (like me) you've been a fan of It Is All Hell from DAY ONE, you might have seen a few interviews they've done pop up. If you're like me, you'll also have noticed that these interviews, so far, consist exclusively of older fimfic users with over 1,000 followers and (again, if you're like me) you'll have been very surprised when you were asked to do an interview too.
Also, if you're still like me, you'll feel the need to clear the air about any potential bias in this arrangement: Me and It Is All Hell have been messaging back and forth for a weeks before this (as you might pick up on with a couple of the questions here), so it hasn't come completely out of nowhere. I've also been shilling their fic (also titled "It Is All Hell") fairly strong recently, but that's just because it's actually good and I think it deserves more attention - I'd still be recommending it if I never once spoke to them.
Anyway, enough faff, here are the questions:
HOW... THE FUCK... DO I PRONOUNCE... ALAFOEL... AND ALAOEL?
Total cop out answer: however you want! alaoel is the username I use on most sites and was chosen purely for aesthetic reasons. The letters look nice in sequence, that's all it's really meant to be. Pleasing to look at, and beyond that whatever it means or sounds like is just a reflection of the reader. alafoel is just a pun with alaoel and foal, since it's an MLP site and all. If you really want answers: I pronounce "alaoel" like "a-layle" and I mostly avoid pronouncing alafoel at all, but at a push I'd say "a-laugh-oh-el". Still, follow your heart!
What type of Fimfiction writer would you like to be? Potential considerations: how polarising, how prolific, how many followers, how many words, being known for things other than writing stories (e.g., writing reviews), percentage of clop in your bibliography, etc.
I mostly just want to write the sort of things I like to read. Oh man, two cop out answers in a row!
To hit some of the points you brought up, my fic "colts don't cry" was definitely polarising when I first uploaded it. It got like 20 downvotes overnight when I put it up, but it's climbed to a much higher like ratio since - still my most liked fic. I didn't write it to be polarising or controversial, I wrote it because it was the story I was trying to tell. It genuinely didn't even occur to me that it might be a controversial topic, which, in hindsight, is probably a bad thing. It was honestly just a combination of a few things I wanted to earnestly explore. I think I'd prefer not to be polarising or upsetting to any readers, but at the same time I think a lot of great art almost has to be challenging to be interesting - I'm not going to avoid a topic because I'm worried it's controversial or polarising if it's something I genuinely want to (and feel capable of) writing.
In terms of being prolific, I'm definitely on the "quality not quantity" train. I would rather spend weeks on something I'm proud of than days on something I'm not - not to say I don't want to get faster at writing, I know I could improve my turnaround and I do want to, just not so much it affects the quality of what I'm doing. I'm more than happy to go a month or so without uploading. For word count: as many as I need. For follower count: I would be lying if I said I didn't want, like, as many followers as possible. I think it's just human nature to want these sort of numbers to be bigger. But, as of writing this, I have 19 followers and I'm genuinely happy with that number because I know some of the followers are genuine fans of my writing. Genuinely connected to it in some way, which is so insane to think about. I'd rather have 19 followers like this than 1,000 followers who are just looking for something easy to read, or what have you. I don't have any plans for this account outside of just uploading stories/poetry, but I'll try to keep recommending other users fics when I can because so many really deserve more attention. One day I'd like to publish some novel under the name alaoel and maybe be known here as "that published author". I have no plans or interest in writing clop.
In general, I try to hold myself to some basic rules when I write. That's how I know I can be proud of it, that I set myself guidelines and stick to them. I published a fic previously where I didn't stick to the sort of rules I set myself, and I became so ashamed of it I took it down. The rules aren't really like a concrete checklist, more a set of vague ideals in my head: trying to avoid profanity where possible (two of my fics contain brief profanity, in situations where I felt it was an acceptible exception for emphasis, emotion or for the sake of consciously seperating it from my other writing), trying to keep every character three dimensional and (ironically) humanised, trying to make sure the narration is as much of a character as the actual characters (easier, obviously, with first person but just as important in third person), trying to make sure there's a purpose or message to what I'm writing. I don't want to write empty calories, I want it to be something the reader can, hopefully, really get something out of that sticks with them after reading. Oh, and also long paragraphs. I love long paragraphs.
You've already given me the short version, but give us the long version of your cover art philosophy.
I suppose the core "philosophy" of it, is that I treat it as I would a professional book cover or album cover. I want it to have the fic title, my name, a representation of the work's themes and events AND I want it to look good. And, except for the one fic, I want it to be made by me. A lot of my art and writing in some way builds off of reference and allusion to existing art, which is definitely true for my fic covers: taking in multiple sources and ideas and re-assembling them to make something new. I like to do the covers myself, because I like to understand them and craft them, to have deliberacy to them that I can understand. I'm not sure the best way to explain my "philosophy" without just individually breaking down each cover, so I've done that in a seperate blog post here.
What's some music you like that expresses a similar perspective to that of your writing, and where's the overlap?
For the most part, this is dependant on exactly what I'm writing and why. Though I'd still say all of my writing is pretty heavily influenced by the music I listen to, just as all of my life is pretty heavily influenced by the music I listen to (I'm the sort of jackass who posts song lyrics online without context). I'd say the overall perspective of my writing is the same as my life: remember that everyone is three dimensional, and that life can never be perfect (and sometimes, frankly, it sucks) but it can still be good if we try to make it good. The second point is definitely exemplified in a lot of the music I listen to, Forever by Insane Clown Posse and Hello, Good Night by The Aquabats! come to mind immediately. A more oblique example would be The Music Lovers by Destroyer. The former point, that everyone is three dimensional and human, is harder to think of musical examples for - The Benefits of Lying (With Your Friend) by The Apples in Stereo expresses this in some way, but in a much bleaker sense than I consider it. Thinking more: in general I value sincerity and want to express that in my writing, and for sure a lot music I listen to has the same ideals of being sincere. Insane Clown Posse, The Aquabats! again good examples, Daniel Johnston is probably the most obvious and traditional answer for sincerity in music, some of the more "bubblegum" tracks of Devi McCallion, The Apples in Stereo too.
Specific works are definitely much more influenced by specific music - Applejack And Rarity: Scenes from a relationship. is completely head-to-toe inspired by the album "Her Wallpaper Reverie" by The Apples in Stereo, down to the chapter titles being song names and the fic cover copying the album cover. I explain a bit more of the connection and the meaning of the connection in that fic cover guide I just wrote. Her Wallpaper Reverie is my favourite album, like, ever, so I think about it a lot. Hell, even the title of this blog post is a song from that album.
"colts don't cry" is named after the song Boys Don't Cry by The Cure. It's a very deliberate inspiration for the fic, the feeling of being young and trying to conform to some ideal of masculinity, of trying to repress yourself and your feelings because you think it's what you're meant to do. The other major inspiration for the fic - especially the second half - is the song I Don't Want It by Ween. It's a song about the realisation that a relationship is inevitably doomed, that your love has to go away. "I understand it, but I don't want it." Thats' the feeling of the second half or so of the fic, Braeburn realising the situation he's in is temporary and impossible. I'm pretty sure I directly name drop this in the fic, since it's easy to get away with. There are a few other smaller influences for this fic, but those are the main ones.
Its follow up, Nervous Young Stallions is named after Nervous Young Men - a name Will Toledo released music as before Car Seat Headrest (a band that has definitely influenced a lot of my writing, with similar focuses on being young, queer and vulnerable).
I can't discuss the music that has influenced me without mentioning So Great and Powerful. SGaP is an older brony musician who, as far as I'm concerned, has the magic touch when it comes to music. My profile picture on this site comes from the thumbnail for the song Indelible Ink, a collaboration between SGaP and Tsyolin, and also the first SGaP song I heard. It's one of the few songs where I really feel myself reflected back by it, where it truly (on some level) does feel like it was written about me. SGaP has an incredible grasp on lyricism, they're able to perfectly weave these emotions and perfect glimpses of humanity. I'm sure all my writing is influenced by them on some level, but my poetry is definitely conciously influenced by their music. I wish I was better at explaining this, but basically SGaP means a lot to me!
I also believe that unconcious inspiration is just as important as concious inspiration in the creation of art, and is infitely more unavoidable. I can't think of all the songs and lyrics that were squirming away somewhere in the back of my head that swayed me to write this or think that, but I know they were there. Like I said, the music I listen to is a constant influence on my life. In general, music is very unique in it's ability to be non-concrete: to suggest and express emotion and narrative without the need to rely on reality. To just create, out of thin air, feeling and understanding. Because of this it's also a lot more personal, and burrows much deeper into you when you do connect with it.
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I got a Fluttershy tattoo in 2019 (although it's so abstract you'd never tell that that's what it is). Have you paid tribute to your favourite pony or the show in any way that isn't a Fimfiction story?
Okay, I knew this question was coming so I've been thinking about it. So far, the other people you've asked have mostly talked about merchandise they own. That's not what the phrasing of the question says to me, 'paid tribute'. How do you pay tribute to something? If you bought a Bowie album today, you wouldn't say you were paying tribute to him. If you tried to replicate his ideals and philosophy, tried to embody him and what he stood for, then you'd say you were paying tribute. Even your example, getting a tattoo, that's not so much buying something as it is becoming something. Friendship is Magic is a show, at it's core, about being the best person you can be: about being kind, generous, honest, etc. etc. I try to follow that. I try to be a good person. I don't think I'm quite there yet, but I'm trying. There's a lot of love in my heart and I want to make sure it gets out there without hurting people. Equestria is a beautiful, kind place that revolves around understanding and helping others: the real world can be difficult and ugly and I wish it was more like Equestria basically all the time, but I know if I want it to change I have to be the one to change it. So I'm trying to do my best to make things better, rather than worse. That's how I'm paying tribute.
Why's the Apple family of particular interest to you?
For the most part, it's just that I like them. They're fun and interesting characters. I'm still not quite sure like exactly why they appeal to me so much, but I have some ideas. I think the simplest answer is just that I'm a full on dixieboo, raised watching American television instead of going outside, so I have these idealised swooning concepts of America and especially the south that have stuck with me. It's just nice to hear a southern accent and see a cowboy hat. On another more personal note, I'm sure in part that it's because I relate to them (I've definitely been kin assigned Applejack more than once). There's a stubbornness to them, this idea that they can't or shouldn't ask for help. It's something I relate to, it's something I struggle with. I want to be able to ask for help but this pride or stubbornness or fear gets ahead of it, and it's the same for the Apples. They don't want to be burdens. They want to get on and fix things themselves, even if it hurts them. Obviously it's a very poor way to go about life, but it's one I very much understand. I think these are the two mane reasons I'm drawn to them.
With Applejack specifically, I respect and look up to her ability to be honest and direct. I'm a damn liar and I wish I wasn't. With Big Mac, I very much relate to his quietness. I'm almost always the quietest person in a room, I like to listen. It's usually very difficult for me to speak. Sometimes it feels impossible for me to speak. I understand it, I've been there, not being able to say much more than yes (or "eeyup"). I guess they're just good candidates for emotional exploration, having obvious emotional and expressive flaws but still being loveable and endearing.
Which Apple would you rather be alone with for a day, and why? Applejack, who believes that you invented an entire code for the sole purpose of using it to insult her and that anything you do contains coded insults. Apple Bloom, who believes that your opinion of her cutie mark is that it's irredeemable fucking garbage. Big Mac, who believes that you're convinced that his lack of speech is a symptom of an STD he got from having sex with his mother. Granny Smith, who believes that you intend to murder her and make it look like she died of old age. No, there isn't a way to change their minds, LOL.
Apple Bloom. She already knows that her cutie mark won't change her, no matter what she gets. The other issues are too continually present throughout the day - Applejack thinks everything I say is an insult, Big Mac would just spiral more and more the less he spoke and Granny Smith isn't gonna suddenly become calm. Even if Apple Bloom thinks I hate her cutie mark it wouldn't come up more than a couple times I think, and post-cutie mark she's mature and educated enough on the subject to know my opinions about her cutie mark don't matter. If I was a pony, I'm sure I'd be a blank flank so maybe she'd just think I'm jealous and taking it out on her.
If they didn't have these... beliefs about me, I'd pick Big Mac. He's nice.
What questions do you have about Fimfiction or other aspects of the MLP fandom? Readers of this interview might have answers for you.
Alright. Here goes...
Why are we so fucking awesome?
On a more serious note: What's the best way to find decent MLP fan music? I can't keep living exclusively off of SGaP, Cats Millionaire and Colt 45!
Right, that wraps it up! I hope these answers weren't too long - I relish any opportunity I get to talk about myself - and I'm sorry for cursing but it was a Homestuck reference - I relish any opportunity I get to reference Homestuck.
Don't worry, my mum's a cop-out. Whatever that means, LOL. I currently don't have time to do more than skim this, but I'll come back within the next few days to give it a proper look and leave a more thoughtful comment.
Favourite Cure tracks: "Siamese Twins", "The Figurehead", "Prayers for Rain."
Favourite Bowie tracks: "Warszawa", "Subterraneans", "Pallas Athena", "Lazarus."
Favourite MLP fan tracks: "20 Percent Cooler" by Ken Ashcorp, "My Loyalty" by Ertrii. (Later, I'll make a list of some MLP fan tracks that are less special to me, but still awesome.)
Okay, never mind about the list - only Kenny and Ertrii seem to have withstood the test of time, ha.
Jesus Christ, you're a fan of me? That's... unfortunate...
You were so ashamed of one of your stories that you deleted it? That's a rookie move - I was so ashamed of all of my stories that I deleted my entire Fimfiction account, LOL.