Interview with the7Saviors · 5:09pm Nov 3rd, 2019
Interview with the7Saviors
by Nailah
“Alright, now tell me my dear friend, what inspired your username?
Response: To be honest? There really was no inspiration for it. ‘the7Saviors’ just popped into my head one day and I went with it. Don’t even remember when I started using it, but I know I use it as my username for several different accounts and that I’ve been using it for quite a few years now, long before I made an account on FimFic.
“What drew you into Mlp?
Response: Specifically? Fallout Equestria. Generally? FimFiction. I had started watching MLP back in… I wanna say 2012, and while I did enjoy the show, it was more on the level of shows like Dexter’s Lab, Powerpuff Girls or Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends. The show brought me back to those days and I appreciated that, but it wasn’t enough to make me a full-on brony. It wasn’t until around the end of 2016/the beginning of 2017 that I really got into the fan content, specifically the fics on FimFiction. I can still remember my slippery slope actually; from watching a documentary made by SaberSpark, to listening to foozogz music because of the intro from said documentary, to rewatching the whole MLP series up until that point, to finally giving Fallout Equestria a shot (albeit through an audiobook reading) and finally finding my way onto FimFic in my obsession to devour more FoE fics. For awhile browsing Fimfiction for FoE fics was more or less all I did, but I eventually found interest in other fics, made an account in Februrary of 2017 and things just kind of settled from that point on. I actually didn’t start writing stories on the site (or at all really) until December of 2018, and uploaded my first fic on my 27th birthday of all days because why not?
“Who is your favorite pony and why?
Response: Twilight Sparkle, partly because I’d always thought she was the most adorable pony in the show (adorkability is a powerful weapon that is not to be underestimated) but mostly due to the influence of the fics I read with her as the focus. I like dark stories (a bit of an understatement given my track record of stories read and written, but, eh) and at some point, I realized just how much potential there was for a really good dark/grimdark/horror story using Twilight’s character as a base. Sure the same could be said for any of the other characters in MLP, but Twilight I felt was special in a way I can’t really explain all that well. Over time I just found I was more interested and invested in a story whenever Twilight was the main focus, and that was that. One of my favorite premises in a dark story is the moral corruption of an initially ‘good’ protagonist or their descent into madness, and I always find Twilight to be the most fun and interesting character to drop into those two scenarios, so that also played a big factor, I guess.
“Favorite episode and why?”
Response: Lesson Zero, for the aforementioned scenarios listed above. Yes, the descent into madness was on a much smaller and mostly safer scale, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t get a kick out of it anyway. Same goes for the episodes Party of One, Inspiration Manifestation, Putting Your Hoof Down, and really any episode where one of the mane six completely lose it.
“What inspires you to write?”
Response: A couple of things actually. For the longest time I had absolutely no desire to write whatsoever—the idea had never even once crossed my mind. I was content with just reading or listening to audiobooks of fanfictions. After a while though, I started to notice the fics I liked were getting harder and harder to find as I finished more and more of them—namely dark/grimdark/horror fics that had Twilight as the main character. In the grand scheme of things, there weren’t really that many fics like that being written and so I decided ‘why not just make my own?’.
At that point, I wasn’t sure how good of a writer I’d be, as I hadn’t written anything prior to that save for maybe a short story or two I’d had to write back in school, and I didn’t have much faith in my writing skills back then. I didn’t even like to write, and still don’t. Typing, on the other hand, is something I find extremely relaxing. Once I hit the keyboard, words just kind of started flowing out and before I knew it, I had a story. It wasn’t until I finished my first fic that I realized how fun the experience actually was, and now, on top of putting more dark Twilight-centric fics on the site, I write because it’s something I really enjoy doing.
Granted when I first started writing I was kind of backed up on creativity and motivation and my imagination was begging for an outlet, so the chapters and stories were released at a quite frankly ridiculous pace for awhile. I’ve since slowed way down, but I do wish I could go back to that enthusiastic pace. I’ve tried, but it’s… still a work in progress. That’s not to say I like writing any less than I did when I started, just that I’m not as obsessive as I was in the beginning.
“Tell us about your favorite story, and why it inspires you to write. It doesn't have to be mlp specifically!”
Response: I don’t think I have a favorite story in particular and it wasn’t really any one story that inspired me to actually start writing, but I can say with absolute certainty that the first story that had the most impact on me and that was probably the first fic to draw me into the more macabre MLP fanfictions outside of Fallout Equestria was The Secret Life of Rarity and its sequels by BronyWriter.
“Give us the background of the author! Tell us all about you. Well in a short summary.
Response: Not much to tell honestly. I’m just a simple 27-year-old black guy born and raised in Arizona. Cartoons and video games consumed my childhood and continue to consume my adulthood to this day. I’ve lived a pretty mundane life for the most part, and it’s only gotten more mundane in the last seven or so years since I got a job and moved out on my own (well I have a roommate, but I meant from my family).
My philosophy in life is ‘everything will work itself out eventually, and though I know that kind of mindset doesn’t work for everyone and isn’t necessarily true for everyone, it’s worked for me so far and has gotten me through the few hardships that I have had to face in my life. Aside from that, I used to play the viola and cello back in school, but have since traded that in for the electric guitar because what kind of metalhead would I be if didn’t, right? No seriously though, the guitar is a fun instrument to play and I consider it one of the best purchases I’ve ever made.
“With Mlp coming to an end, tell us one thing you have learned from your experiences, and how it has helped you to grow?
Response: I’ve learned just how interesting it is to be part of a fandom. I was an anime fan long before I was ever into MLP, but I never really felt like a ‘fan’ if that makes sense. I just liked (and still like) anime and that was that. This was the first and only fandom I’ve ever actually been super invested in and contributed to, and I’ve seen some crazy things in this fanbase, both good and bad. I don’t really feel like I did much growing though. I love the show don’t get me wrong, and the fan content means a lot more to me than even the show itself, but neither really changed my life in any meaningful way outside of developing a love for writing… so in that way, I guess I did kind of grow? I dunno, I’ll you decide on that one.
“Is there anything else you'd like to say?
Response: To those who’ve read my stories and followed me on FimFiction, know that even if I don’t update a story for months on end, I never stop thinking about them—not even that one story I’ve had on an official hiatus for like, what, almost two years now? Well, in any case, my point is that if you’re worried about whether or not I’ve abandoned one of my stories, don’t be. Unless I put a story on an official hiatus it’s not getting left behind… and that’s about it.
Thank you for allowing me the pleasure of interviewing you, you have truly been a pleasure to talk too. I hope you continue being awesome.
-Nailah.
Link to the7Savior's fimfiction page: https://www.fimfiction.net/user/292917/the7Saviors
I'd like to make a correction in that I started writing in December of 2017, not 2018. My bad.
EDIT: Also it was my 26th birthday. Not the first time I've forgotten how old I am...
5150087
Huh. Cool.
Ya know, I thought grimdark writers were a bit nuts and angry. I was wrong. Some are real nice
Nice interview, glade to hear how you got into it in the first place.
5150120
You'd be surprised. A lot of people get into the grimdark stuff as a result of their actual lives being so mundane. Not saying that's always the case but it happens more often than you'd think.
5150152
Huh, makes sense in way