sakon76

Got tagged by

aishuu

How about a brief introduction?
Hi, my name is Kristin and I write fanfiction.

Fabulous! And what got you into fanfiction to begin with?
'Ellifino. I remember composing GoBots fanfiction to myself in 1984, when I would've been eight years old. Alanna (from Tamora Pierce's novels) was my imaginary best friend a year or two later. I think it's in my blood.

I see. So what kind of fanfiction do you like to write?
I prefer series with a sci-fi/fantasy basis. The fantastic appeals to me. I live mundane, why should I have to dream it as well? I like studying characters, what makes them tick. I also like putting them in situations that test them. I also have a prediliction for tweaking the "universe" I'm writing in to push its boundaries, which usually takes the form of crossovers. I am the Crossover/Crack Queen, yo.

Do you find writing easy? Hard? What are the aspects of writing you struggle most with?
Writing is easy. If I make myself sit down and write, I have few problems getting into a flow or alternately figuring my way around problems. The reason I haven't been writing much recently is because RL is taking up my attention. I've recently gotten better at figuring out how to write humorous stories (sad ones are easy). I still suck at action, though. I also have an inability to write fanfiction from print media, which doesn't bother me. I'm text-based more than visually based, which kind of gives a reason why.

Write a few sentences or so of your favorite pairing or character.
Mm, okay. Something that's been lurking in my head recently:

Sunstreaker's first creation was his own twin. Even as the AllSpark energized the quiescent form which Alpha Trion had reverently brought before it, the one fought, resisted--became two. As the elderly Creator watched, optics wide with astonishment, the mechanism he had created unravelled itself, reworked its form and configuration, became two, similar yet different. Both (two!) pairs of optics lit up at the same instant, and all he could think was "My... this is unprecedented." It was the first time, though far from the last, that the twins would earn that reaction.

Are there any fanfiction clichés or trends you're sick of or just can't stand?
Any cliche can be done well. Even Mary Sues. It all depends on the skill of the writer. A trend I dislike, though, in Transformers fandom (my current main fandom) is "romancing the Decepticons." It's not just in fanfiction, but goes across the fandom at large. When did people start missing the message of "Decepticons view humans as something to be wiped off the soles of their feet"? A similar trend I've always hated is in Yami no Matsuei fandom, where Muraki has fans. I don't get what there's to like about an unrepentant rapist/murderer.

Are you guilty of any fanfiction clichés you hate? Or any other ones?
Any I hate? No. I don't fangirl evil. Cliches in general? Probably a ton of them. I write Prowl/Jazz, after all, which is a cliche unto itself.

What was the first fandom you wrote for, and do you still like/participate in it?
Aside from the aforementioned GoBots? My first "published" fanfic was of Yuu*Yuu*Hakushou. I still dabble in the fandom, usually having YYH characters pop up in the background of my crossovers. Most famously in the "Tales from the Ramen Stall" universe, where Yuusuke's ramen booth kind of situates itself as the metaphorical cross-dimensional inn....

Name your OTPs or most frequently written pairings/characters and explain what it is about them that you love to write.
Oh dear lord. Do you know how many fandoms I write/have written for?!

Clamp: CCS: Touya/Yukito - steadfast devotion and so sweet and gentle to one another while at the same time remaining inherently boyish. Clover: Gingetsu/Ran - a relationship where power levels don't matter and one will protect the other unto death. Duklyon: Takeshi/Kentarou - pretty much the same thing but with more heterosexual denial on one side. RayEarth: Lantis/Eagle/Hikaru threesome - they each provide something else the other two needs. TB/X: Subaru/Seishirou - because it's a truly twisted relationship but you can't help but end up feeling in X timeline that Seishirou really does care.

Gundam Wing: Heero/Duo - it's not canonical, and I'm equally happy just to see them as friends, and I certainly read other pairings, but these two play off one another so well that they're my faves. The irony of the ex-thief being stolen from just starts their relationship so well.

HikaGo: Touya/Hikaru - those Go fights? It's all Freudian. Really. They're so wrapped up in one another that I really can't see them with anyone else. Except maybe with Akari tossed in as a third.

Kanata Kara: Noriko/Izaark - a relationship that is solid like a rock. You just can't even challenge that one.

Kamen Rider Kuuga: Godai/Ichijou - dude, it's CANON. You just think that's subtext.

Princess Tutu: Fakir/Ahiru - again, canon. And so sweet and tragic that I just can't help but want to fix it and make things better.

Rasen no Kakera: Sakuya/Wakyou - they've been karmically linked together for how many centuries? I accept that in canon they're more like brothers, but I cannot see them without one another.

Rozen Maiden: Jun/Shinku - okay, I know she's a doll and that he has a quasi-girlfriend. But the relationship between these two characters is the heart of the series and someday I'll write that story where there's an end to the Alice Game and Jun has to deal with what happens then.

Transformers: Hot Rod(Rodimus)/Springer/Arcee - young and defiant; sheer chemistry. Prowl/Jazz - so totally not canon, but mathematically it works and they're such fun to write playing off one another.

Ultraman Moebius: Mirai/Ryuu - again, they end up emotionally so tied together that if it's not canon, it's PRACTICALLY canon.

Yami-Ei: Tsuzuki/Hisoka - they're both broken, but in ways such that they fit together and might be able to save one another.

META: I think these almost all sum up as "I may give you sh*t once in a while (or not), but I've got your back" relationships. These kind appeal to me because that's so hard to find in the real world.

What would you call your writing style?
Simple. A little whimsical, maybe.

Do you read other people’s fanfic? If so, what do you find yourself reading the most?
Always. I mostly follow whatever my main fandom at the moment is, but I also check out things people recommend, and there are some authors (Sionna, Natalie, Aishuu, Vathara, others) who I will read whatever they write, no matter if I know the series or not.

Name one thing you'd LOVE to write, but have been too afraid or shy to do.
*ponders* Nothing, really. I have no shame in my writing.

Do you have trouble taking criticism? Or worse yet, do you have the dreaded bloated ego?
I don't believe I do. I get annoyed at stupid reviews sometimes, sure, but if someone tells me why they think something is bad or sucks, then that's something to consider. What am I doing wrong? How can I improve it?

When you write, is there anything that helps? Music? Quiet room?
Mm, not really. I pretty much tune out the universe while I'm writing.

What inspires you?
Other people's writing, definitely. Sometimes an image, sometimes a turn of phrase. Sometimes a touch.

Lastly, how would you sum up your fanfiction experiences and yourself as a writer?
Striving always to improve, but in the end this is just a hobby. Which is how I avoid High Drama[tm].

Tag some friends because they'll hate you for it.
Ha. They can hate me for other reasons. Anyone who wants to do this meme, please feel free. I'd be interested in reading your responses.