Zephra85

Hello to anybody who actually STILL reads these things!


Wow hello so I'VE been inactive here. XD; Mostly because I'm on Tumblr 99.99% of the time these days. BUT Ty-Chou had this survey, so I decided to fill it out for her. HERE WE GO. 

Readers-


Which are your favorite fandoms to read?

I read whatever fandoms I'm following the most heavily in-the-moment, or ones I've returned to after something rekindled my interest. Past ones I was quite involved with (but haven't delved into in years) were Dragonball Z, Digimon, and Cardcaptor Sakura. More recently, but still in the past, have been Doctor Who, Criminal Minds, and Supernatural. My current reads are Transformers Animated and Transformers Prime. Any time I replay Chrono Trigger makes me want to go back to fanfiction for it, and one that has remained consistent for me (since it was my first experience with fanfiction) is Beast Wars.

Where do you go to find fanfiction?

Fanfiction.net has been my primary since 2004. Adultfanfiction.net was a strong staple for me that I still return to from time to time. I've lately begun seeking fics in An Archive Of Our Own as well.

What do you look for when choosing fics to read?

I strongly enjoy couples and pairings, but I will be drawn to any fic that has an interesting blurb.

How picky are you in what you choose to read?

Quite picky these days. As stated above, the blurb must be interesting enough to catch my attention, typos in the title or blurb as well as the phrase 'I suck at summaries' are an immediate turn-off, I won't even give it the time of day if I see the word 'm-preg', and the first 1-2 paragraphs have to be decently written enough to hold my attention. (The occasional typo in the fic itself isn't enough to scare me off, since spell-check can miss things that are spelled 'correctly' but are the wrong word, but multiple typos or very clumsy grammar make me press the back button faster than you can blink. )

What are your favorite genres to read?

I confess to being a sucker for pairings and couple fics. (Not necessarily romance alone however, since my tastes also cover things like flings or darker, unhealthy relationships. )

Which genres/tropes do you avoid?

I've completely lost my taste for blatantly silly, parodies, or crack humour fics. It's gotten to the point where I won't even glance at most humour fics since since the above descriptions seem to be the primary these days.

Do prefer to read long chapter stories or one shots?

I enjoy both, but due to no longer having internet access at home I favour one shots, since those are all I really have time for anymore.

How much fanfiction do you read on average?

Quite a fair amount. Trying to give a more precise estimate wouldn't work though because I'll go for periods where I don't read any for a month, and then 10-20 in a week.

Any favorite/least favorite tropes you constantly see in your fandoms?

M-preg is my ultimate 'NO'. For the case of Transformers, I strongly dislike pregnancy/infants/children as the method of reproduction. Ones I love are genderbending, time travel, and alternate universe themes.

Any turn offs that might- or have- caused you to stop reading a fic?

See above for most of them. Original characters that aren't handled well I have no patience for.

Any fics (not written by you) you would recommend to other readers?

Er, yes, but just about all of them are crazy mature, smutty, NSFW, or m/m. XD; 

Writers-


What caused you to start writing fanfiction?

Beast Wars, hands-down. Absolutely loving the communities on older Beast Wars fansites (Beast Wars Annonymous, Best of Three Worlds, etc) made me want to participate in them too. And there used to be SO many fun and loveable OC's back in those days, it made me feel like I could make my own without fear.

How long have you been writing fanfiction?

Geez, since around '99-00, so fourteen-ish years. Extremely little of my work is uploaded though.

Which fandoms have you written for in the past 5 years?

Criminal Minds, Beast Wars, and Transformers Prime.

What's the first fandom you ever wrote for?

Beast Wars.

What are your favorite genres to write?

Romance, pairings, and mature, darker things.

How much time do you spend writing fanfics?

Ugh. Not much. My biggest flaw is not being able to finish a fanfic, which is why so little of my work has been uploaded. I try to fly through what I can manage as fast as I can before I lose the muse. Generally a few hours at least. My latest uploaded work took about six hours.

Do you prefer to write one shots or chapter fics?

I START lots of chapter fics that I can never finish. One shots are pretty rare for me.

What story aspects do you find to be difficult to write?

I am in CONSTANT fear/paranoia that I'm not portraying the canon characters well enough. Trying to make their thoughts, words, dialogue and interactions true to the original are my biggest challenge. Another one is I'm always nervous I'm focusing too much on my OC's. I try very carefully to make them seem real and human, but they end up in situations that are going to be accused of 'Mary-Sue'ing no matter what. (Like being in a relationship with a canon character) Your work with your own OC's have helped me get past a lot of hang-ups I had with the whole Mary-Sue concept, but I'm still on edge about whether I'm spending too much time with them and not the canon characters in a fic.

What is the easiest thing to write?

Backstory. Generally because I spend a huge amount of time planning it, but also because I feel like there's less stress if I don't get the characterization of the cannon absolutely perfect since this is their past, and time changes a person.

Is there a fandom you haven't written for but want to?

I have lots of plans in the making for Final Fantasy VI, Final Fantasy IX, Chrono Trigger, Transformers Animated, and Doctor Who.

What do you consider your greatest strength as a writer?

... This is a tough one, since I finish so little of my work for fanfiction. Most of my writing STRENGTHS don't come in fanfiction form. I suppose the best I can manage is the few compliments I HAVE received for them, one that people seem to like my OC's, and apparently I DO manage to portray canon characters well (according to some others XP; ) . I suppose another one I can think of is planning and research. I put a HUGE amount of effort into these before I even START a fic most times.

Greatest weakness?

NOT. FINISHING. ANYTHING. Dear god it's my achilles heel. Once I get started, my fingers just start flying and it happens so quickly the fic is practically writing itself. But then if I get stuck or slow down for even a few MOMENTS, all desire just disappears in an instant. (Taking a food break, going to the bathroom, remembering something else I needed to check online/on my computer, HELL it's happened to me just doing a search for an online thesaurus in order to find a word I'm looking for. )

As a fanfic writer, how important is canon or keeping in character to you?

I don't mind certain degrees of fluidity in canon itself, (artistic licence and whatnot) but keeping in character is honestly my ultimate goal/point of stress. If the situation is strange or the back-story isn't EXACTLY correct it's not the end of the world, but the characters needs to maintain believability at ALL times.

AUs: love them or hate them? Why?

CRAZY fun for me. You can take much stronger degrees of artistic licence in AU's, plus they generally hold unlimited possibilities.

Tell us where we can find your fanfics.

Nooooo. T-T I'm so ashamed of how bare it is, and the huge time gaps between fics. (Sighs) But... I'm on Fanfiction.net under the same user name. And I have like one or two unfinished drabbles on my Tumblr, again under the same user name.

For my own curiosity-


Have you read any of my fanfics?

Sadly, no. You haven't written for any fandoms I like/am familiar with. As a side note however, I'm FINALLY watching the original Transformers and plan on checking out your fics as soon as I finish it. (Like, I'm crazy looking forward to it. Not even joking. XD; )

If yes, how did you first find them?

N/A

Lastly, any fanfic questions you'd like to see me answer?

Actually, yes. Do you ever still people speaking about your OC's/Mary Sue's negatively, are there any times when it DOES get you down, and if it does, what helps you get through it/over it? 

Hello to anybody who actually reads these things!

I will admit to never seeing the musical 'Wicked' (regardless of my love for all things broadway) but THIS? This.

vimeo.com/19733014

THIS.

This makes me want to see it SUPER bad, but dear god it would be amazing as a traditional 2D Disney-style animated movie. OH GOD. People! Spread this vid around, maybe if it goes viral we may have a chance to see it in this glorious style. OwO

'Till next rant!

Hello to anybody who actually reads these things!


Now for an actual test to see if people really DO read these things. I'm now doing a featured art journal!

Rules:

Be one of the first 14 people commenting on this journal entry, and I will add you to the Featured List!

For each of the 14 first people answering this journal I will put his/her avatar and the three deviations I like most from his/her gallery on the list.

IMPORTANT: If you answer, you'll have to do the same in your journal, putting me on the first place, completing the list with 15 other people. The idea of this is not to get a free feature, it is to spread art around for everyone.


1. by
Oldies but still greaties in my books, I've always been a sucker for Beast Wars fanart. I used to be a huge fan of her OC's back in the day too.

2. by
I love the exaggerated jaw on Wolverine, and the whimsy nature of the Photoshop pieces.
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Don't be shy people, get commentin'!


'Till next rant!

Hello to anybody who actually reads these things.


I've just about had ENOUGH of these fucking elitist fans who think they know what's goddamned best because they've liked something a little longer than others.

It seems like everywhere I go, every fandom I follow, ANY FREAKING TIME I just want to look up fanart or read fanfiction or collect screenshots of ANYTHING there are a hundred 'fans' tearing it down.

'The original version was SO much better!'

'It started sucking after the third season.'

'This new character blows, bring back the character she replaced!'

'The company is just a bunch of sell-outs for trying to make things enjoyable to a new audience!'

'He's ugly now, he was way hotter before the new chapter.'

'How DARE the writers pair up my favourite character with someone I don't like! They are prejudiced and stupid!'

'THEY CHANGED THINGS I DO NOT LIKE CHANGE MAKE EVERYTHING THE SAME ALWAYS.'

Do these cynics really, actually, truly, see themselves as fans if they rip apart their own fandom every time the creators shake things up? And does something HAVE to be better or worse? Can't it just be enjoyed without analyzing every god damned little microscopic detail on why it may not be perfect? Can't something JUST be entertaining and not have to constantly be compared to everything else?

And you know what happens every time I see bullshit like this? I keep my fucking mouth shut. Because I do NOT want to be one of those god damned losers who argue about the dynamics of a fandom on the internet that evolves into a flame war. Even though EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM deserves to be beaten to a bloody fucking PULP for being an arrogant, miserable, stuck-up jackass. And the last thing I want on any of my internet accounts is getting a thousand fucking trolls spamming me for defending or stating my opinion. And as much as DA would have you believe otherwise, blocking a troll doesn't make them go away or miraculously give them an epiphany on 'huh, maybe I should re-think my approach of speaking to people on the internet' then they magically treat the next person they disagree with more respectfully.

FUUUUUCK WHY IS BEING A GEEK SO FUCKING HARD THESE DAYS?


... Okay, I'm done now.


'Till next rant.

Hello to anybody who actually reads these things!





OH MY GOD.

I finally decided to organize my favourites, now that DA allows them to be sorted into folders. Thought it'd be a good way to clean things up...

IT TOOK FOUR HOURS.

Jesus.

Then again, that's STILL over six years of faving, and sometimes fave-spreeing.

But still... FOUR HOURS.

DAMN.






'Till next rant!