#turtlesparadise

New ask game for writers

49. Definitely the middle.  Point A is easy, Point B is easy!  BUT GETTING THERE.

50. Uh. Probably the AtLA fanfic starring twin OCs and Ozai, post-series, that was heavily influenced by the Mummy trilogy, Tomb Raider, and Indiana Jones. Basic plot: twins are treasure hunters hoping to buy their brother out of prison, accidentally discover terra cotta statues beneath ba sing se, simultaneously discover said statues can be magically animated and that there’s a conspiracy to do just that and set them on the fire nation, go to the fire nation to bribe Ozai into telling them how to stop it, and Ozai goes “ohai a terra cotta army would be useful” and breaks out and joins them.

This week’s spotlight is Turtlesparadise, aka Mako/makoheadrush! ( http://turtlesparadise.tumblr.com/ )

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Miri: Is there an idea or AU you want to write but haven’t been able to yet?

Mako: For the longest time I've been bandying about the idea of an AU where Reno doesn't drop the plate on sector 7 - or at the very least attempts to abort the plate drop - and instead, takes Cloud as a hostage. I've written maybe one chapter of this, but have yet to figure out how to continue from the initial action. (Miri: Ah, my precious boy. It would be interesting to explore how that changes him.)

I also find it incredibly hard to write any 'happily ever after' scenarios featuring any of the 'big three' SOLDIERS - Sephiroth, Angeal, and Genesis, as well as Zack and Cloud. Not that I don't want them to have an AU happy ending - it's just very difficult for me to write anything that sounds halfway feasible. 

Miri: Who has been the most difficult character to write? Who has been the easiest?

Mako: Sephiroth can be difficult at first until I really get into his head - and the same goes for Cloud. I've probably written Cloud-POV fics the most, and being in his headspace for any length of time is exhausting! Vincent is perhaps one of the most difficult for me to write - he's so guarded, perhaps even more so than Cloud.

I've found that the easiest characters for me to write are Reno, and my OC-ish version of Legend. For Legend, we don't have much canon background to go on, so much of his character and background is my own headcanon. We have a slightly clearer framework for Reno, though there are still many blanks left to fill in. Reno is just uninhibited (at least my version of him is), and incredibly fun to write. I tend to insert a lot of youthful misadventures into Reno-centric tales - either my own, or those of friends, with all names and details changed to protect the (not so) innocent!

Miri: Which of your works is the most memorable to you? I don’t necessarily mean favourite or best work, it could be the work that taught you the most making it or that holds a special reason in its creation. Drop a link.

Mako: I have a handful that are favorites for different reasons, but this one kind of resonated with me the most. I'd set out to really get into Reno's head, post plate-drop (plate-drop related angst and repercussions is a favorite topic I like to explore in writing). It stands to reason that the wholesale destruction of an entire Sector would cause a great deal of PTSD in so many - and not only those left behind in the rubble, but also with the one who pushed the button.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/7276750

Miri: Favourite party (three person team) idea when playing FFVII? They don’t have to actually work mechanically, just that you like the idea of them together as a fighting party.

Mako: Cloud, Vincent, and Cid - the Vincent/Cid friendship is one of my favorite dynamics in the game, and I like to imagine the banter that must have occurred between these three.

An NPC team I also enjoy, is when the Turks team up with AVALANCHE ever so briefly in Wutai, to save Yuffie and Elena. Though this is more than a 3 person team, it's pretty interesting to see them put aside their respective differences in efforts to take care of their own.

Miri: Pantser/Emotive Writer/Gardener or Planner/Structured Writer/Architect? (Do you outline or just go with the flow?)

Mako: All of the above! Often the quick one shots are pantsers; and though it's been quite a while since I've had the time to sit down and write a lengthy multi-chapter fic, when it comes to those I need a roadmap - a basic outline of where the story is going. But it's also fun to just WRITE, and let the words flow when they are willing. When those moments come (and it's less frequently than I'd like, these days) where the story starts writing itself, I just get it all down, and worry about structure and plot later.

Miri: Any remake thoughts you’d like to share?

Mako: Other than I CAN'T WAIT? :) I'm really looking forward to it, of course, and I'm hoping there's room for exploration in the various locations once it's released. I always loved wandering around Midgar or Junon, but you're of course limited to certain areas within the game, due to the limited mechanics of the game system of the original.

Miri: What do you do when you get stuck on a project?

Mako: Read, read, read. Jot things down - when a word or phrase sounds interesting to me, I'll put it somewhere. Play the game again (or other non FFVII titles); sometimes I'll curl up with a good movie or television program and can occasionally draw inspiration from that. Ideas can come from literally anywhere; the biggest challenge for me lately, is having the time and the awareness to jot these little things down before I forget, my mind feels like a sieve sometimes - particularly if I am overstretched at work or at home.

Miri: What’s your ideal writing environment? Background noise, indoors/outdoors, desk/couch, etc.?

Mako: I have a folding table for my laptop, and can work pretty much anywhere; often it's the couch, so I can spend time with my family while working on things. However, that's not always very conducive to a good writing environment! Ideally having a quiet area away from the noise, with some soft music playing, is the best writing environment for me, though it is not feasible 100% of the time.

Miri: Do you do commissioned fics, requests or prompts?

Mako: At present I do not; I used to take requests and prompts when I had more free time in which to do so. However, I do run several RP blogs, and occasionally answer prompts there. My main RP blog is https://legendaryturk.tumblr.com - I also run https://damnitreno.tumblr.com, and https://soldier-strife.tumblr.com. Legend is the one that is most active; Reno is only sporadically active, and the Cloud blog is on semi-hiatus for the most part.

Miri: Anything you’d like to say to the community?

Mako: Thanks for all of your support of my writing through the years - and I'm hoping our fandom picks up once again with the excitement over the remake!

Miri: Recommend me a fic of yours!

Mako: This piece here is one of my unsung favorites - I wrote this when I was in the middle of playing Crisis Core, and had a lot of ideas on how Tseng might have reacted to Aerith's eventual death. So in a way, this piece offers a bit of closure for Tseng, and for Cloud as well.

Thanks for the ask!

Hands down my favorite character to write Zack. I love deep third person PoV with his voice because it's so fun and bubbly and completely unreliable.

My least favorite, tho? Usually my least favorite character to write for is someone I haven't gotten a good grasp of how to write. Like, if I'm not careful my Tseng and Sephiroth sound exactly the same and they bleed into each other and it's terrible.

NEVER TOO LATE to update! I was just saying that, as I look at my pile of unfinished things. :D really happy to see you writing again!