#it just didn't happen to resonate on the same level as other fics for me

[godsfavoritescientist]

I have! It's been a while, but I remember it being good. I liked how the stuff with Liam makes the line "why would someone sacrifice everything for their dumb sibling" hit hard, and I remember the vindictive fury of the scene where he destroys his dimension being very well written.

For whatever reason, it didn't make me interested in flatland as a concept. I think I was a little bit lost when it came to what the world itself was like, apart from how shitty the society was.

My takeaway from the fic was "that was a really well done backstory fic!" but not "ohhh man I am Changed Forever", which might partly be because I was not invested in Bill as a character at the time.

Also, this is just a matter of personal taste, but I didn't like the idea of Bill getting his powers from a time wish. It's a clever use of pre-existing concepts in the show, I just didn't find it all that interesting of a concept.

[isleofair]

Am I allowed to say Nathan and all of those questions?

(If not, Nathan and idk all the evens or odds.)

MWAHAHAHAHA THANK YOU SO MUCH LOVE 💙💙💙💙💙

(Apparently I do need an excuse to talk about Nathan? At least here? Tragic. Thank you for providing one 💖💖💖)

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

Oh gosh. I don't just like her, I love her. 😍 She manages to be pretty much everything I'm not and yet she resonates with me so much?!? They initially look like they are one type of character, and then you get to see their layers, and each one is more beautiful and complex than the other? I want to hang out with her, I want to admire her from afar with dreamy/smitten eyes, I want her to be president of the world, I want to give her a happy, serene life forever.

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

Her whole gender thing (talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique, and all that), and also her kind, generous, thoughtful, sweet nature.

3. Least favorite canon thing about this character?

Definitely the way the authors had her act with Bison in S1. 😤

4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

(Sorry, that's just what nicoroni and I do in half of our chats, lol)

I think the thing I would most want to put them in is... some kind of fantasy setting? Something like Ladyhawke, or... well, Fire Emblem! 😅

5. What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

Oooh. I've used so many songs as accompaniment for fics about her and Keith, but I don't have one that immediately jumps to mind specifically for Nathan alone. Maybe Titanium?

6. What's something you have in common with this character?

... well, pink hair, now, lol. (And I guess some gender issues of some kind? Although mine are, like, tiny baby ones.)

7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

Respecting their gender.

8. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

Treating her as a caricature of herself, or as if The Rising didn't exist (which includes not respecting her gender). (Thankfully I almost never see this happening. ILU T&B fandom 💕)

9. Could you be roommates with this character?

I could, but I think I'd drive her nuts, I'm way too messy.

10. Could you be best friends with this character?

Gosh. Probably not best friends, because we don't have enough interests in common, but I think we could more generally be friends?

11. Would you date this character?

In a heartbeat, but they would not be interested in me for several reasons, so...

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

That her fire powers mean she's never cold; mostly based on her walking around half-naked in spring, or with thin mesh shirts under rather open jackets in winter, and also it just makes sense? Apparently the authors have stated somewhere that she's heat-proof (obviously), but also that Rose can cool down with her power, so Nathan probably also can warm up with hers (and just put on whatever she wants forever, lol)

13. What's an emoji, an emoticon and/or any symbol that reminds you of this character or you think the character would use a lot?

💖

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

I don't think I need to; they definitely already have one (tight clothes, mesh, vinyl, high boots, glittery jackets, pink feathers... and the occasional bondage-style leather top JFC my poor heart 🥵)

15. What's your favorite ship for this character? (Doesn't matter if it's canon or not.)

FIRESKY FOREVER ❤️💜

16. What's your least favorite ship for this character?

I pray to everything that is holy that no one ever shipped her with any of the other girl heroes because that's a NO on so many levels I can't even count them.

17. What's a ship for this character you don't hate but it's not your favorite that you're fine with?

Mmmh. I'm going to cheat here and say MoonFireSky? (although probably in either an AU where Yuri is less murderous, or in one in which everything is way more majorly fucked up). I also really like the "Kotetsu and Nathan might have hooked up in the past" thing.

18. How about a relationship they have in canon with another character that you admire?

Nathan's friendship with Kotetsu is BEAUTIFUL. I also love their relationship with Pao-Lin (go, go, gender team!)

19. How about a relationship they have in canon that you don't like?

Mh. I guess it used to be the one with Bison in S1, but thankfully we got over the bad authorial choices, so... Apparently Lara's mom was vaguely rude about Nathan's temper once? Yet another reason to dislike her.

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter?

Okay, this should be a difficult question, because her friendship/partnership with Keith is AMAZING, but... Agnes. Like, one hundred percent. Keith can be her boyfriend instead.

21. If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH 😍 (I love writing Nathan.)

I love exploring her gender and all her slightly-hidden depths. I love giving her soft, comforting moments (especially with Keith). I love, apparently, making frequent references to her beauty 😅

I don't like how I have to often remind myself that she is that over-the-top in canon and even though the tone of my fics doesn't usually quite match that of the show, I should still try to respect their characterization as much as I possibly can.

22. If you're a fic reader, what's something you like in fics when it comes to ths character? Something you don't like?

Gosh, just write her being her awesome self with appropriate pronouns and I'm already on board. If you put her with Keith I'll die of joy.

Use he/him exclusively for them without a reason and I'll probably click the back button.

23. Favorite picture of this character?

I love the one in my icon, but I might have to go with this moment in The Rising:

24. What other character from another fandom of yours reminds you of them?

Well, the whole "superhero who owns their own company" thing is a fair bit Iron Man, isn't it? But also, and this might be a bit strange, when I imagine Victor Nikiforov in my head now, he sounds like Tsuda-san's Nathan? Make of that what you will.

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

Welcome to the 'irritating stereotypical anime take on queer people' to 'complex, nuanced and gorgeous blorbo love of my life' pipeline.

26. FREEBIE QUESTION!!

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

"Should everyone everywhere love Nathan?"

"Yes."

[yinyuedijun]

Hello mao! Just read your new fic (translation). Firstly, i think you write in a rather intelligent way, which is rare on this app, and i really like it. It adds depth and makes me feel more invested in the story.

Secondly, talking about native languages; in my case, despite growing up here my whole life, i still can't speak my native language (konkani) out of fear I'll get the grammar wrong. The same goes for the other language i grew up learning (hindi). I can only understand both the languages for most part, after learning it in school and listening to other people speak, and some basic communication. My parents, although being natives from here, grew up in different parts of the country and later settled here. Hence i ended up learning English as a default. When I went to live in a different state for college, my friends there would ask me to speak a few words to them in konkani but i was too embarrassed to say anything, in a way that I'd find it strange hearing those sounds from my mouth (and pronouncing something wrong).

Idk if this is similar to experiencing cultural loss. I feel stupid that i grew up here and yet feel rather detached to my culture for most part. Even more so after being more exposed to online fandoms, because whenever my country comes up, my culture is something many would've not even heard of. It's kind of like a minority of sorts.

Okay sorry this is such a rant i hope this isn't a problem (just felt i could share this here)😭

Thanks for reading all this if you did.

hi nash!!! thank you so much for reading translation, I'm glad you found it well-written and engaging 🫶 I actually feel there's a ton of skilled writers with intelligent writing styles on this app actually 😅 but it's an honour that you feel I am among them!

I do totally feel that what you are describing is for sure a kind of language loss! I had a couple of other people share similar anecdotes; they didn't leave their country per se but they moved within the country or they were educated in english and now they have a very hard time with their mother tongue. the dialect that I speak is actually in decline in its literal originating city due to government policy. language loss can in happen so many different types of contexts but I think so many people who have experienced it can relate to, like, the anxiety over getting it wrong, or the embarrassment of not being at the level of a native speaker level even though you are technically native speaker. and I feel one's relationship w language can get so strange if no one else has heard of your language in these online spaces, because then it's almost like a part of you isn't seen!!

anyhow what I'm trying to get at is, I'm very grateful that you read my fic and I'm so happy that you felt it resonated ! thank you so much for sharing your experiences w me 💞💞

[crusherthedoctor]

4, 39, 40 :D

4. Where do you find inspiration for new ideas?

The first one is obvious… Sonic himself! Wouldn't make sense to spend so much time on a Sonic fic if I didn't care about his universe. That said, I don't intend to pull an Archie with the lore. Stellar focuses on its own story and setting that just so happens to partially incorporate one previous bit of lore, in a similar manner to what SA1 did with the backstory introduced in S3&K. There are some mild references to other lore, but never in a way that tries in vain to wrap it all together in a neat little bow.

The environments are also largely inspired by that of previous Sonic locales. Mostly from non-mainline installments, since for various reasons (being on a handheld ala Advance/Rush, being a racer ala Riders/Rivals/Sonic R, being on motion controls ala Storybooks), they didn't have the same level of freedom as those in the main games, meaning there's a lot to expand on and make something new out of.

The other major influence for environments and aesthetics is, you guessed it, Spyro. I make no secret that le purple dragon has helped shape up the world of Viridonia aesthetically, but unlike fans who think Sonic should be little more than Furry DBZ, or IDW making random anime references that don't work, there is some thought put into it, and never at the expense of the Sonic universe's own identity. I think both worlds are very similar in aesthetics anyway, so if I see something in Spyro that makes me think "Wow, that would be so cool to see in Sonic!", I then think of how to translate it in a form that benefits Sonic's world, as opposed to wondering why the square doesn't fit in the round hole.

For the mystic entities that are tied to the Ethereal Zone, since they each have different powers, shapes and colours, I got the idea to base each of them on a different mythological creature for a subtle thematic resonance despite how otherwise different they are from each other. They're not one-to-one like the creatures they're inspired from mind you, they're definitely Sonicy interpretations (eg: the fire-themed one is a mix between a phoenix and a feathered serpent ala Quetzalcoatl, since I wasn't sure if making it a phoenix straight-up would make it sound too similar to Ifrit from Rivals 2), but I thought it'd be a fun twist on the giant monster schtick… though it helps that all of them are controlled via Time Eater-esque cybernetics by a certain round chum. Going out of control? Upstaging Eggman? In a Crusher fic? Not happening, son.

And speaking of the doctor, obviously I've took notes from many of his game portrayals, with S3&K's determination, SA1's dickery, and Forces' cunning being three of the biggest examples. But another influence for my interpretation of the doctor is the Mother 3 portrayal of Porky Minch: specifically, how he is clearly working towards a big end goal, yet is also simultaneously setting up seemingly unrelated projects all over Viridonia, playing its population (save Trudy) for fools, and overall treating the island as though it's his personal playground. This is not a Mephiles situation however: all of this does turn out to play a part in his endgame. He just happened to plan it out in a way that can also feed into his ego and hedonism in the meantime.

And Trudy… is Trudy. There were some mild influences for certain aspects of her design, but her personality pretty much grew upon itself as I built on her. I wanted to create a character that was mellow, but still fun and quirky, and could still bounce off Sonic and Co without being seen as "the boring one" or "the nag who can't be bothered with Sonic". I also find an appeal in shy characters finding the courage to do things they'd never expect themselves to do, so y'know.

There are other bits of inspiration I could mention, which includes concepts that are neither Sonic or Spyro-related… but I don't want to spoil more than necessary for now. XP

39. Share a snippet from a WIP

Note: This is a slightly older draft of the moment in question, so there might be some minor differences in the final one.

Sonic grew concerned by her stunned reaction, hoping that he didn't offend her. "You don't mind it, do you?"

"No, of course not. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it. It's just…" Her right hand clutched the fingers of the other, subtly squeezing them in the process. Her vision was directed at a nonspecific pile of red leaves not too far away from them. This all seemed so silly. There was really no justification for this. No excuse for her to treat such a thing with the kind of awe reserved for being within the presence of an omnipotent. And yet…

"No one's… no one's ever given me a nickname before…"

Sonic appeared to be puzzled by this, which was then followed by him exchanging a brief glance with Tails. His lifelong pal simply gave him a shrug in response.

"If it's any consolation," the fox piped up, with a faint hint of a smirk morphing on his face. "Some of his nicknames are better than others."

"Hey!" Sonic playfully raised his arms in defense, which did nothing to hide his sheepish grin. "So what if they can get a little simple! If she doesn't like it, I can totally drop it! If I have to get my head around the right pronunciation of her name, then so be it!"

"No, it's… it's nice," she insisted softly. A gentle smile slowly found itself on her face as well. "It's an honor, truly. You can call me that if you want to."

"You sure?"

A simple, meek nod was what he received, and it was at this point that her eyes shifted once more. After what appeared to be some hesitance, they gained the courage to meet with Sonic's own.

Sonic's eyes held onto their shared gaze for a couple of seconds, before he turned to Tails again. The fox only gave another shrug, this time to suggest that there was no further reason to debate the matter. After a silent understanding between the two heroes, the hedgehog nodded triumphantly.

"Well then," he announced, with a wink for his new friend. "I guess it's truly Trudy from now on!" As he gave a characteristic thumbs up, she could only continue smiling at the display, and her ears lowered ever so slightly. This was all so very sudden for her even now, but if they sincerely value her company and assistance, then maybe... maybe... it wouldn't hurt to keep tagging along with them.

40. If someone were to make fanart of your work, what fic or scene would you hope to see?

I wouldn't be fussy, since I'd be grateful for any moments, or environments, that they decided to portray.

But if I had to pick one… I suppose a certain confrontation between Trudy and Eggman would be awesome. Or a certain heart-to-heart between Trudy and Sonic. :>