Fanfiction Lounge

[Bay]

What are some of your characters bad habits (such as stealing, lying, etc.)?
Well, most of my character tend to have the same bad habits. :P They would usually take action before they think the consequences, lie to get ahead and get what they want, and jump to conclusions too soon.

How did you go about deciding your main character's Pokemon?
I actually had to decide on a few of my character's Pokemon based on type. Since the plates' powers are to boost attacks based on type, I had to go deciding the Pokemon on their type depending what plates I was thinking of using. Other than that, sometimes I decide Pokemon base on how fun the interactions will be for them, actually. For instance, I chose Xatu for Jacob because Xatu can look back in the past and can forsee the future, so a Pokemon like that will be good for a history fanatic. :P

 

[Misheard Whisper]

How did you go about deciding your main character's Pokemon?
Actually, choosing my main characters' starters was really hard. I had to find three Pokemon that:
a] were not conventional starters
b] did not evolve into mega-powerhouses
c] were not incredibly rare
d] were not completely useless (Zigzagoon, anyone? Even when you evolve it . . . sheesh.)

I ended up with Shinx, Misdreavus and Houndour.

 

[JX Valentine]

What are some of your characters bad habits (such as stealing, lying, etc.)?

Rose is a crybaby. Veronica is an alcoholic (and, ironically, a bit of a klepto and a nympho). Bill generally forgets there's such a thing as "reality."

How did you go about deciding your main character's Pokemon?

It's easier to answer this for MKD. Viola's are just whichever Pokémon I happen to like, and everyone else tends to have teams based on either their personality (e.g., Sebastian having a Marowak just because he's a stubborn, overprotective kind of person) or based on the key they were assigned (Imogen having a Butterfree just because she has the Butterfly Key). On the other hand, Knights tend to get keys that align with their personalities, so... yeah. Pretty much whatever matches who they are.

For AEM, most characters are canon, so in most cases, what they have is either canon or what they'd logically have. For example, Bill's Kadabra is the evolved form of the Abra the games said he first caught. Lanette has a Kirlia because she's Bill's Hoenn equivalent, so I figured I'd better give her a similar psychic. Veronica has a Growlithe because she's an Officer Jenny.

Rose is pretty much the only one with an actual theme because she's largely an OC. Because she left for Hoenn right after she started her Pokémon journey to avoid copying her brother (who went to Kanto for his journey) and her sister (who stayed in Johto for hers) and because she's got a fondness for cute things, most of her Pokémon are basic, cutesy Pokémon a trainer can find early in the Hoenn-based games. The only exception is Squirtle, which is what she started with. (There's actually a fairly corny reason behind this. Bill, the eldest of the three siblings, has a Venusaur according to Electric Tales canon. I gave the other sister a Charmeleon in my personal canon because she was the second born. The last born was Rose, so she chose Squirtle to start out.)

 

[D. Lawride]

How did you go about deciding your main character's Pokemon?

I actually based on my own preferences. At least mostly. Mightyena/Poochyena isn't a very common starter either, so 'Why not give it a try?'. The other Pokémon were also based on my own team - I can't play without it x3 - and I also chose it because of the type matchups between them.

The main character Nidorina speaks for itself and my preference on these Pokémon.

So, long story short, it wasn't very hard.

What are some of your characters bad habits (such as stealing, lying, etc.)?

Lying, most of the time. I can't name many - doesn't mean he's flawless, far from that <.< - but David's ability to lie is his worst habit. Of course, he doesn't go lying all day round, but he's an excellent liar when the situation calls for it, e.g., getting out of trouble or doing it because he knows it'll help someone.

Nidorina's got the complete rainbow of'em. She constantly lies about herself, and has a fairly big ego.

I'd say this last question is remarcably similar to the flaw's one, so I can't say much without repeating myself.

 

[Astinus]

How did you go about deciding your main character's Pokemon?
With Aden, it was simply a matter of skipping class one night and flipping through my giant Pokedex book with a notebook, noting down all my favorite Pokemon. From there, I picked balanced teams of Pokemon from the regions she travels to (she was taught to always have a balanced team, so nyah), and that's how her teams happened.

Also, two of my Pokemon have a connection to another fandom, but that's a story and a half of how insane I am.

With Harrison, I took a look at his canon team, and tried to figure out what Pokemon he would catch.

What are some of your characters bad habits (such as stealing, lying, etc.)?
Where's the apostrophe in this question?

And thanks for making me think about characters I haven't thought about in months.

Aden tends to rush everywhere without looking. Pretty much, she jumps before she looks, even if standing on the edge of a cliff. Also, she really doesn't fight against people, even when she knows she's right. She just gives up.

That's where Astinus comes in to stop Arlan.

wtf.

 

[Eliminator Jr.]

Do you like to have a promotional/advertising banner for your fic? Do you think it helps drag readers in?
If the banner looks interesting enough it can drag readers in, but unless you post a lot nobody will see it, which sort of defeats the purpose of having it. I have an old banner for mine that I have previously used but I'll probably make a new one instead. Just can't be bothered getting around to it at the moment.

How did you go about deciding your main character's Pokemon?
I usually pick Pokémon that suit the trainer or the things that they're going to be undertaking. Sometimes I'll just pick Pokémon that I like. Like for example you wouldn't really have a mysterious character wielding a Buneary or something.

 

[JX Valentine]

wtf.

Heart's Soul's fanfiction is so true to life you mod his fantasies.

 

[Elite Overlord LeSabre™]

How did you go about deciding your main character's Pokemon?
Based on my (semi) competitive Pokemon team. And I wanted her to end up with a fairly diverse crew. And of course Persian needed to be the team anchor :P

What are some of your characters bad habits (such as stealing, lying, etc.)?
Lisa's known for complaining like a spoiled brat, shamelessly spending money on $90 hotel rooms and $25 meals at Applebee's, and the incessant whining. Oh, and blasting her 80's love songs on her iPod and driving down the highway at 40 miles an hour.

Do you like to have a promotional/advertising banner for your fic? Do you think it helps drag readers in?
I used to have a banner advertising my story, but its effectiveness was marginal at best. I don't advertise it on PC because I'd rather show off my bishies and I'm really only looking for a core group of folks to review rather than try to draw in new readers.

 

[Citrinin]

How did you go about deciding your main character's Pokémon?
Larvitar was deliberately exotic and powerful: Bevan's father is a wealthy Oligarch who can afford such things. Everything else, I decided not to give him ridiculously weak ones, but not ridiculously rare/powerful ones, either. :]

 

[Heart's Soul]

Heart's Soul's fanfiction is so true to life you mod his fantasies.

Thanks. It is actually similar to my life, then I just edited it to have pokemon and got rid of my happy trait.

Also, Astinus and Arlan really do love each other like brothers, even though they're not. Mainly childhood friends. (I had the idea to make them brothers, but if I did that, it'd be just cruel)

Reisen's Theme from Invisible Full Moon would be great here in a few action or romantic sequences.

 

[Misheard Whisper]

Ah, geez. *kicks FFL* Getta move on!

In lieu of a logical bold topic, does your story ever go in directions you never intended it to go in?

 

[Swift!]

In lieu of a logical bold topic, does your story ever go in directions you never intended it to go in?

Well, the story doesn't exactly go in a completely unintended direction, but the way I write it seems to. I'll have the outline of a chapter planned out, but, when I go to write it, everything I planned goes out the window and the chapter plays out completely differently.

 

[Sgt Shock]

Does your story ever go in directions you never intended it to go in?

Well. I have a main framework. But I don't plan all the turns in the story. It's a weird paradox. ;p I more so have idea how my character progresses and the enemies ahead.

 

[Bay]

Does your story ever go in directions you never intended it to go in?
With both the original and new version of NE, yeah. I would always get inspiration everywhere, so scenes and interactions will change, sometimes changing the story's direction.

 

[JX Valentine]

In lieu of a logical bold topic, does your story ever go in directions you never intended it to go in?

Actually, Sparky, this might be the best bold topic we've had in awhile, in my opinion.

That said, Midsummer Knight's Dream, this is what's happened to most of the story. In some ways, it's good because I now have a better twist ending than I did originally. In other ways, it produced boring-as-crap chapters that I'd like to get rid of. This is part of the reason why I don't update it that often anymore. It's gotten so out of hand I don't even remember entirely what's going on myself. I know where it's supposed to go, just not what it's doing or where it's going to wander next.

Luckily, I've got a firmer grip control on Anima Ex Machina. While individual events might come out differently compared to what I set out to do (like, for example, I actually didn't entirely intend on having the group end up on a military base with only one way out), overall, the story is going in the exact direction I want it to go in.

 

[Sgt Shock]

Does your story ever go in directions you never intended it to go in?
With both the original and new version of NE, yeah. I would always get inspiration everywhere, so scenes and interactions will change, sometimes changing the story's direction.

I have to agree with you there. For some reason, you get inspired and you cannot help but to incorporate the idea in your story. Happens to me all the time.

 

[D. Lawride]

In lieu of a logical bold topic, does your story ever go in directions you never intended it to go in?

Often and frequently. They complement each other.

Anyways, yup, it does. While I can have a basic, somewhat background story to use, I never plan things ahead of time. I just let myself go with the flow. Many people do it that way, and sometimes, you get pleasant surprises. So instead of having it planned, I let it go where it might go. Answering the question, its kind of a paradox to go in a way never intended when nothing is truly planned. That's my case, I'd say.

 

[Misheard Whisper]

We seem to have a consensus. :D I was asking because of a manga, Mahou Sensei Negima, in two ways. Firstly because after reading it, I have to suppress the urge to turn Shattered into a supernatural magic story. Secondly, because the mangaka seems to have done exactly that. It started off as a typical harem comedy, but over time it's turned into a shonen fighting manga like Naruto or DBZ (is that even a manga? I dunno.) Actually, that was what he wanted to do all along, but his publisher wanted the harem comedy, so he did that, before turning it into what he wanted it to be all along. (And damn, it's epic!) Still counts imo.

But really, Shattered changes direction every new chapter. It started out as being an ordinary trainer fic, a prequel to Torn. But I quickly realised that it wasn't possible, with my current level of ability, to make a good story out of that. So I changed it. I brought in a far more serious, pre-DP, Team Galactic, steering it towards a 'VS Evil Team' kind of fic. Then I introduced the Cult of Avos, lending a slightly supernatural edge. Samuel, an extension of TG, gives it a bit more action. In the latest chapter,

Spoiler:

I introduced Matthew's apparent ability to read auras. Not Aura, mind you. I'll be run over by a rusty steamroller before I bring that in.

There was even a fleeting fancy in my mind at one point to turn it into a 'forbidden romance' kinda thing, but I dismissed that idea fairly quickly. Where it'll go in the future? I can't say, only that I plan to further explore the supernatural side of things. Weighed against the risk of Sueishness, however, I don't feel I'll give the twins any special powers other than the power of heart. I have a strange urge to bring martial arts into it now, though.

What it'll turn out as, I'm hoping, is a big hodge-podge of genres that has something in it to appeal to everyone. I know it's impossible to create a universally loved fic, as everyone has different tastes, but I'll be damned if I'll let my baby fall into a niche.

Actually, Sparky, this might be the best bold topic we've had in awhile, in my opinion.

In all honesty, it was just a desperate attempt to kick-start the FFL. In ALL honesty, it was just an excuse for me to use the phrase 'in lieu of'. 'Lieu' is such an awesome word, don't you think? Has an awesome ring to it. Much like 'abdicate', 'gazpacho', 'zwischenspiel' or 'antepenultimate'. /endrandom

 

[Giratina ♀]

In lieu of a logical bold topic, does your story ever go in directions you never intended it to go in?

It wasn't so much went in a new direction during the writing than it was went in a new direction during the planning process, but the majority of Metal Coat's plot (and, indeed, all three of the main characters) were mostly pulled out of thin air during some part of the planning and procrastination - in equal parts - which made up most of the pre-writing stage. In case you were wondering (which you rpobably weren't but whatever), the old versions were:

• The first edition. None of the characters from later version were used here. The team was a Dratini (who was the Pokémon from the human world), Vaporeon, and Eevee (I think). The plot was something involving Darkrai trying to take over the world. I stuck with it for about two weeks.
• The second edition. Caro, Kris, and Helio (but obviously not his human counterpart) came into existence, and the plot was changed from the Darkrai-owns-universe thing to some sort of epic jorney that ended with Sunyshore in ruins, a giant laser attack from a lot of Pokémon who somehow got the power to traverse worlds, and lots of gloating by Yami in a Dusknoir costume. Obviously scrapped.
• The current version, and the one I stuck with in the end. Caro, Kris, Helio, the setting, and some minor characters were about the only things that came over to this new version. It was also the first time I used Mesprit.

And in response to SD:

Spoiler:

I'm fairly sure Aura and aura are... the same thing. DRAMA !!!

 

[Misheard Whisper]

Not necessarily.

Spoiler:

When I say Aura, I'm referring to the mystical power present in some people and Pokemon in the Pokemon universe. When I say aura, I'm talking about the faint, well, aura emitted by things. Eg Matthew in Shattered, who is tuned into this, can look at a place, and discern that there was lots of conflict there, as well as happy memories. (oddly enough) He can't shoot balls of energy from his hands or see with his eyes closed or anything, though.