FE-tastic avatar courtesy of TheBumbler!

Hello all, my profile was begging me to put it out of its misery and revamp it already, so here goes. I thought a couple interviews were in place to make sure my information was correct, so I took the liberty of scheduling one with the author in question. It was October 3, 2008 when I pulled up into his driveway, and fall had definitely arrived. TheTwilightRurouni, henceforth referred to as TR, greeted me at the door. He was dressed casually, jeans and a white t-shirt with Paris France across the front. We set up the interview in his rather small living room, a large window gave us a nice view of the front lawn, already adorned with fallen leaves.

Me: So, before we get on with this, what do you think of the weather?

TR: It's fine as long as you wear pants, shorts are pretty much dead by this point in the season.

Me: For a second there, I thought you were refering to wearing pants period.

TR: (laughs) No, I hope not at least. I tried not wearing them when I was three, it didn't work out so well. You get some odd looks.

Me: I would imagine so, thankfully you grew out of it.

TR: Yes yes, I think everyone would agree on that.

Me: Me most of all. (laughs) Now, can you tell me a little about your latest work?

TR: Certainly, it's called Tales of a Hero and Half Dragon, recently it's been refered to as ToaHaHD. It's a Fire Emblem fic, a bit of a crossover I suppose between FE 7 and the ending of 10. You'll have to read it if you want to find out more though.

Me: All right I can understand that; now, what prompted you to start writing on fanfiction?

TR: It was a story a good friend of mine, TheOnlyItachi, suggested I read. It was called Fire Behind Blue Eyes, and it was an Avatar: The Last Airbender fic. It was quite good, and really dragged me into the site. I think the whole literary world will be debating if that was a terrible mistake on TheOnlyItachi's part for a long time to come. I began my first story shortly after finishing FBBE, it's called A Hatred Born of Scars, also Avatar.

Me:...

TR: (laughs) Yes, looking back on it I can't believe I named it that, it's very melodramatic. But I couldn't change the title halfway through, so it stuck.

Me: Much like your favorite band, I hear?

TR: Yes, I don't where you heard that, but my favorite band is Skillet and they found they didn't like the name once they got the ball rolling, but what can you do? The fans grow to love it and your stuck with it. If you leave this interview with one thing in mind, make sure it's the fact that titles and summaries need to be carefully considered before posting.

Me: Yes, I've seen quite a few fics with awful summaries and titles, with spelling or grammatical errors in both.

TR: I can't tell you how repellent a bad summary is. The titles can sometimes be overlooked, you never know when people have an odd title on purpose. A bad summary though, it's a big sign that says "Don't read me! I can't write three lines to save my life, let alone an entire story!"

Me: Ouch, no one told me you were this harsh.

TR: I wouldn't say harsh, just realistic. They say 'Don't judge a book by it's cover', but we all do it anyway. It takes little time to come up with a decent summary, and I apply that to myself as well.

Me: OKay okay, moving away from technicalities, what are some of your favorite stories on FF?

TR: Stories? Oh don't ask. (laughs) Ask me about authors, there are too many stories I like.

Me: All right, authors then. Care to give a few names?

TR: I'd love to. Currently I'm in love with the Fire Emblem fandom, and I think one of my favorites over there is Sardonic Kender Smile. She's got a great vocabulary that really shows without making the story seem clunky.

Me: Clunky?

TR: As if someone changed every word in their fic to the biggest synonym they could find.

Me: Ah, I know exactly what you're talking about.

TR: Most people do, it's an absolute terror to read. But yes, Kender has a great writing style and her prose is so well written, very conversational. I think she's spoiled me.

Me: How so?

TR: I won't read any other Eliwood/Ninian fics for one thing.

Me: (laughs) All right, any others?

TR: Oh many, EmbeRin is an excellent writer as well as reviewer. You should feel lucky if you've gotten a good word from her. She's been writing Oscar-centric lately, and it's all a joy to read. Besides her there's FireEdge, who has a great AU out right now, and is in the process of writing the best Jill/Haar fic I've seen thus far. Moving away from Fire Emblem though, there's thecurlEgurl and smeagol's girl for the Avatar fandom. Both have amazing stories out, and completed. And then there's miss-katara, who wrote Fire Behind Blue Eyes.

Me:...I can't help but notice they're all girls.

TR: (laughs) Hey, I'm a guy, and I'll be the first to admit most girls write better. I think they're minds are more naturally geared towards it.

Me: My daughter will be thrilled to here that. But let's keep this interview rolling, what's your take on reviews?

TR: If you bother reading the story, leave a review. It's as simple as that, and one I follow myself. As for review content, I think flamers aren't even worth mentioning. We all know why they do it, and it doesn't help. Concrit is great though, a good author will eat it up.

Me: What about length?

TR: I try to shoot for reviews that at least require a scroll bar when I go to proofread them. As for reviews I receive, I don't care as long as you send them. Make them long, short, or somewhere in between, I'm pretty easy to please.

Me: Yeah, I can see that. Now, moving onto a somewhat sensitive subject...

TR: Oh, don't talk to me about Mary Sues.

Me: You shot that down before I could even get it out there.

TR: My first OC was a bit of a sue, and I found after my second OC that it's hard not to write them. OC's are difficult characters to portray, and if you don't have the skill then leave them out. Mary Sues are an author's excuse to express all the fantasies we have about a character that I think everyone wants to be. Mysterious, just a bit agnsty maybe, and who likes having flaws? And if they do have flaws, they only add to how much others like the character. I doubt author's who have them notice, but Mary Sues are only fun to their creators.

Me: Kind of like Frankenstein?

TR: (laughs) Yes, very much so in fact. I simply won't read sue-fics.

Me: I notice you've left out any OC's in your most recent story, and your subsequent oneshots.

TR: I don't think I have the skill to write them, and besides, I love the canon cast.

Me: Always nice to hear.

TR: (laughs) Yes, I have yet to come across an author who writes for a fandom they hate.

Me: That would be interesting, wouldn't it? But moving on, and we're running out of time, do you do anything outside of FF?

TR: You wouldn't think so would you? But yes, I play tennis, am currently a college freshman, and read quite a bit.

Me: What was the last book you read?

TR: Brisingr. Finished it in two days and now I need to read it again, I can hardly remember it, it went so fast. Before that I read Bram Stoker's Dracula, that was a book that truly earned it's status as a classic.

Me: Yes, I'd have to agree with you. But going back to Brisingr, ever consider slowing down on the first read through?

TR: (pauses) Nope. I'm a rather impatient reader with books I've been waiting for.

Me: Fair enough, I think most of us are actually. Any manga you like to read?

TR: Rurouni Kenshin is my favorite, as I would think is obvious. Other than that, I'll read some others. I loved Tales of Symphonia, as well as the game, and anything Legend of Zelda gets me absolutely giddy. You don't want me to break the others down into favorites though, no one wants to know.

Me: (laughs) I suppose not. Anything else you want to share? I think I'm all out of questions, as well as time.

TR: Not really, just make sure you get this right. I can't tell you how many times I've been misquoted in interviews.

Me: (waves tape recorder) Not to worry, this will be word for word.

TR: Good to hear. Give me a ring if you need to double check anything.

Me: Will do, and good luck with the rest of ToaHaHD.

--end interview--

And there you have it, the dirt on the FF author TheTwilightRurouni. He said he'd like to convey that even if you don't like his fics, a critique review still makes his day. PM with any further questions; that's it from this one.

Quote of the update: One quote per update, usually from Avatar or an Avatar fic I read.

"It's a Fire Nation food!" -Fire Lord Ozai, from TrueThinker's "The Random Conversations of Zuko & Azula"

"Uhhh! Does this place even exist?!"

"Some say it doesn't."

"Shouldn't you have mentioned that BEFORE?" -Toph and Professor Zei, The Library

"You're a living relic!"

"Thanks, I try." -Professor Zei and Aang, The Library

"It's okay, you can laugh, it's funny." -Azula to Aang, The Chase

"I dunno. I was just sayin' stuff." -Lloyd Irving, Tales of Symphonia

"What are you doing here Twinkle Toes?!"

"How'd you know it was me?"

"Don't answer to Twinkle Toes, it's not manly!"

"You're the one whose bag matches his belt." -Toph, Aang, Sokka, and Katara, The Blind Bandit

"You think you're so tough?! Why don't you come up here so I can smack that grin off your face?!"

"I'm not smiling." - Toph and Xin Fu, The Blind Bandit

"Hey guys, Ben's sleep talking!"

"I found the..."

"The what?"

"I found the...the..."

"The WHAT?"

"I found the...the...the thing..."

"Go figure. That's just great."

"Ben, what color is it?"(laughs)

"It's...it's...it's PURPLE!" -Brent, Kyle, myself, and a sleeping Ben

"I can not believe Father is getting married to a tomato."

" I should just walk away, right now . . ." -Zuko and Azula, from TrueThinker's, The Random Conversations of Zuko & Azula

"Can your science explains why it rains?"

"Yes! Yes it can!" -Some random guy and Sokka, The Fortune Teller

"Where would we be without the teasing?"

"Probably in a more normal state of mind," - Jin and Zuko, from Sleep, Don't Weep by smeagol's

"If you come at me...you should be sure, first, to fill some of this endless gap!" - Shishio to Sanosuke, volume 17 of Rurouni Kenshin by Nabuhiro Watsuki

"Is it just me, or has this year gone by faster than a solar powered beanbag on wheels?(just a bit faster)" -Brent, signing my year book and commenting on our junior year

ughh..look, it's 12:40 and I can't think of a quote...please bear with me until I can get one...g'night.

"I'm the plan guy, you two are the chop-stuff-up-with-waterbending guys! Together, we're team Avatar!" -Sokka, The Drill

"Hate is Hell, Contained in a Smile." -title for second chapter in Havocess's "Sunset"

"Quiet, I'm jinn-ing" -Iroh commmenting on neutral jinn, from thecurlEgurl's "Storybender"

"You and Iroh will go look for Katara and the angry jerk-no offense."

"None taken." - Sokka and Iroh, Crossroads of Destiny

"Don't scream...don't do it...I know they all look sweet with new hairdos and armor and stuff but DON'T SCREAM!!" - me to myself while watching season three trailer for Avatar

"It's a giant ! Maybe it's friendly!" -Sokka, the episode after The Library (don't know what it's called)

"Never argue with an idiot. They'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience." -Brennan

"I always wondered what the "extra virgin" on the olive oil meant. I guess it just means they really didn't let these olives mess around." -Brady

"Aw Sokka, you're a comic relief character, you couldn't fight off a short bus full of nuns." -Katara, Avatar the abridged series episode 2

"I am a fan of secret rivers." -Sokka, The Headband

"Pants are an illusion, and so is ." -Hugh, The Day of Black Sun: The Invasion

"On the white horses we come marching through the streets, we think we're kings when we come across the field of deeds." -E-Type, Fight it Back

"Kaoru smiles at him over her cup of steaming tea and knows that he does not think she is weak since he is stronger." -from Linay's Without Words.

"But Soujiro was so fast-- he stole my sword. And now...And now Shishio-- he's threatening to burn down my... my.. LAUNDRY!" -chibi Kenshin from bluec84's Chibi Aoshi 3: Love Stoned

"You horsed my bunny!"

"You bunnied my horse!" -Kody and Alex

"Oh yeah? What's your little form called?"

"...the Dancing Dragon." -Katara and Zuko, The Firebending Masters

"Are you two so busy fighting that you cannot see your own ship has set sail?"

"We have no time for your proverbs Uncle!"

"It's no proverb!"

"Bleeding hog monkeys!"

"Hahaha! Hey, that's my boat!"

"...maybe it should be a proverb." -Uncle, Zuko, and Pirate Captain, The Waterbending Scroll