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Series","description":"Interviews with writers/artists in the TMNT fandom who've had a positive influence on/inspired my work. ","count":"8","submission_left_submission_id":"2455679","submission_left_file_name":"3602924_Plastron_plastron_interviews_chickinred.png","submission_left_thumbnail_url_huge_noncustom":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/3602/3602924_Plastron_plastron_interviews_chickinred.jpg","submission_left_thumbnail_url_large_noncustom":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/3602/3602924_Plastron_plastron_interviews_chickinred_noncustom.jpg","submission_left_thumbnail_url_medium_noncustom":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/3602/3602924_Plastron_plastron_interviews_chickinred_noncustom.jpg","submission_left_thumb_medium_noncustom_x":"120","submission_left_thumb_medium_noncustom_y":"40","submission_left_thumb_large_noncustom_x":"200","submission_left_thumb_large_noncustom_y":"67","submission_left_thumb_huge_noncustom_x":"300","submission_left_thumb_huge_noncustom_y":"100","submission_right_submission_id":"2456626","submission_right_file_name":"3604612_Plastron_plastron_interviews_romamarufixx.png","submission_right_thumbnail_url_huge_noncustom":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/3604/3604612_Plastron_plastron_interviews_romamarufixx.jpg","submission_right_thumbnail_url_large_noncustom":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/3604/3604612_Plastron_plastron_interviews_romamarufixx_noncustom.jpg","submission_right_thumbnail_url_medium_noncustom":"https://nl.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/3604/3604612_Plastron_plastron_interviews_romamarufixx_noncustom.jpg","submission_right_thumb_medium_noncustom_x":"120","submission_right_thumb_medium_noncustom_y":"40","submission_right_thumb_large_noncustom_x":"200","submission_right_thumb_large_noncustom_y":"67","submission_right_thumb_huge_noncustom_x":"300","submission_right_thumb_huge_noncustom_y":"100"}],"description":"An Interview with writer @ikara, who frequently works with @ChickInRed!\n\nI’m initially reaching out to those whose work I was familiar with as a reader/viewer before I started participating/posting my own. In the near future, I’ll interview some contemporaries, too!\n\nThe opinions stated by the interviewees are solely their own, and YOU WILL RESPECT THEM, even if you do not share the same opinions/preferences, etc. If you harass the interviewee, expect to be reported. Please note that many if not all of the people I choose to interview are, like me, pro-ship and pro-tcest. If you don’t like that, please do not read it.\n\nAdditional Disclaimer- \"Plastron Interviews\" Series:\nPlease do not assume I am 100% in agreement with any and all opinions stated by the interviewees, just because I chose to interview them based on my admiration of their work. In almost all cases, I did not have close private contact with the interviewees until I contacted them to interview them. I do not edit or censor the interviews. I ask questions, the interviewees answer, and I share those answers. It's up to the readers to form their own opinions. Don't look for hidden agendas, rhetoric, or confirmation bias where there is none. Keep doing what you want to do, respect the tastes and opinions of others, and have a good time.","description_bbcode_parsed":"An Interview with writer \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tikara\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t		\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tikara\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
, who frequently works with \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tChickInRed\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t		\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tChickInRed\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
!

I’m initially reaching out to those whose work I was familiar with as a reader/viewer before I started participating/posting my own. In the near future, I’ll interview some contemporaries, too!

The opinions stated by the interviewees are solely their own, and YOU WILL RESPECT THEM, even if you do not share the same opinions/preferences, etc. If you harass the interviewee, expect to be reported. Please note that many if not all of the people I choose to interview are, like me, pro-ship and pro-tcest. If you don’t like that, please do not read it.

Additional Disclaimer- "Plastron Interviews" Series:
Please do not assume I am 100% in agreement with any and all opinions stated by the interviewees, just because I chose to interview them based on my admiration of their work. In almost all cases, I did not have close private contact with the interviewees until I contacted them to interview them. I do not edit or censor the interviews. I ask questions, the interviewees answer, and I share those answers. It's up to the readers to form their own opinions. Don't look for hidden agendas, rhetoric, or confirmation bias where there is none. Keep doing what you want to do, respect the tastes and opinions of others, and have a good time.","writing":"Plastron: What is the handle/username you are most commonly known as?\n\nIkara: Ikara or Ikara Ayumi is what I most commonly go by.\n\n \n\nP: On which websites did you or do you post your work? Are there any active links new readers could follow to find your work?\n\nI: I mostly post on Archive of Our Own, but I have also posted on Inkbunny and a few on DeviantArt.\n\n \n\nP: What was your introduction to TMNT?\n\nI: I’ve been into tmnt since I was young, like back in the early 90’s. I would watch tmnt on VHS tapes at my cousins’ and my grandparents’ houses all the time.\n\n \n\nP: When did you begin participating in the fandom?\n\nI: I first discovered tmnt fanfiction in my 20’s, but it wasn’t until I entered my 30’s that I decided to try writing my own fanfiction, which I didn’t start to do until a couple of authors asked for my help in editing as a beta.\n\n \n\nP: Do you have a personal favorite or “definitive” version of TMNT?\n\nI: I really like the 2003 series for many reasons, mostly because I was also a teen at that time, and also because of how closely it follows Eastman and Laird’s original comics.(wow, I’m sounding pretty old, huh?)\n\n \n\nP: How has your view of the franchise changed over the years?\n\nI: I will be honest, at one point I was not a very good feminist and I actually liked April as the damsel in distress- at one point I even liked Apritello. But now I fully respect April as the character that Eastman and Laird always meant for her to be; an older sister, and a strong, independent woman who is ready to save herself. I have also come to realize just how hard, if not impossible it would be for an outsider to have a relationship with the turtles given the complicated psychology of their dynamic.\n\n \n\nP: You’ve got some long (and very intriguing!) works such as “When the Scientist Becomes the Subject,” written by you and ChickInRed, which have a huge following. For example, that fic has over 800 comments! How do you personally handle the large number of comments that your bigger works have gotten?\n\nI: ChickInRed handles most of the comments since she checks her inbox more frequently than I do (I have to go to the site directly since for some reason it does not like my e-mail and I have an awful habit of not checking messages) but comments do motivate us because we are happy to know people like our work enough to comment. She especially likes the “crying” comments as she has a pool that she fills with the tears of distraught readers.\n\n[url=https://archiveofourown.org/works/31617119]P: (Note- ChickInRed’s interview also contains this question!)\n[/url]\nWhen we write stories, we already have a conclusion in mind- it’s just all the stuff between point A and point B that we sometimes aren’t 100% sure how to fill in. That’s the thing about stories, as a reader you can’t always expect the ending that you want, but sometimes the one you get is even better. Besides, stories would be pretty boring if they always ended exactly the way we wanted them to, don’t you think?\n\nThat’s not to say we don’t take comments into consideration- one commenter mentioned that they were unprepared for a certain scene despite knowing what type of story it was and it triggered them- so we decided to start putting specific warnings at the beginnings of chapters in order to avoid this.\n\nWhile we do want to shock and scare our readers, (that is, after all, why they chose to read a story tagged under horror and gore) we do NOT wish to force anyone with PTSD to relive something traumatic because of what we wrote.\n\nAlso, every now and then we might find a bit of inspiration from a comment- such as if a person comments regularly we might throw a small detail in to make them happy as a thanks for being a regular reader, but for the most part, the general outline of our stories as well as major scenes and turning points have already been decided in advance... it’s just that fleshing it out takes time.\n\n \n\nP: What are some of the challenges that come with writing a longer, more involved story such as \"When the scientist becomes the subject\"? Specifically, do you ever feel pressured by comments to write a certain kind of conclusion?\n\nI: The biggest challenge that comes with a long and involved story like [url=https://archiveofourown.org/works/8014948/chapters/18348118]“When The Scientist Becomes the Subject” [/url]is research. You need to keep the readers wanting more, and be prepared to go beyond their expectations- but you can’t just throw things in for shock value with no rhyme or reason (my teachers would say that is lazy writing) there needs to be a purpose, a goal, and it has to be believable. Granted there is some suspension of disbelief to be expected when it comes to a fictional story about Mutant Ninja Turtles... but at some point if things become too extreme or fantastic it becomes boring. Adding a touch of realism, the thought of knowing that some things COULD happen, makes reading about them in a fictional story more emotionally intense.\nMuch of what you will find in our “Scientist” story is based on real war crimes and human experimentation that has happened in recent history (like, when your grandparents were kids kind of recent) and even some on-going experimentation still used on animals today.\n\nReality is often stranger and more horrifying than fiction after all.\n\n \n\nP: Do you have any advice for any beginners who want to write fiction/draw?\n\nI: Try to look at things from the character’s perspective, forget about your own life experiences for a moment and imagine how THEY grew up, how THEY feel, and what motivates THEM. I have found that studying psychology can give great insight to behavior. Also, if you are going to set your story in a specific tmnt series, then try to imagine the voice actors in your head when writing dialogue to test if it sounds like something that character would say or if it just feels weird. If the voice sounds natural in your head in that character’s voice, there is a good chance it will read natural as well.\n\n \n\nP: How do you stay motivated, or cope with writers’/artists’ block?\n\nI: Well, since my partner ChickInRed and myself have many plans in the works, if we ever get stuck we just spitball ideas for our other planned stories for a while. It’s good to take a break, and sometimes the best ideas come to you when you are not trying to think of anything.\n\n \n\nP: What character or characters do you enjoy writing or drawing the most?\n\nI: Donatello and Michelangelo\n\n \n\nP: What character or characters do you identify with the most? Does that influence how you portray them?\n\nI: Donatello and Raphael. I’ve always been a nerd- I was the awkward kid who spent every recess holed up in the library reading non-fiction books. I am also very emotional and have anger issues. I see a lot of myself in those characters because of this, so writing them is therapeutic for me.\n\n \n\nP: Are there any of YOUR works you'd like to shine a spotlight on? Maybe some that you'd welcome more comments on?\n\nI: I have some that don’t get much attention, probably because they are not romance and are mostly from Splinter’s point of view, but I was very proud of how [url=https://archiveofourown.org/works/4941544]“A Turtle of A Different Color”[/url] and [url=https://archiveofourown.org/works/5761933]“Dare To Dream”[/url] came out.\n\n \n\nP: If you were in full creative control, what's your idea of the ULTIMATE, perfect TMNT movie (and/or TV series)?\n\nI: Heh, well, it definitely wouldn’t be for kids. There would certainly be more dark moments as well as introspection, and naturally TCEST would be a given.\n\n \n\nP: Okay, let’s have a little fun. What do you find most sexy about the turtles?\n\nI: Well, on a superficial level I would say the muscles and physical abilities that come from a lifetime of training in martial arts. But what I enjoy most is their different personalities and how they compliment each other so well. So I guess it’s more of an emotional aesthetic, if that’s even a thing. Can we make it a thing?\n\n \n\nP: Which turtle do you think would be the best leader, if not Leo?\n\nI: Mikey... Here me out on this; sure he plays the role of the mischievous but lovable youngest brother who delights us with his silly antics- but there are times when he is the most mature out of them all. Perhaps it is because he is not burdened with as much responsibility that he is able to observe things that others can not, but time and time again he has shown that he not only possesses an incredibly untapped physical potential, but a great deal of empathy and awareness. He is goofy because he does not need to be anything else, but we have seen in many series that when push comes to shove, Michelangelo CAN be serious, focused, and can take charge when it really counts. He certainly does not desire the position of leadership, but if Leo needed to step down for any reason, I feel that Mikey would be the only one capable of taking on that role without it breaking him.\n\n \n\nP: Favorite Ships?\n\nI: Raph/Don and Leo/Mikey.\n\n \n\nP: Favorite Kinks or Themes in fics/art?\n\nI: I’m a sucker for fics where they discover how much they mean to each other as well as tender moments. Consent is a big thing for me. It might not sound very exciting, but trust me when I say that lack of consent is the most un-sexy thing in the world.\n\n \n\nP: Headcanons?\n\nI: My biggest one is of their mask colors. Originally, in the first comics they were all red, but when the Fred Wolf cartoon came out in the 80’s, producers were worried that the turtles would be too hard to tell apart for kids even with the addition of lettered belt buckles. But a sufficient answer for why each turtle was assigned their specific color was never really given as far as I am aware. I like to believe that it was more than just throwing darts at colors on a board; I strongly believe that each turtle’s mask is the color that stands out the most in their aura. Each chi point in the body is represented by a different color, and it is said that your personality is highly influenced by the points in your body where chi flows the strongest. After doing some research, I found that the chi colors match each of the turtles’ personalities across the different series with great accuracy. If you consider how spiritual Master Splinter is (well, if we don’t count Rise) then it makes sense.\n\n \n\nP: Wrapping up- What would you like to say to the fandom in general?\n\nI: I feel the expected answer is that I say something positive and encouraging while thanking everyone for being part of such a great fandom... but what I’d REALLY like to say is; please stop making Raph a rapist, and do NOT romanticize suicide and self-harm- it is a serious matter and it is not something to fantasize about. If you have such thoughts please seek help, even if it’s just someone to talk to to vent. Your life matters. (Also, let Leo relax and laugh now and then. He doesn’t have a stick up his bum all the time. You guys are gunna give that poor turtle an aneurism with how uptight you always seem to make him.)\n\n","writing_bbcode_parsed":"Plastron: What is the handle/username you are most commonly known as?

Ikara: Ikara or Ikara Ayumi is what I most commonly go by.

 

P: On which websites did you or do you post your work? Are there any active links new readers could follow to find your work?

I: I mostly post on Archive of Our Own, but I have also posted on Inkbunny and a few on DeviantArt.

 

P: What was your introduction to TMNT?

I: I’ve been into tmnt since I was young, like back in the early 90’s. I would watch tmnt on VHS tapes at my cousins’ and my grandparents’ houses all the time.

 

P: When did you begin participating in the fandom?

I: I first discovered tmnt fanfiction in my 20’s, but it wasn’t until I entered my 30’s that I decided to try writing my own fanfiction, which I didn’t start to do until a couple of authors asked for my help in editing as a beta.

 

P: Do you have a personal favorite or “definitive” version of TMNT?

I: I really like the 2003 series for many reasons, mostly because I was also a teen at that time, and also because of how closely it follows Eastman and Laird’s original comics.(wow, I’m sounding pretty old, huh?)

 

P: How has your view of the franchise changed over the years?

I: I will be honest, at one point I was not a very good feminist and I actually liked April as the damsel in distress- at one point I even liked Apritello. But now I fully respect April as the character that Eastman and Laird always meant for her to be; an older sister, and a strong, independent woman who is ready to save herself. I have also come to realize just how hard, if not impossible it would be for an outsider to have a relationship with the turtles given the complicated psychology of their dynamic.

 

P: You’ve got some long (and very intriguing!) works such as “When the Scientist Becomes the Subject,” written by you and ChickInRed, which have a huge following. For example, that fic has over 800 comments! How do you personally handle the large number of comments that your bigger works have gotten?

I: ChickInRed handles most of the comments since she checks her inbox more frequently than I do (I have to go to the site directly since for some reason it does not like my e-mail and I have an awful habit of not checking messages) but comments do motivate us because we are happy to know people like our work enough to comment. She especially likes the “crying” comments as she has a pool that she fills with the tears of distraught readers.

P: (Note- ChickInRed’s interview also contains this question!)

When we write stories, we already have a conclusion in mind- it’s just all the stuff between point A and point B that we sometimes aren’t 100% sure how to fill in. That’s the thing about stories, as a reader you can’t always expect the ending that you want, but sometimes the one you get is even better. Besides, stories would be pretty boring if they always ended exactly the way we wanted them to, don’t you think?

That’s not to say we don’t take comments into consideration- one commenter mentioned that they were unprepared for a certain scene despite knowing what type of story it was and it triggered them- so we decided to start putting specific warnings at the beginnings of chapters in order to avoid this.

While we do want to shock and scare our readers, (that is, after all, why they chose to read a story tagged under horror and gore) we do NOT wish to force anyone with PTSD to relive something traumatic because of what we wrote.

Also, every now and then we might find a bit of inspiration from a comment- such as if a person comments regularly we might throw a small detail in to make them happy as a thanks for being a regular reader, but for the most part, the general outline of our stories as well as major scenes and turning points have already been decided in advance... it’s just that fleshing it out takes time.

 

P: What are some of the challenges that come with writing a longer, more involved story such as "When the scientist becomes the subject"? Specifically, do you ever feel pressured by comments to write a certain kind of conclusion?

I: The biggest challenge that comes with a long and involved story like “When The Scientist Becomes the Subject” is research. You need to keep the readers wanting more, and be prepared to go beyond their expectations- but you can’t just throw things in for shock value with no rhyme or reason (my teachers would say that is lazy writing) there needs to be a purpose, a goal, and it has to be believable. Granted there is some suspension of disbelief to be expected when it comes to a fictional story about Mutant Ninja Turtles... but at some point if things become too extreme or fantastic it becomes boring. Adding a touch of realism, the thought of knowing that some things COULD happen, makes reading about them in a fictional story more emotionally intense.
Much of what you will find in our “Scientist” story is based on real war crimes and human experimentation that has happened in recent history (like, when your grandparents were kids kind of recent) and even some on-going experimentation still used on animals today.

Reality is often stranger and more horrifying than fiction after all.

 

P: Do you have any advice for any beginners who want to write fiction/draw?

I: Try to look at things from the character’s perspective, forget about your own life experiences for a moment and imagine how THEY grew up, how THEY feel, and what motivates THEM. I have found that studying psychology can give great insight to behavior. Also, if you are going to set your story in a specific tmnt series, then try to imagine the voice actors in your head when writing dialogue to test if it sounds like something that character would say or if it just feels weird. If the voice sounds natural in your head in that character’s voice, there is a good chance it will read natural as well.

 

P: How do you stay motivated, or cope with writers’/artists’ block?

I: Well, since my partner ChickInRed and myself have many plans in the works, if we ever get stuck we just spitball ideas for our other planned stories for a while. It’s good to take a break, and sometimes the best ideas come to you when you are not trying to think of anything.

 

P: What character or characters do you enjoy writing or drawing the most?

I: Donatello and Michelangelo

 

P: What character or characters do you identify with the most? Does that influence how you portray them?

I: Donatello and Raphael. I’ve always been a nerd- I was the awkward kid who spent every recess holed up in the library reading non-fiction books. I am also very emotional and have anger issues. I see a lot of myself in those characters because of this, so writing them is therapeutic for me.

 

P: Are there any of YOUR works you'd like to shine a spotlight on? Maybe some that you'd welcome more comments on?

I: I have some that don’t get much attention, probably because they are not romance and are mostly from Splinter’s point of view, but I was very proud of how “A Turtle of A Different Color” and “Dare To Dream” came out.

 

P: If you were in full creative control, what's your idea of the ULTIMATE, perfect TMNT movie (and/or TV series)?

I: Heh, well, it definitely wouldn’t be for kids. There would certainly be more dark moments as well as introspection, and naturally TCEST would be a given.

 

P: Okay, let’s have a little fun. What do you find most sexy about the turtles?

I: Well, on a superficial level I would say the muscles and physical abilities that come from a lifetime of training in martial arts. But what I enjoy most is their different personalities and how they compliment each other so well. So I guess it’s more of an emotional aesthetic, if that’s even a thing. Can we make it a thing?

 

P: Which turtle do you think would be the best leader, if not Leo?

I: Mikey... Here me out on this; sure he plays the role of the mischievous but lovable youngest brother who delights us with his silly antics- but there are times when he is the most mature out of them all. Perhaps it is because he is not burdened with as much responsibility that he is able to observe things that others can not, but time and time again he has shown that he not only possesses an incredibly untapped physical potential, but a great deal of empathy and awareness. He is goofy because he does not need to be anything else, but we have seen in many series that when push comes to shove, Michelangelo CAN be serious, focused, and can take charge when it really counts. He certainly does not desire the position of leadership, but if Leo needed to step down for any reason, I feel that Mikey would be the only one capable of taking on that role without it breaking him.

 

P: Favorite Ships?

I: Raph/Don and Leo/Mikey.

 

P: Favorite Kinks or Themes in fics/art?

I: I’m a sucker for fics where they discover how much they mean to each other as well as tender moments. Consent is a big thing for me. It might not sound very exciting, but trust me when I say that lack of consent is the most un-sexy thing in the world.

 

P: Headcanons?

I: My biggest one is of their mask colors. Originally, in the first comics they were all red, but when the Fred Wolf cartoon came out in the 80’s, producers were worried that the turtles would be too hard to tell apart for kids even with the addition of lettered belt buckles. But a sufficient answer for why each turtle was assigned their specific color was never really given as far as I am aware. I like to believe that it was more than just throwing darts at colors on a board; I strongly believe that each turtle’s mask is the color that stands out the most in their aura. Each chi point in the body is represented by a different color, and it is said that your personality is highly influenced by the points in your body where chi flows the strongest. After doing some research, I found that the chi colors match each of the turtles’ personalities across the different series with great accuracy. If you consider how spiritual Master Splinter is (well, if we don’t count Rise) then it makes sense.

 

P: Wrapping up- What would you like to say to the fandom in general?

I: I feel the expected answer is that I say something positive and encouraging while thanking everyone for being part of such a great fandom... but what I’d REALLY like to say is; please stop making Raph a rapist, and do NOT romanticize suicide and self-harm- it is a serious matter and it is not something to fantasize about. If you have such thoughts please seek help, even if it’s just someone to talk to to vent. Your life matters. (Also, let Leo relax and laugh now and then. He doesn’t have a stick up his bum all the time. You guys are gunna give that poor turtle an aneurism with how uptight you always seem to make him.)

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