Second Chances Interview #2 — June & Elliott
Callie: Welcome to our celebration of Second Chances leading up to the premiere of it’s newest installment, Changes: Transitions. This is your host, Callie Solanen. Joining me for our second interview are June Choi and Elliott de Lancie. Thank you, gentlemen, for your time.
Elliott: Thank you for so graciously extending us the opportunity to reminisce on our experiences.
June: It’s a pleasure as always, honey.
Callie: As we only have a limited amount of time, I’m going to jump right in. What did you find to be the most challenging aspect of working on Transitions as opposed to Choices?
June: [laughter] Going straight for the jugular, I see.
Elliott: Skipping the softball questions.
Callie: I mean—
Elliott: You’re fine, my dear.
June: [cross-talk] No, no, you’re fine. I just half-expected a question about my skincare regimen.
Elliott: She said we have a limited amount of time.
[laughter]
June: And, no doubt, our audience’s complexions would improve from my advice.
Callie: June.
June: My apologies. Probably the hardest part of Transitions for me is simply how little time I spend with the rest of the cast. Much like in the game, I leave on tour at the beginning of the fic. While I do have substantial contact with you and Elliott, it is far more truncated and sporadic than I would prefer.
Elliott: To be fair, that’s partially at your behest.
June: Untrue. That is very much Caelwynn’s doing. Left to my own devices, I would have remained in the valley year-round.
Callie: I’m calling bullshit on that one. You could barely handle spending the first day of Spring in the valley because of how hot it was.
June: I would endure far worse to enjoy your company, honey.
Elliott: She already has a paramour, June.
June: I’m well aware.
Callie: [clears throat] What did you find most challenging, Elliott?
Elliott: If anything, it was the increase in the amount of time on-page as opposed to Choices. While I am still far from a member of the main cast, I am connected to numerous secondary storylines, including not only June, but also Leah & Haley, Alex, and also Dylan.
June: Ah, that’s right. You worked fairly extensively with the younger Moray brother, yes?
Elliott: I did. He’s quite an enjoyable chap, if rather reserved.
Callie: Until enough alcohol is involved.
Elliott: Indeed. That was a most delicious scene to work on, particularly because I’m fairly certain the crew slipped him actual alcohol.
June: No.
Elliott: Oh, yes. But then, I’m also fairly certain that Dylan was well aware of the fact and refused to say anything.
Callie: Moving on to a very different sort of question, how would you describe the fic to someone who hasn’t read it?
Elliott: Oh, Yoba.
[laughter]
June: Cae put you up to this, didn’t she?
Elliott: Can you imagine what all she had to list in the tags?
June: Ah yes. Let’s see, a bit of slice of life, romance, found family—
Elliott: [cross-talk] —hurt/comfort, addiction, action-adventure—
Callie: —smut, only one bed, cosmic horror—
June: Cosmic horror?
Elliott: Truly a smörgåsbord of genre and tropes.
June: No, wait, back up. Cosmic horror?!
Callie: Didn’t you read it?
June: I mean… well, I’m not usually one for… eugh, horror. I tended to read only the bits related to my story or centering on interrelational drama.
Elliott: Ah yes, the smut.
June: Not just the smut. But I’ll admit I rather enjoyed—
Callie: To answer your earlier question, um, yes, there is cosmic horror. It plays a fairly significant role later in the fic.
Elliott: Which, no doubt, delighted Eli.
June: What’s the matter, honey? You seem flustered.
Elliott: Considering most of the smut involves her or—
Callie: Oh, look, we’re almost out of time! Final question: what did you find most interesting about the piece itself?
June: Take it away, Elliott.
[laughter]
Callie: I know our listeners cannot see it, but Elliott is practically vibrating in his chair to answer.
Elliott: I simply have a lot of thoughts on the meta of the story.
Callie: The meta?
Elliott: Oh, yes. As our readers are undoubtedly aware, this fic is based upon not just the original video game, but also mods made for it. And much of the cosmic horror you referenced deals with that very fact.
June: But nowhere in the text does it mention that the world is a game.
Elliott: Never explicitly, no. But the implications are very clear if one knows where to look for them: the Change, the Void hours, the things Mr. Qi reveals to Callie, everything to do with the Rips in Reality, what happens with— well, certain characters and their, uh, arrivals or disappearances. I simply find it intriguing how she incorporates elements of gameplay into the fabric of the world—and how mods affect that reality.
June: You realize you probably just scared away the readers who have never modded.
Callie: Which would be quite the shame, considering you are from the Ridgeside Village mod.
June: Precisely.
Elliott: That’s why I referred to it as the meta. Even if the reader has never modded anything, they can still follow the emotional beats and understand the stakes of the story. But if they do know how modding works, then there’s this extra layer of nuance that I find delightful.
Callie: Thank you, Elliott, for your insight. Speaking as someone who would not know much about mods, it’s both intriguing and reassuring. Unfortunately, June, we'll have to save your answer for another day as we’ve run out of time.
June: Saved by the bell.
Callie: Thank you both for your time—and thank you to our listeners as well. We’ll be back tomorrow with more behind-the-scenes interviews. Remember, Changes: Transitions opens at an Ao3 near you on June 15th!
Other Interviews: Shane & Alex Jas & Mr. Ginger Eli & Dylan