Interview Tieg 2001 & Judge Amy
The Lightning Awards 2019 Interview: Tieg2001 Winner of Love Is In The Air Category with "Spectral Illusion"
Hello! My name is Amy and on behalf of The Lightning Awards: congratulations on your win in the Love Is In The Air Category! How do you feel about your win?
Hai hai, thanks for having me Amy! Truth be told, I was baffled when I was notified I had won the LIITA category, like; Spectral Illusion did feel like one of the better fanfic one-shots I've written in a long, long time, but I had never expected it to rival the works of other contestants. All in all; I was s h a k i n g ~.
Understandably so! It was well deserved too - Spectral Illusion truly is a wonderful story. Was there a specific inspiration or motivation behind writing the plot?
To be fair, Spectral Illusion's plot is the result of watching a documentary centred around paranoia, which, paired with my "current" interest in mental decline during my SI-writing days, flowed into the beginnings of its plot; namely, slowly dragging Matsukaze Tenma through a series of mental endeavours - which he unconsciously tried to block out, unknowingly waging a war with the traumatic event that had occurred.
I am curious, I find Matsukaze Tenma to be an interesting choice to write about mental decline. Any specific reasons why you chose him and did you ever consider a different character as well?
Ah, while a vast array of different characters, combinations, either from the original series or the GO seasons would have worked marvellously- none would be as fitting a character as Tenma. His optimistic, happy-go-lucky attitude makes for the perfect material since the effects of Spectral Illusion's tragic events slowly start to sink in along the way, leading to some noticeable changes. >:) #RipTenma,ButImmaSadist.
It really was a clever choice of character - to see such a bubbly character written in a way that portrays the hidden cracks of darkness from him was absolutely refreshing to read. Especially with your characterisation of Tenma and Tsurugi - how do you get your characterisation well done? Any tips and tricks for fellow writers out there?
Personally, I'm thoroughly convinced that a lot of current fanfic writers, well, y'know, try to write Tenma and Tsurugi's characters as they want them to be, primarily for story/ship purposes. However, I'm strongly opposed to this type of characterisation, as this, in the long-run of the story will lead to either character giving off this seemingly "unnatural" air. While Tenma's character is a far cry from Tsurugi's more complex-to-write persona (due to the initial distant Tsundere-turns-good-friend attitude), both their personalities should be respected if one wishes to properly utilise these characters for their fanfics. I remember, I read their entire wiki page a couple of time, rewatched some dialogue scenes to analyse their speaking patterns/habits.
All in all, know what you're working with, if you don't have a solid grasp on your source material, the product won't be dazzling. After all, in a similar fashion to a building requiring a strong foundation, so do stories, and these come in the form of well-executed characters.
I agree wholeheartedly with you. Out of curiosity, what was your favorite part of the entire story? Perhaps a specific section that you enjoyed writing overall?
My, my, there were various snippets of the one-shot that I loved writing - even if they were soul-crushing to the characters. One part, in particular, the moment Tenma is, technically speaking, home-alone at Aki's manor. At first glance, it seems perfectly normal for Tsurugi not to be thirsty and thus refusing to get a drink- though, after reaching the end; Tenma opening the door for Tsurugi, turning down the glass of water, etcetera gets a deeper, more ominous second meaning. It's a devious twist.
Then, of course, we have the graveyard scene, mwhahaha. My inner sadist truly enjoyed writing that part; from the moment the realisation of recent events finally caught up with Tenma to the immediate breakdown. While the tragedy was not over the top, I felt as though it needed time for everything to dawn on Tenma; which inevitably postponed his breakdown to offscreen SI.
Alrighty! Thank you so much for letting me interview you! One last question, is there anything you'd like to say for the Inazuma Eleven writing community?
Truth be told, ever since I discontinued my fanfiction works and began focusing primarily on new works, I have lost taps on the Inazuma Eleven writing community as a whole, however, if there is anything that I could say is to never let doubt obstruct your development, one is often too harsh of a critic when it comes to their own work- so, accept your work's imperfections because these imperfections are what make your works stand out from the crowd. :> Also, sorry not sorry for leaving x.
Spectral Illusion can be read here.