1896 replies to this topic

[JimmyxxCindy4EVER]

Don't worry, Mara! You'll finish it eventually!

[sam-ely-ember]

I also have a Q&A for YOU guys, but I won't post it till TOSOT is done (haha like that's ever gonna happen)


~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

That will happen, someday. And will be here even if we have to wait like a thousand years :3

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@Mara: (oh my, I've been dying to ask this) 1. How did the idea born? What did inspire you?
2. Do you have any soundtrack/playlist/music inspiration for writing?
3. What's the hardest part of writing TOSOT?

[JimmyxxCindy4EVER]

Nice ones, Elly!

[Mara=^.^=]

@Mara: (oh my, I've been dying to ask this) 1. How was the idea born? What did inspire you?
2. Do you have any soundtrack/playlist/music inspiration for writing?
3. What's the hardest part of writing TOSOT?

1) Well, after finishing my previous fanfic (Me, Myself, and Two of You), I sort of languished, not knowing to write next. I compiled a list of ideas and then just let it sit for a few months. In the end, two ideas stood out in my head - the 1st was kind of abstract and philosophical, and featured the kids getting accidentally involved in an alien war and discovering that the leaders of both sides were actually in love. The 2nd was a flash-forward to the kids' own futures, where everything was sort of dystopian/messed up. I liked the second idea better, but at the time I was posting the fanfic on nick.com, and the rules stated that the JN gang had to be the same age as on the show. So I sort of hybridized the ideas somehow; I projected the concept of love/war onto the future JN gang, but kept the story within the nick.com guidelines by having it all be told from the perspective of the current JN gang. Hence, the alternate universe.

There were some plot points that I knew from the get-go, like the fact that megalomanium had turned Jimmy evil and that Aurora would meet up with Future Libby at Shangri Llama. That said, I also had a lot of ideas that I eventually scrapped - for example, Future Libby was initially going to have amnesia and not remember anything that had happened between her birthday to her arrival at Shangri Llama. Also, Dictator Jimmy was going to be a more conflicted character, sending Aurora messages when he was in his "lucid" state. However, I tossed this idea because I decided that, being the genius that he is, Jimmy could have used ANY window of remorse/guilt to find a cure for himself or to undo some of the bad things he had done. I wanted the battle to be between Aurora and him, not so much between his "bad and good sides". Solution: he doesn't have a good side.

Unfortunately, I don't think this translated well into Aurora's character. Many of her actions/feelings suggest that she is conflicted toward him, despite all the horrible things he's done. But without the duality of good and bad within him, she just kind of seems like a masochist LOL. Luckily I think the reader is left with the impression that more is going on beneath the surface than meets the eye.


2) Why yes, yes I do.
Specific associations:
- Tomorrow by SR-71 (Main TOSOT theme)
- Desperado by The Eagles (Aurora)
- What have you done? by Within Temptation (DJ/Aurora)
- Umbrella by Rihanna (Future Libby - don't ask)
- The Way You Like It by Adema (DJ)
- Everybody Wants You by Billy Squier (Nav)
- One of Us is Going Down - Sick Puppies (DJ/A)
- Lilac of Damnation - Mois dix mois (Future Sheen)
- Dearest by Ayumi Hamasaki (Shangri Llama)
- Отпускаю by Макsим (Aurora)
- Going Under by Evanescence (Aurora)
- Come Clean by Hilary Duff (Cindy)
- Eye of the Tiger (Sheen, LOL)
- Frontline by Pillar (April and Aurora)
- I Can Count on You from JN Soundtrack (kids)
- I Will Survive by Stephanie Bentley (Aurora)
- If I Ain't Got You by Alicia Keys (Aurora and FL)
- Only the Good Die Young (Nav)
- Somewhere I belong (Aurora)
- Waiting for the World to Fall (Sheen/Libby)

Random songs:
- 24 by Jem
- 4 Minutes by Justin Timberlake and Madonna
- Pretty much anything by Linkin Park LOL
- Desperation Song by Carbon Leaf
- Die Another Day by Madonna
- Not Quite Paradise by Bliss 66
- Our Solemn Hour by Within Temptation
- Thnks fr th mmrs by Fall Out Boy
- Red Fraction by Mell
- Because Tomorrow Will Come by DBSK
- Ballad of Serenity by Joss Whedon
- Mind as Judgement by Faylan
- Carolina in My Mind and Fire n Rain by James Taylor
- Cosmic Castaway by Electrasy
- Behind These Hazel Eyes and Gone by Kelly Clarkson
- Harder to Breathe by Maroon 5
- Here with Me by Michelle Branch
- Inside the Fire by Disturbed
- Into the Fire by 13 Senses

...There's more, but you get the idea.


3)Oh jeez...probably a combination of finding time and finding inspiration. When I have time, I lack inspiration, and when I have inspiration, I don't have time.

GWAAAAH

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

[Macey]

@MARA- Try to list all of the scrapped ideas you've had for TOSOT. I always like reading about those~

[sam-ely-ember]

Mara, those playlist were...shocking! I loved them (and there are a couple of songs I love >w<)

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@Mara: Did something come suddenly? Something that you didn't planed and just appeared in the story (it happens to me very often).

[Mara=^.^=]

I'll try to answer these Q's at the same time.


Things I scrapped:
-Future Libby was originally going to have amnesia
-Dictator Jimmy would have been a more morally conflicted character
-Nav was supposed to be...well, not just a criminal, but a bad guy. His suave, charming exterior would've been just a cover for a much more ruthless nature - but in the end, I just liked him too damn much, and made him into a good guy.
-Aurora was originally going to be a lot colder, but somehow Cindy's underlying fiery nature came through a bit more. I actually am grateful for this - I like the cold exterior coupled with all the repressed feelings.
-Lee wasn't even supposed to be a feature character at all. But, somehow he managed to insert himself into the story. More on this below.
-Aurora humming a song to herself in one scene. Which I wrote. Ye Gods
-A whole page of one-liners. It's really too bad I didn't get to use them - some were quite good, but they just didn't fit anywhere.
-3 pages full of chapter names. Actually, a lot of my major plot points were linked to chapter names I came up with. Just as many didn't go anywhere.


Things that came to me out of the blue:
-Pretty much everything that happened during their trip to the asteroid for repairs. I was basically just killing time.
-Lee being romantically interested in April totally came out of left field. He was just a super minor character, but then all of the sudden my mind went !poof...he can be used further! Then as soon as I made him a tour guide and the means by which the characters learn about Planet Gorlock, he started to develop a personality, and I realized he was in love with April.
-Nav having a longstanding crush on Aurora was totally unexpected. The more I wrote, the more I realized that Nav seemed to keep hitting on Aurora despite being engaged to April. Instead of trying to fight it, I gave it a backstory.
-Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure Tuyen was a last minute addition.
-Carl's Goth Outfit was totally spur-of-the-moment. I frankly have no idea what I was thinking.
-The whole backstory with Aurora's capture came out of nowhere. It suddenly just occurred to me that that's what had happened.
-Wenna and Nakki were last minute additions. In fact, most of the stuff on Planet Gorlock was just thrown in, and I'm not even sure why. I guess their culture amused me.
-The complication with Lady Jaya confiscating one vial of the antidote, and then Aurora accidentally smashing the other, were both spur-of-the-moment decisions. I decided things would be more exciting if there were only one vial left.
-The animal robots.
-The Lust room. Thanks a LOT you guys. <.<


Things I always intended, from square 1:
-The scene in Chapter 10 where Jimmy and Cindy sit back to back and think basically the same thoughts
-Aurora having a silver mask
-The Antidote
-The Emotion Rooms in general
-The fact that DJ's fortress is under water
-The ship names "Desperado" and "Half Life"
-Pretty much everything that's happened between Future Libby and Future Sheen
-Aurora destroying her own house upon their return to Earth
-Aurora breaking down to Future Libby
-Some chapter names, including "Ruins of a Forgotten Earth", "My Salvation", "Behind the Mask", "Unnatural Selection", and "End Game".


Now that I think about it, there was some method to my madness. I had pretty much everything in volumes 1, 3, and 5 planned out beforehand. The stuff in Volumes 2 and 4 was, to a greater extent, made up while I was writing it.


~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

[SweeneyxxTodd]

-The Lust room. Thanks a LOT you guys. <.<

I think the Lust room is one of my favorite things about TOSOT. Gotta be honest. That was hot stuff.

[Lizz]

Wow, Mara, that's all amazing! You know what would be cool? If you made some sort of topic-thing that contained all abandoned scenes, lines, and ideas from TOSOT; like they have on movie DVDs.

I would like to see that song you said you wrote that Aurora would've hummed in one scene

[Mara=^.^=]

I would like to see that song you said you wrote that Aurora would've hummed in one scene

Sweet mother of Neptune, I still have it. I thought this up during my sophomore year of high school, and it just might be the most emo thing I've ever written LOL.

Freedom gone I waste away
Will we be forever bound?
Poison coats the words I say
But you’re addicted to the sound

We are all a shadow play
Sum of all our yesterdays
Cannot run and cannot hide
Inner demons trapped inside

Morning light in shades of grey
Tomorrow is our yesterday
We are what we create
Grief or sorrow, love or hate

Like the sunrise cannot stay
Our future went by yesterday
All this time I’ve been so wrong
Is it too late to change now?

Tomorrow’s light in shades of grey
Tomorrow is our yesterday
We are what we create
Grief and sorrow, love and hate
Grief and sorrow
Grief and sorrow
Hate
Hate


I wish I could sing the tune. It makes it (marginally) less painful to read.


~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

[sam-ely-ember]

;-; Mara, you almost made me cry...it's...beautiful, painful but beautiful.

~Ely :3

[CjIiNmDmYy]

That was a heart- breaking song, Mara. Slow, but so beautiful...

I have a question for Young Jimmy: What did you think of Cindy's space suit?? Embarrasing, right? LOL.

[Mara=^.^=]

I have a question for Young Jimmy: What did you think of Cindy's space suit?? Embarrasing, right? LOL.

JIMMY: Embarrassing for who? Me, or her? I suppose putting them on was a little awkward, but, I mean it was a matter of practicality.
As far as the girls' choice of fashion is concerned...well, I'm not really an expert, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

[RocksmySocks]

JIMMY: Embarrassing for who? Me, or her? I suppose putting them on was a little awkward, but, I mean it was a matter of practicality.
As far as the girls' choice of fashion is concerned...well, I'm not really an expert, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

Get off your high horse, Jimmy, we all know you've fantasized about what it "could have been".

[JimmyxxCindy4EVER]

Exactly, Brain Boy!

[Mara=^.^=]

Get off your high horse, Jimmy, we all know you've fantasized about what it "could have been".

LOL, Katie, you're in a hilarious mood today.


~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

[RocksmySocks]

LOL, Katie, you're in a hilarious mood today.


~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

I've been drugged up on cold medicine for a week straight. It does things to my brain.

[JimmyxxCindy4EVER]

Get off your high horse, Jimmy, we all know you've fantasized about what it "could have been".

I also think she could've had an outfit VERY similar to Future Libby's, if ya know what I mean...!!

[Mara=^.^=]

I also think she could've had an outfit VERY similar to Future Libby's, if ya know what I mean...!!

LOL, on a kid that would have just looked awkward...
FL can pull it off cause she's a whole lotta woman

~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

[JimmyxxCindy4EVER]

I was making a joke, Mara.