I (sometimes) have an outline of what's going to happen in my works etched in my brain. That's not to say that things aren't changed, added on, or scrapped altogether. Examples ...

The Tooth of Zero -- When I began ZT, I always intended for a sequel and a prequel. It was under popular vote and certain circumstances that I ended up writing the prequel (BNF) before the sequel (TTYW). I also intended to have Zero die at the end of ZT, in my own version of X3's prophecy. Gads, considering how much Capcom's shat on X's storyline and smeared it around, even my clumsy 15-year-old prose would've given Zero a Shakesperian finale by comparison.

I didn't kill Zero, however. I had a lot of, uh, fans I guess, begging me not to. I was soft hearted back then, not the ultra hardened BITCH MACHINE!!!!! I am today, popping off my characters like corn in the name of ART! So I spared Zero and buggered up my plans for ZT's sequel. And I got to work on the story of Zero's origin ... the infamous Bass is Not a Fish.

And now you know the rest of the story! ... no, wait. No you don't. That's why you're here. Onward!

Buckfutter Am I -- "Why aren't your fanfics more accurate to the games?" I get this one a lot. And I'm always happy to answer while biting down on a stick. No, I'm kidding. I don't mind.

The first X website I came across back in 1995 was the esteemed Maverick Hunter Headquarters. Back then, most webpages were a solid chunk of text with some plain links and a background image. The greatest, most daring achievement in the field of HTML was frames. Somehow, MHHQ revealed, only weeks after X3's release, that "Megaman X would have to destroy Zero because Zero was created by Wily." I'd love to know how they got a hold of that info, unless they were just a lot more clever than I and merely figured it out after X2. This revelation made me jump up and down, clapping with glee. I started on ZT and BNF. I was in the middle of BNF when X4 came out.

So there we had it. Zero was a crazed Maverick who fought Sigma and had vague nightmares about his past in X4. He's nothing of the sort in BNF, where he knows perfectly well he was created by Wily but keeps his yap shut about the matter. He even has himself something of a happy childhood surrounded by caring theme robots who are thrilled in the prospect of a sucessor. I've always wanted to make a Flash movie involving a frightened Zero being measured up and admired by his outclassed brothers to the tune of "Walk on Water" Mwahahaha. Anyway.

I wept for my fanfics as I watched Zero take down Sigma in that cool anime sequence. I said to myself, "It's not too late. I can make changes and bring the 'fics in tune to the games." Then I said, "Screw it." I started down one path, I may as well keep it there. And I still do. :P

This turns a number of people off to my fanfics, especially the idea of Zero originally being a human. The "human" idea is something I toyed with all the way back when X1 was born. Why did I throw it into BNF? My muse dared me. Seriously. And at first I regretted it, but I really do like what it's become. At the risk of sounding egotistical, I do like my plots. Not because they work better than Capcom's (they don't), but because I think they're a lot of fun to write. :) And there's no better work to read than one where the authour is having fun with his creation.

Again with the Dragons -- Red Draco has a long history. I had a whole page dedicated to it, but I took it down because it was hideous. Here's a squirt of a recap.

I wanted some sort of dragon in my 'fics 'cuz I loves them dragons. "Red Draco" was always named such, but her design was a hell of a thing. More closely resembling "Dragon" from Megaman 2, she was pot-bellied and clumsy. Slowly, she evolved and even had some class of a helmet on her at one point. She became sleeker and had a very nasty dispostion.

At one point, I changed Red's name to "Matafleur" and gave her a brother, a blue dragon (Mechadrakes didn't exist in my mind back then) named "Skie." I originally intended for the two of them to be the "main defence force" Zero would have to clobber at the end of BNF.

But instead, I gave Reddy and Skysheen major parts, yanking them out of obscurity. Why? Why not? Self-insertation wasn't jeered at back then. :) Skysheen fufilled his own destiny, and Red was still there to give Zero woes after a final design was more or less decided on and her dark personality had its enamel stripped a few layers.

Hail the Lizard -- Influenced enormously by Preacher, I wanted Celeste to have a family rival, a bane like Jody was to Jesse Custer. Neon Tiger gave me permission to use Torrent Leviathan. We kind of grew together writing 'fics, and Torrent first appeared in hers. We worked together on a personality for him, since he didn't have much to speak of at the time. It worked out very well. Until I got permission from Neon, I was intending for Celeste's shadow to be a Minotaur of sorts.

It always Bytes you in the ass -- In Zero Tolerance, I mention a few times that Forrest looks very much like Bit. It was speculated that he was a repaint of the famous Doppler 'bot, and was planning a major coup. Not so. I merely sucked at description and took a Gonterman route. Sorry. ;P

A lot of chapter titles in ZT/BNF/TTYW have a story of its own behind it, like you needed more confusion. ;) You may or may not find these interesting.

Zero Tolerance

The X Files -- Should be obvious where I got that name. Please be gentle, I was only 15 when I made this mess.

The Incredible Flight of Jimmy and Jules -- Jimmy and Jules were two characters in Pulp Fiction. Since the afore mentioned chapter was about the CD's departure out of the Gryphon's window...

May the Force (Field) Be With You -- Another painfully obvious title :)

Fiddler/Raptor on the Roof -- Still cheesy, but a little more clever, I guess. ;)

The Sleeping Reploid -- Taken from the book "White Fang." The final chapter was named "The Sleeping Wolf" and involved a paralyzed White Fang recovering from his injuries. Since the final chapter of ZT kind of had the same idea running, I thought it sounded neat.


Bass is Not a Fish

Interview with a Vampire -- It's about Bass going to meet Shademan. Draw your own conclusions (use blood if you like. Gets you in the mood).

Jurassic Park is Frightening in the Dark -- Weird Al song. A good one, at that.

101 Dino Mations -- A bad play on "101 Dalmations." Not sure if anyone picked up on it. I didn't deserve to have anyone pick up on it.

Sweet Intoxications -- From Phantom of the Opera's "Music of the Night." "Floating / falling / sweet intoxications." Great show. Did you know the play originated in Toronto? It was here for ten damn years, and I only saw it once. With Paul Stanley as the Phantom! Whoo hoo!

Workin' 9 to 5 -- It's a song, mes amies! No matter how pathetic you are about the music scene, you should know it.

Seaons of Love -- Insanely catchy song from "Rent."

You! Out of the Gene Pool! -- I had a friend in high school who had this on the back of his T shirt. I still think it's brilliant.

You Want a Confrontation? -- From a Guns n Roses song, "Shotgun Blues." "You want a confrontation? / I'll give you every fucking chance / with your verbal masturbation / me, I just like to dance." It's popular sport to blindly hate Guns n Roses if you're an X fan, because of the Maverick names in X5. I wonder if I'll become a target after I reveal just how much GNR is in BNF, ZT and TTYW (where do you all think the name "Nytetrayn" comes from?)

Hey Ho, Let's Go! -- An expression nicked from a Stephen King book. I think it was Pet Semetary.

Long Distance -- Deep story behind this one. As you'll recall, the chapter involves both the ghost of Jake and Dr. Light saying to their loved ones, "I have to go, this is long distance." A friend of mine experienced the death of someone close to her some time ago. She had a dream where the same person appeared to her (rather, made a phone call to her), but when she urged him to stay, he said he had to go because the call was "long distance." Kind of sad. Fits the chapter well.

Run Runaway -- A song by a band that absolutely no one knows outside of Canada (and the further west you go, the less likely you are to know them): Great Big Sea. In this chapter, Sting Chamelon asks Hans, the terrified park ranger, to sing to him. The verse he sings ("See Chamelon / Lying there, in the sun / All things to everyone / Run, runaway") is the song's chours. Damn I love east Canadian music. It's 70% celtic, 20% North American, and 10% crazy random crap off the walls.

Starship Troopers -- I have no idea why I named the chapter this. Must've been that half-goat demon again. I guess the young men and women with serious spunk problems going into battle reminded me of something.

Tommy Can you Hear Me? -- With references already made to other shows, I had to make a reference to the Boss Nass of them all: Tommy. The malamute Celeste handles in this chapter is named Tommy, and he's not fond of heeding orders.

Under a Blood Red Sky -- A line in the U2 song, New Year's Day. "Under a blood red sky / A crowd has gathered, in black and white." This chapter involved a battle about to boil over, so...

In the Name of Love, Dangit! -- U2 again, with a sacreligious twist. Red vents her frustrations to Zero; she's remained loyal and loving to Skysheen, who's kicked her aside.

This Phoenix Rises Up From the Ground -- A line from The Dolphin's Cry by Live. "This Phoenix rises up from the ground / and all these wars are over." Seemed right for the end of Zero.

Face to Face in a Dry and Waterless Place -- A line from The Unforgettable Fire by U2. "Carnival / The wheels fly and the colours spin / Through alchohol / Red wine that punctures the skin / Face to face / In a dry and waterless place." Just seemed perfect for X facing down Sigma.


Trip Through Your Wires

The Title -- The title itself is also a U2 song, off The Joshua Tree. Congrats to Lady Maverick 81, who caught the reference (and told me about it)! I wanted this story to be named after a song for no particular reason. I was also toying with "If God Will Send His Angels," but that's awfully tedious. So TTYW it was. I won't go into too much depth about the meanings behind the stuff in TTYW until the story's done.

The Mechadrake and his Boy -- A clumsy play on the title of CS Lewis' classic, "The Horse and His Boy." I'm going to hell for that desecration. Nytetrayn reveals to Caillou the bond Mechadrakes share with the humans in Eden.

Fantastic Mr. Fox -- A chapter showing Genesis' gosh-darn nice side. Named after one of my favourite Dahl books.

Strange Days -- 'tis a Matthew Goodband song! One of the few I'm really, really fond of. Maverick Hunter HQ is going through...strange days, you might say.

Hawkmoon -- You may as well know it now. Hawkmoon is named after another U2 song, "Hawkmoon 269." The name was so catchy, I couldn't resist. And I wanted a Mechadrake with an Indian motif. "Like a drifter needs a room / Hawkmoon / I need your love."

This is the kind of garbage I love. Basically, I've gone through BNF and added author's notes where appropriate. So if you were ever wondering what I was on when I wrote a certain passage ... now's your chance. I'll add chapters as time goes on.

From the primal swamps of I-Don't-Know-How-Many-Years-Ago comes an extremely rough, handwritten chapter of Bass is Not a Fish. Chapter 4, to be exact, which has some pretty odd content.

I almost never hand-write anything, and you'll soon see why. My handwriting is pure slurry, and I can catch up to my thoughts a lot easier when I type (I type at about 90 wpm). So this bit of writing is kind of a rare specimen.

Some people have suggested that I auction it off on Ebay or something. I don't think I'm reputable enough for that. o_O But if anyone ever gets a cool idea for these pages...

Turns out I didn't handwrite the entire chapter, nor did I scan everything I have. Parts of it are in pencil and it's almost faded to nothing. So I got the penned bits, from the beginning and the end.