DWZ's Viewer Mail

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the first annual Dragon-Wing-Z’s Viewer Mail!
And when I say “first annual” I probably mean “the only.”
Well, gang, the point of this here bit of writing is to answer the questions of deviants like you about lil’ old me. Because I am just oh-so-fascinating… or not.
Alright, let’s get this show on the road, eh? Let’s go to your questions!
Our first question comes from Miss =JediAnnSolo, one of the artists I look up to most. ^_^ She writes:
“I'd like to ask, is there something or someone in specific that inspired you into making crossover art? Could you share?”
Well, that’s a great question, but admittedly a hard one. I can’t exactly remember how or when I got interested in the idea of crossovers. As a matter of fact one of my oldest memories involved playing in my yard as a kid, pretending Superman, Spider-Man and Darkwing Duck teamed up, among others. But as for drawing art of crossovers, that was simple. I was dating a girl when I was fifteen who loved to draw. Before then I had only drawn Digimon or Pokemon, but she got me to try drawing other things like Teen Titans, and even my original characters, and introduced me to DeviantArt. Once I discovered I could draw other characters, I decided “why not actually draw those strange ideas of mine?” including the combination of different movies and shows. And that’s how my crossover art got its start.
I hope that explains it a bit, JediAnn, and thanks for the question! ^_^
Next we have not one, but three questions from a very close friend, Kryssie, AKA ~OmegaAngelXIII. She wrote the following:
“1)Honestly, what possessed you to create Melvin? I mean, I love the guy, but really. 2) Hiei/Clover? Of all the crossover pairings, why them? 3) hmm... if you had a Chara, what would yours be?”
To answer the first question, well… I dunno. I started writing fan fiction years ago, and started a story called “Teen Titans: The Musical!” meant to be a sort of parody/tribute to Disney movies and other musicals. Hopefully enough of you remember that Blackfire was the first villain of that story. The plot called for her to use a magic mirror, like the evil queen from Snow White, so I decided to make my magic mirror a funny, goofy character. At first, he had no name, and was only intended as a one-time character, but somehow he evolved from there. I named him Melvin, because it sounded like it fit an idiotic mirror, and gave him more of a role in the story, even to the point where I had him and Blackfire parody the ending to Beauty and the Beast, which is why I had Melvin as a prince cursed to be a mirror. From that moment on, there was no turning back… Melvin was here to stay.
For the second question I have a simpler answer. Years ago, before I got into fan fiction or fanart, my sister and I enjoyed making funny stories about our favorite characters and, at one point, that was mainly the characters of Yu-Yu Hakusho for me and Totally Spies for my sister. Somehow we’d thought of a story about Kurama and Alex dating and setting Hiei and Clover up for a blind date. It’s strange, but I just never stopped enjoying the thought of those two together…
As for your final question… I’d have to say my chara would be a little guy named James, a calm, devil-may-care kind of guy that nothing bothers.
Thanks for the questions, Kryss.
Well, next we move on to a question from my old pal ~Mdizzle999872. Mdizzle asked,
“When do you find the time to write?”
Well, sadly, I don’t find the time much, anymore… but there are times, probably in the evening, after all the daily grind has slowed down, when I don’t have to work on anything, or be somewhere, or take care of pets or children (I have 7 nieces and nephews, and have to babysit almost every day at some point or other) when I’ll find the time, energy and heart to sit down at my computer and write. Sometimes when I get going I won’t stop till I absolutely have to, other times the energy will just run out. In any case, finding writing time, or any kind of time isn’t easy these days. Such is adult life, I guess.
Thanks for the question, buddy. J
Alright, next up is ~NoLimit5. Ever the inquisitive mind, he has asked a grand total of four questions! They are:
“1) What really got you into writing? 2) What shows, movies, or books inspired you in both art and writing? 3) What is the meaningful quote from a show/movie/book that really affected you? 4) Can I touch it? XD”
Interesting questions indeed. Firstly, I’d have to say I got into writing when I was about ten or so. I loved to think of my own stories. I’d created whole worlds in my head, multitudes of characters whose lives I’d mapped out from birth to death. I’d tell my family and friends my ideas, and they would always suggest I write these stories down, so one day I just did. And that’s when I realized that’s what I wanted to do for a living. I wanted to create stories that others would read and enjoy.
As for the second question, I’ve been inspired by, well, probably almost everything I’ve seen, read and heard, whether it inspired me to what I wanted to do in my writing and my art or what I wanted to avoid. But I definitely have favorite inspirations and heroes in my art and writing. For writing, classical literature gave me an appreciation for writing as an art form, not just writing a book to sell and get a lot of fans. It may sound strange, but the show Gargoyles also helped me develop a love for more complex storylines, deeper plots and character development. My heroes when it comes to writing are Mary Shelly and Christopher Paolini, both of whom wrote wonderful stories at very young ages, just like I wish to. As for art, I don’t really consider myself an artist. I just draw to get ideas out of my head so I don’t have to try and write everything into a story. XD But, I do love and appreciate art, particularly animation. I have grown extremely sick or computer animation taking over, but even worse are all the shows and movies that are so widely popularized nowadays whose “style” is, to be brutally honest, shit. South Park, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Johnny Test, they all look so awful and lazy, it makes me mad. I just hope someday animation can be as good as it once was, when it was done by people who were artists, like Walt Disney or Bob Clampett. I doubt that’ll ever be me, but that’s alright.
Third, there have been many meaningful quotes to me over the years, but a few come to mind right now. They are quotes from  a personal hero of mine, the late, great Red Skelton. He was such a light-hearted man who believed in the same things I do, especially when it comes to humor. He said, "No matter what your heartache may be, laughing helps you forget it for a few seconds." Another quote that applies to me is,  "I’m nuts and I know it. But so long as I make ‘em laugh, they ain’t going to lock me up.”
But Red also shared my spiritual beliefs, and two quotes of his that truly touched my heart are, "I personally believe that each of us was put here for a purpose—to build not to destroy. If I can make people smile, then I have served my purpose for God," and, in reference to the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance, "Wouldn't it be a pity if someone said that is a prayer and that would be eliminated from schools too?"
Finally, the quote that’s the most meaningful to me is, "God’s children and their happiness are my reasons for being.”
And finally I’ll answer your fourth question this way… Ask me to touch it again and I’ll chop yours off!!!
But yeah, thanks for the questions! ^ ^
Well, that’s all for Viewer Mail, everyone. I hope you found it as enlightening as I found it fun to do. Thanks to everyone who submitted questions, and to everyone who reads this.