My Life as a Teenage Robot: The Cluster Crisis/Q&A

The following was taken from an informal one-on-one interview with Travis Hawkins, lead writer of "The Cluster Crisis", on Aug. 25, 2017.

Mark Billingsley: How do you plan to make The Cluster Crisis into something the public can finally see? Travis Hawkins: Good question, actually. Vic and I have variously considered putting things in the formats of plain text fanfic, webcomic strips, and even pitching the idea directly to Nick to turn it into a real series. I have issues with simple writing, because I have a lot of these grandiose scenes in my mind that I simply can't figure out how to describe in just words. I'm no Shakespeare or Jane Austen. With comics, we face the obvious issue of having to put tons of unnecessary effort into something we're not even sure people would see. So really, I don't know how we're going to go about it at the moment. I've just been keeping the notes and various test drawings we come up with, and making bits of script out of them.

MB: Would you describe it as being a "darker and edgier" type of fanfic? TH: Hmm...Okay, listen closely, Mark. Normally, if I were to say that TCC is a "darker and grittier" continuation of MLAATR - and in some ways, it is - most people would think I mean "it's got more violence and swearing!", you know, something along that line. Well, no. That's what happens when a lazy writer tries to "make things more mature" and adds nothing of substance to the source material. There's one reason My Immortal is considered to be the worst of the worst in the fanfic world: it has none of the soul of its source, Harry Potter, and is a great example of how NOT to write something.

MB: Well, you've told me multiple times that you're putting your own spin on the series. How would you describe it? TH: I do indeed want to take the franchise in a more serious direction, but in different ways than many people would expect. Basically, I can boil down my writing modus operandi to a few main points: A) creating new characters with fleshed-out personalities and various traits (in the vein of, say, Fullmetal Alchemist); B) creating an interesting story arc with a good number of ways to keep my audience on their feet; C) establishing a sort of continuity beyond the "Cluster Crisis" arc itself; and D) emphasizing how the various characters have been impacted and changed by the events of the plot.

MB: You've also said music has played a big part in this fic's creation. But how? TH: I keep a good deal of film scores in my music library. Whenever I listen to them, I often times sit back, turn the volume up, and let my mind run free, visualizing the kind of scene I could create with the tune playing in the background. For example, whenever I listen to "Brigadoom" from the Star Trek Into Darkness OST, I always envision some very powerful, emotional scene that gets suddenly interrupted by an unrelated problem outside. Or "Hummel Gets the Rockets" from The Rock, the last part of which makes me picture scenes of the CRA bringing itself to prepare a massive assault. I couldn't write this story without this playing a part, you see.

MB: What would you say are your biggest influences on your style in writing this story? TH: Fullmetal Alchemist, Legend of Korra, Kill Bill, Wind River, and even Paper Planes are the first things that come to mind. I know that's a weird assembly of franchises, but I have quite my range of inspiration to draw on, just as my music taste is widespread. I try to be versatile.

MB: Finally, how do you think you can stand out from other MLAATR fan writers? TH: I mean no offense when I say this, but while many of my fellow writers are well-meaning, and want to do justice to a series that they love, they simply don't have the knowledge of media conventions that's required to make something truly great. Like on the Ideas Wiki, I could find many a would-be plot thread that makes me go "whoever wrote this must not have put a ton of thought into it." I have an eye for quality. It's why Vic and I let very few details about TCC out into the public. We want our work to be 100%, or else it doesn't exist. That, more than anything else, is going to help us keep on our track.