Any Yours in Rot and Ruin: A Call for Collaborators

[GrimJaweMystique]

Spoiler: TL;DR Spoiler: Just The Facts (Click Me)

The thoughts nearly remained ineffable. My mind hardly idle, and thoughts aplenty, yet straining to be clothed in words. Should it be so arduous to express oneself? No. I understand it to be more than that.

-Exhales through pursed lips-​

Interviewer: “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Tonight, we are privileged to be joined by our special guest, a creative mind whose roleplay and writing history spans twenty-four years. With an origin date harking back to 2002, he was often cited as one of the youngest artists to join the roleplaying community, at only twelve years old. In his prime, he could be found on platforms like Ayenee, AOL/Yahoo, Myspace, Roleplay Gateway, Gaia Online, Bebo, and most recently IMVU. As a self-proclaimed “Meager Typist”, this now thirty-something-year-old lad has won numerous writing contests online, locally, and regionally under various pen names, applying a myriad of unique stylistic techniques to his compositions. With that said, keeping with tonight's request for anonymity, I shall let tonight's guest introduce himself by his pen name of preference.”

A frail finger knocked against the hard honeycomb shell that encompassed the microphone. It resounded with an amplified “thunk” and heavy electronic drone. After a long pause, a reluctant response rattled off hastily, followed by a sideways glance.

Guest Speaker: “Uhm, Grim.”

Interviewer: “Tha-that’s it!? Just Grim? A surname perhaps?” There was an unspoken wrongness held in the tone of the host that fixed Grim in a momentary silence. Was that an undercurrent of perplexity threaded into the query? An involuntary but audible sigh escaped from behind pursed lips.

Guest Speaker: “...Grim Jawe Mystique. That is the handle that has affixed itself to my online presence for nearly two decades.” He was nearly finished speaking when he was tactlessly cut off from the rest of his response. The perpetrator was none other than the show-host themselves.

Interviewer: “You mean like, “Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez.” The Bleach character? Are you a fandom writer? Is this your genre of preference?" The torrent of queries came one after another, akin to a series of avalanches cascading down the sides of an expansive mountain range. The interviewer was practically salivating at the corners of his mouth and starved for answers, and in turn, he was met with a stiff sneer and sniff.

GrimJaweMystique: “I suppose it is a natural question, given its phonetic similarity. But, no. The name has stemmed from its own distinct roots. And though I appreciate fandom written pieces, it would be untypical of me to venture down such alleys. Furthermore, I am particularly fond of home-brewed and drafted character creations, plot lines, and built worlds.” Another sigh was exhausted as he began to tire of answering such a generic set of queries, and yet he continued as the interviewer leaned in with a piqued interest. “I fancy a medley of genres which span literary fiction, fantasy both high and low, and dystopian works. It is of no consequence to me to write through a plethora of time periods. Pick one, and I will confirm. Finally, my best work is comprised of fantasy-horror blends."

Interviewer: “What about sex?” The question was asked so flagrantly that it was almost believed to have been a mistake. No, it was glaringly obvious that this was no accident.

GrimJaweMystique: “Excuse me!?” The words vehemently left his mouth, and the host was met with an incredulous glower. A glower that left the anchor as obviously uncomfortable as it had left Grim.

Interviewer: “I-I mean to say, write. Do you like composing erotic works? Romance? Many are eager to know. To what extent do you take your art?” And then silence. It has long been said that he who speaks first loses. In this instance, that loss was the cost of potential viewers and co-writers. Any sense of prestige vanished as the host's questions turned shamelessly invasive, reducing the occasion to a cheap spectacle.

GrimJaweMystique: “Do I look like Kresley Cole to you? Look— I think that it is a real, viable, and respectable art form. It isn’t for me. But, I am not going to condemn those who feel drawn to it. Likewise, I do not mind contributing to a storyline that has accents of romance in it but that’s usually in the instance that there are multiple contributors and they are co-authoring those scenes. And let me get in front of your next question, because I’ve answered this multitude of times already.” He savored the look of dissatisfaction on his inquisitor's face. “I am open-minded when it pertains to pairings and co-authorship. I will collaborate, so long as it remains mutually respectful, with anyone. I expect each author to be mature in their affairs and understand that co-authorship means this is a concerted effort to construct sensational storylines. It should be self-evident that there remains a real and viable need to communicate with one another regularly, especially due to life’s ebbs and flows.” He’d further elaborate without intrusion. “It is only feasible that at this time, I devote myself to a modest handful of collaborations, rather than sprawl myself thin across a dozen half-tended threads. I can reasonably promise three or four responses weekly, rarely more, rarely less.”

The interviewer's posture had softened considerably, his earlier fervor reduced now to something closer to obligation. He glanced once at his notes, as though searching for anything left worth asking, and found, apparently, very little.

Interviewer: “One imagines a writer of your... particular temperament has certain expectations of a partner. Limits, perhaps? The finer print?”

GrimJaweMystique: “A fair question, if a belated one.” A faint, humorless smile tightened across his lips. “I confess I've already answered it, in far greater detail than this evening affords. For those with the patience to look, I penned an account not long ago, 'On the Matter of My Arrival' (Click me: hyperlink.) — something of an article, if you'll permit the term, in a publication of some small renown among my own circles. Everything you might wish to know of my expectations, my habits, my temperament, is recorded there, in my own hand, and rather more thoroughly than I care to repeat tonight.”

Interviewer: “A convenient answer.”

GrimJaweMystique: “A true one, which is not always the same thing, but is, on this occasion, both.”