Forgetting Who You Are Chapter 21: Forgetting Forgetting Who You Are, a spyro the dragon fanfic

My thought? Oh boy.

A little confession (And some stuff about me)

When I started writing this story, I didn't think it was good enough to publish. As much as I try to act like I don't care what people think, I am kind of a narcissist and want adoration. I do prefer honest reviews even if the negativity in them irks me, because I can better myself from what I missed or messed up on. So understand that even though I do get salty, I respect anyone willing to tell me what's wrong and ideas on how to fix it. But honestly, if you leave an anonymous review to be an ass, it won't stay up. I want people to know what they can expect, and saying that something "Is shit, will never be good, and so are you" isn't giving them much hope. There's a story called Forgive (I don't advertise other stories, but his is an exception) and as I tend to say to my friends; High quality, questionable content. It's a Flame x Spyro rape scenario. I don't condone rape (even if 9 out of 10 people enjoy gang rape), but the story is well written. I try to appreciate the work that goes into something before judging it's content. But that's only for things I don't agree with/like. When it comes to low quality, I try to see what's possible with what's there. Now I'm not saying I'm better than others because of this, in fact I tend to judge people by appearance alone. Still working on the human aspect of that moral high ground. What I am saying is as readers/writers, everyone should keep an open mind. If they don;t like the pairings that's fine. But it limits you to a small pool, when true gold could be out there. I despise the whole "A human has appeared in their world" stories. With a passion. But have found a few fantastic stories within them. Spyro x Ember? Not a fan. But that's mostly because of how she's portrayed. Clingy, annoying and jealous. Spyro x Flame? I'm straight so it isn't my flavor, but I can still enjoy them. Even if it is extremely graphic. And kind of seems like Spyro wants it (Forgive). I mean he sure as hell doesn't do much to stop it. Just lays there and complains. Not sure how useful of a tactic that would be.

So when I did decide to post it, it was because I had the ending all figured out. I wanted Ash to turn against them and Spyro to sacrifice himself to win. I had considered Ciezan offering himself up because Cynder destroyed his life, and then Spyro would let him.

Alt Scene 1: End scene

I had the idea of Spyro going, "No. It's my duty" or something. And then when Ash and him met up in the chroniclers home, he was going to move onto paradise. But the thing I wanted to twist on there, would be Ash lying to him. The scene would have gone like this:

"So you're dead. Must have been quite the ride".

"It was. I just wonder if I did the right thing".

"You did, trust me"

"Hey, Ash? If Ciezan broke your word, he would have died, right? He would have been broken"?

Ash took a second, smiling at the purple dragon. "Of course".

Spyro was relieved. "So someone would have died no matter what. That's a relief".

Spyro stepped forward into the wall of light. Ignitus stepped behind the thrask, watching the purple dragon pass. "Why must you always lie to him? Ciezan had no favors on loan to you. It was you who owed him".

"I know".

The end (I half-assed this scene)

Inspiration/ First drafts

So yeah, that was an idea. But I personally like what happened in the final version. Especially that full circle with Ash/Koma. I originally wanted the first Koma to be victorious in the fight, and would take over Ash's body to resurrect Malefor. It would have ended pretty much the same way. I still prefer the full circle though.

If anyone's wondering what my inspiration for characters were, it's rather obvious. I wanted Ash to be a sarcastic asshole. I hate the name Ash, it sounds like it's trying to be badass. Like naming someone Killshot or something. It's kind of edgy. So I made Koma and merged them. Now I can choose between either for future stories. Anyway his inspiration came from none other than Deadpool. I also based him off myself a little. I'm not a quiet person, and tend to talk back a lot. Gotten in trouble for that. But I wanted him to turn and become the enemy. And now that he's dead, and technically immortal, he has eons to master creating scrying stones. Writing for time travel is annoying.

Ciezan wasn't really based off of anyone. He was just kinda there. I had originally had a subplot where him and Flame were secretly together. Then Cynder would have found out and gotten totes mad and been all up over Spyro to spite him. Another choice I threw away was to have him repulsed by her new scars, and Spyro would have comforted her and then they would have ended up together. But after Ash took them away, her and Ciezan would have ended up together. Oh time, screw you (I'd say the word I want, but that's an automatic M-rating). Besides, I think being disgusted suits Ash better than Ciezan.

So about that subplot? I always knew Flame was going to be flaming (I wanted to use that in the story so badly), and I felt like he deserved a relationship. But going for a sequel with Cynder super depressed that the father of her children is dead, does not a good sequel make. I do want to write a prequel for Flame and Ember. I have some ideas for Flame, but very few for Ember. Even in my earliest rough ideas, I knew Flame's character.

When I first thought up the return to Warfang, I imagined only a week or so had passed. Flame and Ember were old friends of Spyro and Cynder (Cliché right there), and were a couple (Cliché again!). She knew Flame was gay, but no one else did. It would have made for a rather sad relationship. And that joke that Ash made in the earlier chapters about not being the last time Spyro felt something like the removal process, would have been confused with a night of heavy drinking between him and Flame. Yeah this story was going to be REALLY sexual. Like on par with my browser history.

In that version, Ash would not have gone with them, and instead stay in Lourndas. Ciezan wouldn't have existed either. So when Spyro came to the conclusion that his drunk night (where nothing actually happened, by the way) with Flame was what Ash was talking about. He would have become confused and try to confront Flame, but pussy out. Then he would have learnt that Flame was attracted to him, and feel like the feeling was mutual. Then Ash would show up and tell him no, it was a joke. Like an actual joke. Then I have no idea how it would continue.

Another scraped idea was Flame's resurrection! At least how I went about it. I had originally wrote it where the nomad that killed him, would see Spyro wasn't the same purple dragon as Malefor, and would pour it's remaining lifeforce into Flame, healing him and keeping him from deaths door. But that felt like a cop out. Also not enough emotional punch. I wanted to convey many emotions, hatred is easy but at the same time hard. It's like I want people to hate Ash, while understanding why he's loved by others one chapter, then not understanding why they felt that way the next. Happiness is more of a hit or miss. Jokes are an easy way to make people happy, but also a cheap way, like a jumpscare. Tension and success is what I needed, and I saw Ciezan as that tension and possibility for success. Sadness is hard. I think the best way I did sadness was the notes. Such a permanent, sarcastic and happy character gone and hopeless in a single chapter, hits hard. Emotional punch.

As for Ember, I'm not sure. I ran the idea through my head one day and thought it was good. Her introduction was by far one of my better chapters. I hated seeing her clingy and annoying, so I made her unique. She's a serious no joking character. Which is a big reason why she dislikes Ash so much.

I'm curious as to how many people were touched by the notes for Spyro by Sparx. I felt they hit hard, but can't really judge for others. The main reason Sparx was dead, is because too much sarcasm is bad, and Ash is already a bit too sarcastic.

The inspiration from the notes chapter came from my Grandmother. My Grandfather fought in world war 2 and didn't make it home. She wrote to him everyday, and while I did change certain things in my version, they're pretty close to the real thing.

My Likes/Dislikes

Personally I don't know how I feel about the first few chapters. I do feel like things were good in the first few, and after arriving at Warfang. Between those I fell like i died off and kind of lost it a bit. But after Warfang they felt smooth and fairly genuine in the conversation area. As for my favorite conversation, I'm torn between three. Spyro meeting Ember (her introduction just feels better than the others), Spyro and Flame after the kiss, and Spyro and Cynder before getting it on all PG-13 like.

I did notice a certain pattern with the story plots in the Spyro section of this site. I see most as a 'Fated Togetherness' between Spyro and Cynder. And I'm all for that, but I feel like the stories that just put them together because she says 'I Love you' are kind of shallow. The original plot for TLoS games wasn't going to put them together, but fans said do it, so they did. We know Cynder loves Spyro, but have no idea if it's mutual. I did plan to get them together by the end, and while they did come together, it wasn't the way some people expected, myself included. I wanted them to get together in the true sense of a relationship, but only managed to make Cynder look like she couldn't choose between the two.

I played on the fact that Ash says; "Ciezan will hate you and Cynder for the rest of his life" as a way to show that they weren't right for eachother. "Staying together as they drift apart" For some reason that's really powerful in my mind. It's emotional tragedy in it's purest sense. At least I think so. I like that part.

Another part I like is the full circle, connecting Ash to pretty much everything. He and Koma are one, except Koma a hell of a lot older. I'm talking eons. A spin off featuring his exploits could be fun, but I'd need ideas first. For those that didn't catch it and this is a mild Spoiler! So if you want to leave it out then meet up in the next paragraph.

Spoiler Starting

Spoiler: When Koma unmasks himself in Chapter 18, Spyro recognizes him, and he says that he's redeemed himself. I always thought that had some impact.

Spoiler Over

So aside from full circles, I did enjoy the lore I wrote. I tried to fit the thrask into the actual games, with some mixed results. Cynder burning them was addressed and was a fairly good point. As for the Malefor killing the one, and sealing the hatred between the two races, I think it could have been done a little better. While the thrask are known for their outbursts, the ones who didn't follow their less than nice family in Lourndas, accepted the sight as the truth, and left to spread it's influence throughout the world.

I also like the way the world blends with the original games. Lourndas is the realm of the Peace keepers, while the nomadic mountains where Ciezan goes to protect Vesh and Takkye is the land of Magic Crafters. I made it fairly obvious by stating both of them in story. Not sure where the others would fit in though. The swamp where Spyro grew up would be the Beast Makers, but for the Dream Weavers and the rest, I'm not sure.

I like the characters Flame and Ember became -even though I had a lot less to work with for Ember- and would have loved to expand on them, but have no ideas for. Their characters have potential, but not enough to make a story out of. Maybe a really short one, but nothing like this. It helps that there's the whole dragon ball idea going on for Ember, and I have a few scenes thought out for Flame, but no plot.

As for their characters, I did strive for a unique view on them both. While I guarantee the whole, 'Flame is next fire guardian' idea isn't unique, it isn't the usual. They also tend to end up together, so having them meet out of the blue like they did, stops them from being together for some time. The fact that Flame's gay also helps. And the way he's introduced as such is good, but it isn't great. I would have loved to hint at it, but in a story it isn't easy to hint without giving it all away. A comic or animation would make it a ton easier.

I also enjoy the characters themselves. A lot of people strive to make their characters likable, by having the whole world in love with them. Flawless. And that's not realistic. So I tried to make them have flaws and give them some humanity. Ash is pretty obvious, he's insane and hateful. Holds a grudge and acts on impulse. But is a joker and likes to make others laugh. He also likes to help others better themself, which is a big part of his personality. That's why Koma gave Spyro his dragon time memories. He's also really strong, and knows it, flaunts it, let's it get to his head. He's also an asshole.

As for Ciezan, he's insecure. He doesn't think he's worth much to anyone, mainly because of Ash. Let's not forget his drinking habits, which tend to be go until you pass out. As for his strengths, he's loyal -the reason he still calls Ash his friend-, forgiving -which is why he forgave Spyro. Granted he didn't know he knocked Cynder up-, and good with children. Vesh and Takkye like him more than they do Desmios.

Flame is unsure of himself, like he has a huge role to fill, which is true, but I think he fills it quite well.

Ember has omnipotence so writing flaws for her are hard. I think that while she's loyal, she doesn't think past what she sees. If things change she freaks out. Very orderly.

What do I not like? Easy. The way I portrayed Spyro. A little Cynder, but mostly Spyro. As pointed out in a very nice review, I treated him like a punching bag, and that is true. It was mostly playing up Ash's strength and setting him up for the 'Unbeatable Enemy', but he was also pretty whiny and sad a lot. He did cheer up when he was with Cynder though, which is important. I chose to make Cynder happy and him sad for contrasting reasons. She's the light in his life and whatnot, which is why when he isn't with her, Spyro's kind of pathetic. He is a hero, but a hero that's fallen on hard times. As for Cynder, she was kind of indecisive. She bounced between Spyro and Ciezan fairly quickly. I like to think it was to convey confusion, but was just an oversight. You can think of it that way though.

Spyro feels flat. He doesn't have much drive aside from Cynder, and that's not really a good thing. Is he a flat character? Not really, but he could be seen that way. I wanted his drive to be learning to let go, and he did. But his children screwed that up. Not even developed and they're a pain in the ass. His original goal was to restore his memories, and from what I've written for a sequel, Cynder is his drive yet again. Although not in the way you'd think.

Another point in the review was how in chapter 18, Spyro accepts his loss and moves on, but then goes right back to cling onto Cynder. The only reason he does this is because he learns she's pregnant. He would have chosen differently if they knew. He's leaving them to let them be happy, but in the end just causes more pain. So he does do a 180, but it has a reason.

Cynder was devoted to Spyro, that much is obvious. And I like to think Cynder moved on to entice jealousy, but found she actually connected with Ciezan more than she expected. Sadly that was not my mindset. It just sort of developed into an excuse I could use. The truth is I wanted to give Spyro a challenge, competition and have him win out in the end. But that would have been a shallow ending compared to how it actually ended. A picture perfect ending, where the hero gets what they want. I hate those. I've said it enough times but I still can't seem to feel like I say it enough. And nothing adds to happiness like overcoming your challengers.

I'm kind of up my own ass, so finding things I'm not a fan of in what I make is hard. I don't really know what else to say, aside from tell me what you think.

I guess that wraps things up. I might add some more to this at some point, so keep an eye out. As for what's next, I do have part of a first chapter for a sequel written, and will post it. And when I post the first chapter for the sequel, keep in mind it might not pick up for a while. I have the first chapter and no plot. So I'd want help. Preferably in a PM, that way I can respond and give my input. A review is okay, but no anonymous ones. I can't reply to those.

So I hope you've enjoyed Forgetting Who You Are, it was a journey for me and hopefully a nice one for you. At the time of posting this (April 11 2 AM, the stats for the story are;

3,487 views 39 Reviews 18 Favorites 21 Follows

Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you next time. I hope you've enjoyed my first story, I know i did.