If there ever was a guy that was the best like no one ever was…It is Danny! ^o^ Danny and I have only known each other for a few months. Cosplacon was having a Pokémon X and Y handheld competition with gym leaders. At first, I thought I read that it was a partner match. I wanted to get of my comfort zone and try to compete, but I had no partner. When I was looking at the list of events for the convention with Nathan and Tabby, Tabby mentioned she had a friend who was looking for a battling partner too. I was a little hestitant at first, but we battled verses to get to know each other strategies once a week until the con and we had a blast! Danny is one of the warmest guys I have ever met. He will do anything to make you believe in yourself, but he is calm and fully honest about it; you can tell by his words and the kindness in his eyes. He sees so much good in everyone. He supports everyone around him and isn’t scared to be his awesome self, parading around the convention in his Glaceon wig, ears, and plush (who, by the way, is his pride and joy. It’s a shiny and he even has his OWN FACEBOOK page full of his adventures! o.0 How RAD is that?!). I learned a lot from Danny in those few short weeks about battling, He was encouraging and patient even though he was way out of my league. I remember the day I finally beat him! I thought he was going easy on me, but he was just as surprised, but more like a proud papa sort of way. He cheered me on as I laid on my bed for ten minutes twitching from shock. His warmth, his vigor for life, his ability to see good in everyone and openly acknowledge it makes me admire him so.
Danny was so supportive of my at my first panel as well, even rearranging his schedule at his girlfriend’s group/artist table that he runs when she is gone so he could come. Seeing his confident face and fun icy blue and white wig and ears gave me the extra push I needed to be myself, freezing my fear in place. He came to me later, praising me (I complimented him too for Friday, Rodney, the chair, made all the group leaders come up unexpectedly and explain what their group does. Danny was nervous, but he looked as cool as a cucumber, his deep, mellow voice owning his words) and confessed that him seeing me up there, talking about my book, inspired him to get back into his writing! ^_^ I was so touched by this that I e-mailed him and asked him if he wanted a spot of AAS and he had his stuff ready within a few days. Danny, you may be obsessed with an adorable furry icy Pokémon, but your heart is as warm and comforting as roasting marshmallows over a Charmander’s tail. It gives me great honor to introduce to you Danny Rodriguez…and Shiny Glaceon!
- When you wake up in the morning, how do you see life?
Life is like a box of chocolates, some people say. So naturally, that must mean that a new morning is a new piece of chocolate. Life is a grab bag full of surprises; some days are great and some aren’t what you want, but I tend to be very fond (and sometimes very scared) of the unknown, but you’ll never know what hits you unless you go and see. My friend, Shiny Glaceon, just sees another day to eat ice cream. - How did writing find its way into your life?
Simply put, emotions. I realized that when I needed an outlet to tell someone how I felt, even if that someone didn’t exist, writing was the creative method I felt like I excelled in. Some people use visual arts, some sing, some act, I write. Shiny Glaceon likes to make ice sculptures, or so he thinks. - What does writing do for you?
It allows me to unleash the strange within. It’s not that I’m ashamed with the result of who I am on the inside or what creations of writing emerge but sometimes I feel that I can express myself without losing too much security, in an emotional way. - What sort of genre or type of writing do you do?
When I write prose or free writing that isn’t tied to storytelling in a traditional sense, it tends to be very abstract and confusing in the surface, I’m not even sure it can be classified as anything! When I do my story however, it is very much fantasy, lots of magic and supernatural things~ - Do events in your life or people you know affect your writing?
Absolutely, my emotions and triggers that give me ideas for my story usually do come from the world around me, especially when I’m in a jam. A lot of people give me ideas, even when they don’t realize it. 😉 - What are you currently work on or what was the last thing you wrote?
A story about my OC Mystic Luna. He’s a character I’ve been developing for almost 10 years, and he’s had a lot of adventures, but many of them are unknown to the world. Shiny Glaceon seems to like him, says he enjoys that he’s “cool”. What a joker. - Can you tell us a little about it and its inspiration?
I previously wrote a short two-part story about how Mystic came to be. It explains various aspects of his persona, both physical and mental, his past, a little bit of his family and why he’s conflicted every day even when he doesn’t show it. The ideas slowly came to be years ago when I roleplayed within online message boards (generally for bored kids XD). Mystic became a reality and he stuck with me, but a lot of times I seem to consider him as myself. We have a lot in common. - What are your goals for the future?
I’d love to share Mystic with the world, but I plan on doing it slowly. I’m working on his story after his origin tale and I hope that he can become a successful character in a world chock full of successful characters! I also would enjoy making myself look more like Shiny Glaceon. Imitation is flattery, right? - What are your interests or hobbies?
Aside from writing, I enjoy cosplaying and playing handball, whenever I have the chance. I also LARP and play tabletop RPGs on the weekends with a group of friends, so that always stimulates the mind. Mystic is also one of my characters on Dungeons and Dragons! And of course, playing Pokemon! - If you could be a superhero, what are your powers and how would you use them to help the world?
A superhero? Hmm, I’ve been asked that several times in my life, and each time I never seem to fully know what kind of super power I would want. The closest I ever came to a sure answer was to have the ability of telekinesis and telepathy. Professor X (from X-Men) is a very good super hero role model, and I would use my powers, like him, to teach and better the world, to show people that differences shouldn’t make enemies. - What advice would you give people who want to write?
The worst thing anyone could ever do is tell someone that they can’t write or that their subject is no good, so if you aspire to be a writer of any kind, let nothing stop you from writing what you want to write. Never stop imagining, and always make sure that your pencil is sharpened and that you rest your hands from typing too much. - If you could be remembered for one thing or thought, what would it be?
It’s hard to say, but really, all I ever want to do is create smiles, make people feel good about their selves. Nothing satisfies me more. Oh that, and Shiny Glaceon, I can never forget him!
Sample of Danny’s work:
Mystic Story
“Geez, granddad. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the hell out of your stories…but don’t you think some of them are over the top?”
“Not at all, my son, not at all,” he said.
I sighed. “Are you sure? Even for us, that just sounds weird.”
“Perhaps, but I speak the truth,” he insisted.
Even in this vast expanse of the “in-between”, as we Babylonians call it, there were some things that were too hard to believe. My grandfather, Gravios the Righteous, was dictating stories of his youth. Must have been about a thousand years, I joke to myself. Holding back a snicker, I calm my thoughts down. After all, ‘ol Grandpop was right: my father was someone of utmost massive power, enough to rival even the stars themselves. I never got to see my father in actual combat, or even through training, I never was allowed to watch. Then again, I was never really around. But one thing at a time, I suppose.
“Well Grandpop, I’m off to do me things, as usual,” I told Gravios as I turned around to head off into my room.
“Of course, grandson. And before I forget,” he murmured, “Serene was looking for you.”
“Thanks, I’ll find her around. She has that knack. Of finding me.”
I walked about the halls of, ironically enough, the Grand Hall. I guess I forget to mention…there’s a castle up here. Where I live, you know, in fixated orbit above Earth. Weird, huh? This castle was the home of my parents, and now the home of my parents’ parents, my siblings, and occasionally, of me. The castle really never adopted a name, the royalty around here was too busy doing other things to allocate time to place something as silly as a name to their home. It also clashed against my parents’ policies about the castle: our home was everyone’s home – except for my room, of course. This rusty place wasn’t really rusty at all, and it was maintained, sometimes I wonder by who, enough to make it look like brand baby butt new even to this day. It’s really quite impressive. Not better than my place though. But still, you can’t beat nostalgia.
“Speaking of nostalgia,” I spoke out loud.
“Aww, surprising you is no fun!” I hear an adorable giggle.
“I think you’ve spent all your tricks on me, silly girl,” I respond back to the all familiar shadow lurking from above.
As quick as anyone could blink their eyes, there she was, right in front of me. My sister and best friend, the crazy bat with eyes so sparkly, you swear she was the spawn of a magical unicorn…or something. Only a few inches shorter than me, she boasted lavender hair that curled in a strange fashion. Usually it’s straight down her back with a few groups of strands attempting to be rebellious around her upper back, but I can see today she had a bit of time to experiment. Ever since I took her down to Earth a few times, she’s enjoyed the punk rock sense of attire, and while I can approve, being a part-time metalhead myself, the grandparents weren’t all too appreciative. They allow her to wear the stuff though, she’s a good girl. Her eyes were that of a deep amethyst, you would think that they were. I swear, they would be guys chasing down her coattails constantly, but don’t let that sweet face fool you. I’ve seen that side of her, the one she’s ashamed of. Perhaps this is why she’s so attached to me, but I’m not complaining. She greeted me with a glomp: a hug plus a tackle equals a glomp. Unfortunately, it doesn’t budge me off my ground, but nevertheless, it is very welcome, and I hug her right back.
“Grandpop says you were looking for me,” I inquired.
Serene kept her arms around my shoulders. I give her a funny look. “I have a secret.”
“…seriously.”
“Yup! But I won’t tell you unless you spend the day with me.”
I raise a brow. “That’s an odd way to ask me to hang out with you. You know I wouldn’t decline.”
She smiles and ruffles my sapphire hair a bit. “I know, but it’s always nice to hear it…” She smiles, but drifts off a little bit.
“Everything all right?” I also ask myself this.
She nods slowly, and kisses my forehead. “For now, yes. But that’s part of my secret, and you can’t know until later. So let’s do stuff!”
“Like what?”
“Let’s go bug Sparks!” She smiles suddenly bright, like a child who discovers a smart idea.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. You know he takes his training seriously.”
“Aw c’mon!” She puckers her lips, puppy eyes. Oh dear.
I sigh and proceed to head in the direction where my brother trains, in the old barracks of the castle. Serene clings onto my arm, leaning her head against my arm. I’m all too familiar with her mannerisms around me, but she was acting differently today.
Walking to the old barracks felt like forever. There were stairs left and right, up and down, twisting and turning, and if you’re not used to it, you can get a headache from all the confusion this part of the castle seems to cast upon those willing to enter the everlasting labyrinth. While Serene kept to herself but did not let go, I almost had a hard time remembering where it was I was so trustingly put in charge of leading us to. Soon enough though, grunts and steel upon steel could be heard, although a bit far and muffled. Must have been the stone walls. Upon approaching a short hallway, which led to a pretty big sized room, he noticed another figure. He was slightly taller than I was, but not much at all, an inch or two maybe. He rocked the brightest of white hair, despite the fact that he was not much older than I, and his eyes as gold as the honey that bees make that ends up in my barbecue sauce. I really want barbecue now. Even though he was pretty thin, Sparks was literally an immovable object. His training with our father ensured that he could protect anyone he had to, transforming Sparks into a tank of utmost galactic proportions. Even on those rare times when we both spar, I have a hard time getting to his weak spots: he has none other than being susceptible to magic, which his enchanted shield covers for him. Combine that with his unnatural ability to use a spear with speeds that rival the Wind Element, and a really smart and really big bird that serves him as a mount, and you have an unstoppable force of raw power. I guess that’s what I get for choosing the sparkly powers. Sam, which is Sparks’ trusty “steed” is a member of the species Peco-Peco, which basically resembles a giant toucan. He can’t fly, but he’s might y quick on foot, he can be compared to some of the kingdom’s nimblest horses. When we had horses, that is. I waved a gentle hello to Sam, to which I promptly received a loud “squawk”, which in turn of course caught the attention of my dear brother. As he turned around to greet us, I gave him a nod and vice-versa, keeping our greeting exchange quick and simple. Serena gave Sparks a quick hug and went to go talk to Sam. I mentioned to Sparks that Serene was acting odd and that she had a “secret”.
“A secret, huh,” Sparks said, very calmly.
“Normally I’d just shrug it off, just like you, but something’s not right today.”
Short bio:
I’m Danny Rodriguez, currently living in Richwoods, MO, I originally hail from Corona, NY, which isn’t that far from New York City. My favorite food is almost any, I’ll eat it. I have an almost unhealthy fascination with the moon because it’s very beautiful. I enjoy winter very much, mainly because of Shiny Glaceon and hot cocoa with marshmallows. I enjoy to write, create crazy characters, imagine worlds that don’t belong, and even hunt for ghosts!
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