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On my longer fics and why they are what they are:

Through Time and Space is pretty much the history buff in me climbing out of my throat and screaming "World War II!" at the top of its lungs, because World War II is to me the most interesting period in world history (albeit quite a grim one). True--I don't do much for perfect historical accuracy, but I'm also writing about a Soviet spy who speaks better English than I do, played by an Australian actress in a Hollywood sequel that just oozes political bias, despite being made twenty years after its predecessors. Also, you know, this is Indiana Jones we're talking about. So I think that in the face of all that I can throw the minute details to the wind to write a back story for a fascinating antagonist, in which she features as the protagonist.

To put it shortly, I thought that Spalko needed some fleshing out as a character. I loved seeing that progression throughout the film as her goals turn from a political agenda to a personal obsession. But there wasn't much clear about her besides 'she's the villain, she kicks ass, and she's obsessed with control.' Which could describe any number of villains (*ahem* Umbridge, Nurse Ratched, et cetera).

And to swing back to that Cold War political bias, I found that it left a dry taste in my mouth after I saw the film. It was just a little too on-the-nose for me. So I thought I'd carry Spalko's motivations a little farther back than just Hollywood's common "The Soviet Union is trying to control all of our minds! Freedom! Liberty! Et cetera!" Because history is undoubtedly far more complicated than that I will hold to the belief that when something like the Cold War comes around and we almost carry humanity to nuclear annihilation on multiple occasions, it's more about paranoia, fear, and the military response to it. In short--it was everyone's fault. But I'll carry on to the next thing before I slide into a rant.

The Matchmaker Universe, basically the universe in which Matchmaker, Matchmaker and all related sequel(s) and random one-shots take place, was my response to fan fiction trends, both good and bad. It's a parody. It's my attempt to poke fun at Mary Sues and at certain things we see come to light in Peter Jackson's new Hobbit franchise. And, you know, the fact that I don't like to add the word 'franchise' after the word 'hobbit,' because it just doesn't always feel right. I prefer 'films' or 'trilogy.'

On Tauriel, because I use Tauriel a lot in the Matchmaker universe--I don't hate Tauriel. I really don't. I'm a bit skeptical about Peter Jackson's use of his own female OC (although I tend to put my foot down and say had a major studio not been overseeing this whole business Peter Jackson might not have made some of the decisions he did, Tauriel's function in the story being one of them). I thought that Tauriel, as a character, would have disliked and avoided the whole love triangle business in the first place, had she been given the choice.

And out came the question 'what if Tauriel and Eowyn met?' and the follow-up question 'What if Tauriel joined the Fellowship?'

And to clear some things up: Spalko's presence in the Matchmaker universe and her corresponding sub-plot is, indeed, a parody of my own writing on Spalko's back story. I wrote the parody of Through Time and Space before I wrote the fic.

On Galadriel, while we're at it, I found her another under-appreciated side-character. Granted, she's got more of a following than poor Celeborn, and definitely more of a following after her epic part in the Battle of Dol Guldur came to the big screen and people saw her go absolutely insane in Imax 3D, but she doesn't get much of a part in most long fanfics. So I rectified it, with the added bonus that Parody-Galadriel can be as snarky as she wants to.

On the ships and The Plot--this is the universe where I will ship anything and everything. I try to write the unexpected and make it work.

Heart of Fire and Ice and The Drums of Thunder Roll are wish fulfillment, in their deepest essence. I mean, they don't read so much like wish fulfillment, but they're all the things I really WISH had happened in the sequel to HTTYD. Drums of Thunder pretty much rectifies the inconsistencies of Fire and Iceand carries on where that one left off. Pretty straight forward. No long winded rants for this one, unless you count Gollum making a regular appearance in the a/n's.

Although, I will at some point follow up on my cop show AU chapters in Fire and Ice. Pinky promise.

Cheers!

--Valkyrie