I'm Goddamn Reckless

1. What's you're name and do you like it, why or why not?

My name? My real name is Cynthia Josephine Hook (or Fox, if you wanna use my married name), but I really hate the name Cynthia, Josephine got burnt out when I was using it as a pseudonym, Hook is just slightly retarded, and Fox…well, let’s not go there, shall we? So as of right now, I am known as either Syn or Jade, especially in my local Deaf community. Jade Gates is my current pseudonym for my writing. Jade for…actually, I don’t remember where I got Jade from, other than the guitarist of AFI, but that’s not the reason I use it nowadays. I don’t know why. It kind of stuck. Gates is because of my favorite guitarist ever, Synyster Gates. Jade Gates just kind of flows together and I find it awesome.

2. Do you like animals? Why, why not? What's your favorite?

I love animals, personally. There’s just something wonderfully magical about them, they’re so enigmatic. We strive to understand them, but we never will. Sometimes I like them more than humans, really. Especially the canids. Canines rock my world. Wolves, dogs, coyotes…all of them are personal favorites. The big cats are awesome too, like panthers, tigers and the like. I love the vicious animals more than the tamed ones of course. I guess that’s a bit of a touch on my wild side.

At the moment, only one cat is in my possession. He's annoying as hell, but cute and fluffy so I can't really do anything to him. My parents have three dogs, two of which I absolutely adore. One's a dalmatian/Labrador retriever mix and he's so lovable and stupid. The other is a Siberian husky/Rottweiler/German Shepard mix, and she's pretty much one of the smartest dogs I've ever met.

3. Do you have any siblings? If not, what about your parents? How do you feel about these people?

I have one brother named Andrew, or rather, Andy. He and I used to be the best of friends, ever. We did everything together; we played together, we talked together, and we even got through an almost-divorce together. That is, until we moved, and I hit puberty. Then we really started hating each other. He actually beat the crap out of me once, and I still remember it. I was defending my current girlfriend because he was tormenting her, calling her fat and such and I snapped on him, chased him into the backyard and he pinned me to the ground after punching me a few times. We’ve never been the same. We barely ever say two words to each other. He has a girlfriend right now, and it’s sad that I get along better with her than I do with him.

As far as my parents go? I love my mother to death; when it boils down to it, she’s my very best friend in the world. She listens to me; she knows me, and most of my secrets. I feel like I can pretty much tell her everything. She accepts my lifestyle and the way I live, and for that I eternally thank her.

My father…he and I have a very rocky relationship. I’ll never forgive him for trying to break up my family, and that really puts a lot of tension between us. He doesn’t like the things I do, or say; he hates that I’m opinionated and that I’m bisexual, and he keeps it veiled under a disdainful courtesy. He’s very passive-aggressive.

4. Do you know me?

You’ve read a few of my stories, but I’ve never spoken to you at length. You’ve called me screwed up, if that helps. XD I know of you, let's leave it at that, okay? ^^

5. Where do you live?

I live in the US, in Nevada. The city I live in is Carson City, and it sucks more than anywhere else. I’m moving as soon as I possibly can, probably to San Francisco or something.

6. Do you like music, and if so, how do you relate it to your writing?

I love music. It’s one of my greatest passions. I am in awe of how people, just like me, can create such amazing music that the entire world can relate to in one way or another. I only wish I could be that important to the world, you know? It gives me something to visualize.

It relates to my writing in a lot of ways, if not every single way. I always have music on when I’m writing, and normally anywhere from one to ten songs can help me write a segment of a story. I also write fanfiction/bandfiction, so that’s another way in which I relate it to my writing.

7. What is your favorite thing to write?

Mmm, I love to write slash/malexmale stories, despite the fact that I am, in fact, genetically, a woman. I don’t care much, though. I’m very much gender-confused and seriously think I should have been born a guy. I feel so much more comfortable with their mindset and their abilities and their…everything, really. I also adore writing horror/macabre stuff, and I find stuff like that absolutely fascinating, really.

8. Are you a people person?

I can be. Hell, I worked at Starbucks for over a year, I kind of had to be. I like making conversation with random strangers only to find that they have the same thoughts, ideals or even favorites as me. It’s really an exciting thing for me to make new friends, and reacquaint myself with old ones. It’s very important for me not to feel alone.

9. Do you seem to have a lot of REAL friends?

I only have four “real” friends, one of which I never speak to, two I see once or twice a week, and one who lives in Georgia and I talk to every day. They’re all amazing in their own ways, and each complement me and make me who I am.

10. How do you feel about war?

I think it’s all right, for the right cause. Really, the Iraq war is a bit ridiculous. It’s for latent vengeance, and our dear president is willing to put everything on the line for that, even the country he claims to love and want to defend. I find it only slightly ridiculous.

11. Why do you like StoryWrite?

I think it’s a great place to get good, honest feedback from people, and to improve writing skills as well as the ability to take constructive criticism. I think it’s also very good for internet relationships between friends.

12. What got you into writing?

Well, I was in the eighth grade and my English teacher decided to have us write a short story, and I did. I showed it to her, turned it in and got an A on it. She also encouraged me to write more over the course of the year and even went so far as to enter me in a contest for the end of the year speeches at my school. I didn’t win, but I didn’t care. I owe a lot to my teacher, and it’s just snowballed from there ever since. I’m always growing and improving.

13. Do you have a friend here that you really, really love?

Mmm…I’m not really one for close, interpersonal friends on Storywrite, but really the person I’ve connected with most was ohxmyxx.

14. Does your writing seem to affect the people around you?

Oh, most definitely. I’ve gotten such feedback from people who have been greatly affected by my writing. I’ve made people laugh, cry, laugh while they were crying, cry while they’re laughing, want to rip someone’s face off, etc. It’s really a talent of mine to pull the deepest emotions from people when I’m writing, or so I’ve been told.

**15. Why do you write?

I write to keep myself sane. I write so I can get rid of whatever is plaguing me at the time, emptying my brain so that something else can come in afterwards, so I can breathe, even sometimes so I can think again. Sometimes I just get this story idea and it just goes crazy in my mind until I absolutely HAVE to write it. It’s sort of a catharsis for me, I guess. Something to get rid of negative emotions, so I don’t have to necessarily feel them anymore.