Off Topic += Meme: Five Q & A

[blue_bells]

Comment with "bring it on!" and:
• I'll respond by asking you five questions so I can get to know you better.
• Update your journal with the answers to the questions.
• Include this explanation in the post and offer to ask other people questions (but only if you want to).

Wherein I fail at having favourites of anything except acoustic guitar duos, sci-fi compensates for its recent neglect on my journal, and I recommend krump.

- from synnerxx -

Who's your favorite author and fan-author?
These questions about favourites are always so difficult because I can never remember when I’m being asked. XD

More importantly – this may not make sense to a lot of people, but - I have a general philosophy of not having favourites. I don’t point to someone and say “That’s my best friend”, I say, “These are my best mates”, “I’m a big fan of chilli”, “Bright colours are awesome”, and “I prefer walking over swimming”.

I can group and rank things by preference, but I don’t do ‘favourites’ because I’ve learned that it sways my attention or focus with bias for one type of brand, style, or author and I want to try everything. :D

Having said all of that, I’ve been told by editor friends that apparently, based on my taste, my favourites authors are Mikhail Bulgakov (The Master and the Margarita) and George R. R. Martin (Game of Thrones). I have their books on my desk waiting to be read, but I can neither confirm nor deny this assertion. XD


What's your favorite flower?
… In spite of the above, I really like SUNFLOWERS! ♥ (Did you think I would say ‘bluebells’? ;D)


Biggest pet peeve?
Morons. This includes people who don’t practice proper hygiene and proceed to touch everything, who can’t indicate when changing lanes on the roads, who stand in the office hallways and shout at colleagues across the floor, who can never be honest enough to own their mistakes and/or responsibility to self-improve, and the list goes on. To some degree, we’re all morons, but the question is: are you a moron by choice or ignorance, and how much is your Moron Factor impacting the people around you? I’m the kind of moron who doesn’t send a good friend their birthday present for two months because I just keep making it bigger and who goes into a café knowing I’ll food coma with pain if I order that fondue for two, but do it anyway. Afterwards, I’m peeved at myself, but I knew it was going to happen. XD


What's the one thing that's always guaranteed to make you happy?
It may be cheating to say, but -- my friends: every single one of them on and offline. I’m blessed to have so many emotionally intelligent and grounded people around me, who, for all their excellence, always lift the threat of dark clouds by virtue of being their clever, silly, and positive selves. We’ve taken the time to learn when we need hugs, to be given a kick in the backside, or to just receive a random phone call and be greeted with a line like, “Being gay doesn’t require penetration”. I’m convinced I have some of the best friends in the world and I’m so grateful for them. ♥


One person you would love to co-write with, famous (living or dead) and in fandom?
Well, there is that Purgatory story I’m supposed to write with zekkass when our respective schedules allow it and the inspiration strikes. :P

But off the top of my head, I’d actually love to write with Stephen Moffatt.

Before he became the primary screenwriter for the current Doctor Who series, I first encountered him through the season one episode ‘The Empty Child’, which got me into that show. He also wrote my favourite episode ‘Blink’ (Don’t blink! Don’t even blink!) with – aha, the weeping angels, the most benevolent assassins in the universe.

I haven’t been as sold on the overall arc since he took over, but I’d love to kick ideas around with him one lazy afternoon because he has a similar preference to me: dramatic, but underlined by a sickly sweet tone of family, whatever form that comes in, and loving rivers of loving love.


- from ladyknightanka -

If you could go back in time, when would you go to and why?
I think I would go back to the seventies because I really want to see my Mom when she was growing up. I’ve heard stories about what a fierce Queen Bee she was (and I can believe it), but I’ve only ever known her as ‘Mom’. I think it would give me a lot of insight into her as a woman and not just as an amazing caregiver because she really changed when she had kids and I’m sure it would be hella amusing. I’d be seriously tempted to get in her face and see how far I could push her before she called in The Enforcers (lol), but I’d be too worried about universe-ending paradoxes.

I would never return to a time pre-indoor plumbing. I’m just putting that out there now. XD


What is the song you most often listen to, even if it's not your favorite?
According to my iTunes records, the song I’ve listened to the most is this one:

I find it a little hard to believe, but there was that time when I was completely obsessed with So You Think You Can Dance and actually tried dancing R&B for as long as it took me to realise krump and latin were more fun (I know, they go hand-in-hand, right? No, I can’t actually krump, but if you want to see someone who can, refer: Russell Ferguson).


Who are your three favorite characters, from anything at all, of all time?

1) Jean Luc-Picard, Captain (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
2) Yoda (Star Wars)
3) Callisto (Xena: Warrior Princess)


Going off #3, what draws you to these characters?
JEAN-LUC PICARD: He’s the Captain to end all Captains.

There was never a situation wherein Jean-Luc didn’t have a humble and informed piece of advice to share with his crew in that polished accent of Shakespearean theatre, he was an amazing pilot who also knew how to lead, inspiring the best qualities from everyone around him, while challenging them to raise the bar. He could hold his own in a fight, he had an interest and respect for other cultures and ways of life, placed value on balancing fun with work, and made a family out of his crew. However, he brooked no disrespect and one time negotiated the human race out of extinction from the whim of an omnipotent being, I don’t know many characters who could boast that sort of diplomacy.

Picard speaks to my admiration for figures of integrity. He’s a Leader who chooses diplomacy before arms, but knows how to use force if it comes to that. He puts his money where his mouth is. He’s brilliant, he takes action, and he loves the people around him. He’s a great model of a human being for a future fictional society where money doesn’t even exist because, by some miracle, humankind decided to work to better ourselves and set aside capital gain. It’s beautiful fiction.

YODA: He’s the Jedi Master who points and laughs at you until you decide you can be better because there is no ‘try’, there is only ‘do’. It’s funny how helpful this silly adage has been in my everyday life.

Yoda is that mythical master that everyone really wants to train under, but doesn’t at the same time, because he can make you the best, but you might just die on the journey because he takes no prisoners, and he will take the piss out of you when you’re face down in the mud crying because it’s too hard. And then he would poke you with his walking stick for good measure and make you run the obstacle course two more times than originally planned in reprisal for giving up.

Yoda speaks to my schadenfreude: that impulse to point and giggle at a friend’s temporary fail before inevitably stepping in to lend them a helping hand. Yoda never gives up, but he knows when to beat a strategic retreat to fight a generation later. I love that his demure stature completely belies his pingpong-fu and that his inversed way of speaking has become the universal mode of sarcasm; the Force is strong with this one.

Finally, I wanted a character on here that celebrated the other side of the coin with relish.

I was trying to think of a villain that sang and danced through the rain of death, but I tipped from Storm and Mystique (X-Men) to the Joker (Batman), to Lucifer from Constantine, and even Gabriel from the Prophecy. I considered Drusilla, but I loved her best when she and Spike were a team (Buffy and Angel) and I couldn’t have one without the other. Captain Barbossa, maybe (Pirates of the Caribbean)? Meg (Supernatural)? Imperial Grand Admiral Thrawn – this was my serious contender because he was just brilliant, like a symphony of perfect undoing every time he rolled out one of his plans (Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy)? Choosing favourite big bads is evidently harder than pointing to their counterparts and saying, “There! There be good moral virtue.”

But eventually I settled on this little blonde, because she is probably one of the strongest female villains from the last two decades of television that didn’t make me want to stuff a sock down her throat half the time she was on-screen.

CALLISTO: She’s the tide of vengeance that doesn’t understand the meaning of ‘no’, ‘stop’, or ‘too much’, and in clinical terms was probably batshit insane.

Before Xena: Warrior Princesss got further along with its ideas of spirituality and reincarnation, Callisto was a survivor with a vendetta and took turns with Ares being Xena’s archnemesis (and when they joined forces, I melted, but I was in high school at the time; I was easy). She went from being an orphaned victim of Xena’s armies to a vicious warlord, then an Immortal, and finally became a god, tearing up the landscape in a whirlwind of lightning with a cackling smile and a battle cry (scream) that left people’s ears ringing. Callisto was fun as much as she was annoying and not even death could stop her.

Callisto speaks to that sadistic streak of creativity that wants to tear things down, set them on fire, and laugh until you’re choking on the smoke because for some people, and certainly for her, being an architect of destruction and exercising power over other life is one of the most startling and effective ways of affirming your own.


What three things send you into fangirl mode?
1) When someone writes a story for that one rare fandom, that one unexplored concept, that obscure pairing I just needed, or those supporting characters I’d love to read about because I trust that all the main cast will be taken care of. I always want to know more about the full landscape of characters and how they contributed to the bigger picture (e.g. Ryan, Esposito, Lanie, and the Captain from Castle, or the archangels, demons, allies and antagonists from Supernatural). I’ve found, a story is only as strong as its characters and the main breadwinners are only as strong as the people around them, which only have as much credibility as the world in which they live.

2) When someone else’s inner geek shows in everyday conversation and they don’t expect you to pick up on it (e.g. my co-project manager’s phone goes off with a Led Zeppelin ring tone and he makes the mistake of trying to Jedi Mind Trick my teammate with a wave of his hand, “The business case will be fine, these are not the droids you’re looking for”).

3) When my passions cross over – whether this means vindicating my love of music through the occasional bandfic, or cheering because one of my online friends finally got themselves published and finally earned coin for their hard work, I love watching these wires cross.

Earlier this year I found out my favourite guitarist duo (aha, a favourite!) Rodrigo y Gabriela were featuring on the Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides soundtrack and I was so freaking excited for them. They’re amazing, this is a huge break for them, and though I was a bit lacklustre at the prospect for another Pirates movie, I thought meh, it’s Pirates! It’d be fun! And it was! :D

And they were amazing! ♥ Here's the promo released for one of the songs off the soundtrack, 'The Pirate That Should Not Be'.

- from zekkass -

What's your favorite thing to write? (Thing could be defined as pairing/kink/genre/writing style - your choice)
I love writing stories about networks of friends, couples, allies, enemies, reluctant colleagues; families and all the formulas they come in. Networks give us different insights into a person through their many and varied relationships, which fascinates me; a person's reaction to a situation is heavily influenced by their company at the time. In spite of all this, I've been distracted lately with, well, porn. It's strange. XD


What's your favorite pairing in SPN? Second favorite? Least favorite?
Probably the archangels: Lucifer/Michael/Raphael/Gabriel. Followed by Michael/Adam because it's what I have on the brain right now. Least favourite on a scale from love to like is (and don't hurt me) probably Sam/Gabriel -- I don't dislike them at all, I enjoy the prospect quite a lot, but I haven't had as many opportunities to write for them so the love just fans a little less than it does for others. :3


What's the last thing you read?
Honestly, an article about the largest mass migration in decades of New Zealanders to Australia following the devastating earthquakes, but if you mean fan-related... it was this cute X-Men Hank/Alex makeover!ficlet off the wave of kink memes: Bowties are Cool (yay, DW reference!). Ah, happy office procrastination on smartphone reading.


How did you find Supernatural? And tell us why you love/hate/stick with it, too!
I saw the promos for the show before it started, one of my best friends and I thought it looked vaguely interesting. There were four of us kicked back in her apartment with some pizza, somebody remembered it was on, so we changed channels and by the time Mary went up in flames, I was sucked in. I really enjoyed how well the show portrayed Sam and Dean's bond as brothers, rough in that bluntly honest way boys often are, but forgiving and, above everything else, loyal... and then the episode Skin came along. That was the first time I started taking note of episode titles. It's also when I belatedly started seeing the Sam/Dean potential, but it took me a long time to work up the nerve to write it (and even then it was under duress from my friend who went on to become a Sam/Dean 'shipper with that unique fire of one who has an OTP). XD

I love Supernatural because it became a free-for-all sandbox of lore and creatures, but I stuck around because it grew more and more apparent that this world, everyone, and everything in it was broken or mangled in some way, and with enough sex appeal, that sort of thing has proven a tried and true combination for buying in fans' irrepressible need to Fix Everything or Make It More Better (ever wonder why Final Fantasy VIII exploded over the internet while Final Fantasy X retained a respectable following? The latter had a lot less to explain for).

When I missed the Season 4 premier, my friends dragged me to the couch and made me sit down to watch it. By the time Cas walked through those barn doors, I really wanted to know wtf was exploding the electricity grid, but then I saw him and... huh. XD I may be the minority, but for some reason I hadn't learned my lesson by Season 4 that, whenever possible, Show anthropomorphises every creature it can to save on effects and I can still hear the sound of my friends' hysterical laughter watching my face fall in disappointment because who was this guy that was walking into... what? Was that all?

And then Castiel said "I'm an angel of the Lord" and my friends fell out of their chairs as I broke the decibel range because I never thought this show would swing that way. It defied logic for three years: why have demons and Hell, but never acknowledge its antithesis? Afterwards, I was laughing even harder than my friends because I found that within two days, this angel already had a wiki article and livejournal community dedicated to him.

Let us never underestimate the power and momentum of fandom; it even saves careers, you guys.

This initial reaction to Castiel was nothing personal because I found that pretty much all of the angels took a while to grow on me. Except for Uriel (because he already exuded the FU!attitude and gravitas I expected) and Michael (because... do I really need to explain this? He was wearing young!John Winchester and later Adam -- who I hated a little less by this point, never expecting that he'd go on to become one of my accidental favourites -- he could do no wrong by my book).

I've had a soft spot for angels since I saw The Prophecy back in my teens, so when the show gave me that, I felt set up for life.

I think I'll be playing in this sandbox for a while, though what I dislike the most about it is actually what keeps so many others invested; I'm tired of the fact Sam and Dean never learn from their mistakes, how they have license above everyone else for double standards and to break the rules committing horrible acts without reprimand when it suits them, but I can't begrudge them because they are canonically the chosen ones. Special rules and exceptions apply to them and you don't have to like it to accept and recognise it complies with the rules that world has built for itself.

At the episode of Rufus's death, I was glad for the first sign in a long time that they were learning to forgive each other again. However, there is such a tribal Us versus Them mentality that Dean drives for all Team Free Will -- it doesn't surprise me, where he's coming from -- I don't like that sort of attitude in general, so where I started this show enraptured by the family of the Winchesters, I've now swung towards the Family of Heaven we glimpsed so briefly.

However, I'm nostalgic for the Winchesters and when I look back at stories I wrote like The Littlest Hunter, I remember having that investment, though I can't remember what it felt like. I'd like to, though.


Finally: where'd you get the name bluebells?
This is a really underwhelming story. XD I started out as an author in anime and video games and had a Japanese penname, but when I moved into other fandoms and genres, I wanted a name that didn't have so much Nihonphile association, was unpretentious, and easy to say.

I think I was flipping through a catalogue at someone's house one day and saw this picture of bluebells in a vase; I just thought, "Yeah, why not that?"

I like summer, long, rolling fields of tall grass, and the obnoxious clouds of pollen that signal rebirth when the flowers bloom, so when using 'bluebells' it brings back all those positive feelings. It feels like hope and growth and the promise that the road goes on, like those unsealed country paths I see when I imagine wild fields of flowers.

Too bad I didn't see the potential to misconceive the name as blueballs until I'd already registered it. We live and learn. XD


- from ravenspear -

What are your favorite pizza toppings?
Every kind of roast vegetable under the sun, but at the moment I’m partial to roast pumpkin (smoothed to a paste), cashews, fetta, pine nuts, pesto, and basil. ♥


What author, living or dead, would you like to meet so you could pick their brains?
(I just had to call my Dad to get these details right) I’d be really interested to go back to Egypt when those 70-ish translators were gathered together to translate the Old Testament because I’d be curious to see if their translations were all matched as impeccably as the story goes. They probably weren't, but discrepancies are half the fun.

In modern times, although I haven’t actually read any of Lovecraft’s work (to my knowledge), I want to know WTF that man was on. I could probably find some answers by looking into his biography, but his ideas were so different from the majority of serials and literature circulating at his time, I’d like to know where he was drawing inspiration from and just how circumstances were coming together to explain the work he was producing.


What is your favorite fic that you have written?
This was really hard. Everything I’ve written has been for a different reason, in response to some creative need for a specific outlet at the time, or just to practice a different form, but I like everything I’ve written for different reasons and I’ve always learned something about my writing or the characters each time.

I like this story because it just rolled off the tongue after months of what felt like fighting in the trenches with muses and it was a humourous diversion from my main projects at the time: That Which Cannot Be Unseen (Michael/Adam, Sam/Lucifer, Dean/Castiel; PG-13): Adam is sexually frustrated; Michael is a perfect gentleman. Warnings for crack, language, and alcohol.

But I also really enjoyed these three – two of them written for you, incidentally XD – because exploring the possible survivor story of a former vessel in vignette has become a delectable pastime:

How Long is Now (Dean/Adam/Sam, PG-13): Michael and Adam were not made for each other and it's left Adam stretched and torn. Warnings for incest and PWP.

And if you see my friends, tell them I'm fine (Jimmy/Adam, PG-13): They have been pushed beyond any sane limit, but they have not been (completely) broken. Warnings for PTSD themes.

Once the Rage in Me Subsides (Jimmy/Adam/Nick, PG-13): (Wherein Nick joins the support group!) When the din rose enough for them to rest within its motion and forget themselves, to sit and be present, they could be still. They could just be.


Are you a cat person or a dog person?
I adore both, but I grew up with dogs and I prefer big dogs that I can wrap my arms around for big hugs and play with. Smaller dogs have proved more inclined to attempt suicide around my ankles. XD Their bigger size also helps when walking at night or in the early morning, as my friends and I call them our ‘fluffy protectors’.


Do you play any instruments? If not, are there any you'd like to learn to play?
I can play the piano, the drums, and sing, all up to an early intermediate level. When I say ‘sing’, I disclaim this by noting I can generally carry a tune, but I’ll grab the nearest microphone and karaoke Queen or Bon Jovi given the choice (I’m sure my Dad misses the days I sang dulcetto). When I was younger I learned the violin for a semester and I’m currently learning both the ukulele and the guitar: the ukulele because I was tired of the muscle cramps and callouses that refused to form after hours fighting with the (acoustic) guitar.