(no subject)

[bubosquared]

More interview meme, questions from inruins:

1. What do you like most about your writing style? What, if anything, do you dislike?

Heh. Good question. I don't really know that I have a distinctive style in fiction these days, as I tend to swing wildly between all-form-no-content and all-content-no-form, if that makes sense.

I do like it when I can write a sentence or a phrase that's just right. The first sentence of Evitar (He made it to Cuba by May, and by then Harry's trail was only seven years old.) is like that. In fact, most of the lines I like this much tend to be first lines, which is odd considering my absolute hatred of first lines.

Things I dislike about my writing are a lot more numerous, though I don't know that they count as "style", really. I still cannot get a story started properly, I've a tendency to rush things, and long-term plot planning is still not my forte. But I'm starting to learn character development and show don't tell, so at least there's improvement.

2. Of the places you've travelled to, which do you find the most inspiring?

Hm. Much as I like Rome, and much as its history has given me ideas for stories, when it comes to the actual city being inspiring, I'd have to say Paris.

3. Is there something about yourself that people don't immediately see? (A trait, or something else.)

Heh. Define "people". Obviously, there is preciously little that readsers of my LJ won't know, as I tend to be very open about things in here. I do think people don't always realise that a lot of my flirty, exhibitionistic behaviour is a bit of an act. Not that I don't like flirting or showing off my boobies, but I still have a lot of moments where I just cannot fathom why anyone would find me attractive.

4. What's your current favourite song?

Hm. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, U2 and the New Voices of Freedom. I love gospel, and this is a very happy gospel song.

5. What did you dream, last night or recently?

Er. I don't remember, to be honest. I very rarely remember my dreams when I wake up, let alone later on during the day. The last dream I remember, I was hanging out with Ruth, talking about fandom. Yes, I am a dork. At least it wasn't another HTML dream.

And a couple more from hobsonphile:

1. To echo astrogirl2's question: Which B5 episodes have you seen most recently? What do you think so far? Do you have any speculations as to what might happen next (assuming you're unspoiled)?

Er, good question. I'd have to double-check with wibbble and elance, but I think we got up to Interludes and Examinations.

So far, I'm loving it. I love intrigue (political or otherwise), and angst, and this offers both in an epic arch, which is also something I tend to fall for. (And yet, I was never an X-Files fan. Go figure.)

I will admit I've been partially spoiled, so I'm not going to predict anything, though I will repeat what I said way back in season one: "Vir for Emperor!" :D

2. So why Londo/G'Kar anyway? *g* I mean, I have my reasons, about which I will go on at length at ship_manifesto on the first of October. But what are your reasons?

Why not Londo and G'Kar? <g> Seriously, though, if I could figire out why I (almost) always go for the antagonist pairings, I'll have probably solved the major mystery of my life. The first time I ever "saw" slash was in The Defiant Ones, and I can count the non-antagonist pairings I've OTP-ed since then on one hand. (Including my few lone het pairings.)

So yeah, I don't really know. I just like the tension between adversaries, I guess. Best friends slash is just. Kinda boring. It's much more interesting to see how two people can go from vicious enemies to sort-of-friends to lovers. You get much more character development that way.

3. What was your favorite book as a kid?

One? I have to pick one? Ahahah! Also, well, define "kid"--I was reading Young Adult books by the time I was nine or ten, and by the time I was twelve they let me take out books from the adult section (two years early) because I'd read everything in the children's section. But anyway. Kid's books. I'd have to say Kruistocht in Spijkerbroek (Cruseade in Jeans), which I read about a dozen times between ten and fifteen (I can't actually remember much of anything I read before that), and which you'll likely not know at all.

It's a great book, though, about a boy who gets thrown back in time to the Middle Ages and gets caught up in a Child Crusade. I remember this as one of the first books I read that didn't read as "children's" books. It doesn't pull any punches--people die, and there's no romantication of the Middle Ages, but then that whole "school" of Dutch historical youth authors were like that.

4. Do you have any really big pet peeves?

Ha! Do you have a week or so? :D Okay, let's see. There's the obvious/practical ones, like people taking up the whole pavement and walking ever so slowly and generally being IN MY GODDAMN WAY OMG DIE, etc.. I also have issues with cars, though less here than back in Belgium, oddly.

The pet peeve I've been recently growling about the most if the whole PC/non-PC thing. I get really fucking annoyed when people accuse me of "just being PC" whenever I speak up about bigotry, not to mention the crowd who seem to think that "non-PC" is a badge of honour that allows them to say all sorts of hateful shite and get away with it.Just. No. Die. Related to this: that whole "arguing on the internet is like running in the Special Olympics" thing. Die. And don't even get me started on people who claim that poor people "choose" to be poor and homeless people "choose" to be homeless and the unemployed are all just lazy.

In fandom, there's the RPS/incest/nderage debates. Especially the RPS one.

And on a personal note, if you ever really want to piss me the fuck off, tell me I'm "wasting my potential". I'm liable to rip you a new one.

5. If you were given the opportunity, would you agree to live in a colony on the moon or on Mars? Why or why not?

Given today's technology, probably not. If you'd asked me this a couple of years ago, I'd have said yes in a heartbeat, but I don't think I could miss my family and friends anymore now. It was difficult enough to move to another country, away from my family.

Comments

[starbrow.livejournal.com]

*would like to be interviewed*

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

1. Here, have a go on my spiffy time machine! Where and when do you want to go?

2. You get to go up to three people and punch them in the face without retribution. Who would you punch?

3. Aliens! Ack! They've taken over the world, and enslaving humans all over. Do you cooperate and try to climb up the ladder by oppressing your fellow humans, do you join the underground resistence, or do you just try not to attract any attention?

4. I'm giving you a year off to write, all expenses paid, but only if you first spend a whole year dealing with the worst of all Scottish Widows customers ever. Yes or no?

5. If you could erase one part of your past, what would it beÉ

[jamaisneutral.livejournal.com]

I loved kruistocht in spijkerbroek. My girlfriend and I found a reissued paperback copy in Fnac the other month and bought it. I still have to read it again, but I will... It was my absolute favourite. Thea Beckman and Evert Hartman, and Roald Dahl, Christine Nostlinger... Like you, when I was 12 I was reading the adult books though. Starting with Tom Lanoye for some reason :-)
I was so pissed off that we HAD to review children's (or teenagers') books in school till we were in bloody 5th year though!! aaargh. Idiots.

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

Didya know there's going to be a movie of KiS? I'm SO psyched!

[wibbble]

We - E-and-I - have been having discussions on setting up a slash hosting service. If we do, underage stories will have to be strictly verboten. It's not just for legal reasons, as much as the press here have a tendency to print the names and addresses of 'pedophiles' and I don't want to be lynched because someone finds out that we're running a web host for 'pedophiles'.

And yes, I know that underaged slash is not the same as pedophilia. I don't think that explaining that to the large men beating me to death would be effective, though.

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I understand the legal and societal concerns people have about this, even if I personally don't share them (which says more about me than about the validity of the concerns, I do think). It's just that most anti-underaged-characters-in-slash people are going by the logic that anyone who writes underaged slash (i.e. the majority of HP slash fandom) is a pedophile (never mind that teenagers having sex is hardly the same as pederastry, let alone pedophelia), or that because I've written Weasleycest that MUST mean I want to fuck my brother. Yeah. Not.

It's not even the argument itself so much as the fact that people cannot seem to come up with better (or even just newer) arguments.

[hobsonphile.livejournal.com]

but I think we got up to Interludes and Examinations.

Great Maker! Okay, before I start babbling about things that are spoiler-y in nature, a quick pop quiz to make sure you are indeed at this point:

What did Sheridan ask Kosh to do in Interludes and Examinations? What happened as a result?

And what happened to Londo in the same episode?

If indeed you have seen this episode, be prepared to hear me babble at some length about things of a Londo-ish nature. *g*

though I will repeat what I said way back in season one: "Vir for Emperor!" :D

omgluv! I don't recall if I've mentioned this to you or not, but I'm Vir's mun on theatrical_muse and almost certainly the world's biggest Vir fan. He's so sweet and smart and adorable, I just want to kidnap him, stuff him in my bookbag, take him home and cuddle him all. day. long. His feature episode (Sic Transit Vir) is one of my favorites. His big scene in The Long Night, coming up in the early fourth season, cracks my heart in half. And I am firmly of the opinion that The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari, coming up in the fifth season, is just as much about the relationship between Londo and Vir as it is about the issues between Londo and G'Kar.

I love intrigue (political or otherwise), and angst, and this offers both in an epic arch,

Word. And if you love intrigue and angst, you will love And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place. It's definitely one of my favorites for the sheer intricacy of the conspiracy upon which the episode is centered, and for some hard hitting Londo & Vir stuff that inspires much fic.

It's much more interesting to see how two people can go from vicious enemies to sort-of-friends to lovers. You get much more character development that way.

*grins wickedly*

Oh, you will love how Londo and G'Kar's arc evolves, I just know it. *g* In my opinion, B5 did the enemies-become-friends-and-possibly-lovers-too thing the best. JMS shows how it's really done.

was reading Young Adult books by the time I was nine or ten, and by the time I was twelve they let me take out books from the adult section (two years early) because I'd read everything in the children's section.

Same here.

I'm afraid I haven't heard of your choice. But I myself loved Maniac Magee and The Giver.

There's the obvious/practical ones, like people taking up the whole pavement and walking ever so slowly and generally being IN MY GODDAMN WAY OMG DIE,

Hee. Me too. My big one, though, is people who crack their gum so loud you can hear it on the other side of an airport terminal. Or people who smack their gum loudly in my ear when I'm trying to have a conversation with them. DIE.

On PC/non-PC, I think there's such a thing as going too far in either direction. And I think just simple common courtesy demands that you respect the feelings of people you're conversing with and adjust things accordingly. What you joke about with your fishing buddies may not be appropriate for a work party. By the same token, I also think it's important that someone who's been offended communicate the reason for their offense directly and in a civil manner. I'm leery of third parties getting into the thick of things unless it's a last resort.

On repeating fandom debates: YES. And don't forget the slash/het debate. My opinion? There are crap writers in both genres and everyone needs to get over themselves.

Your answer to the Mars question is completely understandable. I myself would say yes, though. *g* I've always been a space junkie.

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

What did Sheridan ask Kosh to do in Interludes and Examinations? What happened as a result?

Step in and inporess the Non-Aligned Worlds so they'd help and protect B5.

And what happened to Londo in the same episode?

Er. Oh, wait, this was where Adira dies and he asks Morden for revenge, right? (It's been a while since I saw it, sadly.)

If indeed you have seen this episode, be prepared to hear me babble at some length about things of a Londo-ish nature. *g*

Yay! Story time! *sits self at your feet*

He's so sweet and smart and adorable, I just want to kidnap him, stuff him in my bookbag, take him home and cuddle him all. day. long.

YEs! Totally! *feeds Vir milk and cookies*

(And dammit, I hate it when you people get all "Oh, you'll love such-and-such episode"! :P *impatient!* )

I'm afraid I haven't heard of your choice.

Didn't expect anyone but the Belgians or Dutch would, as it's a Dutch book and hasn't, AFAIK, been translated.

I'm leery of third parties getting into the thick of things unless it's a last resort.

<tangent>The thing about that is, though, that all too often people have told me I've no "eight" to feel insulted by their racist crap because I'm white, which I don't think is what you're saying, but a lot of people do feel that I'm a "third party" in any situation where racism is involved, whereas AFAIC, I'm very much not.</tangent>

On repeating fandom debates: YES. And don't forget the slash/het debate. My opinion? There are crap writers in both genres and everyone needs to get over themselves.

Which is pretty much my opinion on the whole RPS, especially. But then I'm a Bitter Old Fan Hag who's spend several years in the trenches of the RPS War (and a war it was, and still is sometimes) and thus has little to no patience with these young whipper-snappers who think they've come up with a Revolutionary New Argument Against RPS. Except NOT!

[hobsonphile.livejournal.com]

Er. Oh, wait, this was where Adira dies and he asks Morden for revenge, right? (It's been a while since I saw it, sadly.)

Yes, that's the one. Great Maker, Londo's scenes in that episode make me gibber incoherently. Watching the scene in the docking bay in particular is like taking a sledgehammer to the gut. He was so. happy. And then- bam! Further proof that he deserves the title "Most Tragic Character on Television EVER."

I believe that that full scene plus Londo's scene with Morden at the end constitute what is probably Peter Jurasik's best performance of all time (and picking one is so hard because PJ is consistently excellent- and, if no emergencies strike, I'll be seeing him this weekend! Squee!). He hit every emotion- and by the end, you could literally feel Londo's rage at the universe.

Incidentally, Interludes and Examinations is the only episode in which Londo made a horribly bad decision and I didn't want to slap him for it.

The thing about that is, though, that all too often people have told me I've no "eight" to feel insulted by their racist crap because I'm white, which I don't think is what you're saying, but a lot of people do feel that I'm a "third party" in any situation where racism is involved, whereas AFAIC, I'm very much not.

No, I was referring to speech codes and other institutional interventions. Private citizens, no matter their race, have every right to speak up about something that offends them. And telling white people they have no place in the dialogue is total BS.

But then I'm a Bitter Old Fan Hag

Hee!

[ruby-fruit.livejournal.com]

Hmmm.

Am feeling exhibitionist-y. Interview me?

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

1. Here, have a go on my spiffy time machine! Where and when do you want to go?

2. You get to go up to three people and punch them in the face without retribution. Who would you punch?

3. Aliens! Ack! They've taken over the world, and enslaving humans all over. Do you cooperate and try to climb up the ladder by oppressing your fellow humans, do you join the underground resistence, or do you just try not to attract any attention?

4. If you could erase one part of your past, what would it be?

5. Ah, Ye Olde Indecent Proposal Question. Would you sleep with a millionaire (your average, decent-looking twenty-something guy, no body odor or other problems) for 30 million dollar? Would you sleep with Richard Gere for that amount?