Fanfic Writers' Meme

State of mind: hungry

Happy anniversary, Mom and Dad. While you go out for dinner tonight, I shall stay home, eat chow fun and ramble about Ultraman to other fans! Good times.

And by the way, Sakon, noooo I don't hate you for this meme. So I'm ganking it. ♥ ^_^

How about a brief introduction?
Call me Ishmael. Oh, you mean ME. Hi. Call me M. I write stuff.

Fabulous! And what got you into fanfiction to begin with?
Powerpuff Girls and Ultraman. Not necessarily in that order. I used to write all these kiut kiut stories about what the six brothers did when they were younglings, and after that went on to writing OC Ultras...

I see. So what kind of fanfiction do you like to write?
Gen with some romance/action thrown in, and themes of mystery, sacrifice and acceptance. One day I WILL write that long, sprawling epic about the Emperan Occupation (it had to be an occupation, says the back of my brain, or Zoffy could never have fought in it) and or Zoffy and that sword-of-light, but eh.

Do you find writing easy? Hard? What are the aspects of writing you struggle most with?
I write a beginning, and sometimes I write the end...and the middle dangles tantalisingly out of reach. In place of that I get snips of conversation and descriptions that are beautiful, but perhaps don't quite fit the context.

Write a few sentences or so of your favorite pairing or character.

He is beautiful, in a way very few things are beautiful. Light made flesh, so different from our flesh made light; he is the midnight sky and the silvered moon and quiet, deep water all together. His awe at our lands is tempered with caution and backed with curiosity. He desires to know us. Perhaps he is the one, the 'hero descending from the heavens'. But we shall see.

Bonus points if you know who the narrator is and who's being referred to. XD

Are there any fanfiction clichés or trends you're sick of or just can't stand?
Feminine Ukes and Super Virile Sekuhara Semes. Let's not get any more specific, shall we?

Are you guilty of any fanfiction clichés you hate? Or any other ones?
Forgive me, authors, for I have sinned. I once wrote Mary-Sues, self-inserts and character bashing all in one fiction. I'd like to think my favourite OC has mellowed out of her uber-specialness, though.

What was the first fandom you wrote for, and do you still like/participate in it?
In two words, Ultraman. Yes. Whee!

Name your OTPs or most frequently written pairings/characters and explain what it is about them that you love to write.
Saiyuki; Gojyo/Houran, because I pray they will find their understanding. Yes yes, I know Houran is jailbait at the time of the movie. >_>;;; 585 because it's so easy to see the two ease into a dependable relationship.

Ultraman: Tiga/Dyna/Tiga, the brothers-in-arms. See them fighting in perfect tandem in the TD movie, and tell me they're perfect strangers. I'd like to think they once worked together, on the superancient Earth. Hikari/Mebius/Hikari, again for the brothers-in-arms thing and the progression of a stout friendship to a partnership on fairly equal footing. Noa/Zagi/Noa just to see them play off each other, yin and yang, light and dark. Only Zagi can destroy Noa can destroy Zagi. Anything else in the way would probably get smacked out of commision. XD

What would you call your writing style?
Long and descriptive. Evocative. XD

Do you read other people’s fanfic? If so, what do you find yourself reading the most?
Yes. I find myself looking for fics that break the extreme uke/seme dynamic.

Name one thing you'd LOVE to write, but have been too afraid or shy to do.
Full on sex scene.

Do you have trouble taking criticism? Or worse yet, do you have the dreaded bloated ego?
I think I do, sometimes, but it's part of the process of posting stuff online.

When you write, is there anything that helps? Music? Quiet room?
Music sometimes. And talking through it out loud.

What inspires you?
Writing, reading other people's stuff, random imagery that pops into your mind on a lunch break.

Lastly, how would you sum up your fanfiction experiences and yourself as a writer?
Sometimes it's fun. Sometimes it's painful. Sometimes it's desperately cathartic.

Tag some friends because they'll hate you for it.
Well, I'm not forcing them at gunpoint to do it! But anyway, it's free for the taking so spread the love/hate! [+/-] Fanfic writers' meme

One last meme

State of mind:
Current soundtrack: Ultraman Max Song Collection - Ashita ni Nareba (Project DMM)

[muse]Max songs contain a lot of the word 'genkai'. Mebius songs mention 'mugen' a lot. [/muse]

Well. As you can see, I'm back from Japan—and I returned with loads of UM stuff, a splinter in my finger, influenza virii and plenty of powerful memories. But before I actually, yanno, do some work and write up the whole trip, I thought I'd pop in what will probably be this year's last meme. :3

1. Was 2007 a good year for you?
   Yes and no.
   
2. What was your favorite moment of the year?
   ....Going to Ultramanland, obviously.
   
3. What was your least favorite moment of the year?
   A toss up between ending the year's first term—it was a very aggravating three-four months—and getting Noa-tan snatched. If they TOUCH him, I hope he shocks their balls off. D:<
4. What are your plans for 2008?
   Keep the job, start saving for UMLand AND Adobe Creative Suite, make new friends.
   
5. What countries did you visit?
   Japan!
   
6. What date in 2007 will remain etched in your memory?
   December 25th.
   
7. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
   Got the YCLMS! *beam*
   
8. What was your biggest failure?
   Failure to acquire any sort of social life. Pflurgh.
   
9. Did you suffer any illness or injury?
   Flu, flu and more flu. And a twisted ankle.
   
10. What was the best thing you bought?
    Can't think of anything beyond all that UM music at the moment.
    
11. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
    In two words, Malaysian Parliament.
    
12. Where did most of your money go?
    Food and books.
    
13. What did you get really really really excited about?
    UMLANDUMLANDUMLANDJapanUMLANDUMLAND
    
14. What songs will always remind you of 2007?
    Probably James Blunt's '1973'. Ironic, I know.
    
15. 15. Compared to this time last year are you:
    a) Fatter or thinner? Slightly more weighty.
    b) Happier or sadder? Sadder. One more layer of cynicism—although when the happy breaks out, it shows all over!
    c) Richer or poorer? Marginally richer. Angpow money, mah. XD
    
16. What do you wish you'd done more of?
    Socialising, schmoozing and asking questions.
    
17. What do you wish you'd done less of?
    Self-doubting.
    
18. How will you be spending Christmas?
    I SPENT it. At Ultramanland, surrounded by stage shows, squeeing adorable children* and men in rubber suits.
    
19. Which LJ/MySpace users did you meet for the first time?
    ...BNF-known-as-N doesn't count, does she?
    
20. Did you fall in love in 2007?
    Speak not to me of love.
    
21. How many one night stands?
    What did I just TELL you!?
    
22. What was your favourite TV show?
    Mebius KINDA went on into 2007. Haven't watched any of those episodes though. ^^;
    
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
    Eyep.
    
24. What was/were the best books you read?
    For One More Day (Albom), Papa is Ultraseven, Home Sweet Home (Miyanishi), Never Let Me Go (Ishiguro), UM Story Zero (Mabune)
    
25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
    Josh Groban. Yum yum!
    
26. What did you want and get?
    Ultraman music. The YCLMS scholarship. Some work. Lots of education.
    
27. What did you want and not get?
    Ultraman Fighting Evolution for the PSP TT__TT
    
28. What was your favourite film this year?
    300. SPARTAAAAAAAAAAAA!
    
29. What did you do on your birthday and how old were you?
    I went to class, watched a movie—300—and through serendipity met some old friends for nonalcoholic drinks. I turned 20. I still don't really 'feel' it.
    
30. What one thing would have made your year more satisfying?
    A love interest, perhaps? One that reciprocated, for once?
    
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?
    Chunky shirts and mansandals. ;) Also, I discovered layers. And makeup. And the fact I don't look half bad in traditional Eastern costume.
    
32. What kept you sane?
    Ultraman. Not the fandom batshittery, mostly just Ultraman in itself.
    
33. Which celebrity did you fancy the most?
    Josh Groban. Again, yum yum!
    
34. Which political issue stirred you the most?
    BERSIH walk followed by the batshit that was HINDRAF. Brain hurty, kthxbi.
    
35. Who did you miss?
    My sister. Shortly. Currently it's a few good men back in Arao.
    
36. Did you treat somebody badly in 2007?
    I may have.
    
37. Did somebody treat you badly in 2007?
    It is possible.
    
38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned this year?
    Three things are very important: gumption, social skills and time management.
    
39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year...
    *cough*
    My past rides into my memories
    And it's coming again with this music
    I'm trying to fight for me
    For my life; for my right
    (Another Day Comes, Pay Money To My Pain)

[+/-] Was 2007 a good year for YOU?...

If I don't see y'all again before the year is out, here's wishing you a happy, happy 2008!

*apparently the words 'adorable' and 'children' coming out from my mouth = sign of the apocalypse.

1.6 OPM; or The Value of Creativity

State of mind: contemplative
Current soundtrack: The sound of crickets and nighttime traffic

So I DID manage to take a successful nap last night—woke up, and all—but it did result in some very strange (if very nice) dreams afterwards. My good friends Lu, Es and Prog, did we not discuss this issue very carefully? We do not want any repetitions of last year's Hikoboshi Incidents Mad Mood Swings of Doom. Settle down, give it a few years. We'll all get satisfaction eventually. I hope.

Some more buildup to the main topic of this post: I promised the readership of my old blog (soon to be locked completely, is my guess) that when I went through this term's Marketing and Creative Thinking class, I'd keep a tally of how many times the lecturer said 'okay'. Without giving too much detail away, said lecturer is known to be quite...'flouncy', and this is even more pronounced when he gets excited about something - hence the decision to make a finalised tally. In the space of almost two hours, he said the word over 100 times, and his final count is about 1.6 okays-per-minute. (Of course, I should talk. If I was relating this to you verbally, every third word would have been 'like'. :P)

Aaaanyway. Part of the lecture involved asking people what creativity was, and what the value/purpose of creativity was. As the lecturer put it, why do clients hire us? After much debate up and down and various oh-so-close(?) answers, he delivered his answer: it makes more money. And really, that's all there is to it.

Somehow, this doesn't sound right to me. I mean, sure, we're all going to end up creating commercial art of some sort; that's how we're going to earn our rice/bread/carbs. But that can't be the be-all and end-all of things. Even if you are creative, and you make piles of money, if you hate your work, hate what you do and have to drag yourself to the computer/easel/storyboard every morning...I hate to break it to you, but you probably shouldn't be doing this for the next 30 years. Call me a bit idealistic, but the last bit is common sense. If you're going to be slogging, it might as well be for something you really love. Then it won't even be a slog. To me, the greatest value of creativity is that it improves the quality of life. I figure that counts as making you happy, making things easier and serving as a coping mechanism. The world stops dead without its engine of imagination and thought.

There was supposed to be more to this, but 1) I figured I'd keep it short and 2) I don't trust myself to go on much longer without rambling and/or engaging in the sin of TMI. ;) And don't tell, but one thing I did want to define creativity as was 'eating dirt and shitting diamonds'. ;)