ama

[pauraque_bk]

Oh good, we're having another meme day! Daily posts of compelling content are hard to keep up with.

Ask me anything. Um, please. (My fear when interview memes roll around is always that I am far too boring for anyone to want to ask me questions.)

Crossposted from Dreamwidth. Feel free to comment wherever you're comfortable.

Comments

[akatnamedeaster.livejournal.com]

What fic have you written that you are most satisfied with from an emotional perspective (not necessarily from the perspective of a writer, since I think those can be two different things) and why.

[pauraque]

I think you're right that there's a difference between the emotion and the craft of a piece, though there's overlap too. Emotionally I think the one that stands out for me, though I realize it's a very recent one, is Rest Your Head Close to My Heart. The emotion of it was the entire reason I wanted to write the fic, and it cut very close to the bone for me in a way that I wasn't sure I could express adequately. So when feedback started coming in and I realized that people got it, I did get a tremendous sense of satisfaction from that.

[rastavan.livejournal.com]

I've been meaning to tell you this or at least leave a proper review on AO3, but I really, really adore that story. I was reading it again the other night and it always leaves me feeling simultaneously hollow and full. Like...that feeling in your chest when you're so happy it feels like you're going to burst kind of fill. I apologize for totally hijacking your meme post to say this, but seeing your comment gave me the odd mix of feelings again.

[pauraque]

No need to apologize! You're very kind, and thank you for telling me.

Sometimes when writing there can be a bit of distance between what you're feeling as a writer and what you intend the reader to feel. Not that it's manipulation, but just that you already know what you're going to write so there's no suspense or sudden realizations like there are when you're reading something. But for some reason, when I was writing that particular fic, I got very emotional and felt no detachment at all. So people's response to it seemed like I was directly sharing my own feelings rather than "making" people feel something that I didn't also feel, if that makes sense. I guess that's why it seemed like the right answer to akatnamedeaster's question.

[torino10154]

If you could have any job/career and money wasn't an issue, what would you like to be doing?

[pauraque]

I would like to work with animals again. I used to, and loved it — only job where I'd sneak in before my shift and start working for free because I could not wait another minute — but the guy in charge was so awful (to his fellow human beings, not to the animals, thank God) that it drove me to quit.

These days I couldn't really do the same kind of work anymore because of a chronic illness that's introduced some physical limitations, though I can still do the occasional dogwalking or petsitting gig! Animals. ♥

[nearlyconscious.livejournal.com]

Oh! Okay I'm sorry if you've already mentioned this somewhere else, but I'm curious about your username?
Also, what's the fic you wrote that you like the most, and why?
What is something that inevitably brings a smile to your face?

[pauraque]

I'm sure I've explained my username before, but I don't mind! The first HP fic I posted was A Treatise on the Blood of the Nightjar, so when I joined LJ shortly afterward my first thought for a name was nightjar, but it was taken. A pauraque is a North American species of nightjar, and since I was an American joining a UK-based fandom, it seemed to fit.

Picking a favorite fic is going to take some time to think about (I figured someone would ask this but I had no answer prepared!) so I'll have to give you a rain check on that one.

Something that always makes me smile is a clear, hot, dry day. The weather influences my mood a lot (more than I'd like, since I can't affect it) and that's the best weather for me. When I wake up and see a blue sky out the window, it's instant happiness.

[nearlyconscious.livejournal.com]

Oooh, hence the bird avi. Okay! Interesting and yes, fitting!

I'll wait, no worries :)

Aaaah, I see what you mean, my mood is heavily influenced by the weather too. A warm dry day is amazing.

[lq-traintracks.livejournal.com]

What's your favorite song right now? (Or, you know, three of them, because that's really hard.)

[pauraque]

This is going to sound silly, but I'll answer honestly: For the last day or so I've been on the biggest Weird Al kick. I saw his name mentioned in a comment somewhere and headed to YouTube, and have been on a nostalgic binge ever since. (The one that probably made me happiest was unearthing a now-ancient WoW machinima set to Hardware Store and realizing I first saw it the day it was posted in 2006...)

[vvvexation.livejournal.com]

Dang, I remember that video. I probably saw it around the same time.

[rastavan.livejournal.com]

Is there something in fandom (theme, pairing, kink), that you do not feel comfortable tackling?

[pauraque]

If the question is whether there are things that are out of my current comfort zone, then yes. But if you mean more along the lines of hard limits, where I never could and never would write the thing, then I feel like the answer is no.

If I haven't written a theme/pairing/kink, the reason is far more likely to be that I'm just not interested than that I am actively put off by it. And even if I'm not interested in it today, that doesn't mean I won't be interested in the future.

Part of the reason I feel this way is that a lot of the appeal of themes/kinks/whatever is in the execution. I can say that I like creaturefic — and I do — but it's certainly possible for someone to write it in a way that puts me off. Likewise, there may be things that generally don't attract me, except in the hands of certain writers.

But if the writer is me, then I'm guaranteed that the execution will be appealing to me and won't hit any surprise squicks. I can focus on only the parts that feel comfortable and create my ideal Fic About This Thing. My mind tends to be very elastic and creative about finding attractive facets of things that may feel forbidding or uncomfortable on the surface; it's not uncommon for me to initially think I'm not into something, but then when I explore it further, realize that now I am.

Is that a really overcomplicated answer to a simple question? Probably. :)

[diabolica.livejournal.com]

If you could go for a pint with any character in the HP universe, who would you choose? :)

[pauraque]

Neville springs to mind. He seems like such a kind, down-to-earth person who'd probably be a great friend.

[wootsauce.livejournal.com]

Been doing any Conlang stuff lately?

[pauraque]

Always! I just tend not post about it because I assume most people wouldn't be interested, and there's not always a lot to show that would be meaningful to someone who isn't super enthused about linguistics. _hannelore and I have been collaborating on a conworld + languages for the last few years, though (feel free to check out the wiki, which we just use so that we can easily access everything from everywhere and not lose track of unfinished projects).

And yourself?

[wootsauce.livejournal.com]

That's cool! I haven't at all since I graduated from college. I had a lot of ideas, but it was ways intertwined with my comics and I sort of lost interest in fictional storytelling, somehow. I miss that stuff but I haven't felt really inspired to do much with it.

[pauraque]

Well, if you ever get back into it, I'd always be willing to check out what you're working on. Conlanging tends to be an isolating hobby, and I've found it motivating to have another person as a sounding board. :)

[sdkshelly.livejournal.com]

What's your favorite HP pairing that you've never written?

[pauraque]

Oh jeez, that's hard to answer. Though I have written a lot of different pairings, there are still so many I haven't! Probably the biggest gap in my writing is nearly all the popular Snape slash pairings (Snape/Lupin, Snape/Harry, Snape/Draco, etc.), which were what initially brought me to the fandom, but I never ended up writing any of them myself, or at least not finishing anything. I also ship the hell out of Snape/Filch because of atdelphi's fics, but haven't written that one either.

[birdsofshore]

If you had to read/write one pairing for the rest of your fandom career, which would you pick?

[pauraque]

This question is so contrary to the way I do fandom that I can't answer it! Whatever pairing I picked, I know I would get bored with it soon, and if there were no other options, I'd have to quit fandom entirely. I just can't do an OTP.

[alisanne.livejournal.com]

If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

[pauraque]

I would like to be able to mute loud and annoying noises anywhere I go. Silencio! :)

[http://users.livejournal.com/_hannelore/]

Which Venture Brother do you think would be the best candidate for president?

[pauraque]

Hank would be the awesome cult-favorite also-ran who calls everything like it is, and you wish he could be elected but realistically he never will. Dean would be the one who actually wins, by compromising on everything and telling people what they want to hear, because running for President is serious and you can't just say things; you have to stay on message!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_hannelore/]

I'm totally writing this AU this winter.

[kellychambliss.livejournal.com]

What is one talent or ability or interest you have that you think would surprise your flist to learn about you?

[pauraque]

This was a tough one because I think I've given a relatively full picture of who I am and what I do from my posts. But it still might come as a surprise to some that although I don't belong to an organized denomination, I have some personal religious beliefs and I read the Torah and the Gospels on a regular basis.

Also, one of the genres of music I listen to and enjoy is hardcore rap, mostly from the 80s and 90s.

[melodyssister]

If you had to live in a country you've never lived in before, which would you choose, and why?

[pauraque]

Possibly France, since being immersed in the language would surely help my goal of learning it! And Parisian French is probably closest to the version that's taught in school, so I'd guess I would have the easiest time with it (as opposed to the French of some other nation).