Ray does a quiz!

[fay_e]

Long time ago, tenebris and himawari thought that they'd ask me some questions about life, the universe, everything. I only really got around to answering it recently because one of the questions required drawing.

So! Here's what I had to say.

Ten's questions

1) Congrats on getting into Cambridge! What was your previous degree in, and what are you going to be studying now?

Thank you! My previous degree was in Accounting, with a side of IT, which was why I dithered long and hard over what to take my masters in. Accounting is quite a specialised degree already, while Business Admin is broad based and means that I would be covering some things that I already know. I was almost inclined to bulk up my IT experience, since I do have an interest in it and actually almost became an IT auditor. =)

In the end, I opted to take a general Masters in Business Admin because I wanted to widen my scope, not narrow it. I am not entirely sure that Accounting is for me, but I am not entirely sure IT is for me either. Given the variety in my cohort, I'm hoping to learn more about other fields of business and see what the grass is like on the other side, plus brush up a bit of my marketing/communications experience.


2) How would you look as a magical girl in the PMMMverse? Describe and/or draw your PMMM magic girl form. Stick figures totally appropriate, but be sure to tell us the color of your gem, its placement and your weapon of choice.

Oh man, this would completely depend on what my wish would be. 13 year old me would wish for a) the ability to manipulate dreams, b) the ability to fly, c) the ability to forget things. Right now... I would settle for knowing how my life turns out (which would make me Oriko). I also told my friend immediately after the show that I would like to wish for the ability to read minds. I've always wanted to be a psychic.

But for the purpose of this question, let's have my wish be the ability to manipulate dreams. My magic girl costume would be wuxia inspired! With a bit of the Alichino design aesthetic. Also pants, because I was already sensible like that at that age. And heels. And slightly asymmetrical. It would look something like this

As for my Soul Gem, MAMI NOTWITHSTANDING I would most probably have my Soul Gem on my forehead when transformed. Because it's cool and it looks like an Indian bindi. It would either be a ruby or an amethyst, depending on my mood at the time I made my wish. But a gem in the same colour and shape would also be on my weapon. Oh yeah, that weapon would be the Chinese sword. Because I was already obsessed with it way back when I wanted Justice Bao's Chief Constanble to be my husbando.

I am not entirely sure what the shape will be - I half suspect it will be a heart shape, but that is soooooooo lame. So is the oval shape that I have in mind. Maybe it will be a teardrop shape, or a flame shape.

I would probably not wear my Soul Gem as a ring - dumb, but the grief I'd get into for wearing a ring at school would be even dumber. So it'll be tucked into my pocket or my bag.

I think that should be it? I'm still trying to figure out my transformation sequence, mwhahaha.


3) You are given a magical golden ticket to publishing your own book! Would it be: a chapbook of poetry; a book of short stories, or a novel? And why do you feel that form would be best for you.

Long ago I would have said a chapbook of poetry, but right now I'd choose a novel. That's because I don't just want to publish a single book, but I want to keep publishing beyond that. With a novel, I have more opportunities to write for a series, and see whether I can continue in the same world depending on the popularity of the first novel. You have less chances for those with poems and short stories, even though those are my strengths. Plus! In a novel you can write little poems and short stories for your characters to reference to. See: Lord of the Rings. =D


4) In the years I've known you, you've displayed a really interesting mix of modern thought and old-style "superstition". Do you ever think about it, or was that just how you were brought up and me asking about it seems totally weird.

I am actually completely aware of that divide! To avoid discussing too much about my background, let's just distill my upbringing into this concept: My parents thought that knowing more was better than knowing less.

This means while I was brought up, I was given multiple answers to my questions. The scientific explanation was compulsory, but a lot of times the religious/supernatural version also came into play. It also helped that I was brought up in a rather old neighbourhood where some neighbours would pray to Chinese deities on the 1st and 15th of the lunar month, and other neighbours went to church and stuff. So I would poke around and ask a lot about supersitions and rituals and what they were meant for.

Another aspect was that I was given leeway in what I wanted to believe in. So that meant that although I was given info about supersitions, I was not specifically forced to follow them, unless I really wanted to.

So right now my internal checklist goes something like this:

a) Does it involve vengeful spirits? If yes, better safe than sorry: follow superstition.

b) If no, is there a scientific explanation? If yes, follow science. If no, follow superstition.


5) Two years ago, you, me and Himawari met up in DC. And in some alternate universe, we all get to do it again this year. Where do we go and what do we do? (or we we going nowhere but the road....)

If we had infinite cash and resources, I would actually want to go on a cruise where we eventually end up in Hawaii or something. Because it's fun chillaxing with the ladies, and it'd be nice going on a cruise ship. FOR RESEARCH. And Hawaii is an awesome destination.

Unfortunately, I think cash might be an issue and although Ten and the Mari are awesome at driving, I would opt for a rail road trip through the US, Europe or Japan. There's just something fun about taking the railroad and ending up in another place from where you started from.


Others: 6) You've grown into an awesome beta over the years - persnickety and taxing when you need to be, but really good about working out things with writers. What do you feel are the key things to being a really good beta?

Funnily enough, I learned how to be a good beta from Merry, so THANK YOU MERRY. From watching her beta, I distilled these rules of my own:

a) React to the fic as if you were a reader.

When a fic comes to a beta, it's for one purpose: to be prepped for reading by an audience. So the most important thing about betaing is to gauge how a reader would engage the fic. What did you get from the story? Is there bits that you liked? Why did they work for you? Quotable quotes?

This is the stage where it's safe to indulge in the squee. As you should - what's the fun of betaing a story you didn't like?

Once you figured out how the story ticks, that's when you get to the next stage: as a reader, what felt out of place from your idea of the story? Were there bits you didn't like? Why didn't they work for you? Also, was there any particular turn of phrase that threw you out of the story?

That's half of the work done. Then you go to the next rule.

b) Remember: the story isn't yours.

I am a writer myself and I suspect half of the betas out there are the same way. Of course I/you have opinions about the way things should go. Thing is? They're opinions. And they don't really have a place in the fic written by Someone Else. If I wanted this to go entirely my way, I ought to be writing my own fic. And you as the beta can also do the same.

So what I would suggest is that you, the beta, point out things that didn't work for you as a reader, and then explain why. And then you need to understand that NOT EVERYTHING WILL BE ACCEPTED. I sometimes put in suggestions about how to reword things, but ultimately it ought to be left up to the oh, writer of the fic.

c) Readability is the most important

Also know as the "Grammar is the least of your problems, bub".

I'm not exactly a native speaker although English is my first language, and I'm entirely sympathetic to someone whose English may not be top notch. There's also the issue of "Do humans speak like that?" You could have the most perfect grammar, but it'll probably sound dumb unless you were writing fic where formality of language was highly emphasised.

Ultimately, the writing should be "conveying an idea to the reader". And that can only succeed if the writing is readable/relatable. Grammar is just another tool to bring the idea across; more important is the general choice of words.

and the last rule I have is

d) Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

This is a catch all phrase for most of the other things I do in beta. I am detailed because I want other people to be detailed when betaing my fic. I try to balance good and bad points because having a story entirely panned is a really lousy feeling. I point out good spring points for developments because frankly, I enjoy it.

Honestly? All those are personal preferences. They are my rules because that's what I want out of a beta. But not everyone betas that way. And that's cool too.

There is no one school of beta, but that's the way I roll. =)


7) If you could get a pet, what sort of pet would you get? (follow-up: if it could be any animal, mythological or real, what kind of pet would you get?)

IN THE REAL WORLD I still really want a cat ok. Cats are cute, even though dogs would love me more. Keeping a horse also really doesn't work in Singapore, even though I love them. So I would get a cat, preferably black or Siamese. (They just look really pretty, though I've been told Siamese are noisy.)

BUT SINCE YOU GAVE ME A MYTHOLOGICAL OPTION, I would like a WINGED UNICORN. Because a unicorn isn't ridiculous enough. Plus I like to fly. And it should be HUGE and ATTENTION GRABBING.

Otherwise I would go for a phoenix. Those are awesome too. No dragons, because I don't know how to keep them.


Mari's questions

1.) What series have you been most interested in reading or writing fanfic for lately, if any?

If I had to draw a pie chart of my time, reading fanfic would take up a tiny silver, writing about 5% and looking at pictures about 90% of the time.

Still, my interests in all three have been around the same. I'm still looking at Bleach, with a main course of Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Mouretsu Pirates, and a side of Homestuck, Korra and Avengers. In all though, I'm starting to find that the fanart is far outstripping the fanfic. Not sure whether that's a sign of the times, or just that drawings are easier to relate to than fic.

I've also been interested in crossovers of those series rather than on a standalone basis, which has made it a bit harder to read and write. =)


2.) If you had to survive a major disaster (earthquake, global pandemic, zombie appocalypse, take your pick) with one fictional character who would you choose and why?

Assuming that my purpose is to survive whatever the major disaster is, I would choose Homura. Her time stop would be very useful in making speedy escapes out of dangerous areas, and can be used for just about anything. Nothing can move during time stop unless she is touching it, and as long as whatever the threat is doesn't get a grip on her we should be good! Plus she is a magic girl, and should be able to survive more things than fragile old me.

In addition, she seems like the type of person who not only finds out about everything, but also makes contingency plans for whatever she's found. This would be really useful since I am an info junkie when it comes to this kind of things! Plus plans are always appreciated. And if I'm good, she might actually include plans where I can be useful.

However, if the purpose is to repopulate Earth after said disaster, I'm taking Captain America. After the super soldier, he should be able to withstand most infections, and beat up almost anything else. Plus there's the possibility of him running very fast to get us out of tight spots. Then, after the disaster is over I can appreciate the handsomeness of Steve Rogers =D


3.) Your big move to England is coming up, what are you most looking forward to while you're there?

Actually England is not entirely new to me, since I stayed there since I was a kid. So I am actually looking forward to seeing if my memories of England are overly fond or whether I do like the place that much. It's hard to explain what exactly I will be looking out for other than a general impression! I just want a place that is nice to live in both conditions and atmosphere wise, with good food and good company to share it with.

But what I am looking forward to is rambling in general - walking around Cambridge, walking around other places in England, walking around Europe. =) I just want to go for aimless long walks in new places (without getting lost) and soak up everything. As I said, atmosphere, food, company and modern amneties XDXDXD


4.) Contrariwise, what's the one thing you think you will miss most about Singapore?

I think I will miss the people. I won't be able to go home and see my parents, or go to work and see my colleagues, or meet up with my friends. But it's only a year, and I think I should be able to get over it quite quickly. I'll be able to see everyone again when I get back!

People are always what I miss most anyway. I never visit my old schools because I miss the people rather than the place more, and I can meet them outside of the school. And who knows, maybe I'll miss the people of Cambridge after hanging out with them for one year.


5.) What is one skill/thing you've never learned but wish you had?

Oh this is really tough! I actually consider myself really lucky when it comes to learning things - I've gotten pretty good at teaching myself through books, and I have a good library so I've never lacked for fulling my urge to learn things.

If there's one thing that I wish I could manage, it's the ability to learn languages. I'm good at figuring things out in foreign languages, but I've never been able to swallow vocabulary and grammar. Even my Chinese is getting really rusty from lack of use. So I wish I could pick up the knack for learning languages.