Crowded Upstairs

Ganked from settiai:

Five ways you know a story is by Lady Norbert:

1. It's almost certainly shippy. Only about 10% of my stories aren't.

2. At least one reader has been converted to supporting the ship in question. Shad/Ashei became well-liked by those who read If It's Dinsday, This Must Be Castle Town. Skinner/Elizabeth became ridiculously popular, which is interesting considering she's an OC.

3. If it's a period piece (which many of them are), you know I've spent an unhealthy amount of time researching things to make sure they're just the way they ought to be. And I probably take the time in a final chapter to make sure you're aware of my Google-fu, and provide citations where applicable.

4. I'm very particular about sensory imagery. I have a strong idea of color, texture, smell, taste, sound, etc. and I try to make sure the reader gets the same impression. I think description is probably my strongest suit in writing.

5. There's a very good chance that a character, probably the main character, has some kind of daddy issue. Flora in Knights and Knaves feels like her adoptive father Professor Layton doesn't really want her. Sabrina, the protagonist of my never-finished Lord Voldemort backstory Riddled With Hatred, had a combative relationship with her unloving male parent. And do we even need to mention Elizabeth Quatermain?

Comment on this post saying you want to do this. I will choose seven interests from your profile and you will explain what they mean and why you are interested in them. Post this along with your answers in your own journal so that others can play along.

Here's what mythc_writer picked for me:

Legend of Zelda -- My favorite video game franchise ever. It's been part of my life for more than 20 years.

Fanfiction -- It's on account of this that I am vaguely internet-famous. I've had fanfiction written about my fanfiction, which is weird enough in its own right.

Arthurian legend -- You have to respect a guy who still captures public imagination well over a thousand years after he may or may not have actually lived.

Link -- The hero of The Legend of Zelda, of course. My first love, as pathetic as that probably makes me.

Writing -- I can't draw to save my life and I lack either the skills or the necessary technology to do things like fan vids and indie films. Writing is necessary, therefore, as the only way I can possibly get all these wacky ideas out of my head. If I couldn't do that, I'd possibly explode from the strain of carrying multiple universes inside myself.

Video Games -- One of my earlieset escape mechanisms. Some of the happiest hours of my childhood were spent alone with my game systems.

Pretty Boys -- Does this even require an explanation? What's not to like about bishounen?

The Rules:
Reply to my post with "Resistance is Futile".
I will then comment with five questions.
Post to your journal with the answers and spread it like jam.

My questions come from sheikah:

1. What is your favorite thing about your job?

Much as I love Pastor Gary, surpassing even him is the feeling that I'm actually doing the sort of work for which I've been more or less preparing my whole life. Since I was a child there was a sense in the back of my mind that I was supposed to serve, but it took me a while to find my actual niche. (And now I can't get out...)

2. If you could have a conversation with any three people, living or dead, who would they be?

Jane Austen -- I'd love to get some insight.
Neil Gaiman -- just because I've always wanted to meet him.
And, no surprises here, my grandfather -- I want a couple of answers that only he could give me, and I really want to tell him I love him one more time.

3. What's your favorite book and why?

The Princess Bride will always hold a special place in my heart. For the last couple of years, though, it's really been Pride and Prejudice. The wit sparkles, and I find it very re-readable. I must have read it cover to cover some twenty times by now.

4. Where do you see yourself in five years?

Probably right where I am, although hopefully a bit wealthier and not looking five years older than I already do.

5. Of the characters I RP with you, who do you love best?

Evil question! You know I love all your characters. That said, I have very rapidly become excessively fond of your Daniel Jackson.

Comment here if you would like me to ask you 5 questions. Then repost in your journal.

_madam_mina_ inquired the following:

1) How did you meet your husband?

Ah, easy one to start. Kevin and I met in the long-ago year of 1996, which is when I first took a position as a data transcriber for the IRS. He had already been doing the job for two or three years. I was 19 then, and I walked in on my first night of work (we were night shift) and was told in what group I was to sit; they said the new people could take any of the empty chairs. We noobs lined up and basically just dropped into the next available seat as we went down the line, so I counted heads and then counted chairs to see where I was going to end up. The guy sitting next to what I knew would be my seat was, quite frankly, adorable. It took most of the next month or two to persuade him to talk to me; he used to look at me in such a way that I was convinced he thought I was crazy. Turned out that in reality, he thought I was pretty and he's just a very shy sort of person. Fun fact: the next tax season, when we came back and were officially a couple, I discovered that our coworkers had been shipping us -- apparently, whenever we were both out of the room, at least one person made the comment that "I wish they'd just go out and get it over with!"

2) What is your favorite story, legend, or bit of dialogue in "The Legend of Zelda" series?

Oh, wow, that's a hard one. I'll always have a very strong fondness for the original game, since it was my first game, but my favorite game of all time is still Link to the Past. I also have to say I love almost everything that comes out of Midna's mouth, and that Twilight Princess is exceedingly special to me. It's so hard to pick favorites when I just love the entire series, and have done for more than twenty years.

3) Who is your favorite Author?

Me I have four, and please don't ask me to narrow it farther than that! William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and J. K. Rowling.

4) What is your favorite book?

There are so many that I love so very much, it's hard to choose. So instead I'll offer my favorite by each of my favorite authors: from Shakespeare, Hamlet; from Austen, Pride and Prejudice; from Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles; and from Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

5) In your profile it says, "I pretend to be other people on a regular basis" - what do you mean by that?

It's got two chief meanings. One is my love of online roleplay; the other is being a wannabe fantasy writer. Less directly, it also references my love of video games.

So I signed up for that anon writing meme last night, as did a number of you. I received two comments which basically contradict each other, because one said that my relationships are very believable and perfectly paced while the other said that the women I write are offensive. I assume this means Elizabeth since she's the only woman I've ever really written, not to mention the comment's reference to an English rose. The only other character I've ever written who fits that description is Charlotte, and the number of people with whom I've shared more of Charlotte than her cameo in the last Elizabeth story is very limited.

I thought about responding, but it was anonymous and I doubt the commenter would ever see it anyway. But hey, why not respond here? ( Read more... )

Bold the things you have done. ( Is long. )

Ah, April Fool's Day. Interestingly, I am up to almost nothing this year. Maybe I've finally outgrown the event.

Nah. Not likely. Moving on.

It's not quite as delightful to me as last year's unbelievable prank by IGN, where they spent three months making a fake trailer for a Legend of Zelda movie that doesn't exist. However, this does tickle my fancy considerably. Konami has produced a trailer for a fake game in the Metal Gear Solid series, starring a very aged Col. Campbell. It's extremely well done, so if your connection is strong enough, you might want to check it out: http://www.konami.jp/kojima_pro/movie/april_fool/index_j.html

Of course, the big prank for me is the fact that Easter is a week and a half away. *cringe* I have so much to do and such a headache to do it with. Ostensibly, I will not be around tonight because of Bible study; however, if this headache doesn't clear off, I may be staying home.

To conclude, a meme ripped off of a few of you. I refuse to tag anyone, though; if you want to do it, feel free.

Rules: It's harder than it looks! Copy to your own note, erase my answers, enter yours, and randomly tag 10 people (including me). Use the first letter of your name to answer each of the following questions. They have to be real; nothing made up! If the person before you had the same first initial, you must use different answers. You cannot use any word twice and you can't use your name for the boy/girl name question.

1. What is your name: Laura
2. A boy's name: Lewis
3. A girl's name: Lisa
4. An occupation: lumberjack
5. A colour: light blue
6. Something you wear: locket
7. A food: limes
8. Something found in the bathroom: lotion
9. A name of a place: Lebanon
10. A reason for being late: low on gas
11. Something you shout: "LA LA LA I CAN'T HEAR YOU"
12. A movie title: Labyrinth
13. Something you drink: lemonade
14. A musical group: Los Lonely Boys
15. An animal: leopard
16. A street name: Lexington Avenue
17. A type of car: Lamborghini
18. Something scary: "Love Story" by Taylor Swift (I despise that song)
19. A four-letter word: love
20. Ice cream flavour: lemon meringue pie (yes, I'm serious, it's only available for part of the year but damn is it awesome)

morningstar4 did this, and I quite liked her approach to it, so I've decided to do it this way too.

Look at your LJ userpics list. If you have fewer than 50 icons, pick every fifth one. If you have between fifty and seventy-five icons, pick every seventh one. If you have over seventy-five icons, pick every tenth one. If you have fewer than ten, pick all of 'em. List them on your LJ and tell everyone exactly why you have it, why it's interesting to you, and what significance it has.

But like D, instead of going every tenth, I picked one icon out of every ten that I thought perhaps people might not understand. So here are my twelve icon explanations; if you'd like a different one explained, leave a comment and let me know which one has you curious. ( Oi! Down here! )

cattywample did that thing where you comment and she asks you five questions. So these are the ones she asked me.

1. Has anything ever happened to you that caused you to question your faith?

Not exactly. There have been a lot of things that made me look up at the sky and say, "What exactly are You doing?" But for some reason, there was never a time in my life when I had any doubt that Someone was listening to the question. As far back as I can remember, I've always felt that I had a very personal relationship with God.

2. Do you have any prejudices? (Ones that, no matter how irrational you feel they are, you still tend to hang onto them?)

I am ashamed to admit that the quality of someone's spelling/grammar will still make me question their intelligence. Also, if someone talks about how they enjoy getting drunk/high on a regular, recreational basis, I will be inclined to avoid them as much as possible.

3. Hitting rock bottom: what would that be like, for you?

I came as close to it as I ever hope to come after my grandfather died. I felt completely lost; my compass was gone and I had no sense of direction. I felt myself turn into someone I didn't know, and didn't want to know, and I had no idea how to get myself back. I'm still amazed that I had any friends left by the time it was over.

4. Picture your perfect living situation. What is your house like? What is in it? Who is in it? What kind of colors and textures would you like to have in it? Are there any things that people aren't allowed to do (as in, they are physically/mentally incapable of doing them) in your perfect place?

Well, I'm very attached to the house I'm in, although I'd love it to be larger. Add an extra room solely to use as a library and computer room. Kevin and our cats are there, of course. The bedroom is bigger, with elegant wallpaper and lots and lots of closet space. There's a jacuzzi tub in the bathroom. Lots of soft colors, blues and greens and browns, and gentle textures like velvet and silk and fleece; I'm a pretty tactile person. A fireplace, or at least one of those heaters that look like there's a fire in them. Two guest rooms instead of just one, with gender-neutral colors and excessively comfortable furnishings. A much bigger kitchen, with a pretty hardwood floor and an island and up-to-the-minute appliances, and the washing machine NOT in sight. All the plumbing works, meaning the pipes are wide enough that I don't have to constantly monitor the washer. A two-car garage at the end of the yard.

5. What is the most beautiful thing in the world to you?

My husband's smile.

Stolen from darkmark: