1. What is your name?
I'm gail!
I've always been pretty guarded about my personal info ever since the beginning. Anonymity means something to me, for a lot of reasons. It's not personal. Although I guess that's the point isn't it.
The man behind the gail force might or might not have written and published things on e2 under another name or names but will not confirm nor deny this speculation.
2. Tell us something about you, your background, and what you've been up to lately?
I write. I have a way with words, I feel like it's one of my only talents to which I have real bragging rights so I'm not bashful about it. My growth as a writer and as a person for having read and participated and known this community is immesurable. I truly feel like some of my greatest accomplishments live in this sacred space.
But let's not talk about lately.
3. How did you discover Everything, and how did you become a noder?
I remember the site coming up on a google search, but I don't remember what I was looking for or what I first stumbled upon. I do remember getting lost down the rabbit hole for a few hours. I remember reading Standing on my first day, pretty sure I came across Happy Birthday on my first day as well or certainly in the first week, and I knew instantly that I wanted this. I wanted to be part of this, to protect this, to invest in this somehow. And that maybe one day if I grew enough as a writer I would see myself as a worthy contributor.
That took a long long time for me to feel like I was worthy of this place. But I do feel like I belong here.
4. What are your favorite writeups -- both your own and from other noders?
I intend to take my time with this one, because I have many favorites. Let's start with other noders' WUs. What an utter embarrassment of riches. It almost feels wrong to pick specific things. I'd say in general that I give my C!s pretty consciously and scrupulously, you can scroll through what I've C!d to get a good impression of what styles and voices and noders I gravitate towards and what impresses me.
That said I will totally shout out some specific things. ^The two WUs I mentioned in the previous question are absolutely sacred. How did I get here, Sarah? speaks for itself. Pretty much everything in Hearts Found, Hearts Filled is great. 9PM is another amazing JP (Junkpile/Punkpile) piece and another one of the first WUs I ever read. It cut right through me 16 years ago and it still does to this day. For a boat of white bone, and we three is also incredible. There are a lot of toasterleavings WUs that I wish were still here (and plenty of other asamoth'd things too) but I'm glad that one was reposted at least. I had forgotten the bear's name is one hell of a node, the first 2 WUs are the best but there's quality throughout that one. I can't go without mentioning strip club (avalyn) and No Mercy too. And of course our resident decaversary curator J-P has some amazing pieces too, my favorite is The world breaks everyone.
I realize there's a pattern of gloomy profound sadness in those writeups and it's true those are what mean the most to me. But I like other things too. Jordan's Waterhammer is one of the greatest pieces of fiction I've ever read full stop. Pretty much everything Custo writes is golden as well. Zephyr is insanely talented and I wish I had the attention span to read more of her work than I admittedly have (like this), but if nothing else there's my favorite WU of her's Enter perfect couple which is hauntingly awesome. Whose teeth are those, Bill? is another slightly creepy and completely amazing one. Arthyr was such a one-of-a-kind voice, never seemed to get the love he deserved, and for my money In the beginning is fantastic, next-level writing. The woman with her legs apart is an unforgettable little piece of humanity and also deserves more love. And Brooklyn girls is one of the most Jane things that Jane never wrote. There are literally hundreds of other writeups that mean so much to me but one does have to stop somewhere.
As for my own work, well, the majority of my work is poetry or at least poetic. And there are some things that seem to be pretty popular like Firefly, Six short poems, and Hardest Thing to Learn that I'm definitely proud of and genuinely enjoy. But the ones that tend to mean the most to me (largely because of the circumstances around which they were written) are the ones on the slightly more obscure side. Coast Starlight, Devotion, Track 2, and Frailty all have vote reps close to 0 but I really like them. But some things just don't translate I guess. And I do understand that some things I write like terrarium and Blanket Myth and The FLO are dense and complex and probably very hard to read and understand. But I still think they're some of the best things I've ever made even if I'm one of the only people who's equipped to understand them. But I do see the flaws. Clear As is pretty a pretty difficult thing, smarmy, incredibly emotional and pretty hard to access. But it still means very very much to me. You can call them indulgent and I can call them great and that's fine.
Breaking Vices was my first "real" poem that I wrote specifically for E2 and I wore the influences on my sleeve but it was a big step. Dead in California was a watershed moment for me, both for my style/voice and for my confidence. 2013 in general is when I really picked up steam but that piece specifically is where I felt like I really started getting serious. As with others' WUs I tend to really enjoy the profoundly sad things in my own portfolio. For As Long As You've Known Me, Last Christmas Lights, and Pisces/AM are some of my favorite heart-wrenchers. Poem on the last page is a little less sad but I like that one too. The reckoning is kind of messed up but I think it's quite good. And there are some other things that I just simply like for what they are which incidentally start with the letter a: acrostic, Ashley, Après Coup, and After Schulz.
I do unconventional poetic stuff too. I play with space on the page and formatting a lot, because E2 is a place that really facilitates creativity and I take full advantage of that. I think Tall Thin Candle and What did you expect? are pretty cool and they're things which I feel like I couldn't create as effectively anywhere else but here. Perhaps there's some recency bias but Psych notes fits that description too of something that would only make sense on E2 and which I'm very proud of. And I know there's no real framework on this site to be able to appreciate something like Lamb of Shadows or any other erasure but I like it anyway.
And of course there's non poetic stuff. I haven't written much fiction here but between Witnesses, Impossible Germany, and my entry for the 2018 Prosenoder's Cup I feel like I've made some solid contributions to the fic on this site. My narrative nonfic tends to get kind of heavy but so does most everyone else's. Waste, Dreams Don't Care, and particularly Dog Days are not what you'd call light reading but I think they're quite good. I do write a few goofy things too, on occasion. Papa Bear, Baseball Jesus, and the one real joke I've ever noded are all good for a laugh. And yes, I do love music. I think Fetch the Bolt Cutters is objectively the best I've ever done, but Tails has such a warm place in my heart because it was the first time I wrote about music in the way that I really wanted to (thanks 18thCandidate above all) and The Rhythm of the Saints is special because it's the only C! JP ever gave me. Kind of one of those "I will never wash this hand again" moments.
One last thing, I don't even know how to categorize something like Indifferent but I think it's really important and very good. Okay that's it I promise. I am not sorry that took so long.
5. What are your favorite and least favorite memories from E2's history?
Well, thing is that the nodegel encapsulates so much of E2's history. It's really fun to go through and read things like writeups on noder meetups and E2 History and Lore to get a glimpse into the past. But at the end of the day, I joined the site in 2009. And while it certainly hasn't been dead since then, and I've certainly enjoyed many long rambling conversations in the catbox, I also think it's fair to say E2's social heyday is in the past. So a lot of my enjoyment is retrospective. I'll say in general for the E2 moments which I've experienced firsthand that quests are cool and that 504s are not cool and that asamothing is a fucking sin. I will never change my stance on that last one.
6. What keeps you coming back (or not coming back, as the case may be)?
It's the idea that it's never over. As a writer, I will always have something to give and I've really come to rely on this place as a creative outlet. And as a reader, well, I discover something new every time I look for it and many times that I don't. Even if I never looked at the new writeups there would always always always be something more in the nodegel to discover.
7. What do you hope for E2's future?
Just stay here. I don't care how much of a ghost town this becomes, let's just hang on to this sacred grove that's already grown over the course of over 25 years.
8. What does E2 mean to you?
It has become the core of my identity as a writer. It is both my canvas and my motivation. And it is one of my biggest secrets. Seriously, for better or for worse I do not tell anyone about this place. This goes back to anonymity, and more specifically how deeply personal so many of my writeups are and how entirely incapable I am of facing the rejection, or the indifference, or the judgment, or the misunderstanding, of anyone I might share this with. I'm a ferociously private person and I just can't do that level of vulnerability. Sorry not sorry.
9. Who are your favorite noders? Which ones do you miss the most?
Oh god. This one's been a long time coming. I already mentioned Iceowl's work but it was his fiction. It's his narrative nonfic that kills me, in the best way. haqiqat too, everybody here knows he's a beautiful person. And I won't stop talking about JessicaPierce because she's a goddamn legend. Also mentioned Igloowhite's work, he is quality over quantity personified. I'll re-mention Jet-Poop, he's everybody's encouraging big brother. etouffee's support and friendship as a poetic peer has meant the world to me. Girldoll you know I love you forever. raincomplex's writeups and nodeshells bring such an irreplaceable vitality to the place. And then there's this one guy. He probably doesn't even want to be mentioned. He's known as time thief and he might not be a legend around these parts yet but believe me when I tell you: that's one of the greats.
And yeah. /me misses grundoon and arthyr and Bitriot and JohnnyGoodyear and Aerobe and stand/alone/bitch and RedOmega and TheDeadGuy and Lucy-S and impishlaugh and Lometa and Evil Catullus and icicle and prole and Chras4 and The Debutante and moeyz.
and yes toasterleavings and yes JessicaPierce and yes, god yes I do dearly miss Dannye, the son of a bitch. Sorry if I forgot anyone.
10. Who would play you in the Everything2 movie?
A young-ish Vincent D'Onofrio. Not like Full Metal Jacket young but before all the gray hairs, maybe those earliest days of Law & Order or slightly before.
11. Please fill in the blank: "E2 is to the Internet as ___ is to the world."
Public Libraries. Answer seems unsatisfyingly obvious, but it's a dying breed, an underappreciated treasure trove hiding in plain sight.
12. Any questions that I didn't ask that I should've?
Scott! Don't you fucking think that I forgot about the questions you used to ask but don't anymore! I am a Pythonite as much as the next fellow and I will not be denied this!
What is your quest?
To delay the inevitable
What is your favorite color?
As a child it was orange, eventually changed to green. I definitely favor the greens that are more on the blue side than the yellow side. Teals and turquoises and the like.
What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?
I don't know ask Joe
Everything2 Decaversary Interviews
If you have questions or comments, please contact go ahead I'll listen or Jet-Poop.