Ask the Motorhead

[SouthPawRacer]

Well, whaddya waiting for? It can be about my simracing, my forum name, favourite movies, stories, anything you want to know.

Ask away.

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

Where did you get the idea for your fanfic?

[SouthPawRacer]

I used to play a PC shooter called Primal Prey back when I was around 8 to 10 years old. Basically, it's about going back in time and hunting dinosaurs for cash sums. There were sets of missions to complete, and each one up the ladder paid more money, which meant you could buy new weapons and equipment. Among these were binoculars, a railgun, bait and even thermal vision goggles for use at night.
It was heaps of fun back in the day. You could hunt T Rex, Troodon, Utahraptor, Styracosaurus, Triceratops, Gastonia, Lambeosaurus and Quetzalcoatlus. Sometimes, Dinosaurs would attack each other or you would find half-eaten corpses, a sign that meat-eaters were around. It was so "realistic" and nerve-wracking that when I was watching my little brother play once, I actually screamed when a Troodon came running towards us out of nowhere. :blink:
Here's a really good video of what the game is like.
Here's a really good video of what the game is like.

Anyway, the idea of hunting dinosaurs stuck with me for a while, and it was only in June or so this year that the idea for an LBT story using this premise came to me. A few years before I was originally thinking of a story in which a guy saves the LBT characters from the KT event... of course, that whole story would hinge on a VERY STRICT technicality on the last line in LBT1, so it'd be rather hard.
So I reckoned In The Name of Science was a better way to construct an LBT fanfic. I got thinking about a scientific program involving hunting dinos and a hunter who hated his job, and it sprung from there.

And so, here I am.

[Cancerian Tiger]

This may sound silly, like asking an American the same question, but are Aussies in general typically profane?  I was overseas with a travel group last year, and there was an Aussie who was extremely profane the entire two weeks .  I guess it did not help the dude had an obvious drinkin' problem.  He was drunk pretty much the entire time (even maxed out his credit card on bar tabs :!).  So, are they pretty profane, or are they more like Americans, where it was just this one particular bloke involved ?

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

Why did you pick the username you did?

[Amaranthine]

How do you like being here on the GOF? ^^

[SouthPawRacer]

This may sound silly, like asking an American the same question, but are Aussies in general typically profane?  I was overseas with a travel group last year, and there was an Aussie who was extremely profane the entire two weeks .  I guess it did not help the dude had an obvious drinkin' problem.  He was drunk pretty much the entire time (even maxed out his credit card on bar tabs :!).  So, are they pretty profane, or are they more like Americans, where it was just this one particular bloke involved ?

CT, you have experienced what could be called a "Yobbo". Generally this term is used to refer to Australian men who drink heaps of beer, are mostly derogatory towards women, and/or are profane like you say.

We aren't all like that. Not at all. We're mostly down-to-earth, respectful, happy people to my knowledge. We are known to drop the occasional swear sometimes but for the most part we are nothing quite as bad as the man you described. It's idiots like that guy who give us a less-than-good image in the eyes of Yanks. Bad, bad example.

[SouthPawRacer]

Why did you pick the username you did?

SouthPaw comes from the fact that I'm left-handed. I lost the full use of my right hand due to damage in the brachial plexus area of my nervous system at birth. Basically I still can use my right hand (thanks to an operation I had when I was 6 months old) but it looks like a baby's hand compared to my leftie. The muscles are underdeveloped and weak because I've never used them. But that doesn't stop me... I can do some things with one hand that others can't do with two.

And Racer... well that's easy. I live and breathe motor racing. My online simracing and following of real life motorsport, plus contributing to the simracing community, takes up much of my free time. Wouldn't have it any other way, it's a life well spent in my opinion.

[SouthPawRacer]

How do you like being here on the GOF? ^^

It's quite good actually. I'm checking the site every day for updates, and it's fired up my LBT obsession that I used to have... I last had LBT in my head when I was 10, and I'm 15 now.

This site's one of the best I've been a part of, and I love it.

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

SouthPaw comes from the fact that I'm left-handed.

I'm left handed too! go us!  
(notice what hand the smilie is using)

[SouthPawRacer]

SouthPaw comes from the fact that I'm left-handed.

I'm left handed too! go us!  
(notice what hand the smilie is using)

 

[Serris]

This is a standard question: What got you interested in Twilight Valley? Do you have any suggestions/critiques for me?

[SouthPawRacer]

This is a standard question: What got you interested in Twilight Valley? Do you have any suggestions/critiques for me?

I got interested in Twilight Valley simply because of its premise. I mean, a Land Before Time war story... that's pretty cool. Anything that has LBT mixed with drama/action/sci-fi (take your pick), I'm interested in. Add to that the fact that the story has an excellent plot and is very well-written, and... well, I love it.

As a matter of fact, I do have some pointers that have been on my mind for a while. The only things I find out of place about the story are these:
-The characters of your creation seem barely introduced before they are involved in the plot as if they were a part of it all from the beginning. For example, only a couple of lines or so are dedicated to introducing the characters of Deimos, Raptix and Blue-Scale. Hate to say this, but I would have liked to have seen a description of their history, so that I knew why and how the three sharpteeth knew each other. I'm really sorry, but the first few chapters of the story are incredibly confusing to me... but the rest of it's very good.
-The alliances between the villains are also leaving me slightly flummoxed. Why are Ozzie, Strut, Rinkus and Sierra involved with Claw Valley and the hunt for the Stone of Cold Fire? And why do the former two hate each other's guts all of a sudden? There aren't very many explanations that I can see.
-Speaking of the Stone... I can't help but feel that the story has distanced itself from its original idea. The various sub-plots of the nightflower mission, Ducky's kidnapping and the mission to save her are all excellent, but for many chapters I haven't seen any references to Excidium or the Stone. Probably me not paying attention again, but some sub-plots appear have been left hanging without a resolution. I know that it'll eventually come back around, but it'd be great if, at some point in the future, you could include something to remind the readers why this war started in the first place.

That said, I still love this story. It's one of the most creative ideas I've ever read and I can't wait for new instalments. Keep writing buddy...

[Caustizer]

Southpaw makes some good points about Twilight Valley that I have missed as well. Can't wait for the next chapter of TV to be up.

Anyway I have another question for you Southpaw, what do you think of Far Away Home so far? Surprisingly,  the story is almost half done now.

[jedi472]

What was one of the first great fanfictions you read? And what is your favorite car?

[SouthPawRacer]

What was one of the first great fanfictions you read? And what is your favorite car?

One of the first great fanfictions? Hmmm... that's a hard one. I've been reading Fanfics since I was 10, and even then it had nothing to do with LBT. I guess the first Fanfic I read that I considered great was a Star Fox story. I can't remember the title, but I think it charted Fox and Falco's early days at the space flight academy. I really liked it.

Favourite car? Aw jeez... this is going to need even more thought. :blink: I might list my favourites in each category.
ROAD CARS:
-Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
-Lotus Seven (kinda like a race car that can be driven on the road)
-Aston Martin DB9
-Mazda RX-8
-BMW M3

RACE CARS:
-BMW Williams FW25, just for the sound of it.
-Audi R10 - it's a diesel, and it wins races, which is super cool.
-Any car that raced under the Supertouring Touring Car regulations in the 1990s. The '98 British Touring Car Championship was truly the best.
The '98 British Touring Car Championship was truly the best.
- Aston Martin DBR9: The sound is indescribable.
-McLaren MP4/4: Ayrton Senna won the 1988 world championship in this car, the most dominant F1 car of all time. If it weren't for Senna being taken out at the penultimate round in Monza, this car would have won all 16 races. This is the best vid I could find of it.

Hope that answers your questions...

[SouthPawRacer]

Anyway I have another question for you Southpaw, what do you think of Far Away Home so far? Surprisingly,  the story is almost half done now.

 

All I can say is this: Nothing short of a masterpiece.

The characterisation and storytelling is perfect, and the character of Sky is very interesting. The story itself is such that I really can't wait to see what happens next. I really do enjoy where the story's going, and how the characters will end up together again at the end.

[Caustizer]

Anyway I have another question for you Southpaw, what do you think of Far Away Home so far? Surprisingly,  the story is almost half done now.

 

All I can say is this: Nothing short of a masterpiece.

The characterisation and storytelling is perfect, and the character of Sky is very interesting. The story itself is such that I really can't wait to see what happens next. I really do enjoy where the story's going, and how the characters will end up together again at the end.

Thank you SPR I'm really flattered that you think that highly of my story.  If I may ask, who is your favourite character so far?

[SouthPawRacer]

Thank you SPR I'm really flattered that you think that highly of my story.  If I may ask, who is your favourite character so far?

To be honest, I don't really have a favourite. I tend to observe a story and go along with it rather than think of which characters are better than others; hence, for almost every story I read, I have no favourite characters. On the subject of Far Away Home, every character in the story (heroes and villains) has their own quirks and charms... yeah, even the bad guys. So you could say I like every one of them.

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

I was rereading http://z7.invisionfree.com/thegangoffive/i...?showtopic=7112]this thread[/URL], and I have to ask: is Jimmy Gibbs Jr. a real stock car racer? I can't find information on him anywhere online. you seemed like the kind of person who might know that [URL=