Twenty-Seven Grilled Bards and One Reviewer: hobbes

Interviews by Fans
Title:	Twenty-Seven Grilled Bards and One Reviewer: hobbes
Interviewer:
Interviewee:	hobbes
Date(s):	August 1, 1998
Medium:	online
Fandom(s):	Xena: Warrior Princess
External Links:	full interview is here, Archived version
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Twenty-Seven Grilled Bards and One Reviewer: hobbes is a 1998 Xena: Warrior Princess fan interview at Whoosh!.

Series

For others in this series, see Whoosh! Interview Series.

Some Excerpts

First of all, it would be better if I explained the appeal XWP holds for me. When I first began watching the series in the first season, it had been the action that caught my eye. Within a few episodes, it was the pure chemistry between Xena and Gabrielle that held me enthralled. Here were two women with nothing in common but found something in each other that filled the empty places inside. I lived for those tiny moments at the end of each episode that focused on them rather than what was happening during that show. The 'sensitive chats' they had. I felt cheated at their shortness and something inside snapped. If the show's writers wouldn't indulge my needs, I'd do it myself. That's why I began 'The Island'. It was to write a mushy little story and to get it out of my system. I had never written anything in my life before that and was surprised when people actually liked what I had written. I didn't realize at the time that other people felt the same way concerning X & G's relationship -- that their relationship touched all of us in some way.

In all honesty? I write to find a sense of self-worth. Writing is the only way I have found to leave my self-imposed walls and reach out to people. I went from a person with little self esteem to a more confident person because of feedback from readers. My feelings and ideals were no longer locked away, hiding in the darkness. No one can write a story without leaving themselves wide open and naked for the world to see. Much of Xena is a reflection of myself and in the act of writing, I let people see me as I am--both the good and the bad.

I had never written anything before writing Xena FF. I never had the urge to before then. I wasn't an aspiring writer in my youth. Only a few people in my life have even read my Xena FF. My fanfiction has gradually changed as I experimented. I was a little afraid to change my style in the beginning. I was afraid that readers wouldn't accept my messing with the original style, so I created another persona for writing. With the use of the new pseudonym, I was able to explore different techniques in relative safety without disappointing people. I've covered all three of the categories in existence now. General, Romantic Friendships, and mild Alternative stories.

The Romantic Friendship category was created by chemmy (chem 1) and I after we began talking about Sherrie's article for Whoosh!. It had touched something within both of us. Neither simple friendship or alternative fit our viewpoints for the show's main characters. The idea that two friends could be as intimate as lovers without ever wanting to cross that line made so much more sense to us. Romantic friends can be comfortable with displaying affections, snuggling on cold nights, bathing together, etc. They share their thoughts and feelings without fear and have a bond akin to the definition of 'soulmates'. Once we talked it out, we approached Linda and Kathy (LynKa) about creating this new category and they accepted the idea. Unfortunately, people still have trouble grasping the idea of a RF [Romantic Friendship] story. Because of the word 'romantic' they assume that it means this is some sort of pre-warm up for becoming lovers, which isn't the case in this new category. There isn't any subtext in RF -- just deeply felt love and devotion.