This is me procrastinating - I started a DW account. Plus, snowpuppies is an awesome writer...
1) I started a DW account - basically because I wanted to read snowpuppies' fics, and now I'm wondering - me, two journals, and ADD-ish-ness. A potentially bad idea? (Especially given that I still have almost 200 replies from other people on my LJ that I still haven't responded to.) Is there any point in reposting the metas I've done here, as a lot of your with DW journals do? I guess I'll have to see what I can handle, brain-wise.
2) Speaking o snowpuppies', her short fics "Fractured" and "Innocence (The Remix)" are two of my favorite stories in this fandom. Pretty much everything she writes is awesome "Lilies" was one of the two inspirations for my own fic "Untitled (post-The Gift)", but those are my two favorites of her stories. Both AU stories spinning off from different points in the series - but totally plausible in context, thanks to VIVID and well-observed characterization. So much angst I can cut it with a knife, and disturbing imagery. And neither one is kind to Angel. (Which is probably not a problem with most of my flist. Just sayin'.)
"Fractured", AU from "Bargaining" reads almost like a horror movie at first (what if Buffy came back really wrong?) which is fitting, since the concept of Buffy was originally about playing with horror movie tropes. "Innocence" is exactly what it sounds like, a revisioning of the episode of the same name. It includes graphic sex and dubious consent - which I normally don't care for in fanfics - but this is not porn. It's disturbing and uncomfortable and traumatic for the characters and it's SUPPOSED to be. This isn't about the reader getting off on a character being humiliated, which is something that makes me extremely uncomfortable. There's no comfort to this hurt. Both function, in my head at least, as meta commentary on both the show and on fanfic tropes: Buffy as victim, the tendancy of the men in Buffy's life to try to control her because they "know what's best for her", the destructiveness of Buffy/Angel, as well as Buffy/Angelus.
And, "Fractured" is compassionate towards Angel without letting him off the hook for his flaws, his myopia; and I actually felt sorry for him - and for everyone who becomes a victim of his well-meaning intentions in this story. Quite the feat.
"Fractured", AU from "Bargaining" reads almost like a horror movie at first (what if Buffy came back really wrong?) which is fitting, since the concept of Buffy was originally about playing with horror movie tropes. "Innocence" is exactly what it sounds like, a revisioning of the episode of the same name. It includes graphic sex and dubious consent - which I normally don't care for in fanfics - but this is not porn. It's disturbing and uncomfortable and traumatic for the characters and it's SUPPOSED to be. This isn't about the reader getting off on a character being humiliated, which is something that makes me extremely uncomfortable. There's no comfort to this hurt. Both function, in my head at least, as meta commentary on both the show and on fanfic tropes: Buffy as victim, the tendancy of the men in Buffy's life to try to control her because they "know what's best for her", the destructiveness of Buffy/Angel, as well as Buffy/Angelus.
And, "Fractured" is compassionate towards Angel without letting him off the hook for his flaws, his myopia; and I actually felt sorry for him - and for everyone who becomes a victim of his well-meaning intentions in this story. Quite the feat.
I love compassionate ficwriters. I always hope to be compassionate myself, to write about Angel or Buffy or Spike properly without judging them or being too much on a single character's side. I like to explore Angel's ambiguities without portray him as "the big alpha man" or the "greatest leader of all". He's just a manpire with flaws and good stuff too.
Exactly. For me, even writing meta is a way to try to be more understanding of all the characters, even if I don't like the the character.
I like to explore Angel's ambiguities without portray him as "the big alpha man" or the "greatest leader of all". He's just a manpire with flaws and good stuff too.
*lol* A lot of my understanding of Angel as a character actually comes from reading fanfic.
I sometimes wonder if the comics aren't on some level, meant as a parody of fanfic tropes? The more I read fanfic, the more I "get" the comics - and not in a good way. Particularly when it comes to tropes regarding sex, romance and relationships. Which was something he did throughout the tv show, but in the comics it's became very ugly, like putting a thumb in the fans' eyes. (Yes, there will be meta on this - if I dare go there, and I'm not sure I should.)
Sadly enough, I think it is now that I've read a bit of fanfic. (That spacefrak? Isn't that just a variation on "Buffy and (whomever) save the world by having sex?" In this case, Buffy and Angel "Create a universe by having sex".) And so on. And some of those tropes are ones that I don't like myself - but mocking fans, mocking the people who made you rich is another story altogether.
I can agree with
Angel: "I was just thinking the same thing."
there are a lot of tropes in fanfic I dislike, such as over-romanticizing a relationship, or graphic sex, but I just walk away; those are someone's fantasies, and apparently very popular. But if you're going to critique those tropes, you can't do so I think without an understanding of why they are so popular. (And why are "female fantasies" less legitimate than "male fantasies" of being ubermensch comic book heros who reek of fascist imagery, and blowing stuff up?)
He was producer of S8 (and S9), he put his name to this stuff, so either he's responsible for it, or he isn't - which is it?
And there are so many anti-feminist (and anti-fandom) elements of the comics that I can't reconcile them with his stated philosophies.
Either a conscious parody of fanfic and comic book cliches, or an unconscious rehash of same, I'd say. I kept thinking the whole way through that this is exactly the same thing I did the first time I tried writing fanfic: I started off with a vague idea of where I wanted it to end up, no idea on how to get there, threw absolutely every cool thing I could think of in there whether it fit the story or not, and eventually just lost the plot completely and kept padding endlessly to avoid getting to the end that no longer fit the story I'd ended up telling.
Except I didn't actually put spacefrakking, One True Love snake gods and misogynist Hello Kitties in there, so yay me.
I feel sorry for shippers waiting for Joss to "make things right" and confirm that Buffy is going to end up with one vampire or another because that's not what he does, certainly not in the Buffyverse. I don't see that ever happening to anyone's satisfaction.
Because I can't believe the writers involved at DH are just that - amateurish? Surely not.
and eventually just lost the plot completely and kept padding endlessly to avoid getting to the end that no longer fit the story I'd ended up telling.
I did the same thing with a Moulin Rouge fanfic I was writing years ago. I filled up notebooks with this stupid "epic" when I could have been writing drabbles and ficlets because I was trying to fit everything that popped into my head into the "plot". Fiction really isn't my forte.
Except I didn't actually put spacefrakking, One True Love snake gods and misogynist Hello Kitties in there, so yay me.
For which we your readers are eternally grateful, O Wise and Merciful One!
I know comments don't get cross-posted, but do any photos in the posts?
Edited at 2012-12-10 07:52 pm (UTC)
1. On DW, go to the main home page (http://dreamwidth.org) while you are logged in.
2. Click on Organize, then on Import Content.
3. Select the journal you wish to import to.
4. Click Start Another Import.
5. Select the service to import from.
6. Enter the journal name and password you are importing from.
7. Click Continue
8. Select the things you want to import. Some things will automatically import other things (i.e. if you import comments, it will bring the entries with them. The importer is smart; it will not duplicate entries or comments you have imported previously.)
9. Click Continue.
10. Review your data, and click Start Import.
It takes anywhere from five minutes to a couple of days, depending on how many other people are trying to import at the same time.
It's not possible to do it the other way and import DW stuff into LJ so far as I know.
Edited at 2012-12-10 10:23 pm (UTC)
the only thing it didn't import was the icons (and in fact it changed my default icon there) but no big. Everything else is there. Such a relief to know it will do the work for me.
I've always wondered - if i got rid of an icon because I want to make room for something new (what with the 15 max), would the posts that originally had that icon be "iconless" or would the new default just take their place.
I think you're smart just to have one or two. For years I used to have just one on a Nicole Kidman forum I was part of, then I "got into" making and having new ones. It's like a disease. Or potato chips.
That way all friends can follow you in whatever forum they choose, but you only need post each thing once.
I believe there's also a way to re-import from LJ to DW later so that all comments on your journal can be gathered in one place. I haven't tried this yet: not sure what one need do in order to avoid double-importing.
and you should be able to set up crossposting options. :)
See, I'm still oriented to LJ, so I post there first and then realize "oops, it won't automatically cross-post as it would have if I'd started with DW." On the other hand, I haven't figured out how to add photos to the DW post I did today.
As if I need more complications, right?
Thanks for sharing all those fic recs - they look great and I can't wait to read them.
Gabrielle
*nods* I like your taste, ma'am.
Gabrielle