Oddments

[raven]

This entry is going to feature everything I want to talk about at the moment, regardless of relevance to a)the rest of the entry or b)anything else at all. Just so we've got that clear before I go on.

time_and_chips is the most irritating community ever posted in. Ever. Gah. But taraljc is writing me fic, which is never a bad thing. Yay.

In other news, the exam I had yesterday morning was Talk In Life And Literature. It's module five, and I think it went fine. I was being insomniac and sleepy when I went into the hall, and I was more than a little worried I'd sit there and not write anything, but I managed. The two Othello passages were easy to put into context, and I wrote about six sides on Shakespeare's subversion of spoken convention before my hand quite dropped off. The other question was much harder - the unseen texts were a doctor/patient transcript and an extract from Middlemarch - as it always is, and I went to some effort trying to pick out conveyed attitudes and values. But I wrote something, and finished in time.

The afternoon's exam was General Studies. I didn't even know which module it was (good thing I took my calculator, in retrospect), and on the science essay question I wrote two sides before I just... stopped. Forty-five minutes of sleeping on my desk later, I handed it in. I have failed it without a shadow of a doubt. Oh, well, as they say; it's not like it's important.

The next exams I have are on Tuesday - Biology module five (Ecology and the Environment, or that stuff we did while wading through manure in Rhyd-y-creuau), and English synoptic. I have my pre-release for that. If anyone else has the same pre-release (it's A2 English Language and Literature spec B), please do comment. We can have a mini-study group before Tuesday. I'm terribly sad but I like this paper, as it's challenging without being difficult and also the only past paper I have ever got full marks for.

Let's see, what else? I've been tagged for two memes:

dynamitebebe wanted to know five songs I'm listening to at the moment, so here we go:

Coldplay - Speed of Sound (it's lovely, and has a gorgeously psychedelic video)

Indigo Girls - Language and the Kiss (I initially didn't like it, but it's really grown on me for some reason)

John Barrowman & Kevin Kline - Night And Day (because)

Counting Crows - Anna Begins (it reminds me of Hannah and it's a lovely song anyway)

Placebo - Protege-Moi (the end of it gives me chills)

And someone else wanted to know five things I do to relax, which I will write about when I'm feeling more... well, relaxed. In the meantime, daegaer is propagating a meme where you talk about what fic you like, regardless of what everyone else says you should like. Which seems to be a meme worthy of propagation.

I like fic about complex relationships. Most of the time this means I like slash, because a het pairing explored by the canon loses its complexity very quickly, or at least its unexplored complexity. I am shamelessly in love with characters with issues (witness my six-year crush on Remus Lupin), and I like relationships with issues. Which is why I insist on inflicting Remus/Hermione on the general population, and also why I'm so impatient with the shippers trivialising Doctor/Rose. A brief digression - I like Doctor/Rose. I like that our beloved, war-damaged Time Lord is joyfully showing Rose the universe for the first time, and I like the way it's played, with the hand-holding, the assumptions made by the other characters, the lovely, indefinable sweetness of it all.

But to forget the context of the (probable) longest-running sci-fi show in history, the universe, the characters, the plots, all in favour of sappy, saccharine badfic - urgh. Spare me.

And I also like that the Doctor, who lost his world, takes Rose to see the demise of her world; he nearly lost her at the end of WW3, but shamelessly manipulated her to get her to come with him; he messed with Mickey, threw out Adam and was instantly jealous of Jack. He might love Rose, but he's so emotionally fucked-up he'll probably damage her until she's as far gone as he is. Why don't we get fic that deals with that, mmm?

And after that, it's amazing that I like gen too, but I do. Actually, I only wrote gen for my first couple of years in fandom. Not very good gen, but gen all the same.

Sigh. Bedtime. A whole new day of study leave tomorrow, whoo-yay.

Comments

[hathy-col.livejournal.com]

time_and_chips is the most irritating community ever posted in. Ever. Gah.

Don't say that, they will hunt you down and kill you. Seriously. I'd forgotten how scary the shippers are.

Out of morbid curiousity, what question for the science paper did you do? Smelly Boy In Front prevented me from sleeping, so I ended up writing out of boredom. Biodiversity. According to Clare, I actually got the definition right, as inclusion of Darwin was a good thing. Apparently ranting for a page about ethnic cleansing ("But could be claimed that homo sapiens destruction of the neanderthal was just as abhorrent a crime as, say, Hitler's holocaust or more recent distressing images in the Sudan?") was a bad thing. Huh.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

*g* They're like Sam/Jack shippers, only much scarier.

I wrote about analogue to digital progression, with a brief detour into why the Apple iPod is a cultural icon. I've never written such rubbish in my life.

Apparently ranting for a page about ethnic cleansing

Not a bad thing on principle, but I can't help but wonder how you linked it with biodiversity!

[casirafics.livejournal.com]

with a brief detour into why the Apple iPod is a cultural icon.

Short answer: Apple has a really, really good ad agency. *grin*

[taraljc.livejournal.com]

hey!

I ship!

I go to t&c!

I'm not scary!

um... much.

okay. mebbe a little.

I love some of the mods at t&c leik WHOA, and a number of the sane folks at the comm, and it is just about the only safe place in the fandom one can let one's Doctor/Rose leanings out without being clubbed to death like a baby seal by the Old Skool.

It's kinda the way I view FFN. Fantastic site that provides an amazing resource for people who have no ability to host their own websites or even FIND the tiny niche fandoms, but it has a rep for being nothing but badfic generating hacks. But part of the reason it has that rep is because good authors don't post there, and encourage other good authors not to post there, and there's little these new generation of fanfic authors read that isn't all more of the same out-of-character, hastily-written, catering to popular trends drek by BNF wanna-bees looking for insta!fame, so how will they ever learn? It's a vicious cycle... And more folks contribute to the problem than they do trying to solve it.

I see infant Nine/Rose fandom as very much right now being caught up in the "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" cycle. One person posts smut which is well received, which inspires others to write smut, which then turns into a cycle of everyone craving attention and praise all turning out nearly-identical smut vignettes. And as previously noted, this fandom is living at an accelerated pace. We've had a year's worth of fannish politics smushed into 13 weeks.

But I think in a few weeks, when things have died down a bit, we'll see more of a balance, in terms of both quality of fiction, and less rabid behaviour.

One would hope, in any case.

[hathy-col.livejournal.com]

Now, I should have done that question, what with a whole spiffy module on it last year in media. But oh no. I did biodiversity. Stabbing Randomly With A Pen Has Spoken!

Well. Um. I actually am unsure what biodiversity is. What with my lack of scientiftic ANYTHING. So I thought "Well, diversity of species in general!" One paragraph. "Diversity within types of species!" And another. "Diversity in a specific species!" And another. "Why it's a bad thing that species are dying out!" Paragraph with distinct overtones of the Lion King and Circle Of Life. "But it's a good thing!" Strange, Victorian paragraph where I morph into When H.G. Wells Met Darwin. "But what about the ethics as we are so FUCKING SUPERIOR?" Cue paragraph on ethnic cleansing, and because I was bored, Neanderthals.

I actually rather enjoy writing these little essays, all things considered. Good fun last year for the English one "Opera has large money and in the case of many sopranos, large breastplates." Culture one in January included some fairly randomised Oscar Wilde quotes. Seriously, these essays are made for me. Give me a topic and I won't stop talking for as long as needed.

[gwynnega]

time_and_chips is the most irritating community ever posted in. Ever. Gah.

I'm glad it's not just me. It is definitely a mixed bag, to say the least.

I like that our beloved, war-damaged Time Lord is joyfully showing Rose the universe for the first time, and I like the way it's played, with the hand-holding, the assumptions made by the other characters, the lovely, indefinable sweetness of it all.

Uh oh, I'm liable to start crying again...

But to forget the context of the (probable) longest-running sci-fi show in history, the universe, the characters, the plots, all in favour of sappy, saccharine badfic - urgh. Spare me.

::nods:: Granted, a lot of the new Whofic writers simply don't know any of the show's history (and unfortunately don't seem curious about finding out!). More and more I find that it's the fics that go to the trouble to include at least a little backstory are the ones that resonate the most strongly for me. (Meanwhile I'm thinking of writing a fic in which Rose meets the Fourth Doctor...)

[rosariotijeras.livejournal.com]

Protoge Moi is indeed beautiful. Some people don't like Speed of Sound because it's not as "epic" or "grand" as their previous singles but I think it's pretty brillant.

Those shippers sound scary if they are indeed like S/J-ers.

~milieus (yeah, new journal. again. drama, mmm)

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

I love some of the mods at t&c leik WHOA, and a number of the sane folks at the comm

See, there I agree with you. The mods and most of the people are lovely, and of course many of them are my own friends and adopted relations.

only safe place in the fandom one can let one's Doctor/Rose leanings

Also true. I would put my mod hat on and say new_who too, but then not many people have dared venture shippy leanings over there.

And as previously noted, this fandom is living at an accelerated pace. We've had a year's worth of fannish politics smushed into 13 weeks.

I like your way of putting it, and I do hope you're right about its potential to change. I suppose the real reason the community irritates me is that when someone posts unbetaed dreck, everyone else tells them how fab it is. And it's a nice fandom full of people willing to encourage newbies, so there oughtn't to be so much badfic around. If that makes sense, and I hope it does.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Icon love. *stares at it*

Speed of Sound reminds me of Clocks, in a way, and that was epic. Lovely stuff.

They haven't had as much time to hone their skills as the S/J-ers. Give 'em time. ;)

And I will re-add you now. :)

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Uh oh, I'm liable to start crying again...

Sorry! *ducks*

(Meanwhile I'm thinking of writing a fic in which Rose meets the Fourth Doctor...)

If you did this, I would love you forever. You know that, right?

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

But oh no. I did biodiversity.

So, you do media - and you did biodiversity. And I did a module called Ecology and the Environment - and I did iPods.

What is wrong with us?

Diversity in a specific species

Is actually variation, not diversity. *ducks*

When H.G. Wells Met Darwin

Theirlovetranscendsreligiousandethicalboundaries.

"Opera has large money and in the case of many sopranos, large breastplates."

*falls over* It ain't over till...

D'you know, you would be brilliant at Just A Minute. We have to play that next time we're all together.

[gwynnega]

If you did this, I would love you forever. You know that, right?

::beams:: :-)

[taraljc.livejournal.com]

See, there I agree with you. The mods and most of the people are lovely, and of course many of them are my own friends and adopted relations.

I think that there's a lot of distance between the rabid scary Nine/Rose 'shippers with Muses (I am forever in teh fannish doghosue for my unpopular opinion of "Muses"), and the "I love the level they have at canon, and I fancy [well-written, copy-edited] fic which maybe takes it up a notch..." end of the spectrum. But there's a LOT, alas, of reading something, and wanting to crawl into a hole at the idea of the whole lot being lumped in together and hiding whil holding up the "stop being on my side. you make my side look dumb" sign.

I think you always get that, tho. Wanting to disassociate yourself from the extreme end of your fandom, and being horrified to think that their actions end up reflecting on you, being all fans of the 'ship get painted with the same brush. But at the same time, it helps to find people with whom you DO enjoy discussing those aspects of fiction, and trying to focus on the positive instead of being consistantly depressed by the negative.

[daegaer.livejournal.com]

like that our beloved, war-damaged Time Lord is joyfully showing Rose the universe for the first time, and I like the way it's played, with the hand-holding, the assumptions made by the other characters, the lovely, indefinable sweetness of it all.

Mmmmm, yes. Two little kids in the big, wide universe. With Rose, the Doctor can forget he's 900 years old.

He might love Rose, but he's so emotionally fucked-up he'll probably damage her until she's as far gone as he is.

More yes. This is not something that can turn out well.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

I think that there's a lot of distance between the rabid scary Nine/Rose 'shippers with Muses (I am forever in teh fannish doghosue for my unpopular opinion of "Muses")

*scrambles into doghouse with you*

stop being on my side. you make my side look dumb" sign.

I think it's worse in this fandom because there's this element of it being us n00bs versus the old-school fans who've been in it for years.

I'll probably get up tomorrow and regret I posted this, but I've done it now. I don't want the entire ship painted with the same brush, but people do tend to do that. Bring on the copy-edited fic that takes it up a notch. :)

[gwynnega]

(I am forever in teh fannish doghosue for my unpopular opinion of "Muses")

Oh god, yes. The Muse becomes this catch-all to abdigate responsibility for what you write. The Muse Made Me Do It! (And then "the Muse deserted me" becomes this "dog ate my homework"-esque excuse for not finishing one's ficathon story...)

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

not finishing one's ficathon story

*makes incoherent noises of RAGE*

[taraljc.livejournal.com]

that's exactly why I cringe when people mention "muses." Because personifying the creative process in order to distance oneself from it--for the purpose of placing blame, no less--is high on my list of "How to be a complete wanker of the literary world." And this is not solely applied to fan fiction authors. I'll bitch-slap Laurel K Hamilton or Anne Rice just as quick, thanks.

Whether it's Lord fucking Byron doing it, or your local "I've been writing fanfic online since I was 11, when I first found out fanfic existed after being invented by X-Files authors" n00b, it will always always bother me.

I know someone people just use it as a turn of phrase. A way of romanticising the creative process. Or short-hand, even in a joking manner. And I know I actively piss people off when I make noise about how much I despise it. But I can't help it. It's insidious. Because it's a very subtle little thing no one much notices that diminishes the act of writing, and the author's responsibility for her work (or lack thereof).

And I know a lot of my friends sue it. And I know they get pissed off when I bitch and moan about it. But I can't help it. It bugs me. Always will, always has, and if and when I ever actually teach creative writing in the classroom, God help any clever child who tries to refer to a muse in my presence.

[taraljc.livejournal.com]

*pets you*

[gwynnega]

I ran a ficathon awhile back, and I can (unfortunately) relate...

[bekkypk.livejournal.com]

Time and chips scares me in the same way, although more then, some people on new_who do. But mostly because so much of it IS OMG DR AND ROSE TEH SEXX0R.

And I just don't see it that way :(
xx

[bekkypk.livejournal.com]

And I don't mean that against any of the mods cause i think you're ace, it's just the new_who doesn't really need an old school fan like me who will argue if something displeases her...
xx

[gwynnega]

It absolutely makes me cringe. (Then again, the whole notion of "oh, I can't write unless the mood strikes" also annoys me...)

[dynamitebebe.livejournal.com]

Noooooo not Time and Chips! The words 'grip', 'get' and 'a' always spring to mind when I dare venture there. They are so over the top. As I stated in my journal, if I had a membership to Journalfen, I'd fandom wank at least one of the posts there.

I must say about 60% of the fic is outstanding, but I'm sad to say, the other 40% would get a big fat F if it was submitted to the creative writing course I used to teach. They're just a generic fanfic and you could easily interchange the words 'Rose', Doctor' and Tardis' with 'Chakotay' 'Seven' and 'Voyager' with some of them.

Speaking of fandom wank, is there a good comm like that on El Jay? I'm considering setting up my own.

[that_mireille]

Seriously. I'm not even attempting to be a writer of original fiction, but... yes, I can write when I'm not in the mood to. It's possible that it's not as good (although that's actually debatable); it's certain that I rarely like it as well. It takes longer, and feels much more mechanical. But I can generally write when I'm not in the mood.

I've been in some moods in the past six months when I really could not write, but I was also so upset that I just was not functioning. If I can make myself do other stuff, I can make myself write.

[ancalemon.livejournal.com]

time_and_chips is the most irritating community ever posted in. Ever. Gah.

I find it less irritating than kotorfanmedia, where you cannot post fic that's rated over PG13 -- and the over-PG13 community that was created was only made to "throw people off the track" (direct quote from the LJ comm mod on the Yahoo Group) of the Top Seekrit Speshul Yahoo Group where the BNFs post all their smut and only smut. It's like mature, serious, dark fic doesn't exist in the fandom -- which is really sad given the potential for it in the games.

Not to mention everyone and their dog writes the same kinds of fic for Kotor/KFM -- much like T&C, really. XD

...but yeah, time_and_chips does make me antsy as of late. I shudder to think of what the comm will look like for the next week or so after Parting of the Ways airs.

[gwynnega]

See, I find that there are times when I am in the mood to write, and the writing is flowing, and I think I'm a genius, and then a day or two later I look at what I've written, and it's crap. And just as frequently, I can be completely recalcitrant but make myself write, and I think it's crap, and it turns out to be good...

[that_mireille]

Which is why I said it's debatable that mine's any better. Some of my stuff is good, and some of it's awful, and my mood really doesn't have anything to do with it. (I'm generally more fond of the stuff I wrote when I was in the mood to write, provided it isn't crap, but I think that's just that it's a more pleasant memory.)

[that_mireille]

Speaking of fandom wank, is there a good comm like that on El Jay?

F_W started on LJ, but got TOSed. Any attempt to restart it has been TOSed, to my knowledge, as have a lot of the syndicated feeds for F_W.

[taraljc.livejournal.com]

and if you couldn't write, you would say "I couldn't write a thing today" as opposed to "My muse abandonned me..." or "I can't hear my Muse!" etc.

This is why I love you, and want to knit you scarves and bake you cookies, and such.

(note: I can neither knit, nor bake. 'ware any offers of either from me)

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Mmm, I know what you mean. "Generic fanfic" is a phrase I shall use from now on.

Fandom_wank began on LJ, but got shut down by the PTB. It's a no-go area here now.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

It'll either implode or go dead. Maybe both at once. *boggles*

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

I do, sometimes. It's the single-minded obsession that gets me.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Definitely not. :) There is a suggestion of something sinister about it.

[that_mireille]

Oh, so what you really want is to poison me and make me dress funny. ;) *loves you madly*

[ancalemon.livejournal.com]

It'll be like Gallifrey-go-boom. XD

[bekkypk.livejournal.com]

I just don't enjoy that sort of though. I cringe and *facepalm* when something happens on screen that i KNOW will fuel the squeeing fangirls :(
xx

[hathy-col.livejournal.com]

Oh, shush. I stretched the term diveristy until it snapped. And as to why I chose that question - The Stabbing Pen Has Chosen. Works every time in a paper where I barely understood the questions, let alone the answers. So I write crap.

Yes, I would be fantastic at Just A Minute. When I am a witty and brilliant... um... whatever I do, certainly not housekeeper, then I shall be on that show.