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Teeny weeny rant
May. 19th, 2009 10:49 amI'm sorry, but if you are labeling your fic as "Spirk", I ain't reading it. That's just... no. I can't go there. :-P
As seen on several places on my flist, it's apparently an arrestable offense to even be thinking about protesting the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. I won't bother to express my disgust at that, because I know I'm preaching to the choir here.
But there is something that's been bothering me today. You know what always annoys me about anti-abortion folk? They seem to think that being pro-choice means one supports having abortions at every possible opportunity. You know, for fun.
And so today I've heard these clips of delegates over and over, talking about how wonderful it is that Sarah Palin elected to have her 5th child, "even though" he had Down's Syndrome. And how wonderful it is that her 17-year-old pregnant teenage daughter will be having (and keeping) her baby. The clear implication in all of these comments is that these are the morally superior choices, and that only a "pro-life" person would make them. Clearly a godless, feminist liberal like me would choose to have an abortion under those circumstances.
And that utterly, completely misses the point of being pro-choice. Being pro-choice means recognizing that the only person who should make such a decision is the pregnant woman herself. It's none of my business what she chooses, and it's certainly not my place to judge her for her choice. I trust that women are capable of deciding for themselves under what circumstances to give birth to a baby.
Because let me tell you, pregnancy is not all sunshine and puppy dogs. Everybody knows that, but seriously -- being pregnant almost killed me. I mean that literally; I came very close to dying and am still here today by only a stroke of luck. That experience only reinforced my conviction that no woman should be forced to go through a pregnancy she doesn't want, even though the majority of cases turn out fine.
So yay for Sarah Palin and her baby. She made her choice, and I totally respect that. As an aside, initial tests during my pregnancy indicated my son had an increased chance of having DS, and I would not have terminated if it had been confirmed. But I recognize that others might make a different decision based on their life circumstances, and I respect that. Because I'm pro-choice.
And assuming she actually got to make her own choice and wasn't bullied into it because of her mother's political career, yay for Palin's pregnant teenage daughter. I'm sure she'll love that baby and not have any regrets.
But Ms. Palin, isn't it painfully clear to you now that abstinence-only sex "education" doesn't work? I'm just sayin'.
But there is something that's been bothering me today. You know what always annoys me about anti-abortion folk? They seem to think that being pro-choice means one supports having abortions at every possible opportunity. You know, for fun.
And so today I've heard these clips of delegates over and over, talking about how wonderful it is that Sarah Palin elected to have her 5th child, "even though" he had Down's Syndrome. And how wonderful it is that her 17-year-old pregnant teenage daughter will be having (and keeping) her baby. The clear implication in all of these comments is that these are the morally superior choices, and that only a "pro-life" person would make them. Clearly a godless, feminist liberal like me would choose to have an abortion under those circumstances.
And that utterly, completely misses the point of being pro-choice. Being pro-choice means recognizing that the only person who should make such a decision is the pregnant woman herself. It's none of my business what she chooses, and it's certainly not my place to judge her for her choice. I trust that women are capable of deciding for themselves under what circumstances to give birth to a baby.
Because let me tell you, pregnancy is not all sunshine and puppy dogs. Everybody knows that, but seriously -- being pregnant almost killed me. I mean that literally; I came very close to dying and am still here today by only a stroke of luck. That experience only reinforced my conviction that no woman should be forced to go through a pregnancy she doesn't want, even though the majority of cases turn out fine.
So yay for Sarah Palin and her baby. She made her choice, and I totally respect that. As an aside, initial tests during my pregnancy indicated my son had an increased chance of having DS, and I would not have terminated if it had been confirmed. But I recognize that others might make a different decision based on their life circumstances, and I respect that. Because I'm pro-choice.
And assuming she actually got to make her own choice and wasn't bullied into it because of her mother's political career, yay for Palin's pregnant teenage daughter. I'm sure she'll love that baby and not have any regrets.
But Ms. Palin, isn't it painfully clear to you now that abstinence-only sex "education" doesn't work? I'm just sayin'.
Okay, this has been coming for a while, and two posts I saw today have triggered this. I don't think these are unpopular fandom opinions, and I want to put them out there in order to tell people that they aren't alone.
( #1: What's with the anti-motherhood shit? [Spoilers] )
( #2: The first rule of fan fiction is that there are no rules. [No spoilers] )
Spoilers likely in comments.
( #1: What's with the anti-motherhood shit? [Spoilers] )
( #2: The first rule of fan fiction is that there are no rules. [No spoilers] )
Spoilers likely in comments.
I have a confession to make.
Mar. 28th, 2007 05:57 pmLast night, I did a little experiment. I made a post that contained some data about the differences between the British and American versions of the HP books, and intentionally said nothing about what I thought fanfic writers should take from that. I hit post, and then watched to see what would happen. I guess you can say I wasn't surprised by the response, though I will admit to being a little disappointed.
Commenters seemed to fall into a few different groups. One group looked at the information, said, "Interesting", and then engaged in discussion in (sometimes long) threads about why the books were different and debated the validity of making such changes. Those threads were interesting to follow, and though they got heated at times, for the most part people were making reasoned arguments and backing them up with evidence. Implications for writing fanfic came up in the process, of course.
( But there was another group of people whose comments frankly left me baffled. )
Commenters seemed to fall into a few different groups. One group looked at the information, said, "Interesting", and then engaged in discussion in (sometimes long) threads about why the books were different and debated the validity of making such changes. Those threads were interesting to follow, and though they got heated at times, for the most part people were making reasoned arguments and backing them up with evidence. Implications for writing fanfic came up in the process, of course.
( But there was another group of people whose comments frankly left me baffled. )
Picky much?
Jan. 27th, 2007 09:23 amI was looking through some posts on ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
fanficrants for sheer entertainment this morning, because it's kind of fun to see what people in multiple fandoms like to complain about. Much of it isn't dependent on the fandom at all, which is interesting. Some of it makes me want to roll my eyes, and then there are posts that make me go o_0.
A British reader read a fic by an American author, and thought the fic was wonderful in nearly every way -- it had great dialogue and characterization, was clearly well-researched, and was even Brit-picked. But then the entire reading experience was ruined for her by an instance of the word "gotten".
Requisite stuff: Yes, "gotten" is the correct past participle for the verb "to get" in standard American English. Yes, it disappeared from British English a long time ago, despite the fact that other past participles of the same form, like "forgotten", did not. (Though some Brits do claim to hear "gotten" used in conversation.) Yes, many speakers of non-American English think it sounds weird. And yes, it's something that the vast majority of Americans do not know is a difference, and why would they? Hell, I didn't know until a month ago that Brits don't say "silverware" or "foyer", and I've actually spent several years trying to make the language in my fics more British. This, even though I strongly disagree that a good HP fic has to sound like it was written by a Brit.
My point is not to bring up the whole language issue again, but the fact that the presence of a single word was enough to ruin an otherwise great fic for this particular reader. Don't get me wrong -- you can be as picky as you want about reading fic, and we all have our pet peeves. If I read more than a handful of euphemisms like "blond Slytherin" in a fic, it has to be a pretty intriguing story to keep me from hitting the back button. But I really can't imagine loving everything about a fic and then having it "ruined" for me by a couple of euphemisms. Of course, people who use euphemisms tend to have other writing issues as well, so it's kind of hard for me to imagine a fic where that would be the only thing that would bother me.
There's always going to be something, though. No one's writing style is going to please everyone, and that's okay. But one word? And it pissed her off so much she went over to that comm to rant about it? Fannish entitlement issues, I'm thinking.
fanficrants for sheer entertainment this morning, because it's kind of fun to see what people in multiple fandoms like to complain about. Much of it isn't dependent on the fandom at all, which is interesting. Some of it makes me want to roll my eyes, and then there are posts that make me go o_0. A British reader read a fic by an American author, and thought the fic was wonderful in nearly every way -- it had great dialogue and characterization, was clearly well-researched, and was even Brit-picked. But then the entire reading experience was ruined for her by an instance of the word "gotten".
Requisite stuff: Yes, "gotten" is the correct past participle for the verb "to get" in standard American English. Yes, it disappeared from British English a long time ago, despite the fact that other past participles of the same form, like "forgotten", did not. (Though some Brits do claim to hear "gotten" used in conversation.) Yes, many speakers of non-American English think it sounds weird. And yes, it's something that the vast majority of Americans do not know is a difference, and why would they? Hell, I didn't know until a month ago that Brits don't say "silverware" or "foyer", and I've actually spent several years trying to make the language in my fics more British. This, even though I strongly disagree that a good HP fic has to sound like it was written by a Brit.
My point is not to bring up the whole language issue again, but the fact that the presence of a single word was enough to ruin an otherwise great fic for this particular reader. Don't get me wrong -- you can be as picky as you want about reading fic, and we all have our pet peeves. If I read more than a handful of euphemisms like "blond Slytherin" in a fic, it has to be a pretty intriguing story to keep me from hitting the back button. But I really can't imagine loving everything about a fic and then having it "ruined" for me by a couple of euphemisms. Of course, people who use euphemisms tend to have other writing issues as well, so it's kind of hard for me to imagine a fic where that would be the only thing that would bother me.
There's always going to be something, though. No one's writing style is going to please everyone, and that's okay. But one word? And it pissed her off so much she went over to that comm to rant about it? Fannish entitlement issues, I'm thinking.
I'm crampy and I'm getting a cold. :-P
Dec. 30th, 2006 11:06 amThe number of holiday exchange fics that have been posted in the last month is truly staggering. Shit, the number of H/D fics alone is staggering. And how many of them have I read? Very few. I just haven't had time. Much of that was my own fault -- I ended up doing a heck of a lot of writing this month (I think every exchange fic I wrote was turned in late). And I haven't been able to get away from my relatives for any stretch of time to do anything more than that. *sigh*
My goal was to followmerry_smutmas, hd_holidays, harry_holidays, smutty_claus, and ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
snupin_santa. I am going to do my best to go through and read before the reveals, but I fear it may be impossible. I'll do my best!
Oh, and on a completely different topic: I do understand why some people might not put an email address on their UI page, but when they restrict comments to friends-only on top of that, it basically means that it's completely impossible for people they haven't friended to contact them. And why doesn't that LJusername@livejournal.com email address work anymore? I give up. :-P
My goal was to follow
merry_smutmas, hd_holidays, harry_holidays, smutty_claus, and snupin_santa. I am going to do my best to go through and read before the reveals, but I fear it may be impossible. I'll do my best!Oh, and on a completely different topic: I do understand why some people might not put an email address on their UI page, but when they restrict comments to friends-only on top of that, it basically means that it's completely impossible for people they haven't friended to contact them. And why doesn't that LJusername@livejournal.com email address work anymore? I give up. :-P
This is kinda funny, actually
Jul. 25th, 2006 08:13 pmYou know what makes me go 0_o about all of this slash-bashing (on a post that is now locked, apparently *coughs*)?
We're arguing about fictional characters. Who never existed. Who aren't, you know, real people. Who gives a fuck what someone who does not exist does or doesn't do in bed? My fantasies are my fantasies, and I don't have to justify them to anyone.
That said, people have the right to have opinions different than mine, and even, lo, to express them on their journals. But to bitch about how slash fic is OOC?
To quote Hermione, "Oh, well spotted!" Slap me with a fish and call me Elmo, because I would never have realized how horribly OOC my characters are without someone pointing that little detail out. You mean, they don't actually blow each other in the broom shed? My god, what have we done??? *eye roll*
Of course it's fucking OOC. I made Harry and Draco GAY, for fuck's sake. I have actually read the books, and I did indeed note the distinct lack of buttsex in them. I recognize that the characters are not now, and probably never will be, gay in canon. Or even bisexual. And do I give a shit? That would be a no, because I'm not in fandom to write stories that "flesh out canon". People can do that if they want, and more power to them, but me? I'm here for the slash, basically. I'm all about Teh Gay, as are most of the people reading this, I imagine.
And I really don't care what other people think, ya know? I'm a slasher. I don't freak out when my ship is sunk, or when one of my OTP is killed. I live in my own little slashy fandom world, and I like it that way. It's nicer here. And we have better icons. So there.
Note: You know, I've written quite a lot of het, so this shouldn't be interpreted as a het vs. slash thing at all. It's about me boggling at someone throwing what they think is an insult at the whole slash genre -- when its OOCness is something I actually embrace. Go figure. :-P
ETA:son_of_darkness even made a comic about it, hee!
We're arguing about fictional characters. Who never existed. Who aren't, you know, real people. Who gives a fuck what someone who does not exist does or doesn't do in bed? My fantasies are my fantasies, and I don't have to justify them to anyone.
That said, people have the right to have opinions different than mine, and even, lo, to express them on their journals. But to bitch about how slash fic is OOC?
To quote Hermione, "Oh, well spotted!" Slap me with a fish and call me Elmo, because I would never have realized how horribly OOC my characters are without someone pointing that little detail out. You mean, they don't actually blow each other in the broom shed? My god, what have we done??? *eye roll*
Of course it's fucking OOC. I made Harry and Draco GAY, for fuck's sake. I have actually read the books, and I did indeed note the distinct lack of buttsex in them. I recognize that the characters are not now, and probably never will be, gay in canon. Or even bisexual. And do I give a shit? That would be a no, because I'm not in fandom to write stories that "flesh out canon". People can do that if they want, and more power to them, but me? I'm here for the slash, basically. I'm all about Teh Gay, as are most of the people reading this, I imagine.
And I really don't care what other people think, ya know? I'm a slasher. I don't freak out when my ship is sunk, or when one of my OTP is killed. I live in my own little slashy fandom world, and I like it that way. It's nicer here. And we have better icons. So there.
Note: You know, I've written quite a lot of het, so this shouldn't be interpreted as a het vs. slash thing at all. It's about me boggling at someone throwing what they think is an insult at the whole slash genre -- when its OOCness is something I actually embrace. Go figure. :-P
ETA:
son_of_darkness even made a comic about it, hee!(no subject)
Apr. 11th, 2006 10:49 amDisclaimer: This has nothing to do with fandom. It's about something that drives me nuts about some people in RL, and while it's definitely based on recent events, it's not something any of y'all did.
( Why is it that some people don't know how to listen? )
( Why is it that some people don't know how to listen? )
