~~ sudden snarky fandom post. wtf?
Jul. 26th, 2003 04:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
reenkathis is v. stupid but-- when people say "draco/harry" it kind of annoys me. HarryxDraco is okay, but draco/harry is not. heh. it sounds weird, doesn't it? what is draco doing there, in front of harry? what? what? hee. i think it's only used by people not in the fandom, so it's perfectly natural they say things differently, but. i think it's this sense that it's some weird, alien ship that comes over me. what is this "draco/harry" thing you keep mentioning? i think it's just... i've been in anime fandoms, lurking, like, a year ago, and this makes me think of dom!draco, who basically freaks me out, man. i don't know why he should. i think dom!draco is almost equivalent to fanon!draco, whoever -that- is. but if he's dom, he's smooth and classy and mysterious and suave, right. you can't have pathetic-dom!draco, though that would highly amuse me.
see, really, he should top from the bottom, but it's still funny to think of harry doing it ('cause obviously he would, in my little world). hee. "no, no, not THERE, malfoy, -THERE-!!" or "SHUT THE FUCK UP AND DO ME BEFORE I DO THE JOB MYSELF!! >:O"... it would be much better if draco was saying that. i am rather shallow about it, too.
i think it's partly that some of the self-important things people say who have no clue about the "mainstream" fandom bother me. like, there's this segment of the fandom which isn't "involved" but they kind of sit on the bleachers and comment snarkily about the goings on, feeling smug that they're not in the fray. i mean, it's okay to be snarky if you're including yourself in the put-downs, but. yah. that's not really related to the draco/harry thing, which is just me being silly, btw. i'm actually -in- the fandom and i know what goes on to some degree (at least, i'm not too confused), but i never say anything simply 'cause it doesn't tend to -involve- me.
it bothers me that people i would otherwise admire (because they seem good enough writers, mostly) feel they need to voice these things which are kind of beneath them since they are clueless. all the people saying that "they" (er... the hp lj fans) are childish and silly and need to grow up. that is human nature-- people are silly and need to grow up. we as lj hp slashers aren't any sillier than anyone else. what is this need to point fingers that people have? i can't even believe i'm typing this, but who cares, i'm not talking about anyone in particular and it's just something that i keep seeing. so many people -i- have respect for don't have much respect for others that they don't even know. what's up with that? if you -know- the person, then you're entitled to an opinion. even if you -don't-, you're entitled to an opinion-- opinions don't require entitlement. it's not that i'm disputing their right to be silly. it's just that it -is- silly, or wankworthy, and they're sitting there, wanking others.
am -i- putting myself above "them" by writing this? is this wanky? i have no clue. i'm not talking about "them", anyway. it's everyone-- everyone's wanky at one point or another, so why act smug? why is there this need for divisiveness? of course, i know why. there's simply the natural human tendency to form cliques, and the people left out of some clique tend to feel it's now fair game to be inconsiderate and "objectively" mocking. 'cause obviously, some people deserve to be mocked even if the ones mocking have no clue what they're mocking.
i do highly enjoy snark, often especially the heavily barbed snark, enjoy witty mockery, enjoy self-deprecation and not deferring to any supposed "higher powers" in fandom or elsewhere. but where's the -humor-? that's what's missing. people are genuinely seeming to get uppity and self-righteous. there's definitely this undercurrent of resentment, and why? if someone doesn't like a writer, for instance, why is that a rant-worthy subject? there are a few fics in the fandom i consider bad, having had rave reviews for no good reason. i do feel bitter than they have 450 reviews on ff.net and i have 2, but that's pure envy and i admit to that. this often comes from people who have fans in their own right. so what's up?
and even the writers i can't bear the writing of, i can see that it's -my- bias at work as much as their writing skills-- i heavily prefer certain characterizations of characters, i heavily prefer stylistically pretty writing over a more prosey style, i prefer whimsy and snark and angst and humor over earnestness and heavy-handed narration and sap. some people write earnest sap with smooth, delicate-creature-who-needs-a-hug!draco, and i hate it to bits and pieces, i really do, but that's -me- as much as them. if i don't like a characterization type, it'd take the heavy presence of something i -do- like-- snark and humor or smut, usually, to make me enjoy it. some people hate characterizations to the point where nothing else matters. that's okay. why do they then say it's all the writer's fault alone? and where does the resentment come in, the need to -rant-, the sense of righteousness?
this self-righteousness is, i think, more wanky than the honest emotional upheavals and possible over-sensitivity of the people they're wanking. i mean, where's the compassion here? where's the comraderie, the understanding that not everyone's writing is going to be created equal, and we're doing this 'cause we love the world & characters, we're all improving, we can all use constructive critique? no one is that good, good enough to feel superior, quite simply. none of you. none. of. you. and that's okay-- it's a well-known fact to those that know me at all that i extravagantly adore much your writing, so i say this with frantic admiration. some of us are brilliant, spectacularly talented, yes-- but we're none of us perfect, none of us at the top of our game, none as good as we can be, not consistently so. and this is good-- most of us aren't even over 25 yet. so naturally, this is hopefully a process of growth.
and i do feel sour that i don't get more than 15 reviews, ever, and this badly-spelled silly-fic gets 879 on ff.net-- but i understand. people want a certain type of fic, and i don't write it, and -they- do. that simple. how can someone resent a -writer- for being popular?? how can someone then hold these writers to some higher standard as if they -applied- for some sort of publically elected position and they need to deserve it, or something? why should it make these people feel so good that they're "above" all this? because they're -not-, frankly. no one's above being emotional and human and fallible. some people are just not involved, but who's really -better-? do -they- want to see how -they- act in the same situation? do they want to compare graciousness points and win or something? i mean, maybe they do, i don't know.
i don't say anything when it's within the fandom, but seeing this jeering from the utter fringes is just the last straw. there's definitely this sense that they can point and laugh because they're different, they're outside the fray and above it all and they won't get splashed no matter what. it's like we're in an arena of some sort-- look at the creatures snarl and bite and jump, aren't they funny?
and i don't mean fandom_wank at all, because they don't put themselves outside fandom (at least, in ideal, it's supposed to be kind of -self- wankery, isn't it?) mostly, it's the self-righteousness that makes me upset, the pretention like "i'm better than -these- people, grow up you plebes". that's not wanking or snark, that's complete pathetic blubbering about things you know none of the intricacies or dynamics of, like the dursleys ranting about magic.
i'm just sick of it, really. just because these people aren't -their- friends, shouldn't mean they aren't their -fellows-. we're all fellow fans, fellow livejournalers, fellow human beings if nothing else. and of course, being a fellow anything has never stopped anyone in any context, usually, but. they make me angry anyway, heh.
see, really, he should top from the bottom, but it's still funny to think of harry doing it ('cause obviously he would, in my little world). hee. "no, no, not THERE, malfoy, -THERE-!!" or "SHUT THE FUCK UP AND DO ME BEFORE I DO THE JOB MYSELF!! >:O"... it would be much better if draco was saying that. i am rather shallow about it, too.
i think it's partly that some of the self-important things people say who have no clue about the "mainstream" fandom bother me. like, there's this segment of the fandom which isn't "involved" but they kind of sit on the bleachers and comment snarkily about the goings on, feeling smug that they're not in the fray. i mean, it's okay to be snarky if you're including yourself in the put-downs, but. yah. that's not really related to the draco/harry thing, which is just me being silly, btw. i'm actually -in- the fandom and i know what goes on to some degree (at least, i'm not too confused), but i never say anything simply 'cause it doesn't tend to -involve- me.
it bothers me that people i would otherwise admire (because they seem good enough writers, mostly) feel they need to voice these things which are kind of beneath them since they are clueless. all the people saying that "they" (er... the hp lj fans) are childish and silly and need to grow up. that is human nature-- people are silly and need to grow up. we as lj hp slashers aren't any sillier than anyone else. what is this need to point fingers that people have? i can't even believe i'm typing this, but who cares, i'm not talking about anyone in particular and it's just something that i keep seeing. so many people -i- have respect for don't have much respect for others that they don't even know. what's up with that? if you -know- the person, then you're entitled to an opinion. even if you -don't-, you're entitled to an opinion-- opinions don't require entitlement. it's not that i'm disputing their right to be silly. it's just that it -is- silly, or wankworthy, and they're sitting there, wanking others.
am -i- putting myself above "them" by writing this? is this wanky? i have no clue. i'm not talking about "them", anyway. it's everyone-- everyone's wanky at one point or another, so why act smug? why is there this need for divisiveness? of course, i know why. there's simply the natural human tendency to form cliques, and the people left out of some clique tend to feel it's now fair game to be inconsiderate and "objectively" mocking. 'cause obviously, some people deserve to be mocked even if the ones mocking have no clue what they're mocking.
i do highly enjoy snark, often especially the heavily barbed snark, enjoy witty mockery, enjoy self-deprecation and not deferring to any supposed "higher powers" in fandom or elsewhere. but where's the -humor-? that's what's missing. people are genuinely seeming to get uppity and self-righteous. there's definitely this undercurrent of resentment, and why? if someone doesn't like a writer, for instance, why is that a rant-worthy subject? there are a few fics in the fandom i consider bad, having had rave reviews for no good reason. i do feel bitter than they have 450 reviews on ff.net and i have 2, but that's pure envy and i admit to that. this often comes from people who have fans in their own right. so what's up?
and even the writers i can't bear the writing of, i can see that it's -my- bias at work as much as their writing skills-- i heavily prefer certain characterizations of characters, i heavily prefer stylistically pretty writing over a more prosey style, i prefer whimsy and snark and angst and humor over earnestness and heavy-handed narration and sap. some people write earnest sap with smooth, delicate-creature-who-needs-a-hug!draco, and i hate it to bits and pieces, i really do, but that's -me- as much as them. if i don't like a characterization type, it'd take the heavy presence of something i -do- like-- snark and humor or smut, usually, to make me enjoy it. some people hate characterizations to the point where nothing else matters. that's okay. why do they then say it's all the writer's fault alone? and where does the resentment come in, the need to -rant-, the sense of righteousness?
this self-righteousness is, i think, more wanky than the honest emotional upheavals and possible over-sensitivity of the people they're wanking. i mean, where's the compassion here? where's the comraderie, the understanding that not everyone's writing is going to be created equal, and we're doing this 'cause we love the world & characters, we're all improving, we can all use constructive critique? no one is that good, good enough to feel superior, quite simply. none of you. none. of. you. and that's okay-- it's a well-known fact to those that know me at all that i extravagantly adore much your writing, so i say this with frantic admiration. some of us are brilliant, spectacularly talented, yes-- but we're none of us perfect, none of us at the top of our game, none as good as we can be, not consistently so. and this is good-- most of us aren't even over 25 yet. so naturally, this is hopefully a process of growth.
and i do feel sour that i don't get more than 15 reviews, ever, and this badly-spelled silly-fic gets 879 on ff.net-- but i understand. people want a certain type of fic, and i don't write it, and -they- do. that simple. how can someone resent a -writer- for being popular?? how can someone then hold these writers to some higher standard as if they -applied- for some sort of publically elected position and they need to deserve it, or something? why should it make these people feel so good that they're "above" all this? because they're -not-, frankly. no one's above being emotional and human and fallible. some people are just not involved, but who's really -better-? do -they- want to see how -they- act in the same situation? do they want to compare graciousness points and win or something? i mean, maybe they do, i don't know.
i don't say anything when it's within the fandom, but seeing this jeering from the utter fringes is just the last straw. there's definitely this sense that they can point and laugh because they're different, they're outside the fray and above it all and they won't get splashed no matter what. it's like we're in an arena of some sort-- look at the creatures snarl and bite and jump, aren't they funny?
and i don't mean fandom_wank at all, because they don't put themselves outside fandom (at least, in ideal, it's supposed to be kind of -self- wankery, isn't it?) mostly, it's the self-righteousness that makes me upset, the pretention like "i'm better than -these- people, grow up you plebes". that's not wanking or snark, that's complete pathetic blubbering about things you know none of the intricacies or dynamics of, like the dursleys ranting about magic.
i'm just sick of it, really. just because these people aren't -their- friends, shouldn't mean they aren't their -fellows-. we're all fellow fans, fellow livejournalers, fellow human beings if nothing else. and of course, being a fellow anything has never stopped anyone in any context, usually, but. they make me angry anyway, heh.
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no subject
Date: 2003-07-28 09:00 am (UTC)sometimes i feel weird, 'cause like, does everyone just want to wank? ha, but then, -i- wouldn't mind at -all- if like, all the fics (or most of them) had sex in them, so i can't talk >:D<
i'm a smut writer, kinda. hee.
the whole preference for that certain kind of story isn't just fanfic-- it's also published literature and movies. human nature, apparently.
but yes, i too get rather pissed-- and wonder if people -read- me, even. see, i don't -need- all the (usually stupid, one-liner-type) reviews as long as i know people -read- in the first place. i mean, for instance-- there are like, 100-some people on my friends list. say... 30% very rarely do anything but skim (assuming 10% doesn't read me at all), another 25-30% never read my fics and only read my non-fic entries. that's still 30% of my friends list who could comment on my fics 'cause they do read them, theoretically-- not a high percentage, is it? and these aren't random readers on ff.net, these are people who -want- to read my stuff 'cause they have me friended, i assume.
so that's... like 42 who could comment because they read and they like. only like, 4 do, mostly. that's less than 10%, man. heh.
this whole math thing was pointless, of course, but.
yah, i feel your pain, though not about the smuttiness. hee >:D