~~ wank.

[reenka]

I have a very strange confession to make. I just need to get it off my chest so I never have to writhe in silent nameless discomfort ever again. Yeah, right.

Squeeing, 100%-positive and yet not really -descriptive- rave recs/reviews of fics make me cringe. No, I lie. I hate them. I REALLY HATE THEM A LOT. RAAAAGE. (Ok, no.)
    EDIT - to clarify: by "review" I don't mean feedback, I mean it in the "movie review" sense.

Not only that, they make me violently dislike both the reviewer and the fic, even if I -adore- the fic in question. I have to really bite my lip and repeat to myself "I love this fic, I -love- this fic, remember I -love- this fic!" so that I don't just write an anti-rec right back detailing all the flaws I can possibly think of (there are always some! Jeez!). I realize this is easily seen as hypocritical, considering how excited I get over fics. Still, I could -swear- I've never given what I'd consider pat compliments: Oh, this is great, genius, wonderful, beautiful, amazing. I've never called anyone "extremely talented" or even talented. I've never raved about how worthy someone/something is of their popularity or thought any fic -should- be popular as a sign of its greatness. Of course, I'm sort of elitist and snobbish like that :>

I've never guarranteed anyone would have to like a fic. That just -really- pisses me off. How could anyone assume -any- piece of writing is soooo great, -everyone- has to love it? My god, what arrogance! Not only that, it just feels like advertising to me. I hate advertising, in case that isn't clear. I hate it with all the passion of a thousand burning hells. Nothing rubs me the wrong way like a rave review that could easily apply to -any- fic out of hundreds. Saying only nondescript, gushy things about a truly good, visceral piece of writing just... deadens it.

I actually can't stand reading most positive reviews, though I'm almost always highly entertained by negative ones (they're usually funny, at least). The words one uses in response should contain some tiny spark of inspiration, something that is reminiscent of the fic, otherwise the review is pointless because it doesn't actually -say- anything and all I get is "propaganda-propaganda-propaganda-propaganda". And as should be painfully obvious, I reallyreallyreallyreallyreally despise propaganda quite, quite a lot.

So I'm in this weird place where I'm semi-known for recs and reviews and yet I have very little respect for the practice of reccing & reviewing itself as is commonly practiced. In fact, 98% of all blurbs & mini-reviews and such annoy the living daylights out of me, especially if they're of fics I adore. First of all, if you act as if a fic is -perfect-, it takes away from its actual humanity, from its real worth. It's like, you're not using your brain, so why should I believe a word you say in response, and does that mean -I'm- not using my brain in loving it, too?

If I had time, I'd post a mini-list of all my favorite fics and say only critical things of them to show how much I love them. If one doesn't -think- or express one's feelings in any sort of creative manner, one is just a parrot, someone who likes the shiny thing without really being capable of seeing its true beauty. I think to an extent, the readers help define the fic-- that is to say, if brainless zombies like a fic, you wonder how good can it possibly be. On the other hand, if eloquent, thoughtful people like the fic, one feels the worth of the fic itself is thus elevated.

Because of this, I realized I have a creed-- a set of ethics as a reviewer:

    - Never use hyperbole-- say how it affects you in the most direct yet descriptive way possible; pretend you're talking to a skeptic if it helps. Said skeptic will laugh every time you use more than one adjective per sentence.
    - Never project your own response onto others-- confine yourself to detailing your own thoughts, leave others to form their own opinions; separate your kinks from those of others and keep it in mind when describing the merits of a fic.
    - Never push a fic onto others as if it's a drug-- separate your own excitement and your actual full response to the work.
    - Objectivity isn't just for dinner anymore: try it, it works! Don't do the writer or the work the disservice of pretending they've attained perfection: there is no need to be negative, but please refrain from overindulging in the "bestseller syndrome", where mass hysteria passes for literary worth. Treat the writer as "a writer", and the work as "a work", as best you can.

*wankwankwankwank*

Comments

[kerri]

Hm. *waves* Friended you awhile ago, but I don't know if I've ever actually posted here. ^_~ I'm Kerri, and I've found alot of your posts interesting.

You've hit on one of the things that I've noticed come up among some people I know who write - while they adore all their reviews, they adore the ones who pick out certain elements that they love even more. It's always *nice* to see/hear someone going "OMG Your fic is so brilliant! I don't know why anyone would dislike it, I'm sure all my friends will like it!" - but after a time that just isn't as special. I always wonder about huge fics like the Draco Trilogy or any number of others - do the authors ever get sick of seeing pure squeeage on their review board, and nothing else? I think they must, even if they appreciate the general intent. Compliments are nice, but so is knowing exactly *what* you did that was so brilliant - and even what *wasn't* so brilliant.

So when I'm reviwing - more on FA than on here, I'm sad to admit - I try to pick out what I particularily enjoyed, or what I thought should be changed. I've got comments on it too, from the authors - they've written to me and said that they appreciated the time I took to go through and say that.

So, in other words - I totally agree with you, I couldn't have said it better myself.

[bookshop.livejournal.com]

I am without question one of the 100% positive squee-filled reviewers, on occasion after occasion.

This is because I never ever have time to give critical thoughtful feedback anymore. I just *don't*. This is the same reason why it's rare for me to get involved in really at-length LJ debates; i just don't have the time to sit and compile and organize my thoughts into a clear argumentative framework. I like to state things once and then not come back to it. For me, reccing a fic is my way of saying to a writer that I really respect their work or what they did in this particular moment. If I don't have time to feedback your story, but I rec it, I consider it a fair trade-off, because even though I didn't leave you a review, maybe I'm sending you ten other people who will.

I console myself with the knowledge that out of twenty or thirty squee-only reviews/feedback that I give, I'll give one intelligent, substantive review. Eventually, if you're one of the people whose fics I like, whose writing I come back to again and again, you'll get one of the latter from me.

And of course, hypocritically, I crave thoughtful critique--even and always negative critique included--of my own writing.

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

ehehehe you've got to be like, the one person who takes up the 2% of the people who -don't- annoy me with it. ehehehe >:D
but the people on armchair are like... really driving me up the wall right now. *cringes*
i miss the good old days of the shalott month. hee. i mean, it's hard for the average fangirl to go, "OMG, SHALOTT! SHE R0XORZ MY S0X0RZ!!11!"... thank god ><;;
but then, i'm bitter ever since olympia's month and i think i was like, the only one who said anything ^^;

it's cool to have a life, you know. i really dig the idea. damn, this makes me sort of embarrassed now~:) mostly, i myself don't -mean- to go on and on, i just can't seem to help it. my mouth is left permanently in the "run-on" position, apparently ><;;

hehehe, also, It's Good To Be Queen, and i dig that too~:) i wish i had *cough*minions*cough* er... fans who'd help me out by reviewing for me >:D
and now i'm all pleased 'cause i think there -was- a time or two (maybe) that you've left me longish reviews :D :D

[justapresence.livejournal.com]

Mm. Respectively, I tend to think any review at all is a good thing. I mean, it can't be a bad thing, yes? When you're getting time as well as critism (on rare occasions, yes, if you're lucky)/ reviews, I tend to think of it as a good thing.

So, others tend to review differently from some others. They tend to say, 'oooh, I liked this soo much' and the like. At least you know that:
It was acceptable and some are reading it.

I used to review like that because I simply didn't have time. At least I reviewed, yes? I now know how to review, therefore my words and the like are different.

I can, of course, see from your POV about this and I, myself, love positive, Con Crit and lengthy paragraphs of reviews. Who wouldn't?

My 2 knuts <3.

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

Heh. Hi~:)
I -have- heard about writers liking in-depth feedback more than squeeage lots of times... though this resentment of seeing squeeage for -other- writers in recs/reviews seems less common, which is why it sort of embarrasses me. Like, it has nothing to do with me, really, and yet it pisses me off to the point of wanting to contradict it. Sometimes, anyway. Especially in recs, and especially if it's some sort of "listen-up-'cause-I-know-what-I'm-talking-about" rec.

wah. Dude, I need (another) hobby.
Er. I mean work... I should work... yeah, that's it....
*cringes*

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

hmm... I think we need to differentiate reviews and feedback.
Feedback can be a sentence or two of "OMG LOVE!!" and that's fine, people don't have time, it's okay.
A review is something you write for people -other- than the other to read and judge a fic based upon. A didn't say "rec" 'cause a rec could just be a link, whereas a review says something about a fic.

So this doesn't really have to do with the author. It has to do with people -pimping- the author to readers at large.
People squeeing -about- the author -to- the author doesn't piss me off, otherwise I'd be one pissed-off!reena rather a lot of the time -.-

heee~:)

[kerri]

Well, you're not entirely alone in that, either - I've felt kind of bitter a few times, myself, when I've read a chapter or a fic that *really* moved me or just contained so much emotion/plot, and then I see a review that goes "omg that was so good! write more" or something. Then I'm sort of like...couldn't you write *more* than that? Is there nothing else you could *say*?? And often I won't even know the author, so it's not personal at all. It's just me and my sense of...justness? I don't know.

And - I can see what you mean with recs, although I'm guilty of doing it myself. But it makes sense - if you're reccing something, shouldn't you sort of review it? Explain what's good about it, so that people go to read? I mean, there are alot of fics there, seeing a review that says "This is really good, go read!" isn't necessarily going to make me go unless I know more about the fic.

So you're not alone. Perhaps we both need a new hobby? Although I rather like it here. :P

[bookshop.livejournal.com]

Dude, I know I've left you long reviews, don't you remember that one time when I OHMIGOD QUICK LOOK OVER THERE!

:-"

haha, i'm still embarrassed and bitter about olympia's month. i'm still trying to come up with words to review olympia. :D dammit. i am in a constant state of embarrassment about Olympia's month (January, sigh).

but i'm seriously glad that my reviews don't annoy you--sometimes they annoy me because there's so much more i want to say but i know that i don't have time to really get into what i'm thinking and feeling, and if i try to dash off a critique it'll end up feeling fake, whereas i can always dash off a gleeful squee, because with me those are never fake.

and, er, well, eep. i didn't mean to imply that i was trying to say that, oh dear. what i mean is that, i don't rec everything i read--and i don't rec everything that i review. but more often than not i won't review what i rec, if that makes sense. i'll just read it and put it in the fic rec list and then usually wind up giving some kind of mini-review when i rec it. it's not that i consider myself to be sending hordes of fangirls out to read the fics i rec--i didn't mean that at all.

I just mean that there are people whose fic recs i will always bookmark just because i know that they have good taste--and since i aspire to be one of those people who generally only recs decent fics (though personal loyalties occasionally lead me to rec fics that i wouldn't otherwise rec with the rest *looks guilty*), I consider reccing a fic to be the highest mark of my opinion of it, and I figure if I rec your fic I'm not necessarily obligated to review it.

Wah,now I think i am making even less sense than before. *piddles about making messes*

[spare-change.livejournal.com]

Aja, I agree that it is way too much time to write a thoughtful review of every fic you read. And so I too often substitute a rec for a longer review, although I usually do try to let folks know when I've especially liked something they've written.

But it's important to me, with any fic I take halfway seriously, to always point out at least one thing I think can be improved. Because, like Reenka, I tend to read reviews that are 100% positive as pretty meaningless, whether reading or receiving them. I need to let the author know both what worked for me and what didn't, so that she can weigh both of them in deciding whether or not my fb is going to be something that is going to be useful for her.

Similarly, when reccing, I try to be pretty clear in distinguishing between the fics I love because Lucius is fucking Harry up the butt nonconsensually (YAY!), and the fics I love because I think they're beautifully conceived, narrated, and constructed. Even if I don't say more than that, I try to make that distinction clear ... between the fun trash fics we all love and the ones that demand respect and leave you reeling for days afterwards. It's only fair, I think, to let the folks who might read something 'cos I recced it know what they're in for.

So I have to say that I spent a pretty miserable evening downloading onto my PDA all those fics you recced in your last big H/D rec update. Almost every single one of them sucked to the point of absolute unreadability. (I won't say EVERY one of them, but nearly all of them.) And I'm not saying this to be gratuitiously bitchy, either ... I wouldn't have said this at all if not in the context of the current discussion. It would've been cool if you could've given us a heads-up about which ones made you squee because they satisfied a particular kink (and there's nothing wrong with that), and which ones you genuinely thought were good stories. Because I'm always looking for new fics to read and have been on a massive H/D kick lately anyway, and so slogging through one abysmal fic after another last week was NO FUN AT ALL. The fact that you didn't give us enough information to figure out whether these fics would appeal to anyone save the most rabid H/D shipper ended up wasting a lot of my reading time, which means that unfortunately I probably won't have the patience to give a chance to any of the next batch of authors you rec.

Which may not be such a big disservice to ME, but certainly is a disservice to THESE AUTHORS, to lose a potential readership by being lumped in with such tripe as All Bets Are Off and that ilk. So I do suggest to you making a distinction between fun fics and quality fics in your next update, or at least providing enough commentary/criticism for us to be able to figure out which category the fics fall into ourselves.

Please, Aja. Every time you tell us to read a bad FA fic, God kills a kitten.

[bookshop.livejournal.com]

It has to do with people -pimping- the author to readers at large.

so are you talking specifically about fic reccing? you're saying you'd rather not see a squeeing "everybody go read this!" on your friends list?

It seems to me that leaves either a blatant no-comments attached list of fic recs ("things to read: 1) 2) 3), etc") or detailed critiques along with fic recs.

i only *wish* that i could say what i really felt about many of the fics i rec. but it seems to me that a fic *rec* is not the time to give constructive criticism to the author--the time to do that is in a review--preferably a private review so nobody can attack you for it except the author.

but then, i'm really paranoid about giving honest constructive feedback that is in any way negative.

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

well, this is tricky... buuut... i feel one can rec things without sounding brain-dead, yes :D :D

mostly... there's this twilight land between rec and review where people post a link and some blurb of why this is the best thing since sliced bread... which also applies to the reviews left to the author, but annoys me more in reccing. i don't think constructive critique is needed, really, just a few words that are... well... more descriptive than hyperbolic, you know what i mean?

like, it'd make me happy to see, "this is great -because-" rather than "this is brilliant, omg, beautiful, perfect, genius hotness and joy". like, instead of saying (about you)-- read aja! her fics are so romantic and beautiful and hot and awesome and omg, h/d 4evah!!... you could say...

read aja-- her fics are deeply felt, emotionally focused, psychologically intense and personal. sweet and times and bitter at others, her writing spans the range of human emotion and leaves me breathless and heartbroken and transformed in ways i never expect even after numerous readings.

or something. blah~:)
something shorter. but that's about the length of most of those things, though.
i hate the -patness-, the cookie-cutter blandness, the mindless squeeing of it, more than the lack of critique, you know? since i know -i- don't con-crit all the time by any means~:)

and again, i'm not really talking about on-one-one feedback to the author, anyway.
though i hope you do know that i, at least, live and breathe for as much pain as anyone wants to throw at me ;)

[bookshop.livejournal.com]

I totally understand what you're saying and in part I agree with your pov. Let me just say in my defense that it took hours to make that fic post. Some of those fics I had been keeping in my to-rec list since MAY; i had to track some of them down because they were 404's; some of them i had to read and go 'what the fuck was i thinking?' plus all the CODING. it was MISERY-INDUCING. by the time i was through you're lucky you got any description at ALL out of me.

Also, I tend to feel that if I love a fic--and I just love All Bets Are Off, and I don't think the writing is half bad--then I shouldn't really have to explain *why* I love it. At the same token there are often things that I want to rec with strong reservations, but I don't feel comfortable saying what I *don't* like about a fic in public. I really really don't. This is in part, as I think I've said before, because I get paid money to write negative reviews about things, and I can be incredibly scathing when I want to be, at least in terms of describing what I don't like about something. I don't necessarily want to indulge negative critiques when I'm reccing things because, well, it's really hard knowing that my opinions carry weight and that I can hurt feelings even when I'm trying to be sincerely helpful.

Really, I'm still just wary because of an *extremely* negative experience betaing for somebody who I really respected as a person but whose writing I had (and still have) serious issues with, many moons ago. Ever since then I just have not wanted to go into details saying what I like and don't like. There's one author among my friends list who I've been trying to get up the courage to send an email to in order to give what I think is some much-needed critique for MONTHS and I just can't bring myself to do it. I always come back to the whole 'why upset them when you could just suck it up and enjoy the parts of their writing you *do* like?' Of course the downside of that is that I am enjoying their writing less and less these days.

I do sincerely apologize for all the discomfort you suffered through, S. I rec fics primarily for the general H/D audience and then I'll throw in fics along with them that everyone will like and not explain what the difference is or what my thought process is. So I know that's a problem.

But goddammit! all that CODE! No promises, okay? NO BLOODY PROMISES!

on a completely tangentially-related note, ihopeyoulikemyficformaya.

[bookshop.livejournal.com]

dammit, what happened to the part where i apologized for killing all the kittens?

stupid LJ. *sulks*

idea!

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

you could always rec things under different headings:

like, "for general h/d audience" and "fics for a rainy afternoon" and "guilty pleasures" and "talent to follow" and "omg, this is the SHIZNIT!!1 >:O" etc :D
or just give 'em (honest) star-ratings ;) ahahahah. ahahah, so lame~:)

also, i'm totally guilting about now having read your fic yet, even though i'm all, "DUDE, HAVE TO DO BETA BEFORE READING FIC" and here i am commenting/posting instead :/

*smacks self*

[bookshop.livejournal.com]

wah. okay. so next time, to make you and S happy, i will rid my recs of hyperboles. *grimly faces task ahead of her*

really, what this boils down to is that i just don't like having to *think* about my recs, hahaha. i would rather read it, go 'oh my god this is good!', put it in the bookmark file, and then compile the list later and be done with it, then to have to revisit why i think a fic is a good one. just because i am lazy, and, like, for me, putting time and effort into my reviews results in a 20-page review of a DV chapter, and putting time and effort into my recs results in a Niffler-quality post that I rarely if ever give anymore. So, it's ultimately, I guess, that I see you're right, and I know that's a flaw in my own way of reccing and describing things, but it's not one that I'm really willing to change, because I'm not necessarily dissatisfied with it.

I guess what I mean is--obviously you and S both know that I'm capable of writing coherent and well-thought-out and constructed reviews or we all wouldn't be having this conversation. So why, if you know it, should I have to do it for every single fic that I like? Can't I just say, "I like this fic" and have that be enough? I know, logically, why it's not practical, of course--witness S having to wade through all the treacle of H/D forevah-evah! fics that make me smile and make her groan. I was just going to say "I could always just make different categories of fics" but I see you have just beaten me to the punch; and I can certainly do that. I just feel like investing even more energy than I already do into reading and organizing all those fics will make me dread doing it rather than enjoy it.

*is lazy bum*

Re: idea!

[bookshop.livejournal.com]

Well, and also, how hypocritical am I for sitting here going "WAHIDONTWANNALEAVECRITICALREVIEWSDONTMAKEMEDOITWAAAAH" while also going, 'hurrah, reena is online, soon she will read my fic and leave me a long glorious beautiful review that will make me insanely happy like always, hurray!!!!"

:D

i suppose that i could and shall try these headings of which you speak in the future. i shall NOT be doing 'star' ratings. i detest stars. also, if you're going to give a fic less than 3 stars you might as well not rec it at all, hahaha. :D *is not helping*

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

well, to start off with, i'm much more irritated with whoever it was who recced cinnamon on armchair and it's -that- style of reviewing (and others on lj whom i won't name *cringes*) that really pisses me off enough to use caps which i just deleted :D :D

i mean... there should be a difference between "good" and "great" and "brilliant". it would be nice. otherwise you equate everyone who's merely "not bad" or even "really good" like cinnamon with like... silvia & maya & cassie & olympia & so on. y'know? yeah -.-

as far as -your- recs... i totally dig that, 'cause i'm as lazy and probably moreso. laziness, i understand :D
you do have a pretty high tolerance for... you know... sap in the service of H/D (*laughs*) which i also understand.... but i do know that some people don't trust your recs as much even though they know you can objectively see fics -and- h/d in general. i myself am a sucker for a lot of cutesy h/d (and i -think- s. is too, kinda, eheheh), but even i wouldn't really go for some of them.
so yeah, maybe label them.... but still, i didn't mean this to be a "OMG AJA'S RECS PISS ME OFF" post, ahahah. 'cause they don't. i mean, -dude- i read random favorites lists in ff.net profiles. *shudders*
i read h/d badfic that makes my hair straight and i don't -close the window-!
in the last fic i read, DRACO GAVE HARRY A THONG BECAUSE HARRY LOST A BET TO WIN AT QUIDDITCH!!1 >:O

hehehe i can't talk, obviously >:D

Re: idea!

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

*meebles*
erk. i meant to say "not" instead of "now", but... er... sigh, it's already past 1am, so i probably don't have enough concentration for the beta. *smacks self again*
so like.. there are several fics i meant to read (well, you & thess & layha & rhoddlet as far as i remember) ...but then, i'll just read yours now instead, though shhhhh don't tell :D :D

[bookshop.livejournal.com]

there should be a difference between "good" and "great" and "brilliant".

The only thing is, one man's "good" is another man's "brilliant"--even among people who know all about good writing. Eventually even with categorical recs there will still be a line where I rec something in one place and everyone will go, "my god this fic sucks what is it doing here?" or alternately "this fic is brilliant!"

and, also, if you get into things like "read this only if you're into H/D sap" you're *bound* to offend somebody who doesn't think their work is Sap, dammit! *eyeroll*

The thing is, I never tried to condense my recs just for one audience. It's rare that I read outside of H/D, and what I do read outside of H/D I nearly always like because it was recced or written by people I trust. So within that spectrum, it's going to be difficult to know what *kind* of H/D fans I'm working with. And, really-- people already think I'm snobby and egotistical as it is. IF, just IF, I were to make some sort of proclamation that such-and-such a writer, such and such a fic, were on a par with Sylvia or Maya or Cassie, who's to say that there wouldn't be people bitching, because where do I get off deciding what fics or writers deserve to be in that higher tier anyway?

Can you visualize my paranoia? :D

that icon always makes me so happy. glock icons are a very good thing.

Re: idea!

[spare-change.livejournal.com]

Don't do stars ... just do categories like how Reena suggested. That's how I did it, way back in the day, and it seemed to work. Just so that your readers have some idea of what they're in for ... otherwise, there really isn't any point in doing recs at all.

And I do think that there is a place for concrit in the fandom. And for saying, "Hey, folks, this fic is worth checking out, although I think elements X and Y are weak." I do this all the time, and although lots of people may bitch about me, I don't think that this, specifically, is why they do. ;)

As for why people hate squee recs so much ... here's one reason why, from a few days back: http://www.livejournal.com/users/gmth/66301.html

Re: idea!

[bookshop.livejournal.com]

no no no read thess' first it is brilliant and short!!!!

Re: idea!

[bookshop.livejournal.com]

*laughs and laughs at the reference to That One Fic We Both Hate*

Hahahaha. Irony of ironies. Ever since I basically flamed the fic "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" to a crisp the other day after somebody on my friends list praised it to the skies, I have been wanting to do one of those "so, don't you really wish you could say what you *really* think about so many of the fics that get all the love?" posts. I would have, in fact, polled everybody about it today had I not gotten distracted with writing other things. It *is* incredibly cathartic to just be able to vent about the authors and fics we all can't stand--and yes, it is SO INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING to see everybody reccing fics that I can't stand.

Maybe I will make a post about this on lieblich or something tomorrow, and fully vent my spleen. :)) *rubs hands and plots*

Re: idea!

[spare-change.livejournal.com]

Yes, Aja, VENTING BEHIND LOCKED POSTS WORKED SO WELL LAST TIME!

;)

Go ahead and vent, but given how [deleted] snarked at me when I tried to talk about Transfigurations in lieblich, I'll have to pass. :/

Re: idea!

[bookshop.livejournal.com]

*snorts up the very pink beverage she has been drinking, with interesting results*

Hahahahahahaha.

I can guarantee you, with 100% certainty, that [deleted] has better things to do than snark at you at the moment. If she even notices the post she'll be too busy/distracted/preoccupied to snark. :D Pleeeeease join me in snarking? Since [deleted #2] will not be participating I will have to snark alone and that will not be any fun. You and Reena and I can all vent together. Pleeeeeease? *bats eyes*

Re: idea!

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

isn't there something almost -more- awful about hating the reccing of a fic you -love- because of how it's being presented? ><
maybe that's just me. *laughs*

although it happens to me all the time. brilliant authors deserve brilliant reviews. on the other hand, if someone's stupid enough to like a stupid fic, that just means people are stupid squared, which is nothing new~:)
that's why it's always puzzled me why people -hate- popular badfic moreso because it's popular than because it's badfic. i mean, i hate `perfect imperfection' completely on its own merits. my hate is pure and unsillied :D

it must be different when this natural love-or-hate relationship gets all mixed up with paranoia (like, if i say -this- They Will Come After Me). I mean, it's not a -crime- to have some things just... not work for you, is it. of course, when the masses of fans ally themselves one way or the other, it ceases to be about fic at -all- and starts being about hype. which just sucks sweaty donkey balls, to quote my happy d&d-playing friend.

also, i'm all jealous of your other lj now~:)