~~ how lame is -this-. heh.

I'm rather embarrassed to think that one day... or now... someone non-fandom could read this stuff and think, "oh my, is this all she thinks about?" and... er... the answer would sort of be "yes and no", but it's close enough to yes that I get wibbly. I spent the weekend talking to addictedkitten about mostly fandom things (at least I'm not alone). I indulged my skills as a traveling beta. We talked about everyone behind their backs (hehehe). It's all good :D

Well, no, I lie. Mostly, we just talked about porn. *laughs* Partly loitering on the steps of a comic store at like, some ungodly hour like 1:30 or something. Dude. We are so cool it hurts.

So Sara tells me (well, not in so many words) it would be cool if I mixed things up and mentioned my "real life" (not that I have any) more. Because then I would be a real person, just like... everyone else? Heh. Yeah. And this would be part of my not-so-sekrit plan to... er... bore everyone to death. Exciting. And yet sad at the same time.

Mostly, I was remembering how Sara insisted that she's Slytherin, and I was like, Dude! You are so not! And she kept saying she was, so eventually I said I supported her choice. But she let me be Ravenclaw 'cause I have issues with being a Hufflepuff (I told you! We are so cool it's hurting me still.) So anyway... this led to my so-called revelation..... *coughs*

There is a number of people who say they're Slytherin in this fandom (you all know who you are), who are so... not. And then there are the myriad quizzes who tell you who you are and people point to them and almost actually believe they've been sorted. And then there's all the confusion about whether the HP characters were correctly sorted (but no! Hermione's a Ravenclaw! Harry's a Slytherin! Neville's a Hufflepuff! etc). So, being brilliantly fascinating as I am, I thought about this on the way home.

It seems almost painfully obvious that you are Sorted into whatever House you want to be Sorted into. I mean, I know the Hat makes a show of picking the House for the student, but in reality, Ron and Harry and Draco were all Sorted specifically according to their desires and/or expectations. I think the case could easily be made that the Hat looks at what motivates them on the conscious preferences level as much or more than at the subconscious aptitudes level.

This would explain why some students don't seem to be "smart enough" or "brave enough" or "cunning enough" (hello, Crabbe) for their House. It would also explain everyone's favorite question of Why Was Tom Riddle In Slytherin Though He's A Halfblood. Clearly, even though the Houses were founded on certain principles, those principles don't count for as much as they did initially, and really the directions one takes in life (and in Hogwarts) are controlled by -choice-. This would make sense with JKR's overall theme better, too. This would also tie in with some sort of "redemption" of Slytherin-as-a-House, simply because it proves that no one's intrinsically -different-, no matter where they are, and it's only their conscious desire to segregate themselves that really influences the resulting separation.

There are no "good" exceptions in Slytherin, but Crabbe or Goyle aren't cunning or all that ambitious, and really, how cunning is Draco. They're shown as sucking anyway, but not because they're so -Slytherin-. Hey, it could be important. Also, maybe this inspires someone to no longer torture themselves over whether Slytherin can accept non-purebloods. I don't think Dumbledore would -allow- a House that didn't, too. This is a matter of publicity keeping the population stable more than anything, it seems to me.

~~ wank.

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*