This post was initially just going to be a link...
Today's featured article at Wikipedia. Excellent stuff.
I might have spent some of the wee hours of this morning reading RPS. I'm not going to tell you what RPS, but given the focus of my activities at this present time I'm sure it's not hard to figure out. I don't particularly know why: the idea does not really do anything for me, but I was hankering for some fanfic and hankering for some porn, and there was a recs list right there.
Given that I spent a significant amount of 2007 writing RPS you wouldn't think that it would still be a subject of some mild squick for me and... well, you'd be right, actually. It doesn't squick me. However, it is more likely to bother me. Characterisation-wise, specifically. The fact of the matter is when writing RPS we're representing real people to the best of our abilities using interviews, press releases and whatnot as our means of understanding these people as "characters." There is no way on earth that this is a good way of actually understanding someone, not someone who is real, whose life is not written down in books and films but is actually played out or has been played out day-to-day over many years. However, unless you're going to get yourself a stalking habit or are in fact just the world's creepiest friend, that's the best an RPF writer has, and with those poor resources must do her best. At least, that's what I did. And it's the reason I prefer to write RPS than to read it. Too often, my interpretation of a real person is completely different to someone else's interpretation. This also occurs with fictional characters, of course, but in the case of fictional characters (and providing it's not downright OOC) I find it more interesting, looking at someone else's perspective. In the case of RPS I kind of find it offensive. Like if someone is portrayed as stupid who I do not consider to be stupid. I get annoyed on their behalf. It bothers me. So any time I spend reading RPS - and it's not a lot these days - is spent with my finger hovering across the back button. How strange.
I'm curious what my reaction would be if I were to become famous and people to start writing RPF about me. Unlikely, given the chances of me becoming famous are, er, slim at best (how many microbiologists can you name who've had porn written about them?), and even if that were to happen the fact is I'm neither male nor am I attractive. But ignoring that, I do wonder. Would I be as offended as I get on the behalfs of other people that I like, or would I just laugh it off. I like to think laugh it off. I think I would ultimately be more offended if I became hugely famous for being in some awesome sci-fi or fantasy film and no one wrote porn about me, but did write it about all my co-stars. THAT WOULD SUCK.
In other news: still not interested in Torchwood, sry2say. Everyone keeps saying this series has been good but I can't get past John Barrowman still *sadface* (And I was never interested in Jack/Ianto either, which in that fandom makes you about as popular as a child molester or something. Probably less so, given fandom.)
I might have spent some of the wee hours of this morning reading RPS. I'm not going to tell you what RPS, but given the focus of my activities at this present time I'm sure it's not hard to figure out. I don't particularly know why: the idea does not really do anything for me, but I was hankering for some fanfic and hankering for some porn, and there was a recs list right there.
Given that I spent a significant amount of 2007 writing RPS you wouldn't think that it would still be a subject of some mild squick for me and... well, you'd be right, actually. It doesn't squick me. However, it is more likely to bother me. Characterisation-wise, specifically. The fact of the matter is when writing RPS we're representing real people to the best of our abilities using interviews, press releases and whatnot as our means of understanding these people as "characters." There is no way on earth that this is a good way of actually understanding someone, not someone who is real, whose life is not written down in books and films but is actually played out or has been played out day-to-day over many years. However, unless you're going to get yourself a stalking habit or are in fact just the world's creepiest friend, that's the best an RPF writer has, and with those poor resources must do her best. At least, that's what I did. And it's the reason I prefer to write RPS than to read it. Too often, my interpretation of a real person is completely different to someone else's interpretation. This also occurs with fictional characters, of course, but in the case of fictional characters (and providing it's not downright OOC) I find it more interesting, looking at someone else's perspective. In the case of RPS I kind of find it offensive. Like if someone is portrayed as stupid who I do not consider to be stupid. I get annoyed on their behalf. It bothers me. So any time I spend reading RPS - and it's not a lot these days - is spent with my finger hovering across the back button. How strange.
I'm curious what my reaction would be if I were to become famous and people to start writing RPF about me. Unlikely, given the chances of me becoming famous are, er, slim at best (how many microbiologists can you name who've had porn written about them?), and even if that were to happen the fact is I'm neither male nor am I attractive. But ignoring that, I do wonder. Would I be as offended as I get on the behalfs of other people that I like, or would I just laugh it off. I like to think laugh it off. I think I would ultimately be more offended if I became hugely famous for being in some awesome sci-fi or fantasy film and no one wrote porn about me, but did write it about all my co-stars. THAT WOULD SUCK.
In other news: still not interested in Torchwood, sry2say. Everyone keeps saying this series has been good but I can't get past John Barrowman still *sadface* (And I was never interested in Jack/Ianto either, which in that fandom makes you about as popular as a child molester or something. Probably less so, given fandom.)