Know thy audience? Not me.
Yanno what’s weird? When you write something, and you expect all these responses to it, and you don’t get any. And then, you write something not expecting anyone to comment on it, and lo and behold, there’s a flood of responses to it.
It applies to both blog entries and fics. Some fics I write, I get really excited about. Say… Cuffed! Dude, it’s a fic about ppl getting handcuffed together. What isn’t there to love? I love me my handcuffed fics! All the hijinks that ensue when two characters are cuffed together, it’s awesome. Maybe it’s just too much crack for some ppl though, I dunno. But every time I read about the stuff I have for that fic, I cackle. (Gema can attest). Oh, what I put those poor characters through… *evil laughter*
And then there are the fics I write that I think will do alright, and they become wildly popular (at least, when compared to my other fics). Life sure is funny that way, isn’t it?
This also applies to fics that other ppl write. There are some really GREAT fics out there, and the writer only gets a handful of comments. On the flipside, sometimes I come across a fic with a lot of reviews, so I click on it to see what the hype is all about. And the fic is utter crap. What’s up with that? I’m not going to give any examples, but if you’re a fanfic reader, you know what I’m talking about.
And if you don’t know what I’m talking about… *whispers* …you might be one of the readers that encourage those crappy fics to keep getting written.
*Runs and trips. Then gets clobbered when the angry fangirls catch up.*
*****
Bonus: figured I’d put a little snippet of Cuffed! in here. Last time I touched this fic... June of 2005. Yikes.
Kaidoh seethed. He was going to strangle that unibrowed weakling the moment he was freed. The slow hiss that escaped his lips poignantly voiced his frustration, but the delightful thought of wrangling Horio’s scrawny, pubescent neck did little to alleviate his anger. Kaidoh was a man of action, and he loathed sitting around waiting for fate to run its course. He was out voted though, so there was nothing he could do. With narrowed eyes, he sat there under the shade of the large camphor tree and continued to simmer in bitterness, ruminating over the actions that got him involved in this mess.
Of all the idiotic situations to get stuck in. Why couldn’t he have just finished his bento and stayed in class? No, he had wanted to go look for the stray cat and feed it his leftover fishcake. It was as he was walking over the school grounds when he came across the group of freshman. He should have avoided them, but they were occupying the location of the stray cat’s last whereabouts, and since Kaidoh did not want to leave nor explain why he was hanging around, he got roped into participating in this idiotic farce.
The teen closed his eyes and hissed, long and low. He had to stay calm. He was the senior in the group, and he had to set an example. Horio would be back soon. They would be able to walk away from this mess within the hour, tops.
*****
RyoSaku bath scene snippet (yes, and boy oh boy, was this fun to write):
A swallow. Heat from her cheeks stuttered her reply. Fingers twiddled. “I, I suppose it’s rather silly. However I’d feel better if-”
He was already ripping apart at his uniform, attention no longer focused on the clumsy words of his counterpart.
A fresh wave of redness colored the poor girl’s cheeks. Sakuno stood there gaping and wide-eyed at the smooth expanse of skin proffered to her gaze. From his chest all the way down to his waistband, Echizen Ryoma’s lean and lightly muscled torso was exposed. Reddish brown eyes darted away. Her lips were moving, words tumbling out with difficulty.
“I, I was just saying-”
“Hold this, well you?” he said as he motioned for her to pull the sleeve of his uniform taunt so that he could facilitate the shearing. His destroyed shirt fell to the ground. Echizen Ryoma stood in front of Ryuzaki Sakuno. Completely topless.
Lips warbled into movement. Desperation rose to a fever pitch. She had to stop this crazy situation before it derailed any further. Bathing with the Prince of Tennis? Sakuno couldn’t think of anything more humiliating. She was going to cry if she didn’t keep it together. The pigtailed girl tried again, summoning all her courage to voice her will on the oblivious prodigy.
“Blindfolds would be good because-”
“Ryuzaki.”
The flow of words stopped when he spoke her name. Something so simple, yet uttered from his mouth, it was hypnotic. He turned the full effect of his sharp cat-like eyes upon her. She froze in place. Lips parted with nothing to say, mind so blank the rest of the sentence evaporated.
“It’s just a bath.”
*****
It applies to both blog entries and fics. Some fics I write, I get really excited about. Say… Cuffed! Dude, it’s a fic about ppl getting handcuffed together. What isn’t there to love? I love me my handcuffed fics! All the hijinks that ensue when two characters are cuffed together, it’s awesome. Maybe it’s just too much crack for some ppl though, I dunno. But every time I read about the stuff I have for that fic, I cackle. (Gema can attest). Oh, what I put those poor characters through… *evil laughter*
And then there are the fics I write that I think will do alright, and they become wildly popular (at least, when compared to my other fics). Life sure is funny that way, isn’t it?
This also applies to fics that other ppl write. There are some really GREAT fics out there, and the writer only gets a handful of comments. On the flipside, sometimes I come across a fic with a lot of reviews, so I click on it to see what the hype is all about. And the fic is utter crap. What’s up with that? I’m not going to give any examples, but if you’re a fanfic reader, you know what I’m talking about.
And if you don’t know what I’m talking about… *whispers* …you might be one of the readers that encourage those crappy fics to keep getting written.
*Runs and trips. Then gets clobbered when the angry fangirls catch up.*
*****
Bonus: figured I’d put a little snippet of Cuffed! in here. Last time I touched this fic... June of 2005. Yikes.
Kaidoh seethed. He was going to strangle that unibrowed weakling the moment he was freed. The slow hiss that escaped his lips poignantly voiced his frustration, but the delightful thought of wrangling Horio’s scrawny, pubescent neck did little to alleviate his anger. Kaidoh was a man of action, and he loathed sitting around waiting for fate to run its course. He was out voted though, so there was nothing he could do. With narrowed eyes, he sat there under the shade of the large camphor tree and continued to simmer in bitterness, ruminating over the actions that got him involved in this mess.
Of all the idiotic situations to get stuck in. Why couldn’t he have just finished his bento and stayed in class? No, he had wanted to go look for the stray cat and feed it his leftover fishcake. It was as he was walking over the school grounds when he came across the group of freshman. He should have avoided them, but they were occupying the location of the stray cat’s last whereabouts, and since Kaidoh did not want to leave nor explain why he was hanging around, he got roped into participating in this idiotic farce.
The teen closed his eyes and hissed, long and low. He had to stay calm. He was the senior in the group, and he had to set an example. Horio would be back soon. They would be able to walk away from this mess within the hour, tops.
*****
RyoSaku bath scene snippet (yes, and boy oh boy, was this fun to write):
A swallow. Heat from her cheeks stuttered her reply. Fingers twiddled. “I, I suppose it’s rather silly. However I’d feel better if-”
He was already ripping apart at his uniform, attention no longer focused on the clumsy words of his counterpart.
A fresh wave of redness colored the poor girl’s cheeks. Sakuno stood there gaping and wide-eyed at the smooth expanse of skin proffered to her gaze. From his chest all the way down to his waistband, Echizen Ryoma’s lean and lightly muscled torso was exposed. Reddish brown eyes darted away. Her lips were moving, words tumbling out with difficulty.
“I, I was just saying-”
“Hold this, well you?” he said as he motioned for her to pull the sleeve of his uniform taunt so that he could facilitate the shearing. His destroyed shirt fell to the ground. Echizen Ryoma stood in front of Ryuzaki Sakuno. Completely topless.
Lips warbled into movement. Desperation rose to a fever pitch. She had to stop this crazy situation before it derailed any further. Bathing with the Prince of Tennis? Sakuno couldn’t think of anything more humiliating. She was going to cry if she didn’t keep it together. The pigtailed girl tried again, summoning all her courage to voice her will on the oblivious prodigy.
“Blindfolds would be good because-”
“Ryuzaki.”
The flow of words stopped when he spoke her name. Something so simple, yet uttered from his mouth, it was hypnotic. He turned the full effect of his sharp cat-like eyes upon her. She froze in place. Lips parted with nothing to say, mind so blank the rest of the sentence evaporated.
“It’s just a bath.”
*****