This is not a rant it's....bitchy meta. 'Cause I say so.
Fandom: (from the noun fan and the affix -dom, as in kingdom, dukedom, etc.) is a term used to refer to a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of sympathy and comradeship with others who share a common interest.
Fan: An aficionado, or supporter is someone who has an intense, occasionally overwhelming liking of a sporting club, person, group of persons, company, product, work of art, idea, or trend.
I'm sure some of my thoughts pertain to most fandoms, however when I refer to 'my fandom' I mean the Jossverse, specifically BtVS and AtS. When I say 'the show', I mean both. When I say 'it', I mean both.
Ok, so now we have definitions and such. Let's talk about them shall we?
I'm a fangirl. Not a day goes by where a Jossverse quote does not creep into my vocab. Most days I watch at least one ep from either show. I can name eps based on a line or scene. I spent years begging my mom to watch it. I can't wait for my little cousin to be old enough to watch it. I make icons, I write fanfic, I read fanfic, I overthink and I meta, either on LJ or on the phone to crazydiamondsue, who gamely puts up with it 3-5 times a week. I have RL people that I can debate the show with. I drew comparisons between BtVS s5 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I accused Spiderman 3 of ripping off an Angel scene (which it kinda did, but kinda didn't at the same time; however telling would be spoilery for the movie). I've been called a Buffy geek numerous times and I own that label proudly. I'm a rabid, hope-I-never-meet-any-Jossverse-people-because-I'll-squee-in-their-face fangirl.
And I judge.
That's right. I. Judge.
It's human and I'm just being honest.
I'm not above rolling my eyes. I'm not above emailing back and forth while cackling. I'm not above calling someone and screeching, "Oh my GOD! Can you fucking believe..." It'd be a lie to say I was above it, because that is exactly how I spent a big chunk of my day yesterday. It wasn't the first time and I doubt it will be the last.
Do I think my people and I and even my people's people are better fans than you? Yeah, I probably really, really do. Sorry, but I do. There's more than one 'you' in that 'you' just so we're clear.
Do I think OOC fic is lame? Well.. yes and no. I think it's lame if you can't recognize that your fic is OOC. I think it should be part of your warning. If you know that I know that you know that we both know that it's OOC and you write it well enough then I can possibly enjoy it. Not likely, but possibly maybe. But characterization is very important to me. Hell, It's why I almost left the fandom in 2005.
Do I think AU fic is lame? A resounding HELL NO, I LOVE IT! I do. I truly love a good AU. Wanna make everybody in the show completely human? Cool. Teenagers? Rock stars? Is Spike a spoiled rich boy and Xander's the hired hand? Maybe Spike and Angel are two crooked cops taking advantage of an underage Xander and Oz? How about Xander and Angel at a Rodeo? I can get behind that all of that. Make them anything you want; if it's well written and in character I'll fangirl it.
It's not about the like or dislike of an AU. The show AUs better than most, in fact. Why? Because it was an AU of real life: being new, fitting in, the dangers of meeting someone on the internet, being ignored, having the boyfriend who turns out to be a jerk, the power of politicians and/or the military, the knowledge that you’re not as unique as you thought you were, cheating, overcoming disability, your divorced mother dating, growing up, getting married, parenting, death, kidnapping, slavery, blah, blah, I could keep going forever, blah.
You wanna rewrite a season? Dude, I'm there. That's one of my bullet proofs. But if you're just gonna give Buffy's lines to Xander and make a few tweaks to the storyline, then... well, then, I'm gone.
I'm not talking moral or ethic right and wrongs, I'm not talking about kinks. I'm not talking about perspective or interpretation. And darkfic? I heart darkfic. I love writing it, I love reading it. And when it's done well, I get that shiver. Y'all know that shiver. I love that shiver.
I'm talking about CHARACTERIZATION. If I can take your fic and change the names and nothing else and it still "works" then it's not in character. If I take out all the 'Character A said' and 'Character B said' and can't tell who's speaking in your fic, then it's not in character. And saying you never really watched the show is not an excuse. If you've never really watched, then you're not a fan. And if you're not a fan why are you in the fandom? Yesterday I said: How can someone be in my fandom without being a fan? It's half the fucking word and all of the fucking importance. I believe this. I've never seen a single full ep. of BSG and there's no way I would presume to try to write a fic in that fandom.
Then I said: Wow, I've never really watched SPN, but maybe I'll go write some fic where those brother guys aren't brothers but are sisters fighting wild kangaroos down under while trying to make a living whoring and racing dirt bikes.
And honestly? I have every right to write this and post this. You can't stop me. Just like I can't stop sexymermaid. And it would be completely OOC because I don't know the Winchesters, aside from them being pretty. And people can read it and feed it and cuddle it. Because someone out there would and you can't stop them… but if someone cried foul, be it flame or con-crit, I'd have to own it. I'd have to understand that I've taken something that people feel very strongly about and essentially pissed all over it. Crass? Yes. True? Yes.
Here's the thing, I'm not saying you should stop writing. I mean, I wish you'd do it away from my fandom, but that's 'cause I'm a bitch, I'm a 'mean girl', but I can't tell you to stop 'creating your art' or whatever. Am I saying I've never loved a bad!fic? No, 'cause I have. Am I saying I've never written a bad!fic? No, 'cause I really have. In fact there's a human AU, incest Angel/Xander/Spike dark!fic that I started and may finish someday. And it's bad. It's researched, it's in character IMHO, but it's still BADFIC. That's part of my point, what I am saying is stop pretending that what you love or write is not bad crack!fic, stop pretending that what you love or write isn't OOC. Seriously, a majority of the wankitude is based soley on the complete denial of the badness.
And the wank? Come on fen, we love it. Fandom_Wank exists for a reason and /friendsfriends is often used just find the elusive crypticly posted about wank. Choosing sides? It's been done since the beginning.
Wank me or my friends and we laugh. We don't cry and our feelings are not hurt. And neither are yours. You're laughing, you're mocking us right back 'cause you think you're right, you're loving the attention and it's a fun time to be had by all. OWN. IT. OWN IT ALL.
-fin-