cynical fandom mini-rant

[meredith44]

I don't know why I have become so cynical/critical in my fandoms. I think back even just a year and a half ago, when I discovered the fun to be had for my shows on the Internet, and it seems like I was a whole different person back then. I read and enjoyed most fanfiction (as long as it was free of major grammar mistakes), I read and participated

Comments

[_astralis]

I'll just say 'word' to all of that. I read the odd bit of Danny/Martin, and I definitely get irritated by the assumption that Martin never had feelings for Sam. I think it's pretty clear he did (Nickel and Dimed springs to mind) and that saying or implying he didn't is just laziness on the part of the author - it means they don't have to deal with Martin's relationship with Sam and what that meant to him, and how that would then affect any relationship with Danny. Which would actually be quite an interesting fic.

I used to read a lot of Nick/Sara, but now I'm down to pretty much whatever's posted by people on my flist (as opposed to the NS communities) and two authors at ff.net. Everybody else seems to have no concept of characterization at all, and fanfic Nick and Sara have been made into shadows of what they really are. And then that image gets promoted by the popular fics, and so people just keep writing it because that's what gets reviews when, really, they're so much more interesting if you actually write them in character.

So, yeah, word.

[meredith44]

Which would actually be quite an interesting fic.
I would like to see someone attempt that. In Jack/Sawyer fics, Kate is often referenced somehow (well, at least in the ones that aren't PWP), and I often find it adds a lot to the story.

"Nickel and Dimed" is an excellent example of Martin having feelings for Samantha. I think it even can be seen earlier, at the end of "In the Dark" when Martin looks so vulnerable wondering if Samantha feels for him as he does for her. Eric Close gave such great nuance to his performance that I could so buy that he cared for her.

I was going to quote from your second paragraph, but I would be quoting everything. I so agree. There is one N/S writer at ff.net that I was okay with when I reread, and I still have a couple of authors left to try, so maybe I'll come up with another one or two. I just got so fed up with it, I couldn't continue at the moment. I don't really know much about N/S (or even CSI in general) on LJ, so I don't have that resource. If you wouldn't mind rec'ing some in-character N/S stories, I'd love you forever.

And I have high hopes for your new N/S story. I was postponing reading it because I wanted something that I knew wouldn't disappoint me for the end of my fanfic reading quest. Of course, at this rate I might never make it through the stories, so I might give up and read it soon. (I am not so good at delayed gratification, as much as I try! *grin*)