other times I sit and wonder why
My period arrived this morning and most of my brainpower has fled before it, though amazingly, I feel more alert today, after 5 hours of sleep, than I did yesterday after 7.5 hours of sleep. I don't even know.
I don't really have anything to add to
thefourthvine's masterful takedown of pro authors who rant about fanfic; I personally would prefer it if they were just honest about it. I can understand, "I don't like it and I don't want to know about it." There's a metric fuckton of fanfic I don't like and don't want to know about! I can understand, "I don't like it, and don't interfere with my paycheck," because hell yeah, Shakespeare got to get paid, son! (and one day I will actually have an icon of that to use on posts like this, sigh).
I can't understand all the pearl-clutching and bosom-heaving, especially of the "MY CHARACTERS ARE AS REAL AS MY CHILDREN" variety. No. They may live in your imagination - and if I like your work, maybe they live in mine - but they are not real in a flesh and blood, can be physically harmed sense. Fanfic about them squicks their authors (and I have no problem with that part of the equation). And yet somehow it suddenly becomes A-OK if the author is dead or out of copyright (Write that Achilles/Patroclus story! And then give me the link!) or has given permission or is getting paid. RPGs with a narrative function? Okay! Television adaptations? Okay! If you're a paid author, it's even okay to send your Dr. Who fanfic magnum opus to the actor who plays the character you wrote about were inspired by (thanks to
cesperanza for the link). But god forbid you somehow get your unpaid fannish cooties on their precious characters.
What the fuck ever.
You know who else doesn't like fanfiction? Ursula LeGuin. You know what she basically said? She said, "I don't like it and I wish people wouldn't write it about my books." (not a direct quote.) Did she say unflattering things about it? Yeah, she did, but they were clearly not very memorable (or, iirc, they were what everybody says - uncreative, training wheels, stop me if you've heard this one before), because she didn't have a hissyfit all over the internet about it. She said it, and some people respect her wishes, and some people don't, and that's it. And that's a lot more respectable than this other nonsense.
Of course, I run remix, because I think remixes are awesome, and large swathes of fandom are all, "DON'T MESS WITH MY BABIES!" when the shoe's on the other foot, so what the hell do I know?
Wow, I did not expect that to be as long as it turned out to be. Opinions. I has them.
***
In between poking at my remix, I have been having meandering thoughts about the upcoming SPN season finale, and de_nugis said something in my comments the other day that I thought brilliantly framed Sam and Dean's current positions in the narrative and how that could/should/might play out in the finale:
At this point, I think Dean should be about free will, saying no to being an angel condom and trying to save Sam against the odds but letting Sam take the risk anyway because he loves him that much and what Sam needs most at the moment is to succeed at doing something good. Whereas Sam's situation regarding destiny is different (and how tedious would it be if both main characters were in exactly the same situation?). Sam's been being manipulated and controlled by outside forces since before he was born. It makes sense to me that the victory he needs (and that the show owes him, truly) should come by taking that outside control to extremes, letting himself be possessed, and then turning that control against itself and beating it on its own ground. Preferably by the power of SamnDean's epic soulmate love and perhaps with a touch of amulet, but no God.
because it's true - Sam's position in the narrative arc has always been about rebelling against control, fighting against destiny and being told over and over again that he can't. Having him give himself over and triumph through being possessed and then finally exerting his will to take back possession of himself would be a fitting cap to that arc.
Whereas Dean's always been the good soldier, the blunt little instrument, unable to say no to an order from on-high, and unable to let Sam go because of the one order that underlies everything that came after - watch out for Sammy. So Dean's challenge is to say no to his place in the destined scheme of things, to not follow orders, and most of all, to let Sam go and do this terribly dangerous thing that he might not come back from, because it's the right thing, and also the necessary thing, and Dean can't do it for him or protect him from it; he can only hope that whatever strength of will and character he instilled in Sam will be present when Sam undertakes the task.
A couple of other bits of spec that I like - that Dean will go down with Sam in a blaze of glory, that whatever it is they're going to do, in the end, they'll do it together. Also, that Crowley is god. I don't expect that second one to actually pan out, but it would amuse me tremendously if it were true.
Maybe I will have lunch now. Maybe I will go get an iced latte. Hmm...
***
This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/167726.html.
people have commented there.
I don't really have anything to add to
thefourthvine's masterful takedown of pro authors who rant about fanfic; I personally would prefer it if they were just honest about it. I can understand, "I don't like it and I don't want to know about it." There's a metric fuckton of fanfic I don't like and don't want to know about! I can understand, "I don't like it, and don't interfere with my paycheck," because hell yeah, Shakespeare got to get paid, son! (and one day I will actually have an icon of that to use on posts like this, sigh).
I can't understand all the pearl-clutching and bosom-heaving, especially of the "MY CHARACTERS ARE AS REAL AS MY CHILDREN" variety. No. They may live in your imagination - and if I like your work, maybe they live in mine - but they are not real in a flesh and blood, can be physically harmed sense. Fanfic about them squicks their authors (and I have no problem with that part of the equation). And yet somehow it suddenly becomes A-OK if the author is dead or out of copyright (Write that Achilles/Patroclus story! And then give me the link!) or has given permission or is getting paid. RPGs with a narrative function? Okay! Television adaptations? Okay! If you're a paid author, it's even okay to send your Dr. Who fanfic magnum opus to the actor who plays the character you wrote about were inspired by (thanks to
cesperanza for the link). But god forbid you somehow get your unpaid fannish cooties on their precious characters.
What the fuck ever.
You know who else doesn't like fanfiction? Ursula LeGuin. You know what she basically said? She said, "I don't like it and I wish people wouldn't write it about my books." (not a direct quote.) Did she say unflattering things about it? Yeah, she did, but they were clearly not very memorable (or, iirc, they were what everybody says - uncreative, training wheels, stop me if you've heard this one before), because she didn't have a hissyfit all over the internet about it. She said it, and some people respect her wishes, and some people don't, and that's it. And that's a lot more respectable than this other nonsense.
Of course, I run remix, because I think remixes are awesome, and large swathes of fandom are all, "DON'T MESS WITH MY BABIES!" when the shoe's on the other foot, so what the hell do I know?
Wow, I did not expect that to be as long as it turned out to be. Opinions. I has them.
***
In between poking at my remix, I have been having meandering thoughts about the upcoming SPN season finale, and de_nugis said something in my comments the other day that I thought brilliantly framed Sam and Dean's current positions in the narrative and how that could/should/might play out in the finale:
At this point, I think Dean should be about free will, saying no to being an angel condom and trying to save Sam against the odds but letting Sam take the risk anyway because he loves him that much and what Sam needs most at the moment is to succeed at doing something good. Whereas Sam's situation regarding destiny is different (and how tedious would it be if both main characters were in exactly the same situation?). Sam's been being manipulated and controlled by outside forces since before he was born. It makes sense to me that the victory he needs (and that the show owes him, truly) should come by taking that outside control to extremes, letting himself be possessed, and then turning that control against itself and beating it on its own ground. Preferably by the power of SamnDean's epic soulmate love and perhaps with a touch of amulet, but no God.
because it's true - Sam's position in the narrative arc has always been about rebelling against control, fighting against destiny and being told over and over again that he can't. Having him give himself over and triumph through being possessed and then finally exerting his will to take back possession of himself would be a fitting cap to that arc.
Whereas Dean's always been the good soldier, the blunt little instrument, unable to say no to an order from on-high, and unable to let Sam go because of the one order that underlies everything that came after - watch out for Sammy. So Dean's challenge is to say no to his place in the destined scheme of things, to not follow orders, and most of all, to let Sam go and do this terribly dangerous thing that he might not come back from, because it's the right thing, and also the necessary thing, and Dean can't do it for him or protect him from it; he can only hope that whatever strength of will and character he instilled in Sam will be present when Sam undertakes the task.
A couple of other bits of spec that I like - that Dean will go down with Sam in a blaze of glory, that whatever it is they're going to do, in the end, they'll do it together. Also, that Crowley is god. I don't expect that second one to actually pan out, but it would amuse me tremendously if it were true.
Maybe I will have lunch now. Maybe I will go get an iced latte. Hmm...
***
This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/167726.html.
people have commented there.