[fic post] If You Never Fight, You'll Never Win

[oceansex]

So yeah. Been missing in action since Monday. Somehow I caught strep throat, so I didn't want to eat/drink anything 'cause my throat hurt so bad, I couldn't sleep for two days, and I nearly collapsed each time I tried to get out of bed. Turns out I was severely dehydrated, which means I now have to carry water with me everywhere. If my friend hadn'

Comments

[treeflamingo]

Ooooooh, subtle. I love the way you totally ignored (did not deign to) mention(ing) blood, and yet there is no doubt as to what Kyouya is tasting at the end. My favorite line, however (because it is good), is: donating only a handful of words to whatever conversation he finds himself in.

In other news, I very much enjoy what you did with Kyouya here. One of my favorite ways to write him is like this - wedged so deep into denial, so stubbornly ignoring inconvenient realities, that they may as well not exist. That nobody can even call him on it. So adamant about what he will and will not feel that he doesn't even know what his real feelings are. I love it. I love this Kyouya.

[oceansex]

thank you very much for your comment! the last line was actually the first thing I came up with, and the rest of the situation eventually fell into place around it. and I'm glad you like that line. because it was about Mori, it was probably the easiest line to write for me lol.

most people think that Kyouya is always in control of everything, with no exceptions, but I agree with you. I like it better when he isn't, and knows he isn't, and subsequently denies it so hard that he makes himself and everyone else believe that he totally is.

[hooves]

Uhm, hello. =]

I keep seeing your comments with critique/intelligent things for otaku_revey and I must say I'm very impressed. You've only said really amazing things.

I realize I just made myself sound like a complete idiot, but I wanted to say that. It's not often that someone gives good solid critique. Also, I think I was learning by reading what you were saying! Especially about Kyouya. =]

[treeflamingo]

Wow, thanks. I'm getting complimented on my reviews. ;p I don't even know how to handle that.

The secret truth of the matter is that I dearly miss my high school and college days when writing and critiquing and exchanging criticism were weekly occurrences. I have a secret maniacal plot to turn every fanfic-oriented comm I associate myself with into a constructive, community-driven writing class, where everybody leaves comments and suggestions for everybody else, and all can find ways to push themselves and improve in their writing. After all, isn't the shortcut realm of fanfic the most perfect of forums in which to test out and sharpen one's writing chops?

[hooves]

Hehe, well, let me tell you about my fandom. Said fandom is Rose of Versailles, a 1979 anime (early 70s manga) that never was dubbed (or translated officially) into English. So we have this tiny gaggle of fans from all over the world. I'm one of like, three or four English writers, and the fandom is probably mostly my own silly 'fics. Well, my most faithful reviewers, dear Loulou and Kasia, are from Syria and Poland respectively. Kasia's English isn't too bad, but Loulou's is broken. Badly. It's so cute. Both of them leave the best reviews I've ever gotten. They read each other's reviews. Everyone in the fandom...reads their reviews. They always bring up interesting ideas for new stories, new interpretations of (my, others) writing that nobody ever thought of before, et cetera. Isn't that insane? That people who struggle speaking and writing the English language give more insight and helpful advice without even realizing they're doing it, than pretty much everyone in every fandom I've ever been in. (Shutting up about that now

[treeflamingo]

I've discovered that sometimes people get more interesting things out of writing in a language other than their own because it takes more work for them to understand it. Nothing (or close to nothing) passes immediately from the page into understanding; everything has to go through all sorts of symbol-recognition and translation and process-of-elimination departments. You have to think about writing in another language in so much more detail, and you are so frequently unsure about what precisely was meant, what exactly these words mean to the native author, that you end up finding lots of totally out-of-the-way and terribly interesting ways to think about what native speakers find straightforward. It's the same reason that learners will make a "mistake" in their speech and end up saying something much more nuanced than they know. I find it fascinating, personally.

Also, you must realize that you have just challenged me to find and check out your little fandom. *googles Rose of Versailles* ...oh my gosh this looks ridiculous how

[hooves]

Replying to this really quick before I have to start my car and get dressed and leave for work. There's something about getting up at 4:00am to do this that...should be illegal. In my opinion. =P

[treeflamingo]

Yays! Friend away! *bounces* I love getting new friends.

So there's an official translation of the manga into Spanish? I'll have to see if I can get my hands on it. I'll probably stick with the manga to start with, simply because I haven't had the time to actually watch anime lately. Oh hey, have you seen Revolutionary Girl Utena? RoV seems like it's got some themes in common with Utena. ::shrug:: Associative conversation FTW

[hooves]

Will do!

Utena was inspired by RoV!

Yeah, I wondered at his puppy-dog eyes, too. But they were cute in their own way (ie: a very disturbing way) so I tried not to think about it.

[Heavy with implication and light on certainty]

That...that is an awesome way to describe that. And yes, writing is definitely an art, so that makes us (writers) artists; therefore, we have our own style, and no style is right or wrong. (Supposedly; that is the theory.)

♥ Also, what do you go by? Everyone just calls me Manna. =]

[treeflamingo]

Hah! There you go then. I win at discovering obvious lineages between fandoms?

Yep, that's my theory. The only way art can be "wrong" is if it touches nobody at all. Or if it's seriously ugly. :[

On the internets, I generally just go by treeflamingo. I've got the same handle basically everywhere. ::shrug:: It simplifies things.