That Fic...

[ravingraven]

I've read it. I appreciate that it was cleverly done. (I don't like crack fic. I don't find it amusing. So I'm a freak.) But I can see that some work did go into it, and that it was well done - if you like that kind of thing

Comments

[arrmaitee]

Raven,

As the author of "that fic," I feel I owe you an apology, so here it is.

I apologize. I want you to know that I really thought you'd like the fic. A lot. It was intended to be something original and different and funny and I figured, at the very least, you'd appreciate that I took the time to create something other than the regurgitated holiday drivel that usually shows up in fic exchanges. Had I known that you were having life issues and/or that we don't share the same twisted sense of humor, I obviously would have written something else.

That said, there's no reason whatsoever for you to delete your journal and quit the fandom. In about three days, everyone will have completely forgotton about this and gone back to worrying about when Book 7 will be released or what the Harmony fans are screaming about now or whatever. So I wouldn't worry about fandom being awkward because fandom usually has a short attention span for things like this.

That said, I wish you a very happy new year and if you want a fluffy H/S replacement fic, I'd be happy to write one for you.

Arrmaitee

[arrmaitee]

I bet this would be a really convincing apology if you hadn't made that post about how cool you are for running her out of fandom and how ungrateful she is for not appreciating all your effort.

[arrmaitee]

As I have no interest in hijacking Raven's LJ, I will only say this:

When I found out that Raven threatened to quit the fandom after reading my fic, I made a post saying that it was hilarious that my 1800 word fic, which was intended as a gift, would drive someone out of the fandom.

However, I thought it over in view of posts from mahaliem and lizard_spots, and deleted the entry in its entirely this morning. I subsequently posted this apology when I decided that was the right thing to do. I never said she was ungrateful, but I was honestly taken aback by her very extreme response. Hence, my post.

[arrmaitee]

Considering you were running around that thread, gloating how you drove RR out of the fandom in less than 1800 words, and that she has no sense of humor, your apology now is meaningless.

You're only sorry there are so many people who realize you're a grade-A asshat and have called you on it rather than coo at how cool you are, you're not actually sorry you acted like one.

[ellid]

You are not a gentleman.

[lordhellebore]

So, maybe instead, you could have turned on your brain and thought about why your 1800 words "gift" triggered that kind of reaction? That's the first thing to do when soemthing like that happens - not making a post about the LOLz.

[arrmaitee]

Oh how transparent - to hide your 'apology' here in ravingraven's LJ, rather than suck it up and admit you made a mistake in the thread where the gleeful rubbing-her-nose-in-your-spite took place.

Yeah, that's clever of you. Soooo many opinions will change now, of you and your intentions.

*eyeroll*

-disgusted mousie who knows noone involved in this, except that you are an asshat

[arrmaitee]

I want you to know that I really thought you'd like the fic. A lot. It was intended to be something original and different and funny and I figured, at the very least, you'd appreciate that I took the time to create something other than the regurgitated holiday drivel that usually shows up in fic exchanges.

You know, you're just digging a deeper hole there for yourself, with a non-apology like that.

No one is going to find a story that is supposed to be a gift funny or entertaining, if it mocks the recipient's OTP and deliberately includes all of her squicks. I just can't imagine what you were smoking, when you thought she'd like that story. It has nothing to do with Raven's currently having issues or not.

Sometimes, when you make a mistake this big, you should just say something simple, like: "I was very wrong, and I apologize." Full stop. Without trying to justify something that was indefensible, yet again.

Although the mod of that fest also shares the blame here. She had no business accepting this story for any gift exchange. Many, many of us will not be signing up for H_H in the future, as a result.

[arrmaitee]

Considering the fact that people were dropping out left and right at the last minute, and the mod was already desperately writing out pinch hits all by herself, I think it's extremely unfair to blame her for this. The last thing she needed was another gap to fill.

Boycotting H_H in the future, even threatening to, is completely uncalled for, insensitive and unkind. You weren't in her shoes and have no right to judge her.

[arrmaitee]

Please. I don't care how busy you were. When you read it and commented on it, you must have seen the authors' notes. They deliberately created a fic out of things that squick her, then gave it to her as a present.

The moment you noticed that, the story should have come down, and a public apology should have been issued. Period.

[arrmaitee]

I am not the H_H mod. You aren't quite as clever as you think you are.

When I read the fic, I thought it was cheeky but funny. I feel for Ravingraven, in that it clearly upset her, but I think that was a personal, if understandable, reaction on her part.

The pack mentality, let's all get together and point fingers BS that's going on right now makes me sick, though. Again -- you were not in her position and have no business getting morally superior.

[arrmaitee]

We're "pointing fingers" because everyone (except you and the mod, apparently) can see that it's extremely rude and thoughtless to give someone a "gift" fic which deliberately hits all of their squicks. Let me repeat that in case you didn't get the point: they were deliberately rude and mean to ravingraven.

I've been a mod. I know what's involved. The moment this one realized that there was a problem with that story, she should have pulled it. The fact that she didn't, that it's still up, reflects badly on her. Mods need to take responsibility for what happens in their comms. This one hasn't.

And you're surprised people don't want to participate next year?

[arrmaitee]

Have you even read the fic?

Calling it a squickfic is like calling Scary Movie a horror film. Focusing on the fact that "it hits her squicks" is just as bad as the many people who pretend to be bewildered at the fact that anyone could possibly not like that story. All of said squicks are so heavily parodied and treated with irreverence that I find it very difficult to imagine being the slightest bit squicked (though I do share some of ravingraven's squicks).

Was it thoughtless, and perhaps lazy, of Arrmaitee and daylyn? Yes. I don't write, but I expect I spent more time and effort betaing for gift exchange than they spent writing that fic (though I could of course be wrong). Was it deliberately rude and mean? Although I have no way of getting into their heads, I'm going to have to guess "no." That is the style in which they generally write. A humorfic was requested. Parody is generally considered to be humorous. Expecting the mod to know that ravingraven would not find it so is ridiculous, unless "parody" was on the list of no-no's that she included.

I understand why ravingraven was disappointed. I would have been, too. But the whole "I'm quitting fandom" thing, and especially the use of this as an excuse to ignore her commitment to another exchange without even bothering to notify that mod, was over the top.

Jane

[arrmaitee]

Focusing on the fact that "it hits her squicks" is just as bad as the many people who pretend to be bewildered at the fact that anyone could possibly not like that story.

The authors said, right in the authors' notes, that they DELIBERATELY hit all her squicks, then ridiculed her OTP for good measure. That right there should have disqualified it, or at least given the mod pause. It's incredibly rude.

Expecting the mod to know that ravingraven would not find it so is ridiculous, unless "parody" was on the list of no-no's that she included.

They included all her squicks (whether parodied or not); they did it deliberately; they said that's what they were doing. Just ASSUMING someone they didn't know would find it amusing is asshattery. The mod should have checked. She didn't. Her bad.

That is the style in which they generally write.

When you sign up to participate in a fic exchange, you write to please the other person as best you can. If you can't handle moving a little out of your usual comfort zone to accommodate someone else, you shouldn't sign up.

Although I certainly hope ravingraven doesn't delete her journal, she was entirely justified in feeling that, along with whatever else she's going through, this was the last straw. And look at her reaction: she didn't even go in anyone else's journal -- she was totally classy and expressed her feelings here, which is her right.

In fact, we're the ones who are being wanky in HER journal. For my part in that, I apologize, and I won't do this again.

[ellid]

Not a valid excuse. She could have issued a call for pinch hitters, extended the fest deadline, or any of a number of things. And more important, she could have read the summary, seen that it was a deliberate inversion of what had been requested, and asked RR if she was okay with that. Other fest mods read, or at least skimmed, a lot of more fics than were in this fest, and there hasn't been any wank.

UL comes back from the grave

[underlucius]

As original owner of H-H, I'm just bitterly dissapointed that this happened. I left fandom partly because of my writing and partly because of the wank and I tried hard to keep my communities out of the firing line of the shadenfraude lovers over at FW. It was with some pride that even hp_literotica hadn't hit the shit over there by the time I left.

I appreciate that you've apologised, but I have to say that a gift fic community was not the place to do this kind of story. I hate to sound "bleeding obvious" but the thing about Holiday exchanges is that you work hard to give the recipient what they want, not what you think they MIGHT want.

I know you have a reputation for crack-fic, I've read and enjoyed your stories, but I have to say that you should have thought about this before doing it, I used to go and read my recipients fic, and LJ to get a feel for the sort of thing they liked - "better to give than to receive" and all that.

Fluffy h/s may not be your cuppa, but it is for a lot of people, and when it comes to gift fic, that's all that matters.

Raven, I'm sorry that this happened, and I hope that you don't leave fandom because of this, not with a nasty taste in your mouth. I hope that the authors will now give you the fic you deserve.

Love

UL
xxx