The Wonderful WTFery and Wankery That Is QAF Fandom
Fandom...I would have words.
To start with, I have met enough of you and/or had long, lengthy phone convos with you that you know I'm real. For those who haven't met me before...
My name is not actually Red. Although some of you that I've met call me that. I'm female, Black, 50, married, 2 daughters and a new grandson.
There you go. Ask anyone, they'll verify this. They may tell you my real name. I don't care. Seriously. In fact, in the spirit of disclosure, I'll tell you. It's Shawn, okay?
A woman named Carol died. She died of a stroke, or so I'm/we're told. That in and of itself is a sad thing, because by accounts she was relatively young (early 40's) ( ETA:
besame_bj says early 60's) and if nothing else, is a call out for more and better women's heart healthcare and awareness. Here's the problem. I didn't know her. None of us did, not really. But we did know two people associated with her, though.
Randall Morgan and Brian Hennessy.
You see, they weren't/aren't real. Carol created them, made them up, sockpuppets, pick your pseudonym. She did.
There are multiple posts on LJ about this, some about the sadness, others about the outrage.
Me?
Popped some popcorn and sat back to watch the wank evolve.
There's nothing wrong with having a sockpuppet/pseudonym. Published authors, directors, producers, they've all used them. Some even make up bios for them, ie Stephen King/Richard Bachman. What's NOT okay is stringing people along and making them think they're real people, letting them become invested in these creations...basically lying to lots of people.
Anyone who's been in my fandoms knows this isn't the first time this has happened. HP people have the MsScribe shitstorm, SPN have the batshit cray mother/daughter that claim they're actually married to Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki, and QAF has InnerJustin and now this. And trust me, it probably won't be the last.
I'm posting because really, some of the pearl-clutching, while amusing, is also ridiculous. If you didn't know this woman, or ever email/tweet Brian/Randall, why are you upset? No one did anything to you. If you are one of the people that was personally duped, then yeah, rant all you like. And if you were one of the people that suspected early on and were basically told to sit the fuck down and shut the fuck up? Show the proof and call them out. One of you already has, and kudos to you, bb!
Speaking of which...anyone ever notice that when wank happens, Cael crawls out of her Gollum cave to talk shit? Yeah, Cael, I'm talking to you. You claim you didn't know. Yeah, pull this finger, it plays Jingle Bells. Since you've shown up, as usual, to drop an insult and run like hell, where's the money you got to keep BJFic.net alive? Where's the site files? What? Yeah, that's what I thought.
Anyone want to come over here and run to Cael's defense? Don't bother. I wouldn't believe her saying the sky was blue on a cloudless day. And if Cael herself wants to come say 'hi'...come on over.
Back to the subject at hand.
Again, a woman died. One that most of us did not know. That is a sad thing for her family and friends. What she left us with were two fictional people who wrote some pretty decent fic. Good enough that I have one story from each writer on my Kindle. I have wondered if Brian/Carol ever lived in Louisiana, because they nailed the locale, dialect and knowledge of one who did. In any case, let's celebrate that. You want to pay your respects? Donate to women's health issues. Spread the word about the risks of heart attack/stroke to women. Save the fics and make sure they're safe.
In other words, live. Live as you, yourself. I do. I can't be bothered to pretend to be someone else. I'm so shiny I'd forget who I was supposed to be. Ask anyone.
Peace out, bbs!
To start with, I have met enough of you and/or had long, lengthy phone convos with you that you know I'm real. For those who haven't met me before...
My name is not actually Red. Although some of you that I've met call me that. I'm female, Black, 50, married, 2 daughters and a new grandson.
There you go. Ask anyone, they'll verify this. They may tell you my real name. I don't care. Seriously. In fact, in the spirit of disclosure, I'll tell you. It's Shawn, okay?
A woman named Carol died. She died of a stroke, or so I'm/we're told. That in and of itself is a sad thing, because by accounts she was relatively young (early 40's) ( ETA:
besame_bj says early 60's) and if nothing else, is a call out for more and better women's heart healthcare and awareness. Here's the problem. I didn't know her. None of us did, not really. But we did know two people associated with her, though.
Randall Morgan and Brian Hennessy.
You see, they weren't/aren't real. Carol created them, made them up, sockpuppets, pick your pseudonym. She did.
There are multiple posts on LJ about this, some about the sadness, others about the outrage.
Me?
Popped some popcorn and sat back to watch the wank evolve.
There's nothing wrong with having a sockpuppet/pseudonym. Published authors, directors, producers, they've all used them. Some even make up bios for them, ie Stephen King/Richard Bachman. What's NOT okay is stringing people along and making them think they're real people, letting them become invested in these creations...basically lying to lots of people.
Anyone who's been in my fandoms knows this isn't the first time this has happened. HP people have the MsScribe shitstorm, SPN have the batshit cray mother/daughter that claim they're actually married to Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki, and QAF has InnerJustin and now this. And trust me, it probably won't be the last.
I'm posting because really, some of the pearl-clutching, while amusing, is also ridiculous. If you didn't know this woman, or ever email/tweet Brian/Randall, why are you upset? No one did anything to you. If you are one of the people that was personally duped, then yeah, rant all you like. And if you were one of the people that suspected early on and were basically told to sit the fuck down and shut the fuck up? Show the proof and call them out. One of you already has, and kudos to you, bb!
Speaking of which...anyone ever notice that when wank happens, Cael crawls out of her Gollum cave to talk shit? Yeah, Cael, I'm talking to you. You claim you didn't know. Yeah, pull this finger, it plays Jingle Bells. Since you've shown up, as usual, to drop an insult and run like hell, where's the money you got to keep BJFic.net alive? Where's the site files? What? Yeah, that's what I thought.
Anyone want to come over here and run to Cael's defense? Don't bother. I wouldn't believe her saying the sky was blue on a cloudless day. And if Cael herself wants to come say 'hi'...come on over.
Back to the subject at hand.
Again, a woman died. One that most of us did not know. That is a sad thing for her family and friends. What she left us with were two fictional people who wrote some pretty decent fic. Good enough that I have one story from each writer on my Kindle. I have wondered if Brian/Carol ever lived in Louisiana, because they nailed the locale, dialect and knowledge of one who did. In any case, let's celebrate that. You want to pay your respects? Donate to women's health issues. Spread the word about the risks of heart attack/stroke to women. Save the fics and make sure they're safe.
In other words, live. Live as you, yourself. I do. I can't be bothered to pretend to be someone else. I'm so shiny I'd forget who I was supposed to be. Ask anyone.
Peace out, bbs!