That is a fantastic vid, and I have told the creator so. Thanks for sharing it. (Though, wow, Worf. I . . . will have to think about that for a while, even though the author points out in her essay that the trope isn't identical, but the visuals are, and . . . wow. Worf. And a lot of other things, but I'm going to start there.)
Yes, my first fanfic was DRR; no, you can't read it!
I think without the essay, Worf would be a bit out of place in the vid, but her point about all that in the essay was fabulous, I thought: here is Jadzia, who never particularly played by the rules, who did have her own plot and story and development, yet her death was still cast in those same, old, tired terms. (And yes, there were all the external-to-the-story stuff with Terry Farrell leaving the show and such, but still.) I'm not sure Worf is exempt from the whole manpain thing, though. It becomes wrapped up in the Klingon Honor Thing, which then possibly becomes problematic in its own, racially-tinged way, but there's definitely a bit of the "I am the Strong Man with Responsibilities" thing, combined with various elements of his tragic, loner past on an individual level. I mean, he's certainly more complicated, with respect to the trope, than Dean Winchester or Fox Mulder, but I can buy his presence in the vid, especially given the elaboration in the essay about why she included him and those scenes in particular
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Oh, I'm not saying Worf should be exempt from the manpain thing or that he shouldn't be in the vid. It's just a bit more that I was surprised to see him there--I watched the vid before I read the essay--and it hurt a bit. Because despite the very good reasons for its inclusion, Worf's story is just different enough (Jadzia's death wasn't about advancing his pain) and that event hurt me enough (this is a character who didn't show up to be fridged; she had her own story and plot and development, and she was totally my favorite), that even though the staging was lame and the baby plot was lame and it was a tired old trope, I really, really felt for and with Worf when that moment happened. And it's interesting to note the ways in which it was the same old story, couched in really problematic cultural terms with that as a backdrop.
As for your early, dreadful DDR stuff . . . no, I don't think so! I've read your early, dreadful Janet/Daniel stuff (which is really quite delightful, in an early, dreadful sort of way!), but not the X-
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But I still have a super special place in my heart for DRR.Indeed! I always loved them for not being Mulder and Scully, mostly. They weren't epically tragic, or particularly complicated, and they certainly weren't going to sit around pining over each other for seven years without doing anything about it (I felt like we were supposed to understand that they'd gotten together around the end of the series, really, though I was watching with admittedly ship-colored glasses). And the hug in my icon is one of my all-time favorite TV hugs (though WOW, that was an awful episode, now that I've gone back to rewatch it
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Fortunately, I was such an intimidated newbie that I never sent my stuff to Gossamer, and the site it was on went down, so I think I'm spared the most embarrassing examples of my misspent fannish youth (though really, some of my early Daniel/Janet stuff was much worse than some of my DRR stuff, and that totally still exists on the internet, for those who know how to find it). Ah well!
But yes, Gossamer is such an institution, and I hope it stays on the interwebs always and forever! The .txt file format! All those stories--the good, the bad, and the ugly alike! Many, many fond memories there.
reading old fic on Gossamer, which is itself such a visual trip down memory lane
Hee! I love going back to Gossamer as much for the fic as for the nostalgia. It feels a little bit like a ficish pilgrimage - going back to the place where it all began.
Ain't no 'ship like the original 'ship, baby! And yes, Gossamer has wonderful nostalgia value--perhaps especially now that Geocities has gone down (because yes, I was totally going back to read old fic on Geocities sites from time to time, right up until they died).
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Yes, my first fanfic was DRR; no, you can't read it!
But . . . I really want to! Pretty please? :)
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As for your early, dreadful DDR stuff . . . no, I don't think so! I've read your early, dreadful Janet/Daniel stuff (which is really quite delightful, in an early, dreadful sort of way!), but not the X- ( ... )
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But yes, Gossamer is such an institution, and I hope it stays on the interwebs always and forever! The .txt file format! All those stories--the good, the bad, and the ugly alike! Many, many fond memories there.
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Hee! I love going back to Gossamer as much for the fic as for the nostalgia. It feels a little bit like a ficish pilgrimage - going back to the place where it all began.
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