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sporks (![[info]](http://www.journalfen.net/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} setsunastar) wrote in ![[info]](http://www.journalfen.net/img/community.gif){kind=small} fandom_wank,@ 2004-01-03 22:57:00 |
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| Entry tags: | elitism, fandom: harry potter, flouncing |
Harry Potter rides again...
... and is likely to keep doing so, as "the end" has been declared a pretentious and immature way to finish a fic. Possibly this is a cunning ruse to force authors to write neverending WIPs, or possibly someone's just a little over-zealous about their pet peeves.
This evening's wank is brought to you by the SBRL list, a community dedicated to the great and noble cause of getting Sirius Black and Remus Lupin into bed at every opportunity. Joining is required to read the messages; it may or may not be worth the effort, but anyone already a member might want to take a look.
Initially, the wank comes almost entirely from one alfirin kirinki, who's finally HAD ENOUGH:
*
From: "alfirin kirinki"
Date: Sat Jan 3, 2004 9:52 am
Subject: A mildly OT but relevant rant
Hi.
I've been bottling this up for ages, but now - NOW, I HAVE TO SAY SOMETHING!
What the hell is with everyone putting 'End' or - even worse - 'Fin' at the end
of their fics? WHY? If that's where the writing stops I think we can safely
assume that's the end of that particular fic. It drives me nuts! PLEASE, FOR THE
LOVE OF PUPPYDOM, *STOP DOING IT*!! I know it seems like a tiny thing, but
really, it ruins fics for me because it makes me think the author is aboout
eight. Or, in the case of 'Fin', a pretentious twat. And I don't want to think
that.
~grrrrrRRRRRRrrrrrRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrRRRRRR
Thank you. I feel better now.
.alfie.
*
From: "alfirin kirinki"
Date: Sat Jan 3, 2004 12:49 pm
Subject: Re: [SBRL] A mildly OT but relevant rant
>Hi Alphie
ALFIE. Sorry, that's something else that annoys me because the words is Elvish
and they didn't use 'ph' like that. Sorry... I'm really anal about some things,
you may have noticed! ^_~
>Personally, if I've enjoyed the fic enough to make it to the end, I really
couldn't care less if there are one or two extra words at the bottom of the
page.
Well, put it this way, I only review a fic I really, really like and I'm
really, REALLY fussy. If I find a fic in any way poor I'll keep it to myself
because I'm sure no one wants to hear it and I know how I'd feel if someone
slagged off my writing, however tactfully (and as a Sagittarian I don't know the
*meaning* of the word tactful when it comes to other people!). But putting
something like that at the end, to me at any rate (and apparently to both Sarah
and my primary school teachers), is pointless and juvenile. It's what we all
used to do when we were kids to fill up the bottom of the page with big, swirly
letters! It's irritating in the way people who squeeze the toothpaste in the
middle are irritating, or people who continually crack their knuckles are
irritating. No matter how much I like them, in the end I'm going to end up
yelling "WILL YOU FUCKING STOP IT, YOU GREAT PILLOCK?"
It's like being drawn into a nice little world created by the fic and then you
get to that and it's like, "And this is the exit. We hope your enjoyed your time
with us at The Puppy Adventure, now FUCK OFF."
> My opinion of the author's talent/skill is already formed and "the end" or
"Fin" is not going to change the impact of the fic or whether or not I will seek
out more of their work.
Yeah, well, fickle Sagittarian and all that... But as I say, it really takes
something great for me to be that moved by a fic. If I already dislike it
putting 'Fin' at the end is dicing with death... hehe.
> I'm certainly not going to scroll to the bottom of fics before reading them
to see if the author should be considered to be an "eight year old" or a
"pretentious twit".
No, and neither do I, but it doesn't stop me going "Grrr!" when I see it. It's
just so *unnecessary*! It comes across as either patronising ("Now that's the
end of the story, children, so what did we learn?") or arrogant ("TA-DAAA! I!
AM! FINISHED! Now get on your knees and worship, minions! ~bow, curtsy, bow~").
> We are very fortunate to have the level of participation and the quality of
writing that we have on this list, my hope would be that we don't drive people
away ( I detest tracking fics down on lj)over matters of personal opinion.
I don't think anyone's *quite* that sensitive on here, Kris. Not quite.
> However this is, of course, only my own personal opinion. I don't wish for
others to conform to my opinions, only that they be respectful of them.
And mine too. There are other things that annoy me about fics (people who
don't know the difference between the meanings and spellings of similar words,
for example, or people who don't know what to do with an apostrophe) but the
only thing I'm commenting on is something that is an addition to the writing but
adds nothing to the fic, and can't be attributed to short-comings in people's
schooling or to suffering from dyslexia - which are understandable excuses.
The simple fact of the matter is that there is no actual need for a writer to
tell us where their story ends. We are not stupid. *I* am not stupid and do not
feel the need to be told that the Yahoo! advert at the bottom of the page is not
a cunning plot twist. It niggles and I loathe it and I implore writers to stop
doing it. Please. Help preserve what little sanity I have left!
.alfie. the kill-joy
Varying responses, all reasonably polite, fail to drive the wank to any astounding heights - although alfie does quite well on her own in almost every post she makes - but then we get onto that good old standby of mailing list wank...
*
From: "ling"
Date: Sat Jan 3, 2004 5:24 pm
Subject: Wow.
You have got to be joking with me.
This list, whether or not everybody involved knows about it, is one of
those rather infamous nooks of slash fandom; people who *aren't* on the
SBRL almost always *know of* the SBRL, and it's not nice things they
say.
Sirius/Remus was my first slash ship and this list had a special place
in my heart -- had.
It's not just the inane, pointless posts that appear here in lieu of
actual discussion; nor is it even the fact that actual discussions are
generally dropped after fourteen microseconds in order to continue
having inane discussions.
I think the largest problem is simply the fact that *stories get
ignored* on this list. Granted, it might be a matter of taste but some
of the best authors that have ever posted for the Sirius/Remus pairing
at *all* post to this list and their stories generate almost no
feedback, where as terrifying things that switch point of view, embrace
fanon blasphemy and are generally regarded as the most atrocious
violations of slash and all that it entails are beloved.
Like I said, maybe, it's just a matter of taste.
This, in conjunction with the Circumcision Thread and now the Fin/End
Thread (no actual vitriol for the original authors themselves, as
sometimes you just have to ask/rant -- it's the sheer *volume* of reply
that horrifies me) --
Sweet GOD people.
I think this might be the first time I've ever written a listwide OH MY
FUCKING GOD WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING.
There's talent on this list; I *know that*. Either speak up, or run for
the livejournal hills. Sorry for people who hate pawing through
livejournals, but it's safer territory (and has a lot of really
brilliant authors).
In conclusion: I am SO out of here.
P.
Others jump ship with her, slinging out metaphors right, left and centre about greener pastures and fleeing to the LJ hills, and automatically doing their credibility some serious damage. The OP and friends pour scorn upon their heads, or something.
The whole thing is given a certain WTF? factor by the realisation that this list has frequently avoided flamewars over BDSM, non-con and bestiality in the past. I guess it's the little things that finally do it - like when someone takes an axe to their husband for picking his nose...
Update:
From: "Cassiopeia Kao" <fading_eclipse@y...>
Date: Sun Jan 4, 2004 4:06 am
Subject: Re: [SBRL] A mildly OT but relevant rant
Well, if this is the only thing you have to complain about, I would
say you must have a very very nice life where nothign ever goes wrong
and there are no starving homeless people, And people in other
countries arn't killing one another over land and religious desputes.
I would like to live in your world where I can get passionate about
such minor and silly things as whether or not someone put a "The end"
at the end of a peice of work, or if they spelled my Non existant
language of a name properly.
