mithen

There's a lovely December Talking Meme going around, and I was feeling bad because between holidays and travel and my students' theses being due it was just impossible. And then some kind soul started thinking outside the box and said "Why not just do it in January?" and I thought SURE WHY NOT? :)

Pick a date below and give me a topic - anything from fandom related (specific fandoms, characters, pairings, episodes, etc.) to RL to whatever else you want, and I promise to ramble/rant/rave/whathaveyou on the appointed day. *g*

They will probably be brief, or not, depending on the subject. Also, I reserve the right to decline prompts that I don't feel equipped to meet.

I haven't been posting much here but fic for ages, so I'd love the excuse to do some meta or even to just blither on about my life a bit!

Jan 01: Tell us of your non-fandom favorite things! Whether they be hobbies, items, foods, or people. (Queen0fcups)
Jan 02:
Jan 03: Thoughts on the future Superman v Batman movie? In general? For Shipping potential? (Mishagirl)
Jan 04: Your favorite spot to visit in Japan, and why? (Ilyena_sylph)
Jan 05: Any Advice on meeting 'the one' or finding love in general? (Mishagirl)
Jan 06: Bruce/Clark Origin Story! (dhfunk)
Jan 07:
Jan 08: Favorite ice cream! (Northernwalker)
Jan 09:
Jan 10: Your thoughts on SuperBat in a ridiculous high school shoujo manga AU(you know, cherry blossoms, senpai has noticed me, school uniforms with ties and blazers etc etc.)? (LadyPeony)
Jan 11: What did you do to become a better writer? (Pleasance)
Jan 12:
Jan 13: Bagginshield Feels Ahoy! (Jestana)
Jan 14: How do you feel about other fans' portrayals/interpretations of characters that conflict with your own interpretations? (Meicdon13)
Jan 15:
Jan 16:
Jan 17: What attracts you to a ship? (Rijsg)
Jan 18: The Silmarillion (Starsandsea)
Jan 19:
Jan 20: Blakes' 7! (Navaan)
Jan 21:
Jan 22: Ebb and flow of fandom/OTP love over time (Mekare)
Jan 23: SuperBat, a kiss happened by accident that led to many hidden feelings. (Lakiunderwook), and what the heck, I can probably write a little drabble too, since listening to my thoughts about accidental kisses might not be the most riveting. :)
Jan 24:
Jan 25:
Jan 26:
Jan 27:
Jan 29:
Jan 30:
Jan 31:

I've seen, in a variety of places, decrying of what's sometimes called "Tumblr-speak," especially targeted toward the term "feels." "You should just say you feel something, not this ridiculous 'I have feels' thing," the argument goes. But today I wish to step up to the plate and give a light-hearted defense of "feels" for a moment--bear with me!

( Feels below the cut! )

Written for

month_of_meta!

We live in a time where it seems that more and more, "canon" creative works have a lot of the same derivative/transformative roots that "fannish" works do. Whether it's Elizabeth Bennett fighting the undead in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, a modern gender-bent take on Holmes and Watson in Elementary, or a riff on fairy tales in countless sources like Once Upon a Time, it seems like there are more texts than ever that have multiple "takes" on the source material. What are the strengths of "wider" texts with multiple canon takes, and what are the benefits to more "narrow" texts with a more focused, clear voice? This essay is a (tentative) exploration of the differences.

A few clarifications at the beginning: I use for examples various fandoms I only know second-hand. Fandoms I don't know well I've put in bold, just so it's extra-clear I'm not speaking with any authority there. If I'm wrong about those (or any other) please kindly point it out to me! Also, I have a nice neat 10-point spectrum below, but in reality the categories are messy and there's a lot of wiggle room for what goes where. Feel free to make a case for changing categories, or for whole categories I've left out!

( Narrow and Wide Canons: A Spectrum )

If you haven't run into what has become known as RaceFail09, a brief summary: Elizabeth Bear had a reader complain about race depictions in one of her books. Bear responded reasonably at first (she rescinded that later), but her friends and fans did not, and things became ugly. The conversation arched across the SF/F communities and beyond, becoming a sweeping (and quite vicious on the part of some pro authors and publishers) discussion about race, cultural appropriation, and white privilege. There are summaries of links at

metafandom and

rydra_wong; one of the best summaries I've seen of the whole thing is here.

I've mostly just read and thought about these things rather than entering into discussions and posting about them. My reasoning was that, well, I felt it was narcissistic to say "Here's what I have to say on the topic! Listen to me!" I felt it was better to read and absorb and...well, very often to wince in amazed horror at what people were saying.

( Today had two posts that broke me, though. )

I'd been kind of avoiding this meme because...well, once I get talking meta there's really, really no stopping me. I'm an academic, it goes with the territory. But I commented on

anthraciteowl's wonderful analysis of why she loves Tim Drake and she gave me five things and...I could no longer resist.

If anyone hasn't done this meme, or would like to do it again, let me know and I'll give you five things I associate with you! Feel free to comment without asking for five things as well, I won't slap you with it unless you specifically ask for it, and I always love to talk meta. :)

Lots of burbling below the cut!

( Bruce Wayne )

( Clark Kent )

( identity porn )

( Krypton )

( AU stories )

1) Pick up to 15 pairings you like
2) Describe them in up to 15 words
3) Get your friends to guess

(As a hint: 5 are DC, 4 are Trek, 6 are other fandoms; 11 are m/m, 3 are m/f, one is f/f).

1. An endless game, chasing and catching and escaping again. The chasing is the best part. (

bradygirl_12 and

snake_easing guessed Bruce/Selina)
2. Bitter enemies, fated slayers. A vision of the future fails to reveal respect and mercy. (

icarus_chained got Londo/G'Kar)
3. Fate, destiny, Doom: a moth to a flame, comrades and warriors until the bitter end. (

yavieriel guessed Turin/Beleg)
4. Good friends. He loved her in secret. Slowly, sweetly, she came to love him too. (

fictionalknight woke up with the realization this was Kira/Odo. *grin*...

snake_easing guessed it too)
5. He took his place to hold back the darkness. Now it's him that needs saving.
6. Hidden depths, nothing "simple" about either of them. Sarcastic, ironic banter reveals many layers. (

snake_easing guessed Bashir/Garak)
7. His father dreads the king's return, but he feels the dangerous allure of fealty. (

ilyena_sylph guessed Boromir/Aragorn)
8. Idealist and cynic thrown together and apart; the cynic searches, searches, searches...and (alas!) finds. (

dshael guessed Avon/Blake)
9. "What a piece of work is man" is arrogant in the extreme--but rather charming. (

bradygirl_12 guessed Picard/Q)
10. Mute, scarred, enslaved--he helped her raise her secret son and loved her in silence. (

jade_dragoness guessed Araris/Isana)
11. Passion and intellect exploring the universe together. Fire and ice balanced in a perfect friendship. (

jade_dragoness guessed Kirk/Spock)
12. Shadows and sunlight aren't opposites, but two halves of a whole. They complete each other. (

ilyena_sylph guessed Clark/Bruce)
13. She's a plant stunted by a cruel gardener. How she longs to help her bloom. (

ilyena_sylph guessed Harley/Ivy)
14. Their shared devotion was the only bright point in the dark realm they served. (

tygati delighted me by guessing Kunzite/Zoisite)
15. They're pals--they have fun, get in trouble together. Why not in bed too? (

stinglikeabee guessed Ted/Booster)

Current Mood: nerdy

January Talking Meme!

META: In Defense of Feels

Narrow and Wide Canons and the Fannish Experience

Alas, Yet Another RaceFail09 Post

Five Things Meme

Meme swiped from Merfilly, Ilyena_sylph, Icarus_chained

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June 2023

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