unpopular opinion day + memes!
Oct. 15th, 2011 12:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
anghraineI ranted about Han's skeeviness in ESB for yesterday, so I'm doing the unpopular opinions today! Though probably not for every conceivable fandom.
UNPOPULAR OPINIONFRIDAY SATURDAY
Darcy/Fitzwilliam makes more sense than Darcy/Bingley, Fitzwilliam/Anne, or Fitzwilliam/Georgiana. Fitzwilliam/Georgiana, by the way, is kind of creepy.
I suspect many, many monosexual people are partially repulsed (like me!). Other people getting up in arms about how my being repulsed (...by men) is so misogynstic is one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard.
The Jedi are disturbing not because of the no-attachment thing, but because they’re raging hypocrites: samurai pretending they’re monks, and in the process messing up all those kids who are brought up to be monks. It’s like if the Air Nomads expected the Air Nomad children to abide by Air Nomad teachings, but fight like Fire Nation officers. Um, no.
I will always consider James a better person than Snape, even at his worst phase, because (1) James only picks on people his own size and (2) James does not join any genocidal hate groups.
I do not care how many lionturtle statues were randomly placed throughout the series, energybending still came out of nowhere. I like it as a solution, too. :(
I kind of wish Daine had become a goddess. I know, these plots are always about the renunciation, but...
I've seen five of the Doctors so far. Ten is my least favourite.
Polgara/Durnik is a bit weird to me. Not as weird as Sparhawk/Ehlana, though.
Gaston is the best Disney villain ever.
Fanfic isn't a gift; most authors write what they want to write and hope for the best, which is not generally how one goes about giving gifts. (Well, I really like Jane Austen, so here's a nice Oxford edition for you, Daddy!)
Penelope deserves better than Odysseus.
I think St. John Rivers is more likable than Rochester. Yup, I went there.
The extended edition of TTT does not begin to rehabilitate Faramir's character. It just makes him kind of pathetic.
I don't think tomboyish Jill saying that Susan's lost interest in Narnia because she doesn't care about anything except makeup and parties and staying young as long as she possibly can = adult female sexuality is evil.
Troi is 'eh' to me, but the virulence of the hatred for her is a bit ... disconcerting.
Colin/Mary OTP!
Gilbert (from Tenant) is kind of a jerk. Though obviously he can't approach the Charlotte-and-Emily levels of jerkassery.
High Wizardry's jokey Lone One as Darth Vader thing wasn't offhand geekery, it was epic foreshadowing. Think about it.
Andtree just reminded me that I have been slacking on my mission to spread memes like a bacterial outbreak, so here are some proper ones.
Asexuality meme
Day 26: Who is your biggest ally?
My greatest ally is ... hm. I don't know. Not anyone in my family, certainly.tulina and hl , probably. (Yes, I know that's cheating and that you'e not really one person. But really.)
Day 27: What is your favourite type of cake?
Ice cream cake! Chocolate cake with oreo inside.
Day 28: What is your favourite type of pie? (Or, is pie an acceptable replacement for cake?)
Chocolate cream or eggnog. And it's about six to one half-dozen the other for me -- I'm not honestly much of a fan of either. And no, I don't feel excluded from the community because of this.
Day 29: Where did you first learn about asexuality?
Google.
Day 30: Tell us anything about asexuality that you want to end with.
There's a lot of debate about what asexuality really is, how exactly it works, what "makes" people asexual, who are trufax asexual people and who are special snowflakes, etc etc. A lot of this, as far as I've seen, comes from sexual people struggling to define the lived experiences of asexual people.
Protip: don't.
The ace community already has a quick 'n easy method of determining who is asexual and who is not. It goes like this.
Do you identify as asexual?
If yes, then you are asexual, congratulations, sunshine and sparkles and cake all around. If no, then you are not asexual, sunshine and sparkles and cake all around.
Thank you.
Fanfic meme
Day 26: What is the oddest (or funnest) thing you've had to research for a fic?
Huh, let's see. I did some research into entailments, but that wasn't so much odd as boring. (Blackstone = best sedative ever.) A lot of my research is like that, titles or names or Sindarin or calendars or clothes or hairstyles or whatever.
Oh, I know! I researched genetic sexual attraction and the Westermarck effect for the latest version of Subsequent Connections. Odd and fun!
Day 27: Where is your favourite place to write, and do you write by hand or on the computer?
My bedroom, and the computer. My laptop carries everything. Well, and a dozen backup discs, because I'm paranoid.
Day 28: Have you ever collaborated with anyone else, whether writing together, or having an artist work on a piece about your fic?
I've had artists for the three au_bigbangs, so technically I have for those, though they could tell you that I'm...not much of a collaborator. Otherwise, hl and I have brainstormed fics a few times, and I came up with the premise and helped brainstorm for A Long Engagement, so there's that. I tend to the bossy, though, so I work better by myself.
Day 29: What is your current project or projects?
ahahahahahahahahahaha
How about we narrow it to the things that I actually intend to finish in the near future: three five things fics (Leia, Catherine, Lucy), I'm considering a sort of femmeslash AU of First Impressions (or...not FI, but what I decided not to do at the outset), the sequel to Lucy Skywalker, and something to do with Subsequent Connections. I'd also like to finish up my shorter projects, like Padmé's third of Distaff Lines and whatnot. Oh, and there's a self-indulgent short Lucy AU. This is a very small portion of the things actually on my plate, though.
Day 30: Do you have a favourite fic you've written? What makes it your favourite? And don't forget to give us the link!
Unquestionably, First Impressions. Now that I've got a little more perspective, I can see things that are wrong with it or that I should have done differently. Charlotte's storyline just disappears, for instance, the end is really rushed, I should probably have varied the Netherfield scenes up a bit more, blah blah. But it's still my favourite. It took so much effort to work it all out and I don't think it shows, which makes me happy, I kept wanting to insert arbitrary changes (but what if they were wizards??) and didn't, my well-established love for Darcy increased exponentially for Catherine and I was terrified of Sueifying her -- but instead, she seemed to be everyone else's favourite part too. And just technically, I think the writing was a bit stronger than usual?
But the main reason? It's a Regency P&P retelling with girl!Darcy. Not Elizabeth-as-Darcy, not role reversal, not modern AU, girl!Darcy. I wanted to see this so badly, and it just kept not existing (woe) and now it does. Because I WROTE IT. And people LIKED IT. My baby! <3
Other fanfic meme, 'cause I can
(gacked fromjedibuttercup )
The first 10 people to comment on this post get to request a drabble from you. Post all fandoms you're willing to write for.
Comment on this post, and I'll comment back with the link to the drabble when it's done. Just give me a fandom (or two, for a crossover), a name or pairing, and a one or two word prompt. Use your imaginations!
Fandoms: Austen (bookverse), Star Wars (original or prequel trilogies; no EU), Tolkien (anything), Harry Potter (bookverse). They can cross with anything on my fandom:___ tag.
UNPOPULAR OPINION
Darcy/Fitzwilliam makes more sense than Darcy/Bingley, Fitzwilliam/Anne, or Fitzwilliam/Georgiana. Fitzwilliam/Georgiana, by the way, is kind of creepy.
I suspect many, many monosexual people are partially repulsed (like me!). Other people getting up in arms about how my being repulsed (...by men) is so misogynstic is one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard.
The Jedi are disturbing not because of the no-attachment thing, but because they’re raging hypocrites: samurai pretending they’re monks, and in the process messing up all those kids who are brought up to be monks. It’s like if the Air Nomads expected the Air Nomad children to abide by Air Nomad teachings, but fight like Fire Nation officers. Um, no.
I will always consider James a better person than Snape, even at his worst phase, because (1) James only picks on people his own size and (2) James does not join any genocidal hate groups.
I do not care how many lionturtle statues were randomly placed throughout the series, energybending still came out of nowhere. I like it as a solution, too. :(
I kind of wish Daine had become a goddess. I know, these plots are always about the renunciation, but...
I've seen five of the Doctors so far. Ten is my least favourite.
Polgara/Durnik is a bit weird to me. Not as weird as Sparhawk/Ehlana, though.
Gaston is the best Disney villain ever.
Fanfic isn't a gift; most authors write what they want to write and hope for the best, which is not generally how one goes about giving gifts. (Well, I really like Jane Austen, so here's a nice Oxford edition for you, Daddy!)
Penelope deserves better than Odysseus.
I think St. John Rivers is more likable than Rochester. Yup, I went there.
The extended edition of TTT does not begin to rehabilitate Faramir's character. It just makes him kind of pathetic.
I don't think tomboyish Jill saying that Susan's lost interest in Narnia because she doesn't care about anything except makeup and parties and staying young as long as she possibly can = adult female sexuality is evil.
Troi is 'eh' to me, but the virulence of the hatred for her is a bit ... disconcerting.
Colin/Mary OTP!
Gilbert (from Tenant) is kind of a jerk. Though obviously he can't approach the Charlotte-and-Emily levels of jerkassery.
High Wizardry's jokey Lone One as Darth Vader thing wasn't offhand geekery, it was epic foreshadowing. Think about it.
And
tree just reminded me that I have been slacking on my mission to spread memes like a bacterial outbreak, so here are some proper ones.Asexuality meme
Day 26: Who is your biggest ally?
My greatest ally is ... hm. I don't know. Not anyone in my family, certainly.
tulina and hl , probably. (Yes, I know that's cheating and that you'e not really one person. But really.)Day 27: What is your favourite type of cake?
Ice cream cake! Chocolate cake with oreo inside.
Day 28: What is your favourite type of pie? (Or, is pie an acceptable replacement for cake?)
Chocolate cream or eggnog. And it's about six to one half-dozen the other for me -- I'm not honestly much of a fan of either. And no, I don't feel excluded from the community because of this.
Day 29: Where did you first learn about asexuality?
Google.
Day 30: Tell us anything about asexuality that you want to end with.
There's a lot of debate about what asexuality really is, how exactly it works, what "makes" people asexual, who are trufax asexual people and who are special snowflakes, etc etc. A lot of this, as far as I've seen, comes from sexual people struggling to define the lived experiences of asexual people.
Protip: don't.
The ace community already has a quick 'n easy method of determining who is asexual and who is not. It goes like this.
Do you identify as asexual?
If yes, then you are asexual, congratulations, sunshine and sparkles and cake all around. If no, then you are not asexual, sunshine and sparkles and cake all around.
Thank you.
Fanfic meme
Day 26: What is the oddest (or funnest) thing you've had to research for a fic?
Huh, let's see. I did some research into entailments, but that wasn't so much odd as boring. (Blackstone = best sedative ever.) A lot of my research is like that, titles or names or Sindarin or calendars or clothes or hairstyles or whatever.
Oh, I know! I researched genetic sexual attraction and the Westermarck effect for the latest version of Subsequent Connections. Odd and fun!
Day 27: Where is your favourite place to write, and do you write by hand or on the computer?
My bedroom, and the computer. My laptop carries everything. Well, and a dozen backup discs, because I'm paranoid.
Day 28: Have you ever collaborated with anyone else, whether writing together, or having an artist work on a piece about your fic?
I've had artists for the three au_bigbangs, so technically I have for those, though they could tell you that I'm...not much of a collaborator. Otherwise, hl and I have brainstormed fics a few times, and I came up with the premise and helped brainstorm for A Long Engagement, so there's that. I tend to the bossy, though, so I work better by myself.
Day 29: What is your current project or projects?
ahahahahahahahahahaha
How about we narrow it to the things that I actually intend to finish in the near future: three five things fics (Leia, Catherine, Lucy), I'm considering a sort of femmeslash AU of First Impressions (or...not FI, but what I decided not to do at the outset), the sequel to Lucy Skywalker, and something to do with Subsequent Connections. I'd also like to finish up my shorter projects, like Padmé's third of Distaff Lines and whatnot. Oh, and there's a self-indulgent short Lucy AU. This is a very small portion of the things actually on my plate, though.
Day 30: Do you have a favourite fic you've written? What makes it your favourite? And don't forget to give us the link!
Unquestionably, First Impressions. Now that I've got a little more perspective, I can see things that are wrong with it or that I should have done differently. Charlotte's storyline just disappears, for instance, the end is really rushed, I should probably have varied the Netherfield scenes up a bit more, blah blah. But it's still my favourite. It took so much effort to work it all out and I don't think it shows, which makes me happy, I kept wanting to insert arbitrary changes (but what if they were wizards??) and didn't, my well-established love for Darcy increased exponentially for Catherine and I was terrified of Sueifying her -- but instead, she seemed to be everyone else's favourite part too. And just technically, I think the writing was a bit stronger than usual?
But the main reason? It's a Regency P&P retelling with girl!Darcy. Not Elizabeth-as-Darcy, not role reversal, not modern AU, girl!Darcy. I wanted to see this so badly, and it just kept not existing (woe) and now it does. Because I WROTE IT. And people LIKED IT. My baby! <3
Other fanfic meme, 'cause I can
(gacked from
jedibuttercup )The first 10 people to comment on this post get to request a drabble from you. Post all fandoms you're willing to write for.
Comment on this post, and I'll comment back with the link to the drabble when it's done. Just give me a fandom (or two, for a crossover), a name or pairing, and a one or two word prompt. Use your imaginations!
Fandoms: Austen (bookverse), Star Wars (original or prequel trilogies; no EU), Tolkien (anything), Harry Potter (bookverse). They can cross with anything on my fandom:___ tag.
no subject
on 2011-10-26 11:45 pm (UTC)Yes, definitely poor Arissa, but yay for not-all-about-Anakin, or indeed about any conventional "girl stuff" like the grand/babies. (The two of them talking shop about piloting/navigation, though... makes me grin.)
Yes, indeed! As you reminded me, the role of genocidal/mundicidal whackjob in the OT goes to Tarkin, not our resident Jedi-turned-Sith, whose main flaw in that area tends to be that he considers incompetence a capital crime and doesn't balk at all at torture. (Though honestly, if you are walking around with none of your own limbs and a respirator and a lot of possibly-ill-healed third degree burn-scars, and have been for two decades, your understanding of the overall meaning of pain is probably kind of screwed up to begin with. Meaning that Vader's concept of what he's doing to Leia and then Han is probably not in line with the general understanding of what it means to torture someone--- when you're hurting all the time yourself, that framework is just... different. Not that it makes it okay, but... it's like with him killing the baby!Jedi, his understanding of that is just skewed, badly. And with the crippling/pain thing, Palpatine probably meant for it to happen that way, too. *squick*)
You're welcome, and it's amazing and fits the space perfectly!
no subject
on 2011-10-27 06:59 pm (UTC)(Originally the scene was actually going to be Arissa and Shmi talking about finding her-name-is-redacted-for-spoilers, but I decided that "women talking about babies" failed the spirit of the request if not the letter of the Bechdel law. Well, what you said, pretty much!
whose main flaw in that area tends to be that he considers incompetence a capital crime and doesn't balk at all at torture
Ha, yes. I suspect Vader considers any crime a capital crime, really. And he's totally cool with torture -- though I've always thought it interesting that in the radio plays and novelizations and everything except the movie itself, the implication is that he sends the robotic torture droid away; the "mind probe" he refers to is a creepy Force thing and that's why she hasn't so much as a smudge on her makeup. (I vaguely alluded to this in Revenge, where Luke is all MIND RAPE IS BAD and Vader's like "duh, that's why it's for torture.")
I am personally convinced that Palpatine knew more or less exactly what was going to happen at Mustafar and thoughtfully prepared the suit ahead of time.
no subject
on 2011-10-28 12:22 am (UTC)Hahah, yes. And that is super creepy about the Force-powered mind-rape thing, which I had not picked up on so much especially as I haven't heard the radio plays. And LOL @ Revenge-verse Luke and Vader (whom I will never not love).
There is nothing about this idea that is not super specially creepy and horrible and makes me want to hug Anakin, but your use of "thoughtfully" is just the perfect freakiness-icing on the creeperific cake. *shudders* *pets Anakin* (Man, his mentors just screw him over every which way, don't they? Poor boy.)
no subject
on 2011-10-28 06:47 am (UTC)So I might have resurrected her for canon-compliant stuff. BECAUSE I CAN.The mind-rape thing is creepy on two levels for me: that Anakin/Vader regards skeevy mind stuff as torture to be used for getting information, and that apparently every other Jedi ever doesn't.
but your use of "thoughtfully" is just the perfect freakiness-icing on the creeperific cake
ahahahahahahaha. I cannot write about Palpatine without that sort of saccharine-creepiness. It's even there in ROTJ when he's constantly calling Vader his friend as if ... idek. THROW HIM DOWN THAT REACTOR SHAFT, ANAKIN.
no subject
on 2011-10-29 12:57 am (UTC)QFT, yet again. This so much. And I can also see Anakin/Vader eschewing the whole Force-persuasion thing entirely on the grounds that it is too much like slavery; I loved when
YES THIS. THIS THIS THIS and also your last line made me literally LOL with the squee! :) :) :) YES ALREADY.
no subject
on 2011-10-30 03:01 am (UTC)I also love the idea of Anakin being skeeved out by it -- because for all the people whining about how he must have used his mastery of the mind-trick on Padmé ... what mastery? He never uses it ever. Not even as Vader. So I can easily see him being horrified. Even the transmitter didn't completely strip them of agency.
no subject
on 2011-10-30 05:15 am (UTC)Yes to all of this--- Skywalkers, especially Anakin, would be all about their family and their attachments; Arissa's got that bit more... centered... stance. Which might be what makes her attractive to Anakin--- sort of what Shmi might have been if not for slavery?
This, EXACTLY!!! It is completely my headcanon that Force persuasion is the one power that Anakin Skywalker will not ever use even as Darth Vader. Because it is too much like slavery, and while he is completely willing to fuck your shit up in a straightforward kind of way, that whole mind-control thing is just not on.
And... GAH... on using the mind-trick on Padme. There is just nothing that suggests that to me, not least because Lucas is kind of anvillicious about that kind of thing and I think it would have been made obvious somewhere in their Most Awkward Courtship Ever. Like Padme is going on about how they'd be living a lie, and then we see Anakin with a Conflicted Look, and then he murmurs something in the spooky Force-persuade voice a la Kenobi, and then they're kissing.
Except, you know, that doesn't happen. And Force persuasion is pretty obvious to the audience when it happens in the rest of canon, so. *facepalm* I mean, Anakin is completely stunned when she comes out with the "I love you" on Geonosis, so, yeah. (As I said elsewhere, I think they end up married because they're both skeeved out by the clone armies and because the Jedi Order and to a lesser extent the Senate have, in their minds, completely abrogated any moral authority over their love life with the whole "cloned slave army" deal.)