Fannish Opinion Meme

[tielan]

This could (and probably will) seriously get me into trouble.

But what the hell.

1. Ask me one fandom-related question in the comments. This can be fandom specific, general, or about fandom/LiveJournal stuff/fic writing/etc. in general.

2. You can only ask one question. (It can have sub-parts, if you want.)

3. That's it. It can be as normal or odd as you like.

Comments

[ladyjax.livejournal.com]

What do you like most about writing pairings? (John/Teyla, Liz/Ronon)

[tielan]

The potential for how the relationship develops, the quirks and problems that relationships have, how they deal with it (or, in the case of some pairings, don't deal with it) and how they relate to each other.

I like writing relationships that I think could work in my brain - especially in the way they relate to each other and deal with problems and address issues. Or just sex each other up.

This is probably why I enjoy writing crackfic so much: because the situations change - but their essential personalities - their good and bad points, their behavioural patterns, the way they do relationships and treat each other - remains the same.

[million-moments.livejournal.com]

What ever possesed you to write that fic where the team get back and everyone on Atlantis is at it???

[tielan]

I blame the sga_flashfic. They asked for sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll and everyone else was writing teh sexx0rs, so I wanted to try for a fic where everyone but the team was having sex - and seriously 'aliens made them do it' but not in a romantic, fluffy, or 'forgivable' way.

It was sort of my serious-but-silly option.

[fugacious-love.livejournal.com]

Which relationship is your least favorite to watch develop on Atlantis?

[tielan]

I wondered if anyone would ask this question. :)

Full-blown commentary ahead.

I like all the interactions on the show as friendships. There are characters that I don't like romantically paired together, that I'm happy enough to watch interact as friends and nothing more. The difficulty is finding the "nothing more" aspect in fandom (where everything is pairing-oriented - yes, even my own fanfic).

The three relationships I have issues with in romantic development are (ironically) the most popular ones in fandom: Shep/McKay, Shep/Weir, and Teyla/Ronon.

My issue with Shep/McKay and Shep/Weir is that both characters are functionally subservient in the show to Shep's role as "the hero": their actions, motivations, and personal struggles don't count against his. Hence, while they have storylines of their own, their storyline or character development will be sacrificed in an instant to save Shep from having to face the actual consequences of his actions.

eg. Shep backing McKay in Trinity but leaving Rodney to take the fall with Weir and later being angry with Rodney. Given that Shep backed McKay to begin with, some fall should have been taken by Shep - and none was shown.

The other example that bugs me is the way Weir whitewashes any disobedience on Shep's part because "he saved the day" - chiefly in Intruder when referring to the events of Hot Zone but in other small things through the series.

In the context of Shep/Weir romantic involvement, it comes off as a woman forgiving her man anything he does purely because she loves him. I like Weir. I'd rather not see her in this kind of mentality - which is how she comes across if I read Shep/Weir as romantic.

There's a rant in there about Shep and his role as 'hero' of the show, combined with TPTB self-inserting themselves in a way that's distinctly Gary-Stu-esque.

I'll leave that for another time. *g*

The Teyla/Ronon thing irks me because I see them as so distinctly sibling, and a lot of the attitudes I see around fandom towards them are a) they spend a lot of time together on-screen so it must be attraction! b) they're both from Pegasus so they're matched for each other! c) they're convenient to my OTP and get Teyla out of the way of Sheppard! d) I find Ronon hot, so Teyla must too!

Disclaimer: These are all my own personal opinions and I do not expect people to share them. But I was asked. :)

[fugacious-love.livejournal.com]

In the context of Shep/Weir romantic involvement, it comes off as a woman forgiving her man anything he does purely because she loves him. I like Weir. I'd rather not see her in this kind of mentality - which is how she comes across if I read Shep/Weir as romantic.


That's what Shep/Weir seems like for me too. I ship both Shep/Weir and Shep/Teyla, but Shep/Weir is much more in fanon than canon for me. Sometimes I do like the idea of the Shep and Weir characters together, but the writers have yet to write a decent Shep/Weir scene that doesn't scream "OMG ANGST!", "They're acting like they're just friends", or "But that's not like Weir at all!". I'm a huge Weir fan, and though I do like Shep/Weir sometimes, I'd much prefer her with Ronon a person whose relationship with her would add to her character, not subtract from it.

The three relationships I have issues with in romantic development are (ironically) the most popular ones in fandom: Shep/McKay, Shep/Weir, and Teyla/Ronon.

This is still what I don't understand. I see how Shep/McKay and Teyla/Ronon are popular, but Shep/Weir always seems like the more subtle ship to me (in comparison to Shep/Teyla, which I've seen since the first episode).

On the Teyla/Ronon argument, I couldn't agree more.

Out of curiousity, did you see the ficathon delgaserasca is holding over here (http://delgaserasca.livejournal.com/430365.html)? I'm told we're supposed to pimp the ficathon, so here's my... pimpage. :)

[tielan]

Sometimes I do like the idea of the Shep and Weir characters together

Now this is something that nobody will believe of me: sometimes, I do, too.

And then I remember all the Mary Sue Weir stories I've read, the abject annoyances that certain fangirl Shweirs inspire in me, and the fact that the relationship reduces Weir to 'faithful little woman waiting for her man to come home *swoon*', and it passes. *g*

but Shep/Weir always seems like the more subtle ship to me

I pretty much said this on miera_c's LJ the other day.

In the absence of writers capable or willing to write consistent romantic relational development into a show, fans will popularise the relationships that have the most interaction, whether or not there is romantic subtext depicted between the characters.

On the other hand, one of my friends thinks that a lot of het fans over-identify with Elizabeth as the white, educated, thirty-something, middle-class Western woman, and so project themselves into her and want her (themselves) to end up with the 'hero' - in this case, Sheppard.

[miera-c.livejournal.com]

The Teyla/Ronon thing irks me because I see them as so distinctly sibling, and a lot of the attitudes I see around fandom towards them are a) they spend a lot of time together on-screen so it must be attraction! b) they're both from Pegasus so they're matched for each other! c) they're convenient to my OTP and get Teyla out of the way of Sheppard! d) I find Ronon hot, so Teyla must too!

You forgot "They're the two non-Caucasian actors!" *eyeroll*

[tielan]

I'm tempted to ask what year it is and what country we're living in...must have slipped back in time somehow...

[dirty-diana.livejournal.com]

Does Atlantis fandom annoy you as much as it seems like it annoys you? If yes, why, and also why do you hang out in it so much? (And yes, I know this question could be thrown right back at me, but I am curious about your take.) If no, then I take the whole question back. :)

[tielan]

Yes, SGA fandom does annoy me as much as it probably seems. :)

The difficulty is that the fandom has a limited say when it comes to the stories that I want to write. Ultimately, my energies go towards writing the stories of characters that captivate me. As such, the Atlantis characters have me trapped (so to speak) writing their stories, even if the fandom has more-than-sufficient capacity to piss me off on a regular basis.

For me, fandom is never about the fandom; fandom is about my opportunity to write and write and write some more. The feedback, nominations, awards - whatever - is nice, but ultimately I. Must. Write. And I'll do it with or without the approval of 99% of the fandom - or in the face of frustration with 99% of the fandom.

When the inspiration to write fades, that's ultimately when I drift away.

So I'm afraid the Atlantis fandom is stuck with me - at least for the moment.

[dirty-diana.livejournal.com]

I totally get that, about frustration with the majority rules of this fandom. I know, in my head, that I can only feel as disenfranchised as I want to feel, but it doesn't help particularly. And some days I'm like that too, where I have a great idea and make the choice not to care whether anyone reads it or wants to talk to me.

But other days, I am like, fuck. I have six other fandoms that are more fun that this. But good for you, being stronger than I am. :)