i love A, so I must hate B!: zero sum character love

[schmerica]

One of the things I love the very best about my experiences in due South fandom so far -- and I realize I've said this about thirty million things to date, but that's because they're all TRUE -- is how little sense of a division between fans of different characters. Especially between two characters in your main pairing.

I mean, okay, I am speaking from the position of someone who was very much a Clark fan during the first two and a half seasons of Smallville. This was not so bad at first, but it got more and more painful as time went on -- there were actually some episodes I went away from going "Oh my god, I love Clark beyond WORDS!" and I would go online to find half my friends list talking about how they wanted to gouge his heart out with a spork. And, you know, I do believe in the theory of "I am the boss of my own fannish experience; I am in charge of keeping my joy" but it still kind of sucked, because to keep my happy place, I basically had to filter my flist hardcore -- there were good writers and cool people I just couldn't read because it made me cringe so much. (As a side note, I really don't get the point of having an OTP where you utterly despise one of the characters. This is especially in true in fandoms where there is less of a focus on one specific pairing than there is either dS or especially SV.)

Some of those people, actually, were ones who drifted into dS about the same time or shortly after me. So I spent the first little while eyeing them all and getting paranoid that the same thing was going to happen here -- that I'd turn around and suddenly be reading about what an evil horrible worthless bitch Fraser is and lists of all the ways he's failed and totally doesn't deserve Ray and should be, like, whipped and forced to perpetuate lots of grovelfic.

I would guess most F/K shippers would name Kowalski as their favorite of the two characters, but I think most of them still *like* both of them. Or, at least, the ones I've been exposed to mostly do. I mean, when Estrella threatens to poke Fraser's eye out with a stick, she's doing it because she can't make him fuck, not because she thinks he actually deserves that for his canon behavior.

Anyway. I don't know if this is more something about the fandom or just me being more specific and careful about what I expose myself to these days, but the lack of all this makes very very happy. Friends list, I looooooove you!

Comments

[brooklinegirl.livejournal.com]

I - wow. Pearl, I mean, I like you and all? But I can't believe you're defending Fraser. I mean, Fraser obviously thinks Ray is totally beneath him, and I can't believe you'd even THINK that he'd be WORTHY of Ray's love. I just - how can you look at Ray, Ray who was hurt, and suffering, and helpless when Fraser met him, and then Fraser just, like, TOTALLY took advantage of him in the crypt there, fucking PRYING into his background, JUST so he could get facts to use against him. I -

wow. I'm sorry. If you keep making post like this, you're SO not gonna make my filter.

[axiom_of_stripe]

*holds blg down and gives her a noogie*

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

*plans sekrit filtered posts about how Estrella deserves SO much better than hor-y BLGs*

[harriet-spy.livejournal.com]

is how little sense of a division between fans of different characters

Well, I'd call *that* an artifact of the time you moved into the fandom, all right. I've only even *seen* one episode of the show and I know about the Ray Wars.

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

Well, yeah, that's definitely a really good point -- the dS fandom I entered is very different from the one of a few years. Although the Ray vs. Ray thing also did have a lot to do with one pairing vs another, whereas what I'm thinking of is more along the lines of *one* OTP, with the hating and bashing of one half of the pairing. It's a slightly different feeling to the situation.

[harriet-spy.livejournal.com]

whereas what I'm thinking of is more along the lines of *one* OTP, with the hating and bashing of one half of the pairing

*nods* That I really can't stand. If you really think a character is *that horrible*, then why insist on pairing him off with your beloved character? For that matter, why is your beloved character so stupid as to insist on being with someone totally repulsive? Blah.

[raveninthewind.livejournal.com]

Am v. glad I missed the Ray Wars.

[countess7.livejournal.com]

Welcome to Pax Cesperanza:) Isn't it wonderful? There are still fans who hate Vecchio but they're, well, stupid. Otherwise dS fandom now is SO fantastic.

Also, one of the main reasons or THE main reason for the equality of love between fans of Fraser and RayK versus say Clark and Lex in SV is that Fraser and Ray have a complete canon which ended with the two of them going off *together* to have adventures and Clark and Lex' canon continues to evolve and they're destined to become *iconic arch-enemies*. So, you know, fans are happy when their boys ride off into the sunset together. We're all basking in the afterglow. It makes it hard to pick on things other than say, Mr. Rennie's accent.

As for SV, they all pick on each other because they're all in different stages of grief.

Anyway, whatever. Hi. I comment here from time to time. I'm Tess. I thought it was time to introduce myself. I like your stories.

PS, I love Clark, too. How can you not? He's so fine!

[harriet-spy.livejournal.com]

As for SV, they all pick on each other because they're all in different stages of grief.

Uh...speak for yourself?

[raveninthewind.livejournal.com]

*basks happily*

[bravecows.livejournal.com]

there were actually some episodes I went away from going "Oh my god, I love Clark beyond WORDS!" and I would go online to find half my friends list talking about how they wanted to gouge his heart out with a spork

OH MY GOSH YES. I know!1! Actually I prolly know even better'n you by now, because S4!Clark is apparently the EVILEST THING EVER OMG (instead of being incredibly cute and adorable and cracktastic, which is my opinion wot nobody shares) and S4!Lex is a w00bie who is only turning evil because Clark is such an asshole (instead of being an incredibly funny rich bald gay dude) an' an' an'.

So nowadays whenever my flist does that I just gouge it with a spork. And then it is happy place again. :D

Also I am happy that your dS experience is so happy and fluffy and nice, because when I last dipped a toe in the fandom I withdrew it with my toe all RED AND BURNY from the Ray Wars. And I think people still think Vecchio is a jerk, because, well, he is. Not to mention he is not as hot as Kowalski. But it is none of it as bad as it used to be, which is a blessing to be grateful for.

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

*nod* I am TOTALLY lucky with my dS fandom experiences. Because I can read all the stuff about how scary it once was, but the fandom I came into? OMG so ridiculously nice it's almost scary. It probably helps some that it's more lj-centered now, and not mailing lists, because it means I kind of can just specifically choose people to read who are stupid, though. Or maybe fandoms have, like, life cycles? This is the low point of crazy drama now, after overdosing a couple years ago.

Also, I silently judge people who dislike Vecchio. I think a lot of people do, actually. There are probably people who are like "Oh, yeah, and Vecchio and Fraser had a great friendship and stuff" and are really thinking "Vecchio SUCKS! Give me my KOwalski so I can slash!"

[bravecows.livejournal.com]

*nods* Which always makes me want to go the other end and shriek "Kowalski SUCKS!" But he doesn't! I mean, he does, but only in the good way. So I can't.

[tazical.livejournal.com]

I mean, when Estrella threatens to poke Fraser's eye out with a stick, she's doing it because she can't make him fuck, not because she thinks he actually deserves that for his canon behavior.
This I find amusing beyond words. She pokes his eye out because she loves him!

But yes, I completely get what you're saying. I've been in the same situation of having a fandom where half of the pairing is shot down at every opportunity and a lot of it transfers to the fans- I know people that have been flamed, not because of the quality of their fics but because, 'Eww! How could you put this character with that character! You're sick!' It makes you wonder why on earth those people are hanging around a ship fandom they hate in the first place. The Ray Wars scared me off dS for a few years and I am thoroughly enjoying basking in the warm fuzzy glow of the fandom today- if someone likes a certain odd pairing then we don't get upset about it, we just mock them until they cry. *g*

[estrella30.livejournal.com]

OMG - I just commented that I only want to stab him because I LOVE him, and then I saw your comment *g*

heeeeeeeee! It's true though!!

[tazical.livejournal.com]

You big scary stalkery hor, you.

::stabs you because I LOVE you::

[estrella30.livejournal.com]

I mean, when Estrella threatens to poke Fraser's eye out with a stick, she's doing it because she can't make him fuck, not because she thinks he actually deserves that for his canon behavior.

Yes! I only want to stab him because I LOVE him!

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

I know you do, honey! That is why I can still read you and adore you!

Also, mmmmmm. Pretty icon.

[claire.livejournal.com]

Heh, I used to hate that in SV too - and I was a Lex fan. It's not that I didn't like Clark, but sexy does it for me just a little more than pretty. (It's like dS too - Fraser=pretty, RayK=sexy, so my affections are like 45%/55%).

This is truly the bestest fandom ever. And not just because most of the writers are so goddammed talented.