i have opinions, sometimes.

[schmerica]

Halfway done with Hell Paper the Second! Here is a meme, copied from mosca:

Ask Me My Fandom Opinion

How this works:
1. Ask me one fandom-related question in the comments. This can be fandom specific, general, or about fandom/lj stuff/fic writing/etc. in general.
2. Just one question, please, but it can (and perhaps should) have sub-parts.
3. That's it. It can be as normal or odd as you like.

Comments

[holyschist.livejournal.com]

How would you define "alternate universe"? Do you like them? Do you like some kinds but not others? Is genderswitching AU?

[ficbyzee.livejournal.com]

What are some general characteristics that make you want to write fic about and/or slash a character?

OMG SCHMERICA DROWNING IN MUCUS HELP

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. I tend to think of alternate universe as containing a lot of stuff other people might separate into individual categories. Like, both an 'elseworlds' type scenario, where they are suddenly in a different time or place or whatever, and a more traditional alternate, where some event happened slightly different in canon -- I think of both of those as AUs. I tend to like both of them, but I have to admit I am a sucker for the former kind, really. What if they were all PIRATES???

As for genderswitching: It depends. A story where Benton Fraser was born a girl = yes, AU. A story where Benton Fraser suddenly turns into a girl one morning = not an AU. A story where Benton Fraser turns into a girl one morning, and it's the morning that Mountie on the Bounty starts, and the story goes through the whole rest of the show rewriting it with what happened with Fraser turned into a girl = yes, AU.

[celli]

Do certain shows really lend themselves more to certain kinds of fic, or is it more a matter of trends within the fandom? I always hear people say that X show inspires more long plotty fics, or wacky pairings, or whatever, but is it really the show, do you think, or the fandom?

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

I am not sure! I am going to be a big wimp and say a) it's probably somewhere in the middle and b) it depends on the person somewhat. Like, a lot of it is the fandom, but there really are shows where long plotty are really hard to do, if not impossible, you know? Both the mood of the show and the factor of how tightly plotted it is have some contribution.

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

...IT HAS BEEN SO LONG SINCE I'VE WRIITEN FIC I NO LONGER REMEMBER!

I mean. *cough*

Um, honestly, I think really the main thing it comes down to is love. I mean, first there is the level of "not boring me" to get by, but even further than that: if you don't make flutter and flail and sigh on a regular basis, it's not likely you'll ever get into my head enough for me to care about you and devote time to you.

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

...Um, as far as things I love go: I love good and nice people, i like competent people, I love people who are really and truly devoted to something, whether it's an ideal or their work or someone you love. And whatever other characteristics you can think of to describe what Fraser, Sam Vimes, Izzie Stevens, Jack Bristow, Duck Macdonald and Aeryn Sun have in common.

[mosca.livejournal.com]

Is there any kink or human activity that bothers you so much morally that you would never write about it?

[spainja.livejournal.com]

What's one scene/plot/arc/line/etc. that you wish had actually been in a Due South episode? I mean something that could have plausibly aired on a mid-90s primetime network series (so no hot gay sex!)

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

Huh. It's quite possible that something like that exists, but I can't think of a single example. I don't connect morality with what makes things interesting to write about, I guess, anymore than I do as a reader -- I read about things I find morally disturbing all the time. For me to refuse to write a kink or human activity, I doubt it would be on moral grounds, even if I did find the activity immoral; it would more like just be the squick factor, that I can't take my own response and discomfort.

[pearl-o.livejournal.com]

This is actually really hard, and I'm not sure why! I guess maybe because Due South is just so very set in my mind as a closed and fixed canon that it's hard to even imagine it differently, or remember it as a show that actually, you know, aired every week! Plus, you know, most of my really fond episode tropes are really designed for more fantastic shows -- a "all of canon is your imagination and you are really stuck in a mental asylum pretending it all!" doesn't work as well in a show like this, nor does something like bodyswap. So, I don't know, I guess I would have just liked to have seen more Fraser backstory. Him in Canada, especially.

[holyschist.livejournal.com]

How big (or how far-reaching the effects) does the altered event have to be to qualify?

[cislocative.livejournal.com]

this is totally self-serving, but: I just watched half of the first season of the OC, and Ryan and Seth are just so gay for each other, and

do you know where I can find stories about them having the Hot Gay Buttsex?

Oh, and more in keeping with the theme of this meme: what sorts of stories do folks write intending them to be all hot/heavy/sexy and really just end up making you giggle?