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* Sometimes, I really wish I could just post snippets of lyrics to my LJ without feeling ridiculous about it. And granted, I find it irritating, pretentious, or kind of dumb when I see people do it, but there are times where I am like, I really like these lyrics, I feel like repeating them and I am in the office and I cannot sing aloud. I've done it once or twice in my twitter, but I'm still sort of \O_o/ about doing it. IT FEELS SILLY. /o\
* A few weeks ago, there was a post on my flist about how dark and angsty =/= artistic merit. I would agree with this wholeheartedly, and extend that to life as well. Dear people, just because I am normally a cheerful person who just sort of floats and isn't always weighed down by the troubles of the world and my deficient personality, it does not make me stupid or childish. Your angst and drama does not make you a deeper or more worthy person than me. I will punch you in the face; then you will have physical pain to go with your spiritual, THEN WHAT. I've had this problem all my life, honestly--less with people online and more with people I know/interact with in my daily life.
It frustrates me, because sometimes, hey! I have bad days too! And then I wonder if there's a point to that attitude, if maybe it really--but then, no. No. :\ I've grown to a point where I resent the implication that I am somehow dumb because I like a happy ending, or that I will see the glass as half-full. Online, the problem is more about things you write, and the "artistic merit" of fiction itself, which ... okay, I mean, a well-done BAD END or bittersweet ending is totally cool with me. I like some stuff that's bleak! But a lot of times, it just wears me out--it doesn't make me think, it just makes me want to curl up and sleep for a week. SEE ALSO: my reaction to The Dark Knight. On its own merits, I think it was a fantastic movie, but god, it wore me out, and it didn't really make me think, because I was too busy being worn out by the relentness SHIT GOING DOWN. I liked 9 much better, because inexplicable as parts were, as spotty as the dialogue and plot sometimes was, there was hope, and I appreciated that. 9 made me think, actually, though I'd probably need to see it again before I could articulate any of it.
And okay, I have this Thing for horror stories, or endings that are weird and not entirely explained; I like Lovecraft and Poe and King. My greatest enthusiasm is for running horror stories, and not necessarily ones that are hooked on Twists And Plots, but just ... horrible things! Weird things! Monsters in the closet and things going bump in the night and the sinking feeling that the nightmare isn't over, just paused temporarily. I love stuff like that! --but I also want my happy ending, where people get through horror safe and sound, or maybe never encountered it at all. And I suppose my point is that ultimately, I don't think there is more "merit" in a story where the creeping horror drives someone insane and leaves the rest of the party with the sinking sensation that they are next vs a well-done quiet people-being-happy-and-people story. They both have their strengths, and they ping on different things, and let's face it: I feel like gratuitous amounts of ANYTHING (angst, horror, fluff, kitchen sinks) drags down the so-called intelligence level of something. Maybe there is something childlike about just letting oneself be taken into the immersion of a story, but I think the world could stand a little more of that. Sometimes we don't have to be (sometimes I don't want to be) the jaded cynical cool critic--sometimes it's nice to just be the kid who believes in everything, even if it's only forthe space of one story.
* Yesterday I was emailing back and forth with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
inarticulate re: f/f pairings, only we ended up talking about genderswitch fics instead. :|a A LOT OF IT WAS ACTUALLY CONTEXTUAL, looking back on those emails, but what it really boiled down to me was: 1) dude, fandom, please realize that the touching/charged/etc/etc scenes you squee about when your two favorite waiwai prettyboys are together would still be legitimate if one of them were female because man, while I identify as female, that is only one thing of many that defines me; 2) klsdjflaheot why do I not write more gen, why do I fall into the pairing-fic trap more than I want to. :( I sort of go in cycles; sometimes I am all about reading stuff that has porn in it! and other times I'm like that's boring, why is there so much sex in fandom, can I just have a nice long casefic, please. RIGHT NOW I AM ON THE LATTER. But even in long casefic, apparently I like it when there are pairings, so is that really gen? I have no idea. \o_O/
Then we got into a tangent about Subtext and how it exists in fandom, and sob. While I am someone who tends to label on the safe side (I did not touch the huge debate that sparked a few months ago, but while I don't care particularly much as a reader, as a writer I err on the side of caution), it sort of makes me wonder--when do you label something as gen? Or as a pairingfic? If you have two characters that you-as-the-writer (or the reader) ship, and all they're doing is interacting in platonic ways, is that gen? Is it pairing? Pre-slash? Is the important thing authorial intent (which enough english majors have told me only counts for very little) or what the reader sees in it?If people have problems with NO GAY!!1 why are they reading 07-Ghost?
* \o_O/ is my new favorite emoticon.
* TERRA IS WRITING ORIGINAL FICTION. SOMETHING IS WRONG IN THE WORLD.
* --Hi.
* A few weeks ago, there was a post on my flist about how dark and angsty =/= artistic merit. I would agree with this wholeheartedly, and extend that to life as well. Dear people, just because I am normally a cheerful person who just sort of floats and isn't always weighed down by the troubles of the world and my deficient personality, it does not make me stupid or childish. Your angst and drama does not make you a deeper or more worthy person than me. I will punch you in the face; then you will have physical pain to go with your spiritual, THEN WHAT. I've had this problem all my life, honestly--less with people online and more with people I know/interact with in my daily life.
It frustrates me, because sometimes, hey! I have bad days too! And then I wonder if there's a point to that attitude, if maybe it really--but then, no. No. :\ I've grown to a point where I resent the implication that I am somehow dumb because I like a happy ending, or that I will see the glass as half-full. Online, the problem is more about things you write, and the "artistic merit" of fiction itself, which ... okay, I mean, a well-done BAD END or bittersweet ending is totally cool with me. I like some stuff that's bleak! But a lot of times, it just wears me out--it doesn't make me think, it just makes me want to curl up and sleep for a week. SEE ALSO: my reaction to The Dark Knight. On its own merits, I think it was a fantastic movie, but god, it wore me out, and it didn't really make me think, because I was too busy being worn out by the relentness SHIT GOING DOWN. I liked 9 much better, because inexplicable as parts were, as spotty as the dialogue and plot sometimes was, there was hope, and I appreciated that. 9 made me think, actually, though I'd probably need to see it again before I could articulate any of it.
And okay, I have this Thing for horror stories, or endings that are weird and not entirely explained; I like Lovecraft and Poe and King. My greatest enthusiasm is for running horror stories, and not necessarily ones that are hooked on Twists And Plots, but just ... horrible things! Weird things! Monsters in the closet and things going bump in the night and the sinking feeling that the nightmare isn't over, just paused temporarily. I love stuff like that! --but I also want my happy ending, where people get through horror safe and sound, or maybe never encountered it at all. And I suppose my point is that ultimately, I don't think there is more "merit" in a story where the creeping horror drives someone insane and leaves the rest of the party with the sinking sensation that they are next vs a well-done quiet people-being-happy-and-people story. They both have their strengths, and they ping on different things, and let's face it: I feel like gratuitous amounts of ANYTHING (angst, horror, fluff, kitchen sinks) drags down the so-called intelligence level of something. Maybe there is something childlike about just letting oneself be taken into the immersion of a story, but I think the world could stand a little more of that. Sometimes we don't have to be (sometimes I don't want to be) the jaded cynical cool critic--sometimes it's nice to just be the kid who believes in everything, even if it's only forthe space of one story.
* Yesterday I was emailing back and forth with
inarticulate re: f/f pairings, only we ended up talking about genderswitch fics instead. :|a A LOT OF IT WAS ACTUALLY CONTEXTUAL, looking back on those emails, but what it really boiled down to me was: 1) dude, fandom, please realize that the touching/charged/etc/etc scenes you squee about when your two favorite waiwai prettyboys are together would still be legitimate if one of them were female because man, while I identify as female, that is only one thing of many that defines me; 2) klsdjflaheot why do I not write more gen, why do I fall into the pairing-fic trap more than I want to. :( I sort of go in cycles; sometimes I am all about reading stuff that has porn in it! and other times I'm like that's boring, why is there so much sex in fandom, can I just have a nice long casefic, please. RIGHT NOW I AM ON THE LATTER. But even in long casefic, apparently I like it when there are pairings, so is that really gen? I have no idea. \o_O/Then we got into a tangent about Subtext and how it exists in fandom, and sob. While I am someone who tends to label on the safe side (I did not touch the huge debate that sparked a few months ago, but while I don't care particularly much as a reader, as a writer I err on the side of caution), it sort of makes me wonder--when do you label something as gen? Or as a pairingfic? If you have two characters that you-as-the-writer (or the reader) ship, and all they're doing is interacting in platonic ways, is that gen? Is it pairing? Pre-slash? Is the important thing authorial intent (which enough english majors have told me only counts for very little) or what the reader sees in it?
* \o_O/ is my new favorite emoticon.
* TERRA IS WRITING ORIGINAL FICTION. SOMETHING IS WRONG IN THE WORLD.
* --Hi.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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Which is to say, word.
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Besides, I just like being happy over depressing and/or giving myself a headache over fiction. :|b
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Which you know, well and good, but this was before Ouka and Kururu were introduced into canon, so \O_o/
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Typically found in the frathouse of the onemanga forums though. It was hilarious (in a sad way) how some of them were so homophobic that they were worried Teito was gay for Mikage and Frau. 'BUT THEN OUKA CAME ALONG THANK GOODNESS, HE'S NORM-- HETEROSEXUAL AFTER ALL.'
:'D
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Hilariously, they also had an icon of Ciel from Black Butler in a dress. And just. How is 07-ghost and BB not shoujo. I'm sorry, the fanservice is just so blatantly for the female fandom, without marketing exclusively to the BL fandom. They just didn't seem to understand the concept that girls can like dark plots and action too (despite probably being a girl themselves), and that some manga market towards those girls.
So you know. \o_O/
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BUT THEN TEITO REVIVES HIM WITH THE POWER OF PETTINGS.
I... IDK. It's turning into an original ending trainwreak.
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HAHAHAHAH ICON
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
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Haha, Nessie and I bemoaned a lot of that in our emails, too. :'D I will be probably writing a I LIKE GENDERSWITCH!!11 post soon, in which I will complain about people who seem to think that in fiction girls must be girly-girly kyaa kyaa BOYS AND CLOTHES AND SHOPPINGGGGGGGG when 99.99% of them are girls, too. SNEAK PREVIEW.
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OOOH I love those kind of posts, I will look forward to it.
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Also, god, if happy endings are bad, I… cannot be bothered to care. I love my happy fixits. ♥
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NORMALLY I DON'T CARE EITHER! It's just one of those things that builds up into a sort of growly annoyance, over time. XD
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Though personally, I think Ouka is adorable and I would totally sip her with Teito, after she's had a few more chapters. :|b
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Horror is awesome! I love mystery + supernatural + horror. WEIRD THINGS HAPPENING, CREEPY THINGS GOING ON. Suspense and feelings that leave you sitting on the edge of the chair, sometimes leaving you to wonder "wtf is going on, omg this is amazing"... That's me haha...
Lastly, I agree with your second bullet completely. And that's all I can say, there's nothing I can do to argue your good points!
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Horror stuff is great! I love supernatural stuff and mysterious mysteries.
Nice people sent me rec of original fiction, the author is funny as well. The stories are in first person, but I hardly noticed it. ♥
http://www.100.chaobell.net/main/?page_id=3
The first story is awesome, there's a fortune telling doll involved. =D =D =D There's also a sidestory in her generic main site as well, but for some reason, it's not in the omake section.
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Sob, I scare really easily, though very gradually--scary things tend not to bother me till several hours after I've seen/read them, when they've had time to percolate in my head. XD I have no issues with first-person stories, so I will definitely check that link you, thank you. ♥
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This isn't all scary! But mileage vary thing, I've watched a lot of Japanese/Hong Kong/US horror back in high school with my friends doing running commentaries on them, or played the PS2 games in the dark for giggles, so yeah... =D
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I tried to think of a book widely recognized as having Artistic Merit (TM) that doesn't have an unhappy ending and because I'm a bitch for Nabokov, I thought of Lolita first. Then I realized that Humbert Humbert ends up in prison (but murders the man who kidnapped Lolita away from him), Lolita marries someone her age and gets pregnant -- but then dies in childbirth, along with the baby. Which is really freaking bleak, I'd say! But, I don't think it's More Artistic for having such an ending, but rather because -- it was satisfying, for me? A good ending fits some stories, while a bleak ending fits others. Ultimately, what I enjoy (and what I think it's a mark of good writing) is an ending that makes sense with the story, not more angst for the hell of it.
That said, uuuuugh, god. If there's a kind of Artistic Story that I hate is that of Death of a Salesman or Seize the Day. Both those books are so depressing and devoid of any kind of hope that they should only be assigned for school to people with superb emotional stability. :|