Fandom is such a weird place. Like I watched a tv show and thought “wow, these two nerds have a lot of chemistry and I’d like to dedicate a large chunk of my life to thinking about them” so I went in search of other people who also thought these two nerds had a lot of chemistry and then it turned out that a shit ton of people were talking about these two nerds having a lot of chemistry and now it’s 4 years later and we write each other porn on holidays.
I guess my feeling is that when you spend money on a book, part of what you’re buying is the ability to express criticisms of it without coming across as an asshole (assuming, of course, that you are not purposely trying to come across as an asshole). You haven’t paid anything for the fanfiction you read, so you don’t have that ability.
You have opened my eyes. You have caused my world view to shift. I will never be the same again, and I have you to thank.
From now on, there’s a new rule in place. Criticism on fanfiction will now cost you money. Being nice costs you $0, but criticism will now cost you $3.
Time to put your money where your mouth is, assholes.
I think also, you know, a published author has made a choice to put a value of cash money upon their work and offer it as a commodity in a marketplace; consumers have certain privileges in that situation that not all audiences have. A fan-author posting for free on AO3 is assigning different values to their work. I’m not saying authors think their work is worthless, far from it, but they have chosen to offer it without charge in a public forum for your personal enjoyment. If you don’t enjoy it, the back button is easy to reach.
I like this. 🙂
I think there’s a difference in purpose, as well – most reviews of published works, whether it’s the Times Literary Supplement or a star rating on Goodreads, are aimed at other potential readers. They’re a guide to let other people know whether a book is worth their time and money. Expressing negative as well as positive opinions is kind of fundamental to the model.
I’ve never known anyone to read the AO3 comments before the story – filter by number of comments, maybe, but not read them. AO3 comments are generally understood to be for the author, and therefore being negative doesn’t really serve a purpose, apart from making the author feel bad.
Okay, I’m going to take this a place you probably didn’t expect and say Tarantulas from Beast Wars.
This creepy arachnid makes it abundantly clear throughout the show he is a freak in the sheets and he is in no way shy about the more organic aspects of their beast modes. He would trap you in his web and do everything imaginable (and unimaginable) to make you scream.
Unfortunately, he’d probably eat you afterward. But, hey, some people are into that.
Tarantulas is very progressive.
Destroy society’s construct of gender. Girls, pursue your dreams of advancing in the world of science and engineering. Boys, canabalize your sexual partners.
Sessue Hayakawa (早川 雪洲, June 10, 1889 – November 23, 1973) was a Japanese Issei actor who starred in American, Japanese, French, German, and British films. Hayakawa was active at the outset of the American film industry. He was the first Asian actor to find stardom in the United States and Europe. He is the first Asian American as well as the first Japanese American movie star and the first Asian American leading man. His “broodingly handsome” good looks and typecasting as a sinister villain with sexual dominance made him a heartthrob among American women, and the first male sex symbol of Hollywood, several years in advance of Rudolph Valentino. During those early years, Hayakawa was as well known and as popular as Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks, although today his name is largely unknown to the public.
His popularity, sex appeal, and extravagant lifestyle (e.g., his wild parties and his gold-plated Pierce-Arrow) may have fed tension within segments of American society and led to discriminatory stereotypes and the desexualization of Asian men in American productions, something that continues to today in Modern Hollywood, as exemplified by the controversial character of I.Y. Yunioshi in Breakfast At Tiffany’s. Hayakawa refused to adopt the negative stereotypes. He abandoned Hollywood for European cinema and there he was treated equally. Hayakawa’s friendships with American actors led him to return to Hollywood. He was one of the highest paid stars of his time, earning $5,000 per week in 1915, and $2 million per year through his own production company during the 1920s. He starred in over eighty movies, and two of his films stand in the United States National Film Registry. Of his English-language films, Hayakawa is probably best known for his role as Colonel Saito in the film The Bridge on the River Kwai, for which he received a nomination for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1957. He also appeared in the 1950 film Three Came Home and as the pirate leader in Disney’s Swiss Family Robinson in 1960. In addition to his film acting career, Hayakawa was a theatre actor, film and theatre producer, film director, screenwriter, novelist, martial artist, member of the French Resistance, and a Zen master.
This is really important. And can I add – even if it’s a company you care about. Even if it’s a creative company. Even if it’s a nonprofit.
Nonprofits can be notorious for pressuring workers to stay later and give more because of The Mission, but everyone deserves and needs to have a home life.
So Strictly finally featured a dance to Power of Love a while back! which meant that like a fool, I ran away and started earnestly working on a silly idea I’d been sitting on, and this is the result. Heavy on the cygate, with Rodimus and Minimus as accidental breakout stars, a LOT of Postmodern Jukebox music, and a veeeery haphazard work-in-progress playlist.
The point of this is basically to make people who watch the show giggle a bit, I guess, but also! If anyone has any idea of who would judge/host (cause I got nothin’), or even ideas for extra couples, PLEASE drop by my inbox, and ditto a thousand times over if anyone can think of new song/dance style pairings for any of the couples!!! I wanna Talk about this AU okay, it’s silly and fluffy and it’s been giving me joy for months and hopefully it’ll be fun for people who read it too.
Decepticonsensual's Armada 