merrily: Mac (Default)
[personal profile] merrily

I have been neglecting LJ because a)I've been busy being unlucky in love, b)I've been busy being cautiously happy in my professional life, and c)I accidentally knocked a glass of water onto my Mac keyboard.

Thus, I write this on my back-up computer, a 1997 Seanix IBM clone that chugs along snail-like and grumpily.

What are the chances that my keyboard is fixable?

Secondly, how do I make those little people or community symbols appear when I'm referencing another LJ user?

Thirdly, why'd you pique my curiousity, [personal profile] rynne?

In fandom-related musings, I find, to my dismay, that I don't really care so much about Firefly fanfic anymore. I follow Glow and several LJ communities devoted to it, and 90% of the stuff being posted is beyond crap. I don't understand why people who (by dint of their inability to spell, develop plot or character, and/or write anything resembling interesting dialogue) seem to dislike reading fiction insist on writing it. (I'm being generous. Many don't seem to read anything.)

Commenting on the crappiness of a posting always makes me feel like a jerk, though, so I refrain.

With Firefly specifically, though, my declining interest is partly due to quality but also due to the exhaustion of storylines. It's funny that such is true: in a fandom universe where canon is so limited, one would think that there was ample opportunity for fan writers to do whatever the hell they wanted. But, in fact, there isn't. We have backstory to explore, sure, but since fandom interest lies mainly in character interaction, the stories of the Tams, Book, Inara, Kaylee, Wash and Jayne prior to their joining the crew are of limited interest as discrete pieces--in flashbacks, sure, but not on their own.

As such, the available plotlines are:

1. Zoe and Mal before Canon (and there are several strong fics, due partly to the enormous talent of the writers who took them on and also to Joss having given us a very solid relationship to deconstruct)

2. Ordinary Life (and the tussles thereof) during Canon--including personal politics (this includes slash pairings that weren't part of canon but were made possible by moments like OMGTTS); jobs pulled that are either only partially referenced by canon (bobble-headed dolls) or that aren't referenced but have no lasting impact on canon. (The Pastry Caper--which I can't find a link to now but will go look for later--was an excellent example of the latter.)

3. AUs set during canon timelines--since, as noted, fandom interest revolves around character interaction, these consist mainly of characters meeting in ways canon did not have them encounter each other (Simon Tam, Companion; Jayne Cobb, Alliance officer)

4. Post-Serenity fic--the broadest category, which still has fertile ground but has already amply covered the following: Zoe post-Wash (subgenres: mourning!Zoe fic, pregnant!Zoe fic, Zoe/Mal fic, Zoe/River fic and Zoe/Inara fic); What To Do With Inara; Kaylee/Jayne; Mal/River; Kaylee/Inara

I'm still interested in Mal/River. I think it's the pairing with the most complications and potential, and I'm particularly pleased that [personal profile] musesfool is writing it still. But everything else? Meh. Fandom has found satisfying conclusions for most of the questions left unanswered, and there have been shining stars of fics that bring problems like mourning!Zoe and Kaylee/Jayne to full and glorious conclusion. The slash pairings seem like a big stretch to me. Simon is pretty gay, it's true, but Mal says, easily, that he doesn't lean to men, and Jayne leers at women in an uncomplicated, unaffected and open way. Both examples seem pretty conclusive (although I concur that Jayne is quite of the "whatever's available" breed).

In conclusion, unless something happens to inject life back into it, I think the fandom is going to fade, and the hopes of there being any additions to already-existing canon are slim. There probably won't be a Serenity 2 or 3, as much as it pains me to admit it, and although I would love more comics, Joss is a busy man.

But whatevs. People are still writing Jump Street fanfic, and by all logical arguments that should be the deadest of dead fandoms.

Anyway. I've got three fics on the backburner right now (the biggest crossover mistake ever, a Jaylee of which I posted parts I & II already and am trying to maintain a semblance of interest in, and a Remus/Sirius inspired by.... Bust Magazine!), and as soon as my Mac is healed I'll post. Nobody hold your breath, though.

(no subject)

Date: 2006-06-09 11:32 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kispexi2.livejournal.com
unless something happens to inject life back into it, I think the fandom is going to fade</>

*depressed*

me too!

Date: 2006-06-09 03:15 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] merrilily.livejournal.com
Hey, it was your enthusiastic posting on the HoYay boards that got me started... but the magic's gone, baby, the magic's gone.

Again, though, there are many ridiculous fandoms going strong (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Whose Line Is It Anyway!), so my predictions mean nothing.

Re: me too!

Date: 2006-06-09 03:20 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kispexi2.livejournal.com
The intense rush of infatuation may be gone, but maybe it'll deepen into lasting love?

Maybe. Speaking for myself, it's living in this limbo of Will-there/wont-there-be-a-sequel that's making my fandom so difficult. I just wish someone would just give us a definite yes or no.

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merrily

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