Thank you anonymous & ghani_atreides for the lovely snowflakes!

I've never had virtual gifts before, this is very exciting! and also very well-timed, since we got our first real snow yesterday & now the outside looks like post-card perfect winter wonderland.

there is an ad I keep hearing on the radio, for a new sci-fi/horror tv chanel, which is promoting itself by extolling Supernatural against a soundtrack incredibly reminiscent of the Brokeback Mountain trailer music. I'm not really sure what impression they're trying to go for...

question - where does the phrase "X doubts your commitment to Sparkle Motion" come from?

I've seen it around and feel like I did before I found out that "I'll be in my bunk" and "Big damn heroes" were Firefly references - wondering whether phrases sprout fully-formed on the internet

still haven't been watching this season of Supernatural, but having read a few episode reactions from last week, I have an observation based on ( a spoiler from last week )

Tags: television: supernatural, thoughts: television

The Vampire Rabbit says "I hope you have lots of fun, and get lots of Candy and Carrots!"

Been reading bunches of AU fic lately, which has got me thinking about elements authors consider definitive for characterization. If the world is different, how do we know these are the same guys & gals as canon? Being highly amused that the names people give to their pets seem to be integral to characterization, I've made a list of definitive character traits:

note - my examples here are from bandom because that's what I've been reading of late, but I'm very curious how characters are defined in other fandoms' AUs.

(also, examples that include spoilers for fic are under cut)

1. Personal Style/Fashion: This seems to be used as an easy shorthand to let the reader know who a character is before naming him/her. But it also becomes something more integral when there's AU story logic for why the character dresses as he does in canon, for example: ( Read more... ) Or when there is an in-AU impetus for highly recognizable canon tattoos, such as Frank Iero's ( example )


2. Relative Age: People who are older in canon stay older in fic. Pretty self-explanatory, but I think interesting in terms of the dynamic of age in interpersonal relationships being considered integral to a character's role in those relationships. MAJOR EXCEPTION: Highschool AUs, where everyone manages to be in highschool at the same time. Exception to the exception: relative age will be played with so that Panic and MCR can all be students together, but the relative ages within the bands will be maintained.


3. Geographic Origins: Where a character was born/raised/grew up is integral to their characterization. For AUs within the United States, places of origin remain the same, or relative location will be used, as in non-US AUs. For example, Bob did not grow up in the same place Gerard & Mikey did; Jon did not grow up in the same place Ryan & Spencer did. If necessary, childhood moves are used to get characters in the same place before they would be in canon. Again, highschool AUs are a common exception, as all band members ever somehow attend the same highschool.


4. Friendship/band/label Ties: Who you know and who you care about is integral to characterization. So Spencer & Ryan's friendship defines them; Pete as Ryan's mentor is a definitive element of their relationship to/with each other;Immediate connection to other band members is integral to these characters. Bands, even if born in faraway corners of the universe, or just leading mundane lives, will always be (re)united.


5. Pets/Pets' Names: I find it adorably wonderful that pets are definitive characteristics of a character. So the Panic/TYV boys will always have dogs, except Jon who will always have cat(s), and no matter the universe, those pets will have the same names as in canon - even when the pet becomes a dinosaur!

Tags: thoughts: fanfic, thoughts: fannish

It is exciting to see all the Yuletide posts going up! But bittersweet too since I decided a couple weeks ago that I'd better not sign up to write this year. I've dipped on the last few fannish writing things I've signed up for, and I keep telling myself that I'll have the draft of my thesis finished by xmas (I'm not sure if this is physically possible, but I'm gonna try!)

However, I don't think it's against the rules for me to nominate fandoms? So, if there's any fandom that you all would like to get an extra bump in the nominations, let me know and I'll nominate it! Since I'm not so concerned with nominating fandoms I know I can write, this year :)

(I am surprised that Leverage still qualifies..)

Hypothesis: RPS fandoms have more AU fics than non-RPS fandoms.

Is this true? Is this just because I don't read SGA that I think this? (I have heard rumours about SGA fic!).

And, just to be clear, I'm thinking things like Sirius still being alive =/= AU if its still the HP-verse that Rowling developed, but if they're rock stars or superheroes then its AU. Yeah, it's maybe an arbitrary line. But I don't think I've read more AUs than in J2 and Bandom fics. I keep trying to remember AUs I read elsewhere, and pretty much coming up with "the Due South hockey AU" and that's about it...

Tags: thoughts: fanfic, thoughts: fannish

There's a survey aimed at writers and readers of fic to deduce the "The Cognitive Neuroscience of Fan Fiction"

Don't answer the survey

Long Version: incredible post by eruthros detailing the many reasons not to do the survey, including dubious ethics, bad science, preformed conclusions and patronizing attitude on the part of the researchers. With bonus skeeziness.

Tags: ummm