Life seems but a quick succession of busy nothings

Yes, aren't they lovely?

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Naughty you!!!
Oh, but I like that drabble! :)

And haaa, I loved Lucius/Cane!! The part with Kreacher was a bit squicky, but uuuuuhh Lucius! Hmmmmm! You should write him more often, you really should!

Also, I liked the idea with the mirrors. The bit at the end! HA! Ha! And maybe I wouldn't be saying this now if the film hadn't been (once again) shown on TV only recently, but it reminds me just a bit of "Cruel Intentions". Well, Lucius and Bellatrix aren't brother and sister, of course, but it's got a similar.. feel? Anyway: Yummmm!

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Thank you! Nothing like a nice, tender Snape/Black.

Kreacher was supposed to be squicky, the poor chap. I think it was my first take on Lucius, so it's heartening to know that I didn't screw him up completely. And the idea with the mirrors evolved in the process of writing. I was quite pleased, I can tell you. Bella is a nasty, pervy manipulatrix... And she and Lucius are brother and sister in law, which is just as acceptable for Cruel Intentions *eg*

BTW, did you know that there is a comm dedicated to Sirius/Lucius? It's

sirilu

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And she and Lucius are brother and sister in law, which is just as acceptable for Cruel Intentions *eg*

Yeah, that's what I thought too! ;)

Ohhh, and yes, I think I saw the community mentioned on the

daily_snitch or somewhere, but I don't know if it's "any good".. Okay, so, it seems to be brand new, but I'm not sure if I have the patience to follow it long enough to see how it develops.

Aeee, I don't even have the motivation to read through the stuff that's already been posted! [I think that's also part of the reason why I'm reading so little right now.. I simply don't want to waste my time with boring/badly written fic, that's why I've taken to reading only fic that's been written or recommended by "reliable" people on my flist..]

So far, I have two, actually three, problems with this comm: 1) I have no idea who the people who are posting there are/if they are good writers (and I'm too lazy to go find out myself), 2) because I'm assuming most of its members are unknown writers, I'm afraid it will become (forever stay?) one of those communities that are only read/"fed" by newbies*, and 3) I have a problem with that "theory" the community is based on, or rather, with its style, with Lucius's characterisation. And I'm not sure how serious the owner of the comm is when she says all content must be based on that theory..

Yesterday, I surfed around LJ quite a bit, looking at various communities, and it was sooo sad to find so many good ideas wasted away like that (reason no. 2). I don't know if some comm's are just too specific to attract many people (or at least some of the more established LJers) in the first place, or if everyone's scared away by the lack of quality control..

I was looking for that Regulus community again (

regulations) because it had sounded interesting when it was advertised on the daily_snitch (that's also how I came across some other Black communities where nothing much is going on - anymore), but now I fear that it (and sirilu possibly as well) will meet the same fate as those other comm's. GAH!!! :((

* Nothing against newbies, and nothing against comm's that are open to everyone, but.. I see more and more new people arriving on LJ, some of whom seem to come straight from ff.net, and I do think that's part of the reason why a) some communities, regardless of how good the initial idea for them is, end up.. forgotten or visited only by those (mediocre) writers (and 'artists') and b) other comm's are swamped by mediocre fic (and art).

I know that rules and regulations can be a stupid thing sometimes, but let's be honest, we do have certain "codes" here on LJ.. at least among the people who have been around for some time, the people whose journals WE read, the friends groups we are a part of, the people who, in the end, make up one large or THE group of slash writers and artists (AND readers!) on LJ.

Many (if not most) of those new LJ users don't know about these codes, some don't even know about the simplest of them (e.g. good grammar & spelling, the 'general' dislike for certain americanisms, the importance of good/believable characterisation etc.), and I'm not sure how many would even manage to follow them once they get to know about them.

I mean, they'd just have to take a look around, to lurk around for some time and work out the "mechanisms" of (LJ) fandom to figure out what it takes to not get overlooked or ignored (and I'm deliberately not saying "recognised" here). Geez, I think many don't even realise they get ignored by those who have "good taste". And yeah, I know that "good taste" is very subjective, but uhmm.. I mean it in the most objective sense.. in the sense that large parts of us (the slashers who've been on LJ for some time, or those who've otherwise managed to become part of/get recognised by the more established fanbase or even the "heart" of HP fandom [= BNFs?!?!] on LJ) would share a similar opinion on a particular fic (e.g. see the need for improvement etc.)

Oh well, I think I'll stop now. Heh. This was supposed to be a footnote (a frikkin FOOTNOTE!) on newbies, and I don't remember what point I was trying to make anyway! ;) Ramblerambleventvent.

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that's why I've taken to reading only fic that's been written or recommended by "reliable" people on my flist..

Yeah, that's what I do, mostly. Can't be bothered to look around. If a really good fic's around, someone's bound to stumble across it and will tell me.

I can't really add much to your comments on the, ah, decline of culture and style. You said it all. I only follow communities on a regular basis which are maintained/frequented by people I know produce quality and are likely to attrackt those producing quality, too. As to

sirilu, I read only one fic there, which was well written, and I know

nimori posts there, too, so it's not all bad. But -

nimori posts to other places, as well.

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Heh. And yes, I saw

nimori on the list of

sirilu readers (and I just checked - meanwhile,

maeglinyedi has subscribed to it too), but that was about it..

No, wait. Though they're not on my friendslist,

themostepotente and

jadarene also ring a bell.. Mhmm, well, I might just keep an eye on the community.

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*forces self not to start capitalizing just to appear more intelligent, because that'd be a rather lame thing for me to do*

would you mind terribly my butting in to ask a question?

i just wanted to say... it's not necessarily all newbies that are like that, though, is it? i mean, i only ask because i myself am a little new to the harry potter fandom -- was previously too preoccupied with buffy the vampire slayer to get into much else -- but i'm certainly not a ditzy ff.net reject [i'd like to think], and i shudder at the thought that somebody might mistake me for one. but, all that stuff you said, about newbies not knowing/wanting to know proper fandom etiquette, and such... it's made me feel a bit self-conscious about the things i say and do, you know?

...erm, sorry for the ramble. and, again, for butting in.

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Ah, I haven't seen

kaysha around for quite a while, so I'll just try to answer your question for her, 'kay?

The problem are not new users in general, because, let's face it, we've all been in that position at some point. Yes, even the BNFs *g*

The point (at least that's my impression) is that LJ land is overwhelmingly huge, and that it is annoying to have to wade through the masses of badly written fics, have to deal with stupid (though that's relative) comments and rants and be confronted with bad characterisation (though that's subjective). And the more people arrive on LJ, the more difficult it becomes to maintain an overview, you know? I know I'm lazy, and so I tend to stick to recs - regarding both fics and communities - provided by people I know and trust.

As to the etiquette question - well, in this specific case,

kaysha and I both hang around people who follow similar guidelines as we do. For example, most people on my flist are academics between, what, 18 and 40, who are mostly interested in the adult generation in HP and consider good spelling and grammar as important. These are, of course, very heavy generalisations. But you won't find, say, a 15-years-old Tom Felton fan on my flist, who uses netspeak to squee "OMG!!11 drcao is, liek, so hawtt!!11 i luff him!!1 LOl!!!"

If, however, there is a new community which I don't know and which no-one of my LJ-friends has ever mentioned, chances are that the community is comprised of 15-years-old Tom Felton fans who squee... etc. I wouldn't know before I go and check it myself, and more often than not, I can't be bothered. If only because my online life takes a large chunk of my life already, and I don't want to spend even more time trying to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Anyway, I don't think you need to be self-conscious about what you do or say. As long as you follow common sence, don't go antagonising people on their own turf (it'd be a bad idea to go to a Remus/Sirius comm and leave the comment, "You are all stupid bitches, Sirius isn't gay!") and don't diss other people's favourite pairings or characters, you should be on the safe side.

Leaving feedback on people's LJs is also bound to make a good impression :-)

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i know what you mean about grammar/spelling/characterization, and i certainly know what you mean about aversion to netspeak (it pains me to remember that i was one of those people myself, only two or three years ago). it's hard, though, because i somehow hate the idea of people thinking me mean, even people whom i don't so much care about...

and another thing that makes it especially hard to avoid the general ditziness of fandom, of course, is being new. unlike yourself, i don't have the luxury of having HP friends with similar standards of quality as my own, whose tastes i can trust -- that pretty much leaves me with little choice but to to wade through, as you put it, on my own.

and the third thing, let's not forget: it's very difficult being a snape fan (let alone a draco fan) without falling victim to the ditziness yourself. i mean, i know i like them because i think they're interesting, well-written characters (snape especially, but... well, i'm not gonna go off on why i like draco), and not because "OMFG!! bad boiz R so HOTT lolz!1! SLIZERYN-4EVA!!!!11!" -- and certainly not because they happen to be played by attractive people in the movies. but i still fear being associated with the teeny bopper fangirls who flock to these characters, or worse, falling in with them. not that there's anything intrinsically wrong with being a fangirl, per se, it's just... well, let me stop before i end up with three more paragraphs ;P

anyway, as fas as communities go... i hate sounding like a snobby bitch, but i do kinda wish more of them had some form of quality control -- at least the art and fic ones. especially for someone like me, who has no other way of knowing which ones are worth joining. you know?

it'd be a bad idea to go to a Remus/Sirius comm and leave the comment, "You are all stupid bitches, Sirius isn't gay!"

lol, straight sirius... right... no, i'm kidding. but yeah, the stuff you said, i think that's pretty much the same with most other fandoms, too -- and it's not like i'm new to the whole thing in general, just harry potter. besides, like you said, it's common sense, right?

Leaving feedback on people's LJs is also bound to make a good impression

heh. well, that's certainly something i don't have to worry about, considering i post in other people's journals probably more than in my own. lol. although, i'll admit, the socially-anxious part of me does often worry that a reaction of "who the hell is this chick, and why is she talking to me?" is more likely than "ooh, hey, a potential new friend..."

although, you don't seem to be weirded out by me randomly commenting in your journal when i've never met you before, so that's something...

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*rereads what she just wrote*

...

*kills the word "certainly" with a spoon*

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Hey there! :)

Donna already answered your previous comment for me (just much more eloquently than I would have), so I'll just jump in on the discussion right here.

I have to say that part of my interest in Snape is caused by that 'bad boy' thing. Though I wouldn't refer to it as that (but I don't mind JKR calling it that, it's just a simplification.. that's also why I didn't understand people complaining about that statement of hers during her latest Q&A session), it's more the 'mysteriousness', the fact that we don't really know who he is, what role *exactly* he plays, or why/how he's become the (angry, bitter) man he is now..

Re fangirls: I believe that as long as you don't behave like one of the teenage fangirls, you won't be associated with them?! (And I think netspeak can be used, as long as it happens in the right 'context'. I, for example, use it myself sometimes, but it really depends on whom I'm talking to, and what we're talking about.. and it is usually used in an exaggerating/humorous/sarcastic way.)

I don't mind random comments either (I believe most people who are interested in all sorts of fandom related discussions don't), and I also leave much more comments than I post entries in my own journal. Hmm, though that's not so much because I don't have anything interesting to say, it's more because posts take so much more time and energy to write, and I'm a very lazy and lethargic person. ;)

And that brings me to the 'potential new friend' issue. I'm not one of those people who friend everyone back automatically (Donna, I believe you do that?), but that's because I'm really very much focussed on fic, art, essays, theories and so on. I only friend people whose journals I find interesting, and I believe that applies for many other LJers as well.

I'm not a writer or artist myself, and that makes making friends (= people who are 'willing' to friend you back) much more difficult, but uhmm.. I have found that I can't expect people to friend me (back) if I don't have anything interesting to say. When I was new to LJ, I didn't really understand that, but back then, I didn't spend much time online (I was still on dial-up) and therefore couldn't really understand what the community was about. I was always wondering why I had so little mutual friends, but now that I know how the fan community on LJ works, now that I'm more active myself, it seems only logical to me. I did neither provide much interesting content, nor did I interact with people - and those are really the two most important things if you want to be.. dunno.. 'recognised'.. or 'part' of it.

Oh well, some people don't care if they are friended back, some only use their journals to read what others have to say, or they only create one to be able to reply to posts with a 'proper' name - and that's perfectly okay IMO.

Hmm, you mentioned that you don't really know where to look for quality stuff.. I think other people's friendslists are often a good starting point to find people with similar interests, or fic and art of similar standards (ohh, and check out the various communities listed on ppl's flists!). I don't know if you know about them already, but there are also two fandom newsletters here on LJ: the

daily_snitch, which links to all sorts of discussions, essays and theories, and the

quickquote, which links to uhhh I think mostly fic and art and icons and so on (I'm sorry, I can't really say much about the QQ because I uhmmm.. don't really like it and stopped reading it when I got to know about some unpleasant stuff that went on 'behind the scenes'.. If I had to compare the two, I'd say the daily_snitch is the fandom's Guardian, while quickquote is The Sun, but I know that many people read & enjoy the QQ, so I'd say go and judge for yourself! :))

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I haven't really got anything to add to your comment, so just a quick note to nod my agreement.

I'm not one of those people who friend everyone back automatically (Donna, I believe you do that?)

Mostly, yes. Unless they're obviously trolls or weirdos. It's because I'm curious as to who friended me and having them on my flist is the easiest way to find out. I'm not so much focused on a certain kind of LJ, either; I read RL stuff as well as fics and essays.

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so ~~little~~ mutual friends

few!! (duh..)

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mimine.livejournal.com

Ooh! Loved the drabble. Nasty as they should be.

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Thanks a lot. Glad you liked it.

(deleted comment)

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Fudge, Pettigrew and Hagrid are at least quite, um, cuddly. Quite unlike a certain prickly Potions master and an insane-ish ex-convict.

*licks Snape and Black* Back to bed, guys! Do your duty!

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mmmm... that last line? very yum.

quite good, for a drabble. love sirius's hating it/loving it mentality, and snape being a bastard always makes my day.

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Bastard!Snape is the best!

Thank you very much. Glad you liked it. I very much like Snape/Black, and I know that they secretly love shagging each other. But they would never admit that they do ;-)

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heh. no, they really wouldn't, would they? it's so sad how some people don't realize this, and instead have them be -- *gag* -- nice to each other.

*sigh* good characterization is so hard to find...

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Well, my favourite scenario is when they still hate each other but yet feel compelled to fuck each other's brains out. Nice!Snape is generally hard to stomach.

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