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I noticed that over the last weeks of stress, in my moments of procrastination instead of turning to my handy list of fics to read (which is about 200 fics long...) I went back to my roots. My first fandoms were trawled (Star Trek and Highlander... I would have trawled Star Wars, but I exhausted that fandom a long time ago) because while I still remember them fondly, I really don't have that much interest in them. As a result, I could read fics from them, but still tear myself away to write essays or research my dissertation.
It was an interesting experience, especially in the Star Trek fandom, simply because while I did grow up reading a form of ST fanfic (ie, the books), I'd never read much online. I stuck to my favourite series (the original and nex gen) and read whatever came my way. It was weird since by this point I've forgotten the finer points of canon. It's really hard to tell if a character is an original character or a obscure canon character in the ST universe since it's far too large and detailed so I was left wondering if such and such were a mary sue/gary stu or if they really were like that in canon. It meant I really didn't rec much of anything.
And then there was the slash. And lo, it was weirder. I really can't see Kirk/Spock, but I did read some of it and was impressed by the loops the authors jumped through in order to fit the relationship around canon (and impressed myself by how much I do remember about ST). They also made a good effort to write different plots and scenarios, and to write well. I felt sorry for McCoy since he got the same role as Dumbledore in canon - matchmaker and knower of all other characters secret crushes. I have yet to see any that remained fully in character, but some authors did come close and get kudos for that.
So then we come to Picard/Q which really had me scratching my head, not because I can't see it, but because I can! I can see this pairing in canon very easily, and it's really the only pairing I can see in ST, but I've yet to see it written in character. Q is usually fine (usually being the key term - if both Picard and Q are ooc, you might as well go off and read Q/Data or something), but Picard gets really nauseating. They shag, and suddenly Picard's all ooc. He's spouting love poems, and scary terms of endearment, and doing other things that make me want to vomit. It's a fandom cliche, but one that's become so very far from canon it's really unrecognizable, and it's a pity because I do think the pairing could work. Perhaps I'm missing the good fics, but yeah...
So yes, other than stressing myself out and studying within an inch of my life, I've been reading crappy ST and Highlander fic (and sometimes ST/Highlander fic... only then it was really crappy) and wondering why. Not to mention, wow, do fandom cliches grate when you're not in that particular fandom and willing to indulge the sappiness.
It was an interesting experience, especially in the Star Trek fandom, simply because while I did grow up reading a form of ST fanfic (ie, the books), I'd never read much online. I stuck to my favourite series (the original and nex gen) and read whatever came my way. It was weird since by this point I've forgotten the finer points of canon. It's really hard to tell if a character is an original character or a obscure canon character in the ST universe since it's far too large and detailed so I was left wondering if such and such were a mary sue/gary stu or if they really were like that in canon. It meant I really didn't rec much of anything.
And then there was the slash. And lo, it was weirder. I really can't see Kirk/Spock, but I did read some of it and was impressed by the loops the authors jumped through in order to fit the relationship around canon (and impressed myself by how much I do remember about ST). They also made a good effort to write different plots and scenarios, and to write well. I felt sorry for McCoy since he got the same role as Dumbledore in canon - matchmaker and knower of all other characters secret crushes. I have yet to see any that remained fully in character, but some authors did come close and get kudos for that.
So then we come to Picard/Q which really had me scratching my head, not because I can't see it, but because I can! I can see this pairing in canon very easily, and it's really the only pairing I can see in ST, but I've yet to see it written in character. Q is usually fine (usually being the key term - if both Picard and Q are ooc, you might as well go off and read Q/Data or something), but Picard gets really nauseating. They shag, and suddenly Picard's all ooc. He's spouting love poems, and scary terms of endearment, and doing other things that make me want to vomit. It's a fandom cliche, but one that's become so very far from canon it's really unrecognizable, and it's a pity because I do think the pairing could work. Perhaps I'm missing the good fics, but yeah...
So yes, other than stressing myself out and studying within an inch of my life, I've been reading crappy ST and Highlander fic (and sometimes ST/Highlander fic... only then it was really crappy) and wondering why. Not to mention, wow, do fandom cliches grate when you're not in that particular fandom and willing to indulge the sappiness.
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