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[quiet_tiger]

I think I've posed this question before, but I was recently bombarded with examples again--

What really throws you out of a fic?

I was invested in a long fic so I didn't actually back button, though I contemplated it, when the sentence described the main character's eyes as being blue, when they are clearly brown in the movie. Brown and blue are usually difficult to confuse!

The story had a lot of other issues, but basic fact problems really are annoying.

Comments

[larsinger29.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, it’s quite massive. It was intimidating as hell when I first began, and I’ve still got a number of people’s LJ’s bookmarked to read through their fics and such (and it’s now been well over a year and a half since I “joined” the fandom). But even though I was saddened by the outcome of COE and Exit Wounds (can’t deny they played on my emotions beautifully though, and I was enthralled in their events), I really love all the different ways people have explored alternative endings or what have you. It’s really quite imaginative and engrossing, and probably why that has become my main fandom.

I agree with everything you said about LJ. Every. Single. Thing. I broke down last year and got a paid account, and I’ll be renewing once again when my time is up. Even though I’m not happy with some of the stuff LJ has done, it’s still suits my needs/desires/interests best.

You’re right, Ianto’s basically just the seen as the assistant in the first episodes, hinting at being general support and basically a gopher/dogsbody. But I think people took to the idea that he was also the archivist because whenever Jack has something to go into “Secure Archives” he hands it to Ianto to do. Perhaps there’s also references in other mediums (books, audio plays, etc.), or maybe some slight references in other episodes that I’m forgetting. But it’s a good illustration of people inferring something from canon and making it fanon. As to his mom being committed, I’ve seen it in quite a few of the angstier fics I’ve read. Often when Ianto is grappling with his own mental health (either in terms of having OCD or battling some other mental illness). What can I say, I like the angst.

I can’t say that I noticed much hostility within TW fandom, but maybe it’s because we engaged with it in different times? I also mostly lurked for the first year I was reading, so that might impact it as well. I did see a few “if you haven’t seen X episode, well, why are you reading this?” type spoiler warnings, but I took them more as a cheeky British thing than said with malice. But I can see where you could also take it as a slight to people not having seen the episodes yet, because you’re right: we don’t all get it at the same time. And I didn’t start watching Torchwood until 2011. I think, in the modern day and age, spoiler warnings are a good idea and courtesy to your readers no matter what the fandom (and while it can be trickier in comics fandom, I try and give a general time period so people understand where and when the story would fit in).

The drop off in DC fanom is really quite disheartening. It seems like two years ago, there was a steady stream of new fics and stuff within the Bruce/Clark, Teen Titans, and Tim/assorted pairings and Dick/assorted pairings sub-fandoms. Now it’s significantly less, and probably for a variety of the factors we’ve discussed. Still, it makes me sad. Because I miss all the great stories and brilliant minds!

Man, the euphemisms in smut are just crazy sometimes. As are the expectations and delusions of how body parts work. It’s crazy to think how naïve people can be, but I think it’s like a vicious cycle: a person reads a “bad” fic, and assumes what’s described is realistic, so then uses that as basis for the scene in one of their fics. And on and on it can go. I read a ton of different smutty fics, and drew on real life experiences, before I tried my hand at writing a bit of smut. But I don’t think enough people attempt to do anything like that. Still, makes for some fun reading horrible smut like that, and gives us a great reason to have a comm like weepingcock!

[quiet--tiger.livejournal.com]

I've had stuff for TW, and even other fandoms, bookmarked for literally years because I've been busy or moved on or I've just gotten so used to seeing the title I don't feel like reading anymore. TW just breaks my heart because I was so, so into it, about six months before COE was when I got into fandom, and then I just lost it. I'll still read fic sometimes, but I guess I don't have it in me. Or maybe the summaries just don't look appealing? The same thing has happened with Tim/Kon--I used to love it and now I just... don't. Not sure what happened there, other than the whole Kon dying thing.

Ah, regarding angsty Ianto, I avoid angst most of the time. I like my ficcish diversion from reality to generally be angst-free. Not necessarily fluff, but I tend to veer into humor most of the time. Though Ianto and Jack (and Bruce Wayne depending on the story, or Dick) are built for angst, absolutely.

I think with the "spoiler warning" it struck me as odd because it's the first fandom I'd ever seen such a thing in, and I'd been poking around/heavily involved in several fandoms by that point.

I don't think I usually write stuff with a specific timeframe in mind, or it doesn't matter in other fandoms as much as it does with TW, where things change super quickly. My Batman, unless otherwise indicated, is always set in a very specific timeframe where Tim is Robin and with the Titans, Dick is Nightwing and with the Outsiders, and Kon and Bart are alive while Steph is dead. Other than those details I don't generally think my stories need timeframes.

Yep, the vicious "I saw it in a bunch of fics, so it must be true." I'm ashamed to say a lot of my early smut had some awful tropes in it due to reading so much stuff with the same thing, but after reading what weepingcock had to offer, I like to think I've gotten so much better at it!