So there's been discussion happening in various places lately about whether slash (predominant in the discussion) or a more generalised focus on male characters (auxiliary to it) is misogynistic in its exclusion of female characters. It's a pretty complex issue and I've only encountered edges of the main conversation, but I think there are some valid points coming out of it. Fandom can be very blind to its own prejudice, at times, no doubt because, being predominantly born of and influenced by mainstream Western society, it's informed by the same background static of sexism that exists in Western culture. I think it would be worthwhile to take a step back and examine exculpatory statements like 'female characters are less interesting', 'female characters are more likely to be Mary Sues', 'it's rare for female characters to be well written', 'I only like female characters who subvert gender roles', 'female characters aren't written in interesting enough roles', etc etc etc, because they can be troubling in and of themselves in terms of unconscious sexism. Yes, women are still being badly written, but there are countless awesome female characters out there if you're willing to look. It would be fantastic if there were recognition of the leagues of incredible women in sci fi and fantasy all the time, not just in response to a discussion meme on whether female characters are as interesting as guys and whether they deserve to be represented as much in creative fan works.

I do think that Star Wars fanfic, or at least the areas of it I'm most familiar with (namely: the OT and EU), is one of the better communities I've encountered in terms of recognition of female characters. That said, it is possible that removing pairing fic - as the focus is often there on the relationship rather than on the characters themselves - would skew the balance back the other way again. (Something which makes me look twice at my own fics in terms of gender representation.) I don't know, what are other people's thoughts on the matter?

And I'm not even going to get into the reception/relative harshness of judgement on female characters vs. male characters in fan circles because, well, why bother going there again.

Would not be surprised if the potential FOTJ spoilers referenced on TFN are accurate, given the heavy anvil-dropping starting with the unidentified "she" at the beginning of Outcast through to the mysteriously familiar dark presence that wanted Luke in Abyss. ("A voice cold and familiar and half-remembered inside Luke's mind, a dream-lover's whisper"? Yeah, that's some pretty strong hinting. Too strong, perhaps?)

( I don't know, is anyone actually reading FOTJ anymore? Potential spoilers if you are )

So that was much better than I expected. (Low expectations are the key, clearly.) Was amused by the random Star Wars references everywhere.

( Ten's last song: thoughts, in no particular order )

What else have I done recently? I saw Fantastic Mr Fox. Can't really see why it's getting such rave reviews, but the self-aware kind of quirkiness it relies on isn't my thing. It doesn't strike me as an effective children's movie as such either because of the talkiness and general dry tone. And it has problems with its female character (was going to type 'characters', but no, there's only one female character with any significant role), who seems to be there only to be pregnant and nag her husband. Oh, and then validate his recklessness and irresponsibility at the end. Issues much?

( Sherlock Holmes review, with vague spoilers )

In all, it's not cerebral; it's pure escapism, but, really, that has always been a large part of what Holmes is about. I had low expectations, but was pleasantly suprised. And I do think that the small and sedate Holmes fandom should be bracing itself right about now, because I can see fandom at large picking this movie up and running with it. We may be seeing the next Trek '09 style explosion, no doubt to much Holmesian dismay.

( Doctor Who: The End of Time Part One, with very definite spoilers )

Disproportionately amusing, but the subject line on a spam email in my inbox is as follows: "Every element of her surroundings was tawdry and commonplace, and before". Is this some kind of bitter, disillusioned spambot that secretly yearns to be writing bad fanfic? Before what?

Reading some of the fics in Beyond at TFN is an eye-opener (in so many ways, in some instances): I never realised how much dislike there is for Jaina around the place. I went through some bad patches with her character, mostly in the petulant teenage stage of her development, but I never experienced this black loathing some seem to have for her. My (entirely unjustified) theory is that the endless love triangle of doom between she, Zekk and Jag is largely to blame: love triangles rarely reflect well on the characters involved, and are almost always going to alienate a segment of fandom. I don't know why writers fall back on the device so often. Fraught with problems unless handled with great care, it do be.

(You can always reveal a long-lost twin connection to break the triangle, of course, but that creates a whole new galaxy of awkwardness all of its own...)

In other news, have now been home for a few days. Caught a stomach bug from a fellow passenger on the plane who spent the whole flight being violently ill, but have more or less recovered from that fun souvenir. I'm planning on spending my remaining few days off doing as little as possible and catching up on internet things and reading and other such matters of vital importance. And possibly re-watching the OT and PT, because I haven't watched either in far too long.

Currently in New Zealand and it's cold, y'all. Being from Queensland I have zero tolerance for cold weather, so am suffering through and being laughed at by locals for my layers of insulation and my scarf. The sights more than make up for the chilliness, though. There's so much variation down here -- you get mountains and sounds and fiords and all kinds of spectacular scenery. Queenstown was absolutely amazing.

The main part of the trip, a seven-day coach tour of south island, is over. It wasn't bad, although by the end I was more than ready to see the back of the bus. Currently completing the shopping stage of the trip in preparation for flying home tomorrow. (Argh, the plane. More sitting.)

Looking forward to getting home. Internet withdrawal is starting to kick in. And I suppose there's family and the like to see too. :p

( Spoilers be beneath this cut... )

Speaking of resolution, after being absurdly humid all day, all we got was some thunder and a brief shower of rain. Anti-climax much, weather?

Last exam DONE! Last for the semester, anyway. Possibly the last one for my undergrad degree, at least until I decide whether to graduate or take honours. (Optimistically assuming I pass, of course). But either way: YAYZORS. This last semester was really, really hard for whatever reason, and I'm very relieved it's over. And a little sad, but mostly relieved.

Now for the post-exam downer ('What? Free time? WHAT IS THIS?') and the wait for results. Hard to believe it's been nearly five years...

Thanks for the messages of condolence and support for Jess -- all were very much appreciated. I haven't been online as much as usual lately, between assessments for uni and trying to deal with various things, but with my final exam on Monday (and I should really do something about study for that, I guess) I'm hoping to get things straightened out.

( Oddments of life-related clutter )

Have been rewatching Hornblower lately. Wow, this show. The costuming and production values are incredible. And how awesome is Pellew? (I can really see why there's widespread slashing of certain characters in the fandom though -- even without fandom exposure, I was wondering whether Archie was supposed to be a bit inappropriately fond of Hornblower. Although, to be fair, pretty much everyone in the show is inappropriately fond of Hornblower, because he's that awesome.) Whether you're familiar with the show or not, this recap/guide is worth checking out, because it's made of pure win.

I'm currently reading the new Wheel of Time book, The Gathering Storm, written by Brandon Sanderson based on late author Robert Jordan's intentions for the series. ( Musings on WoT )

And, sadly, exam revision beckons. Though I think I might ignore it for the moment and get some sleep, as Javascript function programming is hard enough to look in the eye without bonus sleep deprivation.

*(... which is the punchline of a Ginger Meggs strip I read today that was so bizarrely appropriate it had to be quoted.)

Even though I'm not involved in SGA fandom on an active basis, it bothers me inordinately to see some of the things that were coming out of it in the last season and are coming out of it now. I have a strong knee-jerk negative reaction to any character bashing -- I don't like it and can't stand reading it, no matter how I feel about the character concerned, and it's hard for me to buy any argument that tries to sell it to me as a valid method of fan engagement. Nor can I really parse it as justified because it's an age-old technique from the romance genre; so is rape as a prelude to true love, among many other devices, and you're not going to convince me that's a valid and acceptable fic trope. (And, undeniably, there are authors who would try.)

Maybe I'm oversensitive, but I'm tired of people refusing to see the implications of how female characters are so readily bashed (as in, attacked with vitriol via portrayal in fan fiction and in discussions) and dismissed as Mary Sues. And that's when they're not being marginalised and killed off meaninglessly in the text itself. (Hi, Star Wars EU!) Obviously people have individual reasons for disliking a character and to do so is not necessarily misogynistic, but speaking in terms of a broad and disturbingly common trend, it's frustrating to see the same arguments being made again and again in different fandoms.

In entirely unrelated news, I am somewhat ashamed to admit I bought And Another Thing..., the new Hitchhiker's Guide book written by not!Douglas Adams. I've been torn all along, because clearly Adams' writing is distinctive and his comedic voice is irreplaceable, but on the other hand that ending in Mostly Harmless always felt strangely incomplete, despite its, well, finality. I do think it might have been smarter to treat this as an offshoot rather than a continuation of the series, though.

The level of ignorance stirred up by that blackface skit -- (I don't know how much coverage there has been overseas, but I hear it's picking up?) -- is cringeingly embarrassing. Fellow Australians: there's a history to blackface, and it's ugly and demeaning and not funny at all. Look it up.

One day Australia will stop being the weird cousin of the English-speaking world. I live in hope.

(I really shouldn't read comments on internet news articles, should I? I definitely shouldn't be reading comments on YouTube.)

Vague reaction-type things below, not really very comprehensive but definitely spoilery:

( 500 Days of Summer )

( Surrogates )

And also, saw trailers for the Michael Jackson movie, which... kind of squicks me in an odd way, because hello, morbid? The hype around Dark Knight kind of squicked me for the same reason. "He's dead, you know" seems like such a creepy marketing tool. And yet it's effective. PEOPLE ARE STRANGE. I am unqualified to judge these things.

Another trailer showing was that of New Moon, in which Bella curls into a foetal ball because Edward is gooooone, and Jacob is suddenly very buff and furry. And I realised that the amount I know about these characters despite having never come within three feet of any of the books occasionally worries me.

Somehow managed to actually complete and submit the two assignments I had due today despite a week of work being ridiculously demanding. Still not entirely sure how it was accomplished, but lack of sleep was involved. I have a suspicion that I didn't cover enough sources in my literature review, although my lecturer is lucky to get coherent sentences, really. (Which, erm, is not a given. I'm trying to avoid rereading now that it's submitted, but I have a feeling there were some tortured arguments in there).

Just watched George Gently, because I love Beebs and its historical cop shows. The only problem is that now I want fanfic about Bacchus trying to impress Gently and Gently pretending he doesn't care about Bacchus screwing up his personal life and Gently's Tragically Dead Wife and Bacchus's Unfortunate Home Life and... there isn't any, because BBC historical cop show. Sigh.

And also, is there a show on television that's more skeevy than Two and a Half Men? I usually try to avoid it, but a certain channel plays it almost 24/7 and I keep coming across LOL WOMEN R SO DUMB when I'm changing channels. Low-denominator sitcom, I know, but it doesn't even try to pretend it's not hugely derogatory. And Charlie Sheen's manwhoring just makes me want to shower.

That would seem to fulfill my randomness quota for the day, I think, so I'm going to catch up on sleep.

If you're going to have music blaring so loudly from your party that the whole street can hear it, is ABBA's greatest hits collection really your best option?

*facepalms at neighbours*

Title: Readjustment
Author: deaka
Rating: Safe for kids
Characters: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Adi Gallia, Yoda
Timeframe: Roughly around the Clone Wars
Warnings: None

Disclaimer: All hail Lucas; I'm just playing in his GFFA

Summary: War changes everything

A/N: The Clone Wars is not an era I'm highly familiar with, so if there are inaccuracies – and there probably will be, because wow, is that a complicated time in Star Wars history – I can only apologise profusely. I did attempt research, but Wookieepedia is sometimes more unhelpful than otherwise.

Crossposted at TheForce.Net and swfanfic

( Readjustment )

Been meaning to post a review of this for a while but have recently read A Slight Trick of the Mind, by Mitch Cullen. It takes on the premise of Sherlock Holmes and who he was, both in the Doyle canon and as a literary figure, through an exploration of the life of a much older Holmes eking out his retirement in the wake of WWII on a rural farm in Sussex.
( A Slight Trick of the Mind, or Bees Don't Kill, But Wasps Just Might )

I can't quite figure out why the publishers felt the need to put 'A Novel' on the cover and spine of my paperback copy of the book, though. It always annoys me. Is it for that extra edge of gravitas, or is there a strange inability in the ranks of the reading public to distinguish between the fiction and nonfiction areas of libraries and bookshops that I don't know about?

Have also got my hands on Abyss. I haven't actually read Omen yet, so have only skimmed the Luke and Ben bits. A few quick things:
( Luke and Ben vs. Meditation Zombies )

Have just finished The Thief, The Queen of Attolia and The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner, and am currently in an inarticulate state of utter adoration for the series. I'd seen it recommended in a few places over the years and finally ordered The Thief from Amazon a few weeks ago. It was good, but not great -- interesting fantasy world (based on ancient Greece, with some retooling of religion and geography), characters that teased their way into roundedness, a fairly standard quest plot with a twist that was well executed but ultimately fairly predictable. I couldn't see exactly what all the fuss was about, but it was decent enough that I ordered the second and third books. And within about two chapters of the second book I was thoroughly hooked. By KoA I'd completely lost the ability to put the book down except to eat and sleep, and that wasn't even a certainty.

And, you know, the worst part is that I can't even explain why I liked it so much without giving spoilers, which would undermine the careful reveal. The central relationship, though, is one of the most striking I've come across in a while, difficult and complex and surprisingly touching, and it's handled with a great deal of delicacy. And did I mention I completely loved the characters? Including female characters who are allowed to be complicated and powerful and intricate? (I will admit having minor issues with one element of the last book re: gender issues, but I think it's acknowledged in the book as a product of the worldbuilding and society and I'm therefore kind of undecided on whether it bothers me on a meta level).

But anyway, the series was a great read, and I don't think it will be too long before I'll be rereading. Apparently there's a fourth book coming out next year, which promises further goodness, although I hate having to wait between books in a series. Possibly fanfic has spoiled me for life in that regard. :p

All my decent fic ideas lately seem to be set around LotF, which has lead me to give in and go back to the beginning (which, for LotF, I'm counting as the Dark Nest series) to try to get some concepts straight. Which in turn leads me to the overwhelming need to unburden myself as to some of the more problematic areas in the themes the DN/LotF arc raises. Because I am a merciful soul, I will place said unburdening under a cut to spare the eyes of the unwary. :p

( So, The Joiner King... )

And I kind of love the irony in Karen Traviss deciding to end her involvement with Star Wars because of canon retcons. Considering that everything of hers that I've read has involved considerable retconning to not only events but to characterisation, philosophy and the underlying ideology of the entire fictional universe, I can't say I'm sorry to see her leave. Taken in isolation, her writing itself wasn't terrible, but she was so profoundly unsuited it wasn't funny. (Unless, of course, you believe Mandos truly belong at the centre of moral uprightness in the Star Wars universe, in which case I will leave you to your mourning).

Must catch up with some vigs that need to be cross-posted here, but for now I think I'll get some sleep or else I'll resemble the living dead in the morning...

I really dislike having the misfortune of clicking into a fanfic whose sole purpose is to 'teach X a lesson', X usually being the half of a scorned OTP who ended up with someone else, and who must be punished for this transgression. They're invariably OOC for both parties, and generally are in some form misogynistic -- and, people, if a person nurses a secret love interest but never lets the other party know or makes any move to signal their interest, it's really not the other party's fault the relationship never happened. *facepalm*

And don't even get me started on the comments that follow such fics. Character humiliation and belittlement is best done in a group setting, apparently.

I guess I kind of fail at the whole concept of character bashing and some of the crazy that surrounds OTPs, because this just makes me very annoyed. But then so does the flip side, where a successful OTP must be shown as better than any other relationship either person has had ever by putting previous romantic interests in their place and proving them unworthy.

Fandom: I must be doing it wrong. o.O