For Supernatural fans

[superbadgirl]

Or, rather, fans who like gen fic. ;)

This was probably posted elsewhere on LJ - have to admit I still find LJ/blogging rather uncomfortable for fandom, even if I only plan on staying on the outskirts. I don't know why, but I just can't get into it as much. Reading fic on LJ is just a lot of work, IMO, especially if it's long. Click for link, keep clicking for the next part, yadda. Anyway, here's a new Yahoo group for SPN gen fic. Looks like the primary genre will be H/C.

Thanks ldyanne for the head's up!

ETA: I'm taking back my recommendation. A suggestion that they might want to simply label their list as a romance-free area instead of specifically targeting slash and Wincest was summarily rejected. In a rather, IMO, stubborn and silly way, too. I got quoted the "treat others as you'd like to be treated" schtick...which doesn't fly with me, because there were ALREADY too many people stepping in to express not just appreciation for a gen site, but for being free from that "disgusting slash and Wincest"...which doesn't seem to follow that whole "treat others" thing, now does it? I certainly didn't think so, and yet the only person who's been modded is the one to stand up and protest the bashing.

Also, I was so excited to have a place to go for gen stuff...but it turns out het is welcome where slash is not. That is not okay with me. My definition of gen doesn't include het, and even if it did, it's not cool to say one kind of romance is okay and the other not.

I'm not simply removing this post because, well, I wanted to soapbox for a tiny bit. The whole thing's kind of upset me, and I don't really upset that easily about this stuff. Well, okay, I freak out about Wincest, but I, unlike so many, manage to be not okay with that but not go around all over the place calling it disgusting and lumping other slash in with it. Okay, I slip up sometimes, because it is a major squick.

Oh, and of the fic that I did read in my short stint there, much of it was riddled with grammatical errors and flat-out bad characterization, so I don't know that I would have lasted long anyway. Plus, I can't stick around when, because het is "cannon," it's considered gen. Cannon!? Really. God, I hate that error.

Comments

[aizjanika.livejournal.com]

I find reading fic on LJ a lot of work only if the authors don't include links to the next part. *g* I don't know why that is so common! I've read some fics where there's no list of chapters, no "previous" to the previous chapter, and no "next chapter" to the next chapter. If I have to work that hard to find the other chapters, well...I'm not going to. *g*

Once when I asked the author for links, she pretty much said "tough luck." *g* I haven't bothered to ask anyone else. I just don't read the stories.

I was turned off by the description for this new group, because it says "Wincest and slash free zone." That seems to imply that they allow het, but no slash, which is not the same thing as gen and the way it's worded just seems sort of nasty to me ("NO Wincest or Slash, period. Ain't in the show, ain't on the list"). Why not say "no romance" or "no pairings" or even just "gen only"? It sounds very anti-slash to me, not just anti-wincest.

I have no problem with a gen site or a het site, if that's what they want, but to exclude slash but imply that het is gen (i.e. het is acceptable, but slash is not) really irritates me because it seems anti-slash and homophobic. Maybe I'm just too sensitive, but I'd rather risk the wincest than join a group that sees slash as teh evil. *g*

I could be mistaken about this group, of course. *g* It's just my impression of the description of it and looking at the group site just makes it seem even worse. *g* You'll have to let me know how it goes. :-)

[superbadgirl]

I don't think that was their intention. For the record, I've already sent a note - I'm very relaxed about things like this, probably because even though I do slash, I'd say I'm a very casual slasher. Id est, I don't slash every pairing I set my eyes on, because for me it just doesn't work that way. Some people see it everywhere. I see it very selectively (and if I'm honest, I even had to squint a bit to see it with Jack and Daniel).

We'll see if my recommendations lead to anything - I suggested much the same thing you did, that they simply call it a gen site, and indicate they accept no romance of any kind. That way they won't be targeting slashers and Wincesters specifically (which is definitely how it looked to me, and some of the comments have already made me a bit uncomfortable, even as a casual slasher. Heh.).

[aizjanika.livejournal.com]

That way they won't be targeting slashers and Wincesters specifically (which is definitely how it looked to me,

That was what set off my warning bells a bit. The wording of that seemed more "anti" rather than just being about setting up their own playground for their own preferences.

and some of the comments have already made me a bit uncomfortable, even as a casual slasher. Heh.).

:-(

[superbadgirl]

Honestly, I might have lurked around for a bit until all the intros stopped, just to see what it was going to really be like, but the response I got to a simple suggestion put me off totally.

And het still isn't gen, damnit! ;)

[aizjanika.livejournal.com]

No, it's not! That one bugs me a lot because it seems a fairly common assumption.

I used to read metafandom stuff and I remember seeing a discussion about that, where people felt that het was get and/or at least that het from the show was gen. Some people insisted that the word "gen" meant different things in different fandoms, but I don't really know about that. Every fandom that I've been in has defined gen as "no romance" except in places where people were anti-slash. *g* (I stumbled upon a Stargate fic site like that a long while ago. They were "gen only" but they allowed any het pairing.)

OTOH, I do think there can be exceptions. On Stargate, Jack was married to Sara and a reference to that in a story wouldn't mean the story wasn't gen, but a story about Jack and Sara would be het, IMHO. I feel the same about Daniel and Sha're. Him talking about his search for her could happen in a gen story, but a story about his love for her or about them together (pre-show or an AU) wouldn't be gen, IMHO.

OTOH, any story in which Jack/Sam was mentioned would be het to me--or I'd consider it to contain a het pairing, even if it just mentioned their feeeeeelings for each other in passing. *g*

I'm not sure if this all makes sense, but that's how I'd define it. hehe Perhaps I'm just making up my own rules. *g*

So much for that.

[superbadgirl]

My (and your, hee hee) recommedation was rejected. Very quickly and emphatically.

*sigh*

No new gen place to play for me. I can appreciate wanting an exclusive place, but to do it at the cost of bashing others for liking slash? Not cool. Not cool at all.

Re: So much for that.

[aizjanika.livejournal.com]

No new gen place to play for me. I can appreciate wanting an exclusive place, but to do it at the cost of bashing others for liking slash? Not cool. Not cool at all.

No, not cool. I don't get too upset about it, exactly, but just don't want to be a part of it.

[aizjanika.livejournal.com]

Plus, I can't stick around when, because het is "cannon," it's considered gen. Cannon!? Really. God, I hate that error.

LOL That one always makes me laugh, because I get all sorts of interesting images in my head.

But...I am really sorry that I was somewhat right about that group. :-( I was actually hoping you'd tell me I was wrong. *g*

Maybe we should start our own gen site? Group? Whatever?

I'd actually really like a gen only place. There is already a wincest-free LJ community as well as spn_brotherlove. Both allow het and slash, but no wincest. I don't know that there's any place that's strictly for gen, though.

[aizjanika.livejournal.com]

Thinking aloud... I remember when the wincest_free group started, I was interested, but then when it was actually created, it had a different name that seemed sort of confrontational and a few things were stated that seemed a bit similar to this new group, but the owner asked everyone about it and most people stated a preference to the "having our own playground" kind of approach, rather than the bashing others, excluding others kind of thing. The owner listened to the comments, changed the name of the group, and wording of the guidelines was changed to reflect that.

That was nice.

[superbadgirl]

The owner listened to the comments, changed the name of the group, and wording of the guidelines was changed to reflect that.

That would have been lovely! Too bad that didn't happen here. :(

Ah, well. I'm not going to stew about it anymore. It's not like I'd invested a lot of time over there. I hadn't even had the chance to share stories.

[superbadgirl]

Maybe we should start our own gen site? Group? Whatever?

Heh, maybe, but I don't want the responsibility. I can't even care for my plant, let alone babysit a bunch of people who can't behave properly. ;)

[aizjanika.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I suck at that, too. *g* It's a nice thought, though. hehe I'd be more inclined to make an LJ community which you might not like as much, but I think it would be easier to maintain.