Shoot the Wall (A.K.A. The Rant Thread)

[Bendydoodle Cantaloupe]

Okay, now here's my (brief) rant of the day.

 

 

Whenever I'm looking for some nice Sherlock fanfiction, WHY CAN I NEVER ESCAPE THE JOHNLOCK?!

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

It's worse when you go to the dentist to get a new wire in your braces, and you get a real looker of a dentist, but then the next time you go there he's gone!

 

Yeah, I had one of those once -- a real looker, that is, not braces -- and I actually enjoyed getting my teeth worked on.  But then I moved away.

 

As for your rant, I fully agree.  Some of the fanfic sites allow you to filter FOR a particular genre -- but I don't recall seeing any way of screening it OUT.

 

There's one site that allows you to specify that you want only stories with greater than a certain number of likes, but it doesn't distinguish between stories with, say, 50 likes out of 200 hits and stories with 50 likes out of 10,000 hits.  I asked if they could do percentages, but they said it would probably take a lot of work, and their all-volunteer staff is ridiculously busy as it is.  So that's probably why the filters they offer are only the ones likely to be really popular and/or easy to implement.  Oddballs like us will presumably have to continue doing our own filtering the old-fashioned way.

[Caya]

I hear ya, Bendy . For all my happily defending slash and its right to exist and be written and published, I honestly can't stand most of the stuff (especially the needlessly graphic kind). If there were a site like, say, ao3 that only took submissions without slash (note: slash as in, between chars portrayed as het in the source show/book, Captain Jack Harkness can do whoever he wants to ) I think it would quickly become my favourite place on the web. As it is, finding a story I like is, like Carol described, often tedious wading through tons of Omegaverse fics (*shudder*). Again: personal preference only. Read and write whatever you like .

[Carol the Dabbler]

(note: slash as in, between chars portrayed as het in the source show/book....)

You're leaving yourself wide open there, Martina! 

 

[T.o.b.y]

Any luck yet, T.o.b.y?

 

Yes and no. No, I never got the damn thing to work, but yes, I got to return it on an unexpected day off and replace it with a new DVD. Now all that remains is to test the new one, but I haven't found time for that yet. Thanks for asking!

 

Okay, now here's my (brief) rant of the day.

 

 

Whenever I'm looking for some nice Sherlock fanfiction, WHY CAN I NEVER ESCAPE THE JOHNLOCK?!

 

 

Um... because there's very little fan fiction without it? Seriously, I wonder if anybody has ever bothered to find out and write up the numbers: How much percent of Sherlock fan fiction features Sherlock paired off with somebody, and how much of that has him in a romantic / sexual relationship with John? My guess would be pretty high numbers on both counts.

 

I hear ya, Bendy . For all my happily defending slash and its right to exist and be written and published, I honestly can't stand most of the stuff (especially the needlessly graphic kind). If there were a site like, say, ao3 that only took submissions without slash (note: slash as in, between chars portrayed as het in the source show/book, Captain Jack Harkness can do whoever he wants to ) I think it would quickly become my favourite place on the web. As it is, finding a story I like is, like Carol described, often tedious wading through tons of Omegaverse fics (*shudder*). Again: personal preference only. Read and write whatever you like .

 

Finding any fan fiction I like is tedious, but I've found it's also kind of exciting. A bit like gambling: The odds are not in your favor, but the winnings can be incredible. Recommendations are a good way to go, if you ask me. Also, when I've found an author I like, I go and see what she has bookmarked on AO3 - that sometimes helps, too. Just plunging in and looking around, however, is kind of like searching for gold in a dumpster.

 

I've found I don't mind slash per se as much as I thought I would. Depends hugely on how it is written, and the "it's not them, it's somebody else with the same names" trick works pretty astonishingly well for me. And while my gag threshold is still pretty low, and lots of the more explicit scenes aren't exactly up my street, I do have to admire the few people out there who can write a good sex scene. It must be extremely hard to do. I can't so much as write a kiss. My poor little dream people have to do all their snogging off stage.

[SherlockedCAMPer]

Today's slight (but completely normal for me) annoyance:  waking up for church & getting there fine only to realize you have no energy for the task of watching the littlest members (we're lucky if they can say hi) for an hour and a half and not knowing why.  Then during the 2nd service, or the business meeting afterwards, you realize the reason and mentally groan as you have no time to take the much needed nap since you are booked until after your body's self-imposed can't start a nap time if you want to sleep that night. 

 

I'll be fine tomorrow for watching Frankenstein and probably still won't get a nap in (too much to do again).

[Bendydoodle Cantaloupe]

 

Okay, now here's my (brief) rant of the day.

 

 

Whenever I'm looking for some nice Sherlock fanfiction, WHY CAN I NEVER ESCAPE THE JOHNLOCK?!

 

 

Um... because there's very little fan fiction without it? Seriously, I wonder if anybody has ever bothered to find out and write up the numbers: How much percent of Sherlock fan fiction features Sherlock paired off with somebody, and how much of that has him in a romantic / sexual relationship with John? My guess would be pretty high numbers on both counts.

 

The sad part is is how a lot of the other Sherlock ships are mixed with it. For example, if you search 'Sherlock Holmes/Jim Moriarty' on AO3, there's about 1000 works, but once you filter out the Johnlock and the non-con (it bothers me that non-con fics exist) there's only about 400-some.

[T.o.b.y]

The sad part is is how a lot of the other Sherlock ships are mixed with it. For example, if you search 'Sherlock Holmes/Jim Moriarty' on AO3, there's about 1000 works, but once you filter out the Johnlock and the non-con (it bothers me that non-con fics exist) there's only about 400-some.

 

Okay. Wait a minute. You'd rather read a story where Sherlock and Moriarty are a couple than Sherlock and... oh my god. Okay. Um. Each to his or her own, but - I'm not exactly surprised you have a bit of a hard time finding what you're looking for.

 

And non-what? No, no, don't tell, me, I bet it's one of those "you don't want to know" things.

 

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

The sad part is is how a lot of the other Sherlock ships are mixed with it. For example, if you search 'Sherlock Holmes/Jim Moriarty' on AO3, there's about 1000 works, but once you filter out the Johnlock and the non-con (it bothers me that non-con fics exist) there's only about 400-some.

 

Okay. Wait a minute. You'd rather read a story where Sherlock and Moriarty are a couple than Sherlock and... oh my god. Okay. Um. Each to his or her own, but - I'm not exactly surprised you have a bit of a hard time finding what you're looking for.

 

And non-what? No, no, don't tell, me, I bet it's one of those "you don't want to know" things.

 

I think it's short for non-consensual, T.o.b.y -- and I suspect neither of us wants to know any more than that! (Also, I suspect Bendy's Sherlock/Moriarty thing was just an example -- in any case, don't think I could wrap my head around it.)

 

... if you search 'Sherlock Holmes/Jim Moriarty' on AO3, there's about 1000 works, but once you filter out the Johnlock and the non-con (it bothers me that non-con fics exist) there's only about 400-some.

Is there actually an automated way to filter things out, then? Or do you mean just trudging through the list manually?

 

[Bendydoodle Cantaloupe]

There is a way -- I think you put the minus sign and after that whatever pairing/tag you want to avoid in the "additional tags" bar in the filter box. At least, that's how it is on AO3.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Cool!  Thanks, Bendy -- I never knew that -- must give it a try.

 

[SherlockedCAMPer]

Can I complain that today (what's left of it) was a wonderful 70F and tomorrow is going to be a blustery 49F. Fall is hitting MN (and so are the sprinkles from the cold front). I'm not ready for winter even though I do love the season.

[Arcadia]

Whereas today in Virginia was a perfect 70-something, and tomorrow we'll be cooking in the 80's!

[Carol the Dabbler]

I see that the cool-down is headed your way, though (by way of Indiana).

 

[Arcadia]

Yay! I like Fall to be Fall, y'know?

[sittything]

It's going to be 75 today here in PA.  Bleh.

[SherlockedCAMPer]

I would prefer 60s about now. Next week can think about 50s and 40s by the end of next month. Then snow for a white Christmas.

[Bendydoodle Cantaloupe]

I can't wait until winter. All the spiders will die.

[Arcadia]

No they won't, they'll just move into your house.

[sittything]

[SherlockedCAMPer]

I love that part in the movie and Harry's line right after.

[Carol the Dabbler]

What does he say?

 

[SherlockedCAMPer]

Just found it: Harry: "You tel those spiders, Ron"  Ron: "Yeah, tell them...I'll tell them..." (falls back to sleep)

[Carol the Dabbler]

I just got a letter from our doctor.  We've been seeing her for twenty years now, and she's the best damn doctor either of us has ever had.  Even better, she's younger than either of us, so we figured she could keep on being our doctor for a good many years yet.

 

The letter says that she's leaving her practice, apparently to sell nutritional supplements, and while I have absolutely nothing against nutritional supplements (I take lots of 'em), well -- sheesh! 

Hey, there's better news tonight!  I had an appointment with this doctor today, hoping she could recommend a replacement that I'd have half a chance of being able to work with.  It turns out that she will still be in practice, just in a different town (apparently the supplements are just a sideline).  So I'll drive an extra half hour to see her.  *whew*

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

OK, this has been bugging me off and on for a while now -- every time I come across a new example:

 

Why do [some] people seem to feel obligated to introduce blatant political commentary into unrelated matters?  They seem to assume that anyone who enjoys certain movies (or who likes to garden or who's a vegetarian or whatever) will automatically agree with them on EVERYthing.  Why do they risk alienating half of their potential audience?