Dreamwidth and Fanfiction Rec #1

[grayestofghosts]

Back on the hellsite that is Twitter I saw a discussion about "why don't we go back to LiveJournal," and after all the notes about how LJ has been destroyed even if it's technically still online and how you'd really better go to DW instead, I offered to follow anyone if they posted links to their journals and directed people to mine. As of now, I have seen zero interest.

I find it a bit disappointing, to be honest. They keep saying they want to do something different and then they don't seem to even try. One of the major issues on DW is that there aren't a lot of people here, but wouldn't that be helped by, well, making an account? Following a few journals, making a few posts? I don't know. I know I'm not on here a ton but I do appreciate what I'm trying to do and try to do more of it.


Anyway, given my comments on Ao3 a couple posts ago, I figured that because I actually am keeping up with a fic now I should push it. I've been reading Cold Skins and Warm Blood by Unfried_Mouth_Wheat which is a mashup of Dracula and Frankenstein as mentioned on Tumblr a while ago. It's not the direction that I would have gone, which I only feel the need to mention because I have Opinions on Frankenstein, but I'm invested. It says it's updated on Fridays and has been updated pretty consistently, and is noted right now at 19/35 chapters, so the author may already have the whole fic written, which is good news if you're tired of getting burned on abandoned fic.

Comments

[fred_mouse]

Cautiously intrigued by the description of that fic! Am a little leery of 'in progress' fic, although more willing to give it a go than I was some years back, when I wouldn't touch a WIP ever.

[grayestofghosts]

I absolutely understand! However if chapters are posted weekly, we’ll see if it actually finishes soon enough. I might post an update if I’m still keeping track if it does.

[fred_mouse]

Here's hoping it finishes, and you are still following to make that post!

[soc_puppet]

I feel you 100% on the problem of trying to get more people on Dreamwidth. People aren't on Dreamwidth because there's no activity here, but there's no activity here because people aren't here, but people aren't here because there's no activity here, but... Well, you get the idea, I'm sure!

My "solutions" so far have been suggesting people follow fandomcalendar, pointing them to various adding communities, and directing them to activities like the Snowflake and Sunshine Challenges and, more recently, Community Thursday. The former makes reading pages more active, while the latter push user activity a bit more. I certainly can't say it's perfect, but, well, at least I have suggestions ready when people ask.

[grayestofghosts]

I’m going to be honest, I wonder how much of the problem is Harry Potter scaring them off because a lot of these pan-fandom groups have a lot of it —-I’m not a part of those groups myself, but it seems a lot more acceptable and actively endorsed here even if there’s so much HP stuff on twitter and tumblr anyway.

[soc_puppet]

Huh; the Harry Potter thing hadn't occurred to me. And while it might be a fandom generation gap thing and the general different cultures on Dreamwidth and Tumblr, it could genuinely be because there aren't as many people on Dreamwidth to make a fuss in the first place. Or both of those things, and several others.

I will say that this has given me some important food for thought for a community I hope to start up sometime soon.

[grayestofghosts]

I don't really think it's a generational gap, because even trans people who grew up with HP view it being openly advertised as a huge red flag.

[soc_puppet]

Fair enough. Though honestly, Rowling's "I interpret people publicly being fans of my work as supporting my garbage politics" thing hasn't helped that any.

[grayestofghosts]

I mean, at this point I kinda do feel like a big reason the series hasn’t been entirely memory-holed has been that. Looking back there was a very specific reason why it exploded in popularity at the time it did, and that reason is no longer relevant. The actual content of the books is so-so at best and the big studio that has the property can only grift on stale nostalgia for so long. The whole thing is a house of cards, and even without all the -isms, JKR is so hilariously provincial that, IMO, the whole thing fell apart the moment she decided to say anything about the world beyond Scotland. The writer cannot see beyond her own nose, and the entire series reflects that shortcoming.