mockingbird singing in the dead of night

[krickets]

→ princesaskater made a really beautiful (spoilery!) picspam for Harper's Island episode 1.11, Splash. Speaking of Harper's Island, they're skipping July 4th and airing the last two episodes back to back on July 11th on CBS. On wikipedia, it doesn't say when they're airing them on Global TV though so there may be an ep next week and there may not be. I'm thinking of re-watching the series between now and the finale.


→ For two nights in a row this week there was a mockingbird singing outside my window, well past midnight keeping me awake. (SO loud and obnoxious.) Apparently this is the lonely cry of a bachelor mockingbird looking for a mate and there is absolutely no way to discourage them or even scare them away because they are territorial and are likely to sing from the same spot each night. Thankfully, last night there was a big thunderstorm and lots of rain so he was quiet. I'm crossing my fingers he doesn't come back again tonight, but I don't know how truly hopeful I am. Some of the things I read online seem to suggest that they sing by light, so I am half contemplating sabotaging the streetlight that's right outside the house. If I can figure out a way to do that...


→ Everyone seems to be discussing the warnings and triggers wank (meta?) that's been going around. Generally speaking I have not had much need for warnings. They're usually covered in my pairings and ratings. I have written non-con one time (for Sweet Charity) and I warned for it then -- it was my John-in-hell SPN fic -- but I can almost with 100% certainty say I will never write it again, so I don't have to think about warning for those types of things.

The thing I'm pretty firm about though, is death. I have heard some (minimal) discussion about that being one of the warnings people want. But I personally don't warn for it. I may have in the past, but I don't like to and don't plan to in the future. Especially if the death is an important part of the story.

There has been some discussion about how it's "wrong" to compare movies/tv shows and books with fanfiction because we "owe" each other more than that. But imagine seeing Million Dollar Baby, not knowing anything about it, and it came with a "death" warning in front of it? Wouldn't it kind of defeat the whole purpose? I think so. Knowing death is coming would just suck any hope or meaning out of everything preceeding it. Generally, the point isn't death. The point is the life, the struggle, the journey that came before it. But if you tarnish that with a big warning label, it kind of makes it all seem a little pointless right? Maybe that's just me.

Anyway, I don't think I have to worry so much as it seems like people aren't worried so much about death by itself as they are self-harm and suicide. Death by itself seems to be low on the list of trauma-related triggers.

Comments

[slybrunette.livejournal.com]

Generally, the point isn't death. The point is the life, the struggle, the journay that came before it. But if you tarnish that with a big warning label, it kind of makes it all seem a little pointless right? Maybe that's just me.

Ditto. I positively hate warning for death. I cave sometimes, if it's not majorly important (ie post Season 5 GA fic, I will warn for death, because, well, it's kind of obvious anyway).

[crickets.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure why but it has always been something I haven't liked warning for. Though, like I said. I have warned for it a couple of times maybe.

FYI, my net's set to go down in t-minus three minutes. (Whether that will happen, I dont know.)

Are you posting anything at the battle today? *hopes*

[slybrunette.livejournal.com]

Okay, I won't message then.

I want to, but there's like 279 comments and I'm intimidated *hides*

[turquoisetumult.livejournal.com]

mockingbird singing in the dead of night

He's got you quoting Muse. Can't be that bad of a bird! :D

Re: warnings on fic.

The only warnings I feel need to clarified are specific pairings (slash, e.g., if someone's not into it) and spoilers for an episode. I agree with you completely about warning it's a death!fic! It would really put a damper on the whole momentum/flow of the fic, I think.

[crickets.livejournal.com]

Haha, I wasn't actually quoting Muse (I didn't know that was a muse line!) I was actually bastardizing the beatles... lol.

I don't warn for slash because I think people find it offensive. The implications are definitely offensive. I think if you list your pairings you're covered there anyway. (Same with my Jack/Claire stuff -- I don't have to warn, just look at the pairings and you know.)

[turquoisetumult.livejournal.com]

Haha. Not exactly. The quote I was thinking was "glaciers melting in the dead of night" from Supermassive Black Hole.

That's basically what I meant. Just outlining the primary things they'll be finding in the fic, whether it's Dean/Sam, Boone/Shannon, or Desmond/Penny (fanon incest slash, canon incest, or canon het.) It shouldn't matter, as long as you list whatever it is so it's known to everyone.

[crickets.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah I see what you mean. Saying it any other way (oh there's going to be het in this Sawyer/Claire fic!) is redundant.

[theladyscribe]

I agree re: the warnings. I generally don't warn for things outside of spoilers (mostly because I write pretty vanilla fiction, haha). The one big exception was my Gallows Pole series, because it dealt with rape and the aftermath thereof, and I knew that at least one or two of my readers would want that warning.

As for death, I generally don't warn for it for the same reasons you mentioned. An exception would be if the death is what *starts* the story, or if the death is a particularly gruesome one.

[crickets.livejournal.com]

Yeah if there was strong graphic violence involved, I have definitely warned for that in the past.

And if you write, as you call it, "vanilla" stuff, there's not much to warn for in the first place. With the exception of my wacky pairing preferences, I gotta say I feel like I'm in the vanilla category myself. Maybe less than others, but mostly, I don't have anything (beyond pairings) to warn about.

[gigglemonster.livejournal.com]

Aw shoot the picspam is locked :( I'll have to try and friend her!

No mockingbird last night? Go rain! Hahaha now all you have to do is destroy the light and you could possibly be in the clear!

And I agree 100% with your thoughts one the warnings *nods*

[crickets.livejournal.com]

Link should work now. She posted it to her graphics comm.

[gigglemonster.livejournal.com]

Cool! Thanks :)

[zelda-zee.livejournal.com]

I understand why writers don't want to use death warnings for the reasons you state. As a reader though, I don't like reading certain kinds of death fic and I like having a choice. I've read a few long, emotional stories with a totally shocking death at the end that was clearly there only as a way to manipulate readers, and it was those fics that made me gun-shy. So I appreciate death warnings, myself.

But death in and of itself isn't a trigger, as far as I can understand, so it's not crucial whether it's warned for or not. It's just up to personal preference.

[crickets.livejournal.com]

Re: Death being a tool to manipulate readers. I feel this is kind of a double standard. I feel that all fic, all stories, etc. somehow are a tool to manipulate readers. We're trying to get them to see something, feel something, think something, sympathize with something, be moved, be angry, etc. It's all manipulation in the end.

But yeah, totally a personal preference thing. I haven't ever written suicide -- so I've never had to contemplate whether or not I would warn for that before. But now after seeing all of the discussion, I certainly would. (But then again, I don't see myself ever writing that.)

[nursedarry.livejournal.com]

I'm exactly the same as you- I've only written one dub-con (not non-con, done as a "club" initiation thing), BUT I did post warnings. Other than that, my pairings and ratings give fair warning. I don't usually like character death (although there are a couple of beautiful fics out there with it) and I never highlight warnings, but then I don't have any triggers that I know of.

But I can appreciate a lot of people do and it's best to be aware of it even if we don't all see eye to eye about warnings.

Haven't talked to you in ages- hope you're well!

[crickets.livejournal.com]

I don't know if I really understand what dub-con is. I mean, I know what it means but it just seems like being "kind of pregnant" or "almost dead." It either is or it isn't. Right? This is where it confuses me.

Anyway, yeah people do have triggers and there's a lot of talk about them. But sometimes I think people tend to latch on to a word like "triggers" and use that to mean "I don't want to read that" rather than "this causes an involuntary violent medical reaction in me."

If you're in the former, you know where the X is. If you're in the ladder, hopefully people are kind enough to warn in advance for those things that are especially triggery.

[nursedarry.livejournal.com]

My dub-con is an HP drabble with DM being "forced" to give Barty Crouch Jr (David Tennant) a blow job if he wants to be initiated into the Death Eaters. And Draco DOES want to be, but didn't know that was part of it and is treated like shit the whole time. So, I class that as dub-con. It IS a fine line and this is the only time I'd ever think to use it.

And I think you've just answered your own question with your last comment. I look at it this way- I warn for age disparity (I write cross-gen HP fic, too), mpreg (which I like, but squicks so many other people), incest and character death. That's it. If I wrote non-con/dub-con, I'd warn that, too. Oh, and I do post het warnings on mainly slash fics, cause that would squick me too if I weren't expecting it, but that and mpreg are more for personal taste than triggers. (Although I'd be interested in hearing a the background of someone with an mpreg trigger... er...)

[elliotsmelliot.livejournal.com]

I agree with you about warning for character death. I get why many people would want it, but I just can't bring myself to do it.

[harlot2.livejournal.com]

While writing "Charity" my muse punched me in the face with this notion that I'd have to kill Faith at the end of the story. In the long run, I didn't end up killing Faith, but even if I had, I wouldn't have put a warning on my fic. That never would have crossed my mind, to tell you the truth. Heck, I'm still mad I had to slap an NC-17 rating on my CLAWN fic cause I feel like that spoils a major part of my plot. That, and I don't want it mistaken for porn, but mostly it's the spoiler thing.

Speaking of spoiler alert, I guess I'm glad Million Dollar Baby never sparked my interest enough to go see or rent it. LOL.