At 02:10 AM 8/24/98 -0700, MegaZone wrote:
Wow - I guess some people just don't have anything better to do with
their time. I'm kind of flattered that we actually pissed someone off
enough that they'd do this. I've made a life out of tweaking other
people's taste and perceptions, then seeing what falls out of it.
I know I started this by offhandedly saying exactly this: "If you
don't like NXE, don't read it. If you want to see him dead, write
your own meta-fic. We can't stop you. I'm sure Ben would be cheesed,
but that's the only way you'll get to see DJ dead." I didn't expect
you to actually do it, since it is completely pointless, but I was
wondering what it would be like if you did. Especially since, in the
volumes of email you've sent to us, you've made it obvious you've
completely missed nearly every salient point in the story to date.
Even when we've tried to point you in the right direction you've
veered back. You seem to have some fairly strong preconceptions of
what NXE is, or what is should be, and so can't rectify that with what
it really is.
Gee Zoner, do you always shoot the messenger? If I was writing something,
and points I thought were glaringly obvious were getting missed by almost
everyone else, I'd think that maybe there was something wrong with the way
*I* was writing (either not clear enough, too many in-jokes, or that I was
too close to it and what I thought was there wasn't). Definitely NOT that
the readers were idiots (as you seem to think from comments here and
elsewhere in this message).
Do you guys have *anyone* not related to Eyrie or close to this fic
commenting before release? The old thing about "stupid-proofing" by having
someone who isn't fully up on a subject being the one checking it still
works very well. If this person gets it, so will almost everyone else. And
then anyone who doesn't get it later probably does have a problem.
<snip>
What *really* gets me is the people who say that the problem is NXE
seems like an SI fic and people don't like those, etc. When the fact
is NXE is the only fic we've released to date that *isn't* a blatant
SI! When, in fact, the only real life character we've inserted is
Truss, and that was done as a *joke* long before Truss ended up as one
of the authors. And, to this day, John never writes himself. Aside
>from Truss, who basically has manerisms like those of his real life
counterpart, NONE of the characters are like the authors.
Maybe because people expect SI fics from Eyrie (whether or not they are SI
fics -- very few people believe UF is non-SI, though some affiliated with
Eyrie swear that it isn't). Eyrie's rep on the street is to have fics
starring author-and-friends avatars who are all-knowing and ultra-cool.
The prototype Self-Insertion Fic.
And now we come to NXE, from Eyrie, starring an all-knowing, ultra-cool new
character. You guys say there's no SI in NXE, but how many of your readers
know you guys personally enough to tell if it is or isn't SI? What did you
guys *expect* people to think when you roll out NXE, and it's written in
exactly the same style (as far as characters go) as pretty much everything
else that comes out of Eyrie? Surely you knew your own rep?!
<snip>
But my real point here is that I don't understand, at all, why anyone
is so worked up over NXE. I mean, some of the mail we've recieved
>from people who don't like it is bordering on the insane. The best
part is most of them appear to be from clueless people who have missed
blatant, billboard sized story points.
See my comments above about this. If people aren't 'getting it', look at
yourselves rather than branding people as "clueless".
We've been accused of
characters saying, doing, or being things that absolutely are have
not, or are not. People seem to be so fixated on hating DJ, or
expecting everyone to be fucking everyone else, or some other
misconception that they don't read what is on the page, but what they
think is there.
Well, as a member of the "DJ Croft Must Die!" club, I can see where it
would be easy for someone to project misconceptions about him into the
story. It's not right, but it is easy. He's perfect, he's unflappable,
he's got every woman in the story panting over him (except Ritsuko, and I'm
sure she'll come around eventually), he's got every man in the story
(except the villains) wanting to be his best friend or otherwise "bask in
his aura", he's too cool to be believed, etc etc etc. I find him and his
perfection extrememly irritating.
See, I did it just then. I'm expecting Ritsuko to come around and start
"drooling" on him like "all the other women" -- for heaven's sake, in the
last chapter released, you guys even had Misato saying she'd considered and
discarded the notion of going to bed with him. For heaven's sake, he's 14
and she's 30? Give me a break! Or rather, give Misato a break. She'd really
need her head examined to consider such a thing (then again, this *is* an
Evangelion-derived fic, and everyone in Evangelion needs their head examined).
Or - "Well, I have to say their writing is extremely well done - but I
absolutely hate this story." Ok, we certainly never expect to please
everyone. But, if you hate it so much - why the hell do you keep
reading it? I don't understand why people who claim that reading
*anything* pains them, makes them ill, infuriates them, etc, keep
doing it. Masochistic tendencies?
I can thoroughly dislike one aspect of a story, yet continue to read
because of others. I've done so many times, both pro publications and
fanfics. I continue to read NXE because, despite DJ Croft, I'm interested
in the story. He's a major irritant that makes it difficult, but I get by.
Sort of like what you said earlier:
You know, when
I read a fanfic that I don't like I'll usually push on to see if it
changes,
Maybe I'm hoping the sky will fall in on DJ, but I'm doing the same thing
you said you do. Are you a masochist?
<snip>
I'm all for constructive feedback - I like to get it and try to give
it as time permits.
Please tell me... what was constructive about this inappropriately tagged
"C&C" you sent to the FFML? It comes off as more of a whiney rant by
someone whose ego has gotten bruised. Frankly, I would have expected better.
Jeanne Hedge
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