I started writing for Fanlore

[erimia]

I never planned to, but it seems that my interest in this website reached the critical point. I'm surprised how much I like writing for an internet encyclopedia - it seems that it has just the right mix of collective and individual contribution, of anonomity and visibility that I found suitable for myself. For now I'm writing and editing articles for Blake's 7 (being an older media fandom, it's one of the most extensively recorded at Fanlore), but I'm also thinking about writing about the Phantom of the Opera, which isn't that well-recorded there. The problem, of course, is that while I'm enthusiastic to explore Blake's 7 fandom at any point of its history, I don't want to even come close to large portions of the old POTO fandom archieves, which limits me to the 2010s and maybe the descriptions of the "time before that" that I heard from modern fans.

My Fanlore profile is here. I have a lot of plans, but not sure if I'll be able to carry them out.

Comments

[igenlode]

I think a lot of the old Phantom archives have gone now. The various discussion board sites expired and the domain names weren't renewed.

[erimia]

There are some old zines online though, like 1980s-1990s old. I skimmed though and recoiled in horror - even artwork is often very bad, and I have high tolerance for amateurish artwork. Raoul situation, as you may guess, is atrocious beyond belief.

[igenlode]

It's funny for me to think of 'Phantom' zines existing in the same world as old B7 zines (and I can instantly visualise the blotchy print, poor artwork and awful poetry in those -- but the stories, on the whole, were pretty good, apart from a tendency towards Blake-bashing and Healing Avon's Tortured Soul).
I suppose the 'gatekeepers' in the POTO fandom were themselves hostile to Raoul (or 'that rich guy who takes her away in the end'), so the issue of quality control didn't come into it, as they didn't perceive the out-of-character issues with the writing. Blake's 7 fandom had the advantage of not being romance-centred -- despite what seemed like a high percentage of female fans -- and not having a single dominant object of fan-worship. And, of course, it was a lot darker in the first place, so there were always 'morbid' stories where everything goes horribly wrong and/or characters die -- that's canon.

[erimia]

Blake-bashing and Healing Avon's Tortured Soul

This instantly catapults the story into the unreadable group for me. :(

I suppose the 'gatekeepers' in the POTO fandom were themselves hostile to Raoul

Yes, I read that hating Raoul was actually considered the "proper" stance of a "true" fan!

Blake's 7 fandom had the advantage of not being romance-centred

It still has quite a lot of shipping, but I like the fact that gen is the most common genre, as both the percent of gen zines and AO3 statistics for B7 fandom show.

[igenlode]

"A tendency towards" rather than full-on overt manifestation. And those were the ones that I remembered as annoying, rather than the general trend.

(And you've got to admit that Avon's soul has its problems -- I'm as much in favour of an uncomfortable redemption as anyone. The problem comes when a reader-insert character is put in there to heal him with her selfless love/sacrifice... interestingly, my impression is that it often *is* sacrifice rather than happy-ever-after with Avon. I don't know if that's a nod to canon outcomes, where I think there are zero successful guest character romances, or an unconscious sense that they'd rather have Avon grieving over *them* than Anna Grant, or a tacit acknowledgement that he is too self-absorbed to make for comfortable husband material ;-p)

There was probably more 'shipping' around than I realised, given that all the explicit stuff was marketed separately. I'd never have had the face to buy one of those zines, even if I'd been interested!

[erimia]

I don't object to Avon's redemption as such, but I'm rather sceptical of the stories that redeem characters with the Love of a Good Person.

From the fannish recollections on Fanlore and elsewhere I got the impression that Blake bashing was quite common in the early fandom. :( Even now many fans either dislike him or are just not interested in him, and those who do like him are usually primarily B/A shippers, and while I don't mind B/A, this tendency significantly limits the range of stories that provide Blake with the major role or good characterization.

[igenlode]

Somebody shared a very good article on Facebook a few months back about how Avon fits the template for the modern TV protagonist -- the cynical wisecracking nerd with poor people skills who prefers to sit back and make nihilistic jibes about the state of the world and the folly of thinking that it might ever be otherwise, rather than taking the risk of exposing anything that he actually believes in. Avon represents a society that knows far better than to trust anyone or hope for anything unselfish: homo economicus, who makes decisions in his own best interest. (Or, if you prefer, the Dwarfs in "The Last Battle", who are so determined not to be taken in by false promises that they no longer allow themselves to believe in anything good at all.)

It is very much easier to deride everything from a safe distance than to stick your neck out and actually risk being wrong, let alone to affirm an abstract ideal. (And the great thing about the Avon/Blake dynamic is that Blake is every bit Avon's match: he's just as intelligent and just as good at turning an argument his way... or 'manipulation', as the Avon-fans put it.)

Blake is prepared to lead; Avon isn't prepared to do anything more than stand aside and snipe at the idea of anyone leading. He represents a postmodern sensibility that distrusts faith, saviours and crusades in principle, and nowadays that plays very well to the gallery.

[erimia]

Avon represents a society that knows far better than to trust anyone or hope for anything unselfish: homo economicus, who makes decisions in his own best interest. <...> He represents a postmodern sensibility that distrusts faith, saviours and crusades in principle, and nowadays that plays very well to the gallery.

This sums it up really well. Even though the creators didn't intend it, I always found it symbolic that "Blake's" seasons were made in the 70s while "Avon's" seasons were made in the 80s and that the show ends like it ends. I even suspect that this anti-Blake angle in the fandom is partially caused by the fact that the peak of B7 fandom activity was in the period from the 80s to the 00s, when anti-idealistic attitudes were more popular than in the decades before or after that.

[igenlode]

Not really my insight, but based on http://strangehorizons.com/non-fiction/articles/boucher-backbone-and-blake-the-legacy-of-blakes-7/ (which I think I already pointed you at...)

But I think anti-idealistic attitudes are pretty strong nowadays too, or at least the protagonist as Damaged Anti-Social Loner who doesn't care whom he offends is; I saw a theory which hypothesised that the current popularity of the trope was the Revenge of the Nerds, because that generation of computer geeks who couldn't get a girlfriend are now the rich and successful entrepreneurs that popular culture looks up to.
On the other hand, the trope arguably goes back to the brooding Byronic hero who is mad, bad and dangerous to know, but strangely charismatic :-p

I have a certain suspicion that dislike of Blake is the *result of* passion for Avon -- firstly a desire to make Avon look better by bashing Blake (whose existence threatens not only his place in the limelight but his whole worldview) and secondly an identification with Avon so strong that it involves seeing everything through the character's (somewhat distorted) perspective. If Avon resents Blake, then Blake must therefore be deserving of resentment -- or else Avon might be Wrong, which heaven forfend.

I know when I first saw the show I quickly found myself looking out eagerly for Avon's appearances, because he got all the best lines. It wasn't a sexual attraction, obviously, although a lot of the fandom proudly proclaims itself undying in its weakness at the knees where Avon/Paul Darrow is concerned, but he was certainly my favourite character at that point. And maybe... I just went over to Blake when I found out that despite being the title character and the designated hero figure, he *wasn't* the one most people liked best? I don't remember, but I'm entirely capable of being both that contrary and that shallow.

But by the time we got to "Star One", I'm pretty sure I was not on Avon's side; I certainly wasn't going 'Blake is a fanatical terrorist and we have to stop him', and the final Blake/Avon exchange is powerful precisely because it's not at all a foregone conclusion that Avon will do the right thing -- if the viewer were as sure as Blake claims to be, then there would be no poignancy to the exchange.

And of course, seeing fandom bias in favour of a self-justificatory and author-worshipped Avon would have been enough to put me very firmly in the opposing camp, as it did with the Phantom (for whose unhappy situation I had a lot more sympathy before I read the fan-fic). I don't dislike Avon, but I do consciously enjoy seeing him taken down a peg or two by his crewmates in fan-fiction (which is true to canon -- even Gan is capable of scoring a quiet point against Avon on occasion) rather than being endlessly elevated as the one who is Right when everyone else is unrealistic and wrong. And I'm not particularly comfortable about stories that try to get him to Show His Pain and be Healed (either by his crewmates or by a female love-interest), which frankly seems degrading and cruel to a stoical and self-contained character -- perhaps I do identify with him myself after all ;-)

I certainly admire Blake for the things that he has got that I haven't; charisma, warmth, certainty, the skills to draw together a crew and defuse an angry situation, and the confidence to stand up for what he believes in. Blake is, basically, unselfish and generous. Avon is not instinctively either of those things. I had rather be Blake then be Avon, and I would... I suppose I would like to hope that Blake could draw out of me those qualities that he manages to evoke in others, and even in Avon, whom I find myself to resemble rather too closely for comfort.

[igenlode]

N.B. The Phantom of the Opera page could do with some edits for basic English, e.g. After the musical, and shortly after its adaptation movie in 2004, Phantom's fans began filling the Internet with Fanfic fluffy, giving almost forgotten other earlier versions...

https://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Phantom_of_the_Opera

[erimia]

Ouch! I hope this section is better now. :D I suspect I'll be given the free reign of POTO pages - I got the impression that Fanlore is generally more interested in recording slash-related parts of fannish history, and POTO, of course, is a het fandom from the capital H.

[igenlode]

A lot better -- I just noticed a couple of missing articles in the Fandom History section (that is, 'a' or 'the', rather than entire wiki pages ;-p)
In fact, looking at it, I'm guessing you didn't touch that section -- the tortured prose style looks rather familiar from the original article.

While it used Leroux's book as a base, it made a lot of significant changes, one of them being to make the making Phantom's personality and his deformity much less extreme than in the book and thus turning him into a more mysterious, attractive and sexual figure, which lead led to the intense romanticization of him by the fans of the musical. Webber'as adaptation was incredibly popular and pretty much kickstarted The Phantom of the Opera fandom. The characteristics of the fandom that formed at that period and which continue to be staples of it to this day are the fannish focus on the character of Erik, perception of The Phantom of the Opera as a romance rather than mystery or horror and the popularity of the Erik/Christine pairing.

Popularity such that the Raoul/Christine page linked to doesn't even exist :-D
(And come to that, neither does the Raoul de Chagny page, or at least 'This page has no text'.)

The link to the "Phantom of the Opera Reader's Choice Fanfiction Awards" is also broken, sadly (I was curious as to what they'd picked, but it was obviously a long time ago and the site has expired). If you can face it, it would probably be worth verifying all the external links :-(

[erimia]

I'm afraid that a lot of the article fails are mine - it is always difficult for me to get them right. :D

Popularity such that the Raoul/Christine page linked to doesn't even exist :-D
(And come to that, neither does the Raoul de Chagny page, or at least 'This page has no text'.)

To be fair, the only character or pairing page for POTO on Fanlore is Erik/Christine. I suppose there are just not enough POTO aficionados there.

Yes, link rot is quite a problem on this website. That's why they recommend archiving linked webpages with the help of archiving websites like the Wayback Machine and provide links to archived versions as a backup to ordinary links.

[erimia]

Awards page can actually be accessed through the Wayback Machine:
https://web.archive.org/web/20100901074514/https://www.freewebs.com/phanphicawards/

And here is the earlier version of this page from the time when the voting was still going on, though the only lists on candidates that still can be accessed from it are Romance 2 (for non-E/C het romance), Fluff, Horror, Comedy/Parody, [Alternate Reality, Crossovers:
https://web.archive.org/web/20050524132230/http://www.freewebs.com/phanphicawards/

[igenlode]

My Father, the Fop (from the comedy section) did actually mildly amuse me, despite being a spoof based around the 'Raoul is a fashion-mad idiot and Christine gives birth to a mini-Phantom' tropes, having myriad errors, parodies of popular song lyrics, and featuring an author self-insert and lengthy script-style dialogue introductions as it goes on... I think the reason is that the author doesn't in fact despise (or conversely, blindly worship) any of the characters -- she says she rather likes Raoul, and it shows -- and I'm prepared to cut a good deal of slack for stories where Christine and Raoul are actually depicted in a loving marriage, even if they're completely ridiculous... and where mini-Erik is a horrendous child rather than an angsty saint ;-p

...my vision met a horrendously familiar sight. On the wall was written a message, in blood? Unconsciously, almost hypnotized, I reached out to touch the crimson lettering. No, not blood. It was written in tomato pulp. Of course I had no idea how Erik had gotten his hands on a tomato this time of year, but that was besides the point.

I backed away, seeking Raoul's side. The message read:

Dearest Parental units,

I "finished off" the broccoli, as per your instruction.

(Ch3)

"Father, I had no idea you were so covetous." He said, a bit sardonically.

"Oh, I know son." Raoul placed a hand on Erik's head proudly. "Someday, you'll be just as coveting as me." He removed his hand and stopped to comb the hairs he had mussed up. Erik looked like several of his illusions had been shattered. It was obvious his old man had no idea what covetous even meant. Then again, I wasn't quite sure I did either.

(Ch5)

I had specifically instructed, much to Raoul's disappointment, that no pink icing be used to top the cake. Lately Erik had shown such animosity towards the color, which had finally reached its climax one day when I found all my pink ribbons thrown into a washbasin. Erik had insisted that it hadn't been his doing, that the ribbons had fallen in and drowned themselves by accident. I tried to explain to him that inanimate objects were not alive and thus could not die, but he fixed me with a swift and certain "How do you know?" and bounded off. After that I stopped wearing anything in my hair for a while, simply out of fear that my clips would sprout teeth and bite me.

(Ch10)

But as the boy picked himself off the ground, wiping his grimy little face with his round, weak little hands, an idea blossomed. A brilliant idea. Of course all my ideas were brilliant. Except for killing Bouquet in front of Christine… and letting her remove my mask… and letting her remove my mask again on stage… and not killing the fop when I had the chance… and murdering Piangi but not hiding his body… and letting Giry show the fop the way to my lair… oh, and dropping that chandelier…and not killing Carlotta when I had the chance… and not killing Marguerite here as soon as I saw her and allowing her to inform me of all this nonsense… and pretty much existing all together!

Oh yes, I was about to announce my brilliant idea.

(Ch15)

"Are you deaf?" He thundered, suddenly furious. "Get out!"

I tried to stand as best I could and broke into a run. My legs gave way under me and I fell in a heap onto the hard, stone floor.

"Forgive me monsieur!" I cried desperately, terrified. "I'm weak monsieur! Forgive me! I shall crawl out if I must!"

(ch22)

Raoul fell to the floor in a most undignified position. No one bothered to pick him up or even check him. It was not unusual for him to fall asleep at inappropriate times when it was past his normal bedtime.

You know, I sympathize with this Raoul fellow. He doesn't receive nearly as much credit as he should. For all his flaws he is still a good man, and a brave one.

(ch23)

Madame Giry is the first to speak, her face straight though not unkind. "I told him to keep his hand at the level of his eyes." She says with a shrug. "I didn't mean it for just the Phantom's lair. It could come in handy for all situations. Playing soccer? Hand at the level of your eyes. Popcorn thrown at your head in the theatre? Hand at the level of your eyes. Hail storm? Hand at the level of your eyes. Tax collectors? Hand at the level of your eyes." No one quite gets the last one, but we heed this advice anyway.

(ch25)

I sighed, shaking my head. There was no use in placing blame. In the end, there had been no remedy. We had all acted foolishly. Christine had unintentionally led the Phantom on. I had blindly and brashly charged in to be the hero, before I even knew what was going on. And the Phantom had murdered, threatened, set traps, deceived, extorted, kidnapped, stalked, and dropped a chandelier on an audience. And Meg, well, she had led the mob down to the lair. And that had really been not cool.

(ch28)

Little Erik and Philippe had busied themselves watching a sword swallower, both of them still sticky with caramel.

Raoul arrived about then, looking like he had just run through a pack of infuriated scissors but victorious nonetheless. He went to Christine's side immediately, holding her waist and keeping her close to him. Christine grinned up at him affectionately; glad to see her two sons getting along as their fathers never could.

(ch31)