Krista

Yeah let's allow him to make a joke out of his school, winning or not. Let's allow him to muddy the waters for his future when his throwing arm isn't as good as what is already established in the pro-league and he doesn't have a leg to stand on anymore. Let's allow him to show people that it is OK to skip out on training camps to PARTY. Let's allow him to mock, taunt, and be an absolute asshole out on the football field WHEN HE SHOULD be getting his teammates focused on the next play, instead he's in the faces of the opponent or being hounded by referees for his behavior. JUST because he is 'young.' He is there to play football and to take classes - not there to be the biggest asshat on campus just because he can throw a football. Because the player behind him is quietly just as good. Give him a break, I think not. He needs to grow up and if he can't, the coaches need to get hold of him before he really costs his school. What if Rice had been a better team? What if he does that against Alabama or LSU? He's shown them EXACTLY what they need to do to rattle him, if he had kept a cooler head they wouldn't have that. They're not going to give him many chances, not with his reputation already established as a hot-headed dumbass. When a player makes the entire game, team, season about HIM then you lose. There was a reason he was snubbed in the pre-season honors. If that wasn't a clear enough message for him, I don't know what it would take.

I should probably gloat whilst I can, the REDS nearly swept the Cardinals and have won 2 in a row against the Dodgers! Yayyy! Lol.

MTV has always created casts to include as many races and orientations they possibly could - whether or not the story fits. There is no 'real' reason for Danny to be gay, but at least they went there... and then gave him larger parts (but Scott being Gay would never have been made) So Danny's character becomes a cop-out... Then again, like someone else said, the main character and his mother aren't Caucasian/white and there are never any mention of that either. I believe both are on purpose - although I don't want to credit the writers for that show too much - with Danny's sexuality being a non-issue, and race being a non-issue, and whether you are male, female, or what have you - being a non-issue. Because they wanted to portray the mindset that not a whole lot of people have, but should, about different races, orientations, genders.. etc. And have it just be Humans against Monsters. But the setting seems to be a smaller town where everyone knows everyone - so all that openness and acceptance probably wouldn't happen in true life. And of course Comedies cling to stereotypes - that's a given. I doubt many would survive without them, there just isn't a lot of people that could aspire to a different level of clever when what's getting paid for and moved forward are the stereotypes. An upstanding police officer that just saved a woman's life.. coming home to kiss his boyfriend/husband would shock the hell out of the viewers in a Pilot/Series Opening show, but I doubt any station could get away with not telling people the main character is gay to allow for the shock value... I believe more people would tune in to watch the second episode, the third, fourth, if they weren't told beforehand that the main character was gay... because they would either be expecting stereotypes or they have already envisioned them and don't think their "crime dramas" should have them. Although, the back of that coin, would the target audience (GLBT adults and Straight women), want it? Or are we clinging to stereotypes as well. Would many of us find something like that boring too and we're just not saying it? We have shown in the past that we will watch shows that have them... and networks like living in the past more so than the future as long as what they are building is successful. So it would probably fail before given an honest and true chance to succeed. Bringing something to the table that NO ONE ELSE will only comes along every so often. FOX surprised the hell out of me with Glee, I didn't think they would do it... but that show isn't taken seriously, and it really wasn't put out there without an audience already waiting for it. And a lot of shows only make it when they believe an audience is already out there to carry it.

Haaaapppy Birthday Robert!

Lol. I was amused by the Gif. I'm not amused by Johnny Manziel. He has an ego that could eclipse the sun... He's not handling this spot light well. A spot light that he wouldn't even have if Tex. A&M was still in the Big 12 anyway. (GOO SEC, although they're losing to the ACC at the moment, boo). He quit a camp. I do think he got paid for autographs, but I also don't think that should be the NCAA's business. Although, they do need to protect players instead of hounding them... if they took a better stance on things, I would appreciate their efforts. I don't like how he responds to taunting. I don't like how the Coach is handling him. I don't like the Media feeding his ego, he was suspended for half a game by the NCAA he starts playing the second half, tries to do too much, does well, but taunts, smacks his jaws, gets an unsportsmanlike misconduct penalty, and gets benched again.... He is a leader, and if leaders are out of control, you might lose the entire team. One other player was ejected that same game, it could already be happening. Coach might be in trouble, can't have too many losing seasons in the SEC before you find yourself so far buried you may never see the light of day again. I just cannot stand him. He should act like a top tier SEC QB and ACT like he can win ballgames instead of creating a circus around himself.

Thanks! First person romance and I are battling it out right now. But I seem to be in a writing fit, so I might find a way. Thanks for reading and liking this story! Corey is a very nice character to write, I really enjoy him.

Thanks! First person romance and I are battling it out right now. But I seem to be in a writing fit, so I might find a way. Thanks for reading and liking this story! Corey is a very nice character to write, I really enjoy him.

Thanks! First person romance and I are battling it out right now. But I seem to be in a writing fit, so I might find a way. Thanks for reading and liking this story! Corey is a very nice character to write, I really enjoy him.

Got a bit tired of hanging off your home cliff have you? Had to go hang off some in the Andes, did you? Becoming 2x as diabolical.

It seems that instead of trying to squash stereotypes they are attempting to stretch them out, push the limits to what is deemed funny vs. completely offensive. The shows that 'do' go against stereotypes are so poorly written and are usually geared for younger audiences. I think that's because stereotypes don't hold as much weight. But I think it will be a long time before we see a hit television show with a gay Leeroy Jethro Gibbs.

Very nice comment. I could care less if people like or not like fanfiction for what ever reason, but to have the tone/attitude that it's not "real" writing, is what put me off in this entire discussion. No one should be the voice that decides what is real creativity and what isn't. To do so for me just screamed complete arrogance and disregard for another person's craft or skill in what ever genre they pursued. So I'll never say: Your example of (character, plot, story line), have been done thousands of times, therefore, I cannot respect your creativity for that reason alone, and you are not showing me any real writing skill. -- Fanfiction writers probably hear that a lot. We all like to think we're original and creative, but we're definitely not. It is the ability to write or tell a good story that sets us and our stories apart. Right now I am 3 chapters into a work based on a (I'll try not to blush here), a video game (yes, I play a few video games) series called Dragon Age: Origins, an obvious fanfiction, but one of the main characters of the Game series is so outlandish and funny and odd, that I am so intimidated by him when I write parts including him. If I were to show it to people, I would be scared to death that they will tell me that, you killed so and so character for me, that I cannot read your story. Only because I would be ashamed with my own writing skill that I missed him and couldn't capture his characterization on any suitable level. Would I be able to write a character like him in original fiction? YES I believe I could, it would be easier, there would be no expectations, no rules to abide by, and I could captivate writers with a character like him more easily if I didn't have him in his original setting. I would go as far as to respect fanfictions (that didn't copy his dialog that is used in-game) that were able to write him, more so, than reading a character like him in original fiction. And I definitely wouldn't like it if someone told me to DO THAT INSTEAD, because that's not of interest to me at all, and that's not the point. That character is only "him" in Dragon Age Origins on some sort of level and I want to write about him. There are many types of Fanfictions, but there is one type that I myself cannot respect and that is the type I think MOST people who dislike fanfictions use to vilify the entire genre. That type is, using the world, characters, setting, and plot, to tell the exact story-line, using sequences of dialog, scenes of action, and other aspects of the story that the original author has supplied in the original, to flesh out their story and call it THEIRS. Is it their work and not the original author's work, yes, but to copy/paste sections of it, is where people get into trouble. It shouldn't feel like reading the original or replaying the original too much at all. To me, that version is borderline plagiarism and I would agree with those people that say that it's not really an example of true creativity. Real Fanfiction and what is good about it, is taking something that is liked, disliked, not really explained, hinted at, etc and expanding on that with their own original perception, their own way, and not the way of the original author/maker. I personally think a story that has a secret love/lust/Voldemort just wanting to pass on some of his evil brilliance/power - child between Voldemort and a Death Eater or even a child of a dark wizard that's not Draco Malfoy as a main character, would make for a fascinating character to work with within the plot of the Harry Potter Series. One that doesn't want to be dark and uses Hogwarts as a way to distance herself or himself from that sort of life, that sort of choice would be extremely dangerous. And, a romance developing between a "Career" tribute and a "Non-Career" tribute based in Hunger Games Trilogy Book 1, would be interesting. There wasn't a lot of true romance in that entire series, so a story with those characters developing an intense and romantic bond would have been a nice change of pace. (For romance people anyway) If either are pulled off successfully, why can't that be looked at as original creativity? And successfully written fanfictions DO and SHOULD stand alone and be easily explained/followed. There shouldn't be just a jumble of things that only fans of the original would understand.

I'm saying that borrowing aspects from other pieces of literature has been done a lot. Hobbits and Orcs being developed and established mostly by Tolkein, one could argue that they are then loosely based from his works when someone else comes along and uses them. That would fall into a form of fan fiction, but it's not considered fanfiction, since taking from fantasy lore isn't considered fanfiction by the standards we have adopted, it's just borrowing from literature that has become universally accepted as free to take, no repercussions or someone screaming foul. But say Meyer's vampires become established as lore, sparkly skin and all, and they become universally accepted, they will be up for grabs. It's no different, it's just newer, so her vampires aren't said to be based on lore, but of her own mold for now. It's the overuse that created a fundamental set in stone mold for these fantasy creatures, but the first few times they were used, they were taken from the original fictions. Since Fanfiction is the idea of taking something from the original, then yes, I'd say all of that falls under a type of Fan Fiction. Just like every Romeo/Juliette structured romantic drama. Filmmakers get away with it, but authors are less forgiven. One day Rowling's wizards/witches may become the accepted and adopted mold. And then as long as you don't have a lightning scar marring the face of the main character who happens to be named Harry, you're no longer writing an "accepted" fanfiction.

There are differences. Some Fanfictions take created worlds, some the characters in an alternative world/setting, some take the plot with their own characters, some do side stories, some make minor characters the main characters, some do odd pairings... etc. I agree that writers that write the same story of the original is lacking in creativity, and I wouldn't like to read a story already written just minor details changing. Truly good Fanfictions have a totally original aspect brought to it. Not something new, Homer, Virgil, Shakespeare, they were all copied and they all took from others as well. Any fantasy author that is strict with lore, whether it be Vampire, Faeries, Werewolves, Trolls, etc have taken from established works written before them. One could argue that any story that uses that lore are fanfictions, like you said - although that is wildly accepted.

Good Fanfictions aren't 50 Shades of Grey, and that shouldn't be the standard. But if it had been an original work, the "laziness" of the author wouldn't have been as frowned upon, I don't think (I mean Meyer gets away with her own laziness). There are mistakes in about every book I've ever read, grammatically, plot, setting, etc. (J.K had Hermione Granger tell Harry, Ron, and anyone else that would listen that people cannot Apparate/Disapparate onto/off the grounds of Hogwarts, but that still happened in a book, she got away with that obvious mistake) So to dislike something and write it off as complete author laziness, when it happens in original fiction just as frequently, still rings with a bit of arrogance for me. It is fine to call any author lazy and their editors lazy when something like that happens. Blaring and obvious mistakes should be caught, but some of them aren't... no one is perfect. And there are piles and piles or original fiction that one can lump into tons of shitty piles as well. And truly nice fanficitons have a beginning, middle, and end that is easy to follow or pick up. It should read like an original work and all references and plot points should still be explained. Even original fiction that has a lot of references, points, and information that isn't explained becomes confusing. What I'm getting at: Don't argue the sloppiness on Fanfictions when original fictions are usually far from perfection as well and base that for a reason you don't read it. To be honest, you're still failing to see your own superior attitude on the topic.

I'm difficult to please, I think some authors are stingy with their characters and thought the conclusion lacked a hell of a lot, because every one of the characters came out of it alive... especially in a complex battle scene where the author did a lot of building up to it.

She was a very cavalier woman in her time - so I'd take that.

Oh oops, totally misread that this morning. So he outed you and most people took it well. I agree with Graeme then.

Although I understand that you feel disrespected and angry. Being a co-owner at a clinic I never would do anything like that. It is one of the first thing I learned, to respect the privacy of my employees and keep what they say in confidence between me and them. But in a way, if jokes and playful banter about your sexual orientation was common place in the work place, I don't think you have much of an argument to make. No one is going to respect the privacy of someone that can casually joke about it - it diminishes the importance to keep it private. Even though the boss shouldn't have outed you - IF - they thought most everyone knew or that you were out because of the actions that you took, then I don't think you have much of a leg to stand on. Of course no one should feel discriminated against or harassed and if that arises because of the actions your boss took, then I would pursue it, but keep in mind IF you started it, then how can you vilify the actions of your boss? Just because he/she is an authority figure, sure, but they can only respect and protect your privacy if you respect yourself enough to protect it first.

I'd go back in time and be Jane Austen's best friend.

Ah! Well, hopefully I'll pick the story up in a few days.. I've honestly been avoiding it because it felt a bit stagnant to me for a bit.

You found this story by way of Awesome Dude? I never posted it on Awesome Dude. So are you sure? It's been in process forever, I've never had it listed as complete. Thanks for looking me up though and liking the story.

It is ALSO the Beta reader's job to turn down projects that they are not comfortable with or turning down a project that is outside of their expertise. You are not doing the author any justice by taking on a project that you know little about or have no ambition or enjoyment for. Authors should be building a relationship with their beta readers, learn what they are good at, what genres they like, etc. If they do not wish to read something because they feel that it is 'beneath' them or they 'cannot respect the creativity of it,' then they definitely need to step aside and let someone else do it. But then again if the author is fine with them reading something they don't enjoy reading, that's that. I would never ask a beta reader to read something that they don't want to read. That is why I do not have Steve editing my Fanfiction, because I feel that he'd not enjoy it. Beta readers and editors shouldn't be like, "well I'm working with so and so, because they are so and so," they should work with them because the relationship is strong.. and that means only taking on stories that is within their skill set and turning down the ones that aren't and authors should respect that as well. To do so, to me, just feels arrogant. "I don't like this story, I don't like this genre, I do not respect this genre, but I'm still skilled enough to take it on.." But anyway, back on topic: It's fine not to like Fanfictions, a lot of people don't. I don't necessarily read them, but to express the attitude that your fiction is better JUST BECAUSE you deem it 'more' original, is a very snobby and arrogant stance to take. In a forum that has new, experienced, original, and fanfiction writers alike, it is a detrimental thing to do... to put anyone off of writing when they want to write is in bad taste.

I actually think FanFiction writing could be a way for writers to express themselves and practice their writing. I wouldn't put it down if authors want to dabble in it or say, "I only read it, because I'm a beta reader for so and so author." That tone makes it seem like you are STUCK doing something that you don't at all enjoy. I'm sure that author could find better betas for their fanfiction so you wouldn't have to 'lower' yourself and 'waste' your time reading it. It's not plagiarism if they at least go out of their way to make some of the main aspects of the story their own. Those that say they would rather read original creative efforts are also sorely mistaken, good Fanfictions are distinctly original. Not a whole lot of topics, genres, or story-lines are original, just change the names and the setting, and the story still fits into the same mold as thousands of other stories already out there. So I don't feel like it is trespassing onto established ground by doing fanfiction, it's just in a world more structured than most other stories from the onset of writing it. So, I don't have a problem with fanfictions or the writing of it and I definitely would like for everyone to lose the attitude that it shouldn't be done.. or that it isn't "creative" enough.. or that it is a form of "generally accepted" plagiarism.

If I remember correctly, her character was never really that 'visual' of an enemy until the middle-later parts of the second book. At most she was just sort of gawked at... so they are likely setting up her character for the sequel, but they don't really want to spring her onto people either.. a good villain that people would respect and watch probably needs to be seen a bit more in the first movie, since it is a Trilogy. For some reason I remember that Eric and that other initiate more than her for the first book... and those are just minor characters compared to what the woman does later...

It happened more so in Insurgent than in Divergent.. I about deleted Insurgent four or so times... lol. It just seemed like a lot of waste. Although the teaser trailer does look good... I had my doubts with the male actor, but he looks fine.. and of course Winslet will never disappoint me.