KJ

For their second question, tklivory asked me to rebut a Dragon Age Confession, or other fanon/popular meta from Tumblr fandom. Not crossposting this one for what I expect are obvious reasons. ;)

I actually unfollowed and blocked all the confession blogs awhile ago, ostensibly because they weren't consistently tagging for DA:I spoilers, but mostly because I was tired of seeing the same half-dozen arguments over and over, and it seemed like the confession blogs were often a catalyst. As a result, my enjoyment of Tumblr went up about one thousand percent; if fandom is getting you down and you haven't done the same, I highly recommend it. Anyway, I'm out of the loop and not sure what the hot confession topics are right now, although I could certainly make some guesses, and it wouldn't be good for my blood pressure to go looking. So instead, I'm going to talk about a common headcanon that I've come to really dislike, and that's the characterization of Hawke as an inappropriate, incompetent, bumbling fool who doesn't care about Kirkwall and who stumbled into a leadership position, rather than as a champion.

Not to say that Hawke is a conventional hero, of course. One of the things I like about Hawke is the ways in which they subvert the trope of the chosen one. Although it's suggested that Flemeth rescued Hawke from the darkspawn in part because she saw their potential to influence events in Kirkwall, it's still mostly a case of Hawke being in the right place at the right time. And it's certainly possible to play Hawke as incompetent, especially a purple Hawke. But purple Hawke is not the only true and correct characterization. It is, in fact, my least favorite characterization choice -- rather than being funny, purple Hawke strikes me as tactless, awkward, and often out-right mean. (In particular, I do not recommend rivalmancing Anders with a purple Hawke. I found the experience thoroughly unpleasant.) But in the three games I've finished so far, I always felt Hawke was trying their best to do the right thing, to help people, and to make Kirkwall a better place, although different Hawkes have different ideas about what those things might be. My red Hawke occasionally got exasperated with people's inability to solve their own problems, but she still stepped up and did what needed to be done. Hawke may not be a chosen one, but they're still a hero, and they should be recognized as such.

( Cut for DA:I spoilers. )

Like much of the fanon and meta that irks me in DA fandom, my issue with treating bumbling fool Hawke as the one true Hawke comes back to people who don't consider the choices of other players to be valid. There are so many different ways to create the universe of these games, and to mold the characters, especially the player characters, that to nail it down into a one true fanon is impossible. And, in my mind, misses the point of the games entirely. Why play in such a mutable sandbox if you're just going to set everything in concrete?

The real question is, what's not so great about libraries? ;) This was forestofglory's post topic request, and I could probably fill up many screens with an answer, but I'd feel a little like I was preaching to the choir -- I can't imagine there are many people reading this who do not already love and appreciate libraries. So if you'll indulge me, I'd like to take a direction that's a little more personal.

I was a voracious reader as a kid, going back as far as I can remember. There was no way my parents were ever going to keep my book appetite fed, so naturally we were regular patrons of the public library. None of the small Iowa towns I lived in ever had libraries of their own, which meant regular pilgrimages -- every few weeks, or however long checkout periods were in those days. I graduated from picture books to chapter books around first grade, starting with the Oz books because I loved the movie. (I didn't know this at the time, but the librarian once asked my mom if I was actually reading the books or just looking at the pictures. Mom assured her that I was reading them -- every word, often several times over.) Library day was always my favorite, because library day meant more books: more stories to read, more imaginary worlds to visit, more lives to try out for a brief time, more old favorites to revisit (it was rare for me to get out of the library without at least one book I'd read before). So it's no wonder that libraries are my happy place, or that I gravitated toward them when it came time to pick a campus job as a college student.

So that's one thing I love about libraries: that's where the books are. Of course libraries are about much more than books -- I could go on in that vein, too -- but I have no problem with the brand of libraries being books. Because books are great, and despite what people keep saying, books aren't going anywhere. They may decline in importance for some purposes, and they may change format sometimes, but the basic idea of the book will continue to matter. As a librarian, and a library lover, I embrace the book, and the mission of matching readers with their book (see the Five Laws of Library Science). (If I had time to start over again, I might write a whole new post riffing on those five laws, and why they describe what makes libraries great, but it's getting to be bedtime. Maybe another time.)

I could list many other reasons, but that might be the most important, to me. How about you, my fellow library lovers? What is so great about libraries?

classics_lover asked me for my thoughts on Dragon Age dwarves. Let me show you them.

If I have a reputation of any sort in Dragon Age fandom, it's probably as a dwarf fan, especially the two dwarf Grey Warden Origins -- the Dwarf Noble is my favorite origin, with the Dwarf Commoner as a close second. I've written quite a lot of fic about my Brosca and my Aeducan, and the single DA story I'm most proud of is an AU about a Brosca and Aeducan working together. I also created and sporadically maintain the Dwarf Appreciation Society on Tumblr. So DA dwarves are a bit of a niche for me, and one that I'm happy to sit in.

The obvious next question is "why dwarves", especially when I've never been particularly drawn to the dwarves in any other fantasy universe. And I think the short answer is politics and storytelling.

Anyone who knows me from Final Fantasy XII fandom can tell you that I am a fan of stories that are dense with politics, and that make the political situation an important part of the storytelling. Politicking is a theme that runs throughout the Dragon Age universe, but nowhere is it denser or better done than through the Orzammar quest in DA:O. However, this is only really true if you play a dwarf origin. My first time through, I played a human noble, and although I liked playing through Orzammar and the Deep Roads well enough, it's a much richer experience with more personal resonance if you play a dwarf. The events of the origin come back in both cases, especially for a Brosca, and unlike most other Wardens, a dwarf might have deeply personal reasons for wanting to see one candidate or the other on the throne. I like how the various character and political threads come together, and considering the different ways they can come out. And I find myself drawn to this story of a formerly immense and proud civilization on the decline: the ways some factions are fighting against it while others are looking for ways to grow and change, to fight the coming extinction of their way of life. And a not-insigificant percentage just leave, abandoning the old ways to set up a new life and integrate into surfacer society.

Aeducan is my favorite origin. When I decided to start a second game (before we'd even finished our first!), I spent half a day playing through the events of all the origins besides Cousland, and I knew immediately that my Aeducan was the character I wanted to carry forward. She's also the character I consider my primary canon Warden. But in terms of coming back to Orzammar, Brosca is hands-down the most interesting and best written -- their personal connection through Bhelen through Rica gives them higher stakes in the political game, as does their past association with the Carta.

One of my disappointments with DA2 was the lack of dwarf characters (I don't think there's a single named female dwarf character in the entire game) and the scarcity of new dwarf-related lore and content -- not much besides the Deep Roads expedition and a bit in Legacy, since Varric is not very connected to dwarven society -- so I was pleased to get more in Inquisition, particularly the ability to play as a dwarf again. My first Inquisitor was a Cadash, and although I was a little surprised to discover that she was a surfacer, it's a character choice I appreciate. I'm really intrigued by the ways that different dwarves adapt to surfacer culture. And although I could have wished for more dwarf-specific content, I did appreciate the connections we did get, particularly the opportunity to learn a little more about the Carta. Scout Harding, too, provided a bit of a window on how a dwarf might fit in with a mostly-human community. (Although we do see other dwarves living in Redcliffe -- I wonder if she knows Dywn, or is somehow connected to him?) And of course the return of Dagna made me extremely happy, even if a part of me was hoping that the master arcanist was going to be Sandal. The lack of an explicit meeting with Sandal and Bodahn Feddic in DA:I was a small disappointment, but no less real for that. Much as I like him, I had been iffy on Varric's return as a party member, but overall it worked out for me, especially in the ways it tied into the red lyrium thread.

And of course we got an entire dwarf-focused DLC in Descent (even if I found that particular sidequest somewhat disappointing as a player). ( Cut for Descent Spoilers. )

As for the future, I'm hoping we get a better window onto the obvious problems in Orzammar, and I'd really like to get to Kal-Sharok at some point. The tease we got for that on the Inquisition war table was more tantalizing than satisfying. But I was glad not to see it ignored, and have hope that it's setting up more for the future.

auronlu asked me to post something about Bryn Mawr College, which is our shared alma mater (and as it happens our time there overlapped by a couple of years, though we didn't know each other then).

For those of you who might not be familiar, Bryn Mawr is a small, private liberal arts college in the Philadelphia suburbs. As one of the Seven Sisters, it's traditionally a women's college, although the college will now admit anyone who doesn't identify as male. That's a recent change to policy, and I think it's a good one. (The purpose of women's colleges in a world that is increasingly recognizing the problems with a binary concept of gender is an interesting question, but it's outside the scope of this entry.) There's a lot I could say about Bryn Mawr, most of it positive -- I credit my four years there with making me the person who I am today, and it was the first place I ever found a really solid group of friends, many of whom are still with me today. I was super-active in the Alumnae Association for awhile, was on the board of the local club and then the national organization for a couple of years. Then I burned out, and took a break that lasted almost 10 years. Until this year, at my 20-year reunion, where my friend A and I volunteered to be class presidents. So now that I'm back on the horse, I went to the annual volunteers training weekend for the first time in over a decade. That was the first weekend of October; it was a cold and rainy visit, but it was also energizing, and gave us lots of ideas about how to connect our classmates to each other and to the college. And of course I always appreciate the opportunity to renew my own connection. I've been to every one of my class reunions, and also a decade reunion for graduates of the 1990s in 2014, but reunion is always in the summer after the students are gone. This is the first time in ages that I've been on campus while classes are in session, so it was a real blast from the past to see the college alive with students and faculty. Not to mention that it was fall, with the leaves turning color and the greens turning to mud, which was yet another excellent source of nostalgia. I wouldn't relive my college years if you paid me -- I enjoy being an adult with money and free time, thank you -- but going back to Bryn Mawr always feels like coming home.

I would feel remiss if I didn't talk about Lantern Night, which was yesterday (and I suspect is part of the reason that auronlu asked about this). One thing that makes Bryn Mawr a special place is its cycle of traditions, and the most sacred of those traditions to me is Lantern Night. Every student at BMC receives a lantern as a symbol of the light of knowledge and belonging to the community. The lanterns are made of black metal worked into the shape of a stylized owl (representative both of knowledge and of the goddess Athena, our patron goddess for perhaps obvious reasons), and the glass panes are forged in the class color. The class of 2019 is a green class, as was the class of 1995, so I am particularly nostalgic when I look at these pictures and think back 24 years, to when I was 18, clad in a black robe, standing in line with my classmates and waiting for the moment that we would be officially welcomed into the community of Mawrters. And I also remember being a sophomore, frantically running up and down the line of lanterns, making sure they all had tea invitations firmly attached and candles safely lit, praying that the Class of '96 would have just as meaningful experience as I did. And I remember being a junior, then a senior, standing in an arch of the Cloisters, using my lantern to keep time as I sang in Greek, realizing that I would never be a part of this moment again, relishing the bittersweet cycle of time.

If any members of the class of '19 happen to be reading this, welcome to the family! I hope you had a wonderful Lantern Night, and that being a part of the College is as good an experience for you as it was for me.

So with this post, I have done it: a public post every day in November, a goal I have now accomplished four years out of the last five (in 2009 I missed one day because I was sick).

One downside of doing the same project every year is that it starts feeling less like an accomplishment and more like a given. "Of course I succeeded at NaBloWriMo, I didn't come down with a sinus infection of doom." So maybe it's time to think about mixing it up next year. Maybe doing it in a different month; maybe sticking closer to a theme.

Anyway, November writing wrap-up:

Days written: 25/30
Words written: 25,249
Words of fic written: 11,837
Stories worked on: Seven
Stories posted: Two new, two reposts from fuckyeahfinalfantasy
Wordcount for 2010 so far: 212,265 \o/

( Chart me, baby! )

Specific Goals:

1. Write at least 6 days per week. Almost. I missed two days in a row right after completing "Reconcilable Differences". But I think I can be excused for that...

2. Complete and post the Mega Flare story. Done. Done and done. Mere words cannot described how happy I am to have this story finished. I think it came out pretty well, too.

3. Write a substantial post every day, based on the "30 Days of Me" list of questions. As mentioned above, I did post every day in November, although the definition of "substantial" tended to vary. I also answered all the questions on the meme (except for one that didn't come in until a couple of hours ago). There are still a few slots open! Six, to be exact. Anyone interested is more than welcome to leave another question or two on LJ or DW, although I no longer make any promises to do one per day. ;)

4. Write and post intoabar story. I got a complete draft done, but I wasn't very happy with it, and my beta resources were stretched too thin as it was, so I opted to default instead. I may clean it up, or take another go, and post it later, but for now it's deprioritized.

Other stories posted and worked on this month: I made nice progress on "Aftermath", which is awesome! I also was bunnied for a short on Isaaru that basically came from nowhere, de-annoned on the above-mentioned FYFF fills, and poked at little at the Alice/Pirates crossover. A successful month overall, despite the default, although really I was probably going to say that no matter what, given that Mega Flare has wrapped up mostly-successfully.

So now we turn to December and thoughts of rounding out the year:

1. Write at least five days per week (down from six to account for travel and other holiday obligations).

2. Finish the last chapter of "Aftermath".

3. Wrap up as many WIP as I can -- Alphabet Meme, the crossover, check my files for other things...

4. Claim and write at least one areyougame prompt. (Pending a closer look at what's still available; I haven't been over there since before claims opened.)

At some point I need to sit down and think about 2011. What projects should I focus on? Does it make sense to sign up for getyourwordsout again? Much to consider. But not just yet; let's see how December shapes up first.

seventhe asked about story cliches I love, hate, and enjoy seeing subverted.

Love: My number one favorite cliche (or maybe this is a trope, or a narrative kink; I confess that I'm not entirely sure of the difference) is What is Real? I adore, adore, adore stories that force me and/or the characters to question the nature of their own reality. Inception, The Matrix, Dark City, The Truman Show, Brazil, Lost, Memento, Being John Malkovich. Some favorite episodes of Deep Space Nine and Buffy. Similarly, I enjoy unreliable narrators and good twist endings, especially if some level of ambiguity is maintained. I will see pretty much any movie with this type of premise. However, I am much pickier about it in books (for example, I hated the ending of "Life of Pi").

Another narrative cliche I really like is stories within stories. "The Orphan's Tales" by Cat Valente, for example, where you have a storyteller telling stories about people telling stories. Layers upon layers, wheels within wheels. I enjoy seeing how the threads of the different tales cross and connect -- it adds a richness, to me.

For romance, the cliche that always gets to me is a good separation and reunion story. The separation can be physical distance, emotional distance, or difficult circumstances. Even better if it's some combination thereof -- in my mind, Paine/Nooj hits all three! And I find stories about that separation interesting. But the part I really love is the reunion. I am a real sucker for an emotional reunion between characters with a romantic history.

Hate: Stalking, abuse, and any other behavior with misogynistic overtones as a sign of "true love" probably tops this list for me. It's both tired and dangerous. I'm not fond of other sexist cliches either (or racist, or homophobic, and so forth), of course. But this particular one really presses my Do Not Want buttons.

Otherwise, though, there actually aren't too many cliches I mind in and of themselves; I care more about the execution.

Enjoy seeing subverted: All of them.

No, really. See above regarding twists in reality and turning the story on its head. I find the good subversion of a cliche to be a form of that. Take a standard cliche and flip it around in an unexpected way, and I am there. It almost doesn't matter what it is; I will at least be interested.

30 Days of... Project! Complete list of questions / Ask a question on LJ or on DW.

I am going to exert meme-writer's privilege again and switch around the order of topics, because the question originally slotted for today is one that will take time and research, and my schedule today is more suited to tapping out a post on my iPhone. (There's a post idea: the ways in which owning a smart phone has affected my life, for good and ill. Hmm.) So: justira asked me to talk about the things I love and do not love about being a librarian.

Getting this out of the way first: I love being a librarian. A colleague once told me that librarianship is not a job or even a career; it's a calling. And that stuck with me, because it really is like that, not just for me but for most librarians I know. I cannot, at this point in my life, imagine wanting to do anything else with my life. So take that as a given.

( Top three awesome things about being a librarian )

( Top three non-awesome things about being a librarian )

This question comes at a weird time for me, because that last point has recently manifested itself quite forcefully at my place of work: book budget cuts, centralization of some services, and just this week a reduction in staff. So right at this moment, I'm not feeling too positive about my job. But my confidence that I've found the right line of work (and there is a difference) is unshaken. I'm proud of what I am, and what I am is a librarian.

30 Days of... Project! Complete list of questions / Ask a question on LJ or on DW.