Meme time

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Ganked from ever_neutral:

Tennis Match Meme:

Okay, here's how this is going to work. You comment with a question (any question at all, I'm not restricting it to fandom, although I reserve the right not to answer anything that's too personal). I answer it and then ask you a question that has some thematic relevance to the question you asked me.

Comments

[tamsin]

What are you studying?

Also hi, first time commenter here, nice to meet you. *waves*

[next_to_normal]

Hi there! Welcome!

I am finishing up my master's degree in legislative affairs. I'm actually finished the classes - I just have the comprehensive exam to take in November and then I am officially done!

What was your favorite subject in school (at any grade level)?

[mcmegan]

I don't want to mess up your game, but did they catch onto you and make you take the exam?

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Yes, they did! *grumbles* I'm taking it in November.

The best part was that after the dept head emailed me to ask if I was taking it, and I said yes unless I can still get out of it, then I didn't hear anything else for TWO WEEKS. And the exam was supposed to be Halloween weekend. I was like, "I have been asking for information since JULY, and if I miss this exam because no one told me anything and I have to wait until spring, HEADS WILL ROLL." After yelling at about three different people, they finally sent me the info, and gave me a couple extra weeks to prepare...

[tamsin]

I'm probably outing myself as ignorant now, but what are legislative affairs? My dictionary is woefully unhelpful on the term.


Because I'm incapable of picking just one thing in answer to a favorites question:

Latin: I loved the clarity of it, the way it taught me more about my own language, immersing myself in the texts.

German: The creative writing parts, the way it showed me connections to writers before me and challenged me, hearing about different epochs and how society and historical circumstances influence art, discussing books and picking them apart to see what makes them tick.

Runner ups: history, art, biology

[next_to_normal]

Not ignorant at all - there are plenty of Americans who ask me, "So, what is that exactly?" :)

It's a broad term to cover the workings of the government and the different ways of influencing the process. It's also called government relations. My focus was primarily on the federal government (Congress, the President, etc.) since the program is in Washington, DC.

Because I'm incapable of picking just one thing in answer to a favorites question

Haha, I know what you mean! I like to challenge people, but whenever anyone asks me for a favorite, I usually end up with a top ten list instead...

[ever_neutral]

Ooh, don't think I've asked you this before: How did you get into fandom?

[next_to_normal]

Heh, which one? BtVS is my third fandom. I sort of got into it accidentally. I lurked for a few months, mostly reading fic, and then I started posting on ff.net. alwaysjbj came along and rescued me (it was scary over there!) and brought me into the BSV fold. From there, I found other Spuffy archives, and then maybe six months after that I was dragged kicking and screaming to LJ. I don't care what my mother says, "all the cool kids are doing it" is a stellar motivational tool. :)

Hahaha, okay, so what is the most batshit insane opinion you've ever seen in fandom (any that you've been in)?

[ever_neutral]

INTERESTING. That is absolutely a valid motivation. ALL THE BEST PEOPLE ARE ON LJ/DW. :)

ANSWER: Oh, man, definitely this. I assume you're familiar with it.

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ROFL! Yes, that one is really a work of art.

Haha, so how does this work? Do I get to ask you another question? Do we just keep going back and forth forever until LJ gets more lively?

...did this just count as my question? (crap!)

[ever_neutral]

OOPS. I was supposed to ask you another in my previous comment. OK. Um. (Yes, the aim of the game is to go on FOR FUCKING EVER, LOLOL.)

What are the most annoying things about fandom? Any fandom.

[next_to_normal]

Sort of inherent in all fandoms, the way that it inevitably ends up being basically like high school? With the ~drama and the flouncing and the passive-aggressiveness. I find there's a lot of cliquishness, too - like, there are always the popular kids and the ones who are desperate to hang out with the popular kids and end up being kind of sycophantic? And there's the weirdo loners who are like, "Whatever, I don't even ~want to be cool," but secretly they DO and they're bitter that no one will include them.

Ummm... favorite crossover ship?

[ever_neutral]

Hahaha flawless description. Especially: I find there's a lot of cliquishness, too - like, there are always the popular kids and the ones who are desperate to hang out with the popular kids and end up being kind of sycophantic? -- yeeeeeep. *rolls eyes*

Answer: Ooooooh. Damon/Faith is fab. *nod*

Question: What do you make of BtVS/TVD comparisons?

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Well, I certainly can see why people do it. Hell, my first reaction was to compare it (unfavorably) to Buffy.

The same basic structure is there (good vamp/bad vamp fighting over the same girl) - then again, you could say that about nearly every vampire show ever, lol. But I do think TVD is closer than, say, True Blood, partly because TVD has characters that are just as layered and complex and flawed as BtVS does. When you're dealing with similar themes and archetypes - the self-sacrificing heroine, the good vamp with a dark side, the bad vamp who's love's bitch - then it obviously invites comparisons.

But any comparison inevitably simplifies the subjects. No, Damon and Spike are not the same exact character. They have a lot of similarities, sure, but saying they're the same doesn't do either of them justice. It ignores what makes Damon Damon and what makes Spike Spike. And I think when people have those expectations (like, why isn't Damon's path to redemption as straightforward as Spike's?), they're setting themselves up for disappointment. Sooo... I get why you dislike them so much.

Hahaha, I apparently had a lot of ~feelings on this issue. Basically, I think it's a valid method of analysis, but also a pretty lazy one?

Question: Since we're talking comparisons, who would win in a fight, Alaric or Wesley?