dachelle

This goes back to some discussions about the nature of fandom that were going on a few weeks ago. I don't do meta much (well, at all), so if my thoughts aren't coherent I do apologize.

It strikes me that in discussions of "fandom" as an entity, it's kind of assumed that people are multi-fannish, flitting around from fandom to fandom, constantly distracted by the new and shiny, and that that's just how fans are. To me, this is odd, because I am staunchly monofannish. I was involved in Buffy fandom for several years, although I did not participate in traditional fannish creative activities like fic while in that fandom. Then, as the posting board I was on began to die down and people started to migrate to other services like LJ, my level of participation in the fandom decreased, but through fannish friends I found The Libertines in late 2005. I found the Libs fic fandom in 2006, wrote my first fic ever that fall, and have been happily ensconced in Libertines fandom ever since. I am a fan of other things, of course - as I type, I'm keeping an anxious eye on my Torchwood dl. But I wouldn't consider myself a member of Doctor Who fandom, per se. I don't write meta or reviews or fic. I just watch. Obsessively, mind you, but I just watch. I just don't feel the urge to get involved fannishly in anything besides the Libs. If and when I run out of fic ideas, I doubt I'll go looking for another fannish sandbox to play in. If I find something else, fine, but I won't actively seek it out. I'll still write, but it probably won't be fic.

I wonder if I'm a special snowflake, or if there actually are other people like me. People who have an OTP with their particular fandom, rather than fandom at large. I have the impression that a lot of meta is written by multi-fannish types, perhaps because of their interest in fandom as a whole. I also think that larger fandoms that attract the multi-fannish meta types work in a different way than smaller communities that may have more monofans in them. Certainly, what I know of the bandom RPS community from my friends who participate in it is that it has quite a different dynamic than Libertines RPS, and I wonder if that's because people who frequently migrate from fandom to fandom bring in ideas and ways of doing things from other fandoms which are then accepted and become part of "what fandom does." For instance, fic challenges are a big part of other slash communities, but have never taken off in Libs fic. I had to ask someone on my friends list who writes in bandom what a "Big Bang fic" was. I thought it was something to do with orgies!

Anyway, as I said, just wondering if there were other monofans out there, and whether you think of yourself as being part of "fandom" as a whole, or just your particular fandom.

So, someone on LJ (who I won't name, as she's since deleted the post, but I think it was a good idea) was going to ask people to comment anonymously with why they love Peter/Carl/The Libertines. I was originally going to just send this in an e-mail to her, but then I thought I'd post it, because I know I've talked about the Libs a lot, obviously, but maybe never really about what draws me to them. Reading over this, it seems insufficient, but I think it goes a little way towards explaining. Anyway, if you want to read it's under the cut.

( My Libertines fandom, let me show you it )

ETA: If you'd like to leave your own comment about why you love/are drawn to Peter, Carl and the Libs, please do! I think anon commenting is on if you want to use that.

A few random guys I met in England :-)

Me and people more famous than me:

Via cut_paste_twist, it's me with my incredibly formal autograph from Carl on Thursday night!



I love how he signs it "yours truly." I think all his autographs should come in this form from now on:

Dear (fan name),

Here is your autograph. I hope you will find it to your satisfaction. Thank you for your kind attention.

Very sincerely yours,
Mr. Carl Ashley Raphael Barât
X

O.K., I lied. I'm uploading a few pics now. Have some pretty Drew and Carl from Cargo Sunday night. ( I can has Drew/Carl fic now, Y/Y? )

Wee Peter 'n Carlos picspam, for halfrek2, who asked if Carl was always touching Peter like in the picture I posted earlier today.

( Well, sometimes it's the other way 'round )

Now I need to go write more fic...

MOAR CARL WEEK!

After reading through the comments in the previous post, I'm now uploading the favorite Carl vocals, so that those of you who only know him for his arse (which, I suspect, is a sizeable minority on my flist), can see his other side. Ahem. These are in no particular order - believe me, it took long enough to get all these uploaded without worrying about sorting them.

The Good Old Days - The Libertines, from the Babyshambles Sessions. I always feel those sessions should be titled "The Confusingly Titled Babyshambles Sessions," because that's how I always see them referred to. It's a session track, so there's a false start, and Carl for some reason decides to end it with an impression of a motorboat, but the harmonies with his vocals and Peter's are really lovely in this version.

Dream a Little Dream of Me - Peter Doherty and Carl Barat, from An Evening with Peter Doherty at the Hackney Empire. It does lose a little something without the visual of the tapdancing at the break, but Carl clearly loves to sing this song, and his voice is well suited to it.

Who's Got the Crack? (Moldy Peaches cover) - The Libertines, from the Babyshambles Sessions. My personal pick, because I will never, ever get tired of hearing Carl say the word "poofy."

What Became of the Likely Lads? (Single Mix) - The Libertines, from the What Became of the Likely Lads? EP. "And all those nights you were so wrong, I would hold you for so long and say you're not so bad." *cough*ofcoursetherelationshipwasneverphysicalCarl*cough*

A Day in the Life (Beatles cover) - Peter Doherty and Carl Barat, from the BBC Sgt. Pepper's 40th Anniversary tribute. I think everyone agrees that this is Carl's best vocal. I was nervous about this cover because it could have gone extremely wrong. As soon as Carl started singing the first verse, though, I knew it had gone very right. Moreover, I wondered where on earth Carl had been hiding that voice.

One to My Left - Dirty Pretty Things, from the Deadwood single. A wistful, almost broken, and honest vocal.

Panic Attack (Paddingtons cover) - Dirty Pretty Things, from the Napster Sessions. I like this better than the Paddingtons' original version. I realize that's perhaps not a ringing endorsement, but I think it's a very good version all the way round.

France - The Libertines, from the Legs 11 demo. By far the most popular Carl vocal choice. However, having destroyed this lovely song in the boyband fic, I find it hard to listen to now. I always want him to sing my, um, alternate lyrics.

Can't Stand Me Now - Carl Barat, from the Rolling Stone sessions. Hearing Carl have to sing those lines by himself always kind of breaks my heart.

Eight Days a Week (Beatles cover) - Carl Barat, from the Mexico sessions. eirefaerie thinks Carl's voice sounds "twangy" here. Judge for yourself.

Vertigo - The Libertines, from Up the Bracket. This is the song that got me into the Libertines, so I am very happy to include it.

Sadly, I seem to have "misplaced" the Pukkelpop performance that lali mentioned. Oh, dear. And I can't believe no one listed "General Smuts" :P

Tomorrow, we're going to have a free-for-all picspamming thread, so bring your favorite Carl photos! Unless they're of his arse, because arse pics are Friday. Saving the best for the end, so to speak.

So, I wrote this teensy little ficlet based on my crack!dream. Um, enjoy, I guess. Oh, and the name of the curse came from macphista.

( Harry Potter and the Deathly Clippy )