I was kidnapped by the thesis - to which I will have to return again in a moment, so I think this is probably the beginning of me dropping mostly out of the wider world of LJing for a while :-(
>I thought my condition was rather common knowledge.
Not to me. I have been a very intermittent LJer for most of the last year and a half, and even in my phases of high activity that activity was mostly limited to lifein1973 or similar hotbeds of fannish activity. So I mostly only see the explicitly fannish side of most people. I will do some in-depth reading and catching up with personal LJs once the thesis and exams thing is over, but can't really see any way to do so before then. For several years now, my flist has been too long for me to really cope with it on a regular basis... I don't, at the moment, have the couple of hours or so per day it would take to keep up with everyone, so rather than choosing favourites I've dropped out of everything. Antisocial, yes, but also sanity preserving in times of extreme stress. I do make the occasional 'surprise visits' to some people's journals - but it's not a regular thing. (I hope I'll eventually find a way to keep up with people on a regular basis, I really do. But, obviously, not at a time when my life in general feels a bit like it's falling apart at the seams.)
>There is always a me who is very aware of other 'mes' running around in the background, so to speak, no matter what THEY think their current reality is.
This is fascinating... It reminds me a bit of (requisite Finder reference in one, two... *g*) the fifth volume of Finder, which is about a virtual reality artist with dissociative tendencies. (Well, or at least I guess that's what he has.) Carla Speed McNeil, the author, says in her notes that she thinks that everyone has some tendencies like that, but I can't really say I've ever experienced anything even remotely like it. (Though I'm sure my psyche is deeply weird in other ways.)
>I would love to see someone like Argyle tackle it
Does she do long, plotty stuff, too? What I've read of her so far was more of the 'short & packs quite an emotional punch (in a subdued way)' variety... But I think I'd like to read this fic not just as a short-ish 'idea fic' that just sort of introduces the idea that that might be what's going on with Sam and 1973, but rather as a longer, more involved journey of self-discovery (selves-discovery?)
(This is actually true in general for the more outlandish ideas that have been circulating in the fandom, and specifically in fic. So much of the fic just sort of throws an idea out there, like a gimmick, or the punchline of a sketch, and I keep thinking, 'yes, wonderful idea, but wouldn't that make a great *story*? Instead of just a short sketch-like thing?' Now, I'll admit my own fic is rarely long and plotty, either... because yeah, I'm aware that that's bloody hard to do... but I still wish there were more longer stuff. *g* - Wish I could *do* long and plotty, too. Well, I'm trying. Maybe I'll learn, eventually.)
>gut wrenching, in a beautiful way. Hmmm, that sounds bad...
Nope, that just sounds exactly like what good angst is supposed to do. I.e. what I look for in fic, most of the time... ;-)
Sorry for dropping out of the conversation yesterday,
>I thought my condition was rather common knowledge.
Not to me. I have been a very intermittent LJer for most of the last year and a half, and even in my phases of high activity that activity was mostly limited to lifein1973 or similar hotbeds of fannish activity. So I mostly only see the explicitly fannish side of most people. I will do some in-depth reading and catching up with personal LJs once the thesis and exams thing is over, but can't really see any way to do so before then. For several years now, my flist has been too long for me to really cope with it on a regular basis... I don't, at the moment, have the couple of hours or so per day it would take to keep up with everyone, so rather than choosing favourites I've dropped out of everything. Antisocial, yes, but also sanity preserving in times of extreme stress. I do make the occasional 'surprise visits' to some people's journals - but it's not a regular thing. (I hope I'll eventually find a way to keep up with people on a regular basis, I really do. But, obviously, not at a time when my life in general feels a bit like it's falling apart at the seams.)
>There is always a me who is very aware of other 'mes' running around in the background, so to speak, no matter what THEY think their current reality is.
This is fascinating... It reminds me a bit of (requisite Finder reference in one, two... *g*) the fifth volume of Finder, which is about a virtual reality artist with dissociative tendencies. (Well, or at least I guess that's what he has.) Carla Speed McNeil, the author, says in her notes that she thinks that everyone has some tendencies like that, but I can't really say I've ever experienced anything even remotely like it. (Though I'm sure my psyche is deeply weird in other ways.)
>I would love to see someone like Argyle tackle it
Does she do long, plotty stuff, too? What I've read of her so far was more of the 'short & packs quite an emotional punch (in a subdued way)' variety... But I think I'd like to read this fic not just as a short-ish 'idea fic' that just sort of introduces the idea that that might be what's going on with Sam and 1973, but rather as a longer, more involved journey of self-discovery (selves-discovery?)
(This is actually true in general for the more outlandish ideas that have been circulating in the fandom, and specifically in fic. So much of the fic just sort of throws an idea out there, like a gimmick, or the punchline of a sketch, and I keep thinking, 'yes, wonderful idea, but wouldn't that make a great *story*? Instead of just a short sketch-like thing?' Now, I'll admit my own fic is rarely long and plotty, either... because yeah, I'm aware that that's bloody hard to do... but I still wish there were more longer stuff. *g* - Wish I could *do* long and plotty, too. Well, I'm trying. Maybe I'll learn, eventually.)
>gut wrenching, in a beautiful way. Hmmm, that sounds bad...
Nope, that just sounds exactly like what good angst is supposed to do. I.e. what I look for in fic, most of the time... ;-)