In which I am a delicate flower about spoilers

[snick_backup]

I have a ridiculously low spoiler threshold. I'm one of those people that doesn't like to read book reviews until after I've read the book. I treasure the shock or the gradual build-up of discovering things on my own. In general, I don't want to know if character X ever reappears on the show, or that A and B hook up down the road, or that Childhood Issue #2 is a major theme of the whole show.

I had the luxury of watching BtVS almost spoiler-free; I'd never seen so much as a clip before I started, and although while watching the show I stumbled across some things online I didn't want to know, there was a whole lot I had no warning for. For example: the entire Spike/Buffy ship. As in, I had no idea it was going to happen. (It was a very nice rock I'd been living under. Quite cozy.) Thus every step along the way - Crush, Intervention, The Gift, After Life - was gloriously uncertain.

While I don't have that same luxury with the shows I'm watching now because I know stuff via fandom osmosis, I still want to form my own opinions of characterization and arc execution and so forth, and it's easiest for me to do if I have as little idea as possible about what's coming.

I definitely don't want this to discourage commentary on my TV posts, because I love hearing from you guys! Sharing my reactions with all of you is at least half the fun. I just wanted to give a general head's-up about where I'm coming from and ask that you be gentle with the delicate flower. :)

Disclaimer: this is not directed at anyone in particular, but is sort of a "for future reference" post that I just hadn't thought to make before.

Comments

[diamondtook862.livejournal.com]

I will do my best not to spoil anything unless it's related to hair. I. e. I'm very sensitive to spoilers too. (I will never get unannoyed at my friend who introduced me to Buffy about spoiling Smashed. Also about spoiling the end of Cryoburn, but that's another fandom altogether.)

You pretty much (think you) know any hair related spoilers already. ;)

[snickfic]

Hair spoilers I can live with. *g*

I have not yet read Cryoburn! It's saved on the hard drive, but I've been reading hard copy books and haven't gotten to it yet. Also, I'm feeling a little hesitant because Diplomatic Immunity was such a disappointment, although I gather that Cryoburn is better than that.

[diamondtook862.livejournal.com]

I was the same. Actually, I stopped reading Diplomatic Immunity about a year ago when I got to the sperm (page one). It's only after Cryoburn came out and both my close friends said it was great (right after spoiling, grr), that I went back and finished it. Cryoburn is good, though imho, little lives up to Shards of Honor. :)

[snickfic]

I confess, Shards of Honor is not one of my favorites. The Bujold touch is already there, and Cordelia is grand, but the romance element is still too strong, or something. It doesn't feel as mature to me as some of her later books. My favorites are Mirror Dance, Memory, and A Civil Campaign, in no particular order. And I love the fact that although they are excellent, they are all completely different from each other.

[diamondtook862.livejournal.com]

They certainly are different. I like the romance. ;) and Cordelia saving Miles.

I need to read Mirror Dance (my friend warned me off it but it's silly, she just doesn't like things that upset her and I'm not that way at all). I was going to put Memory up there with Shards of Honor, but decided to be shorter. I'm with you with that one. I didn't like Cetaganda much though... I liked Komarr a lot. Seeing a pattern here? :)

[snickfic]

Hmm, there does seem to be a whiff of romance about your choices... *g*

Actually, Cordelia saves Miles in Barryar, doesn't she? And I quite liked that one, I think because Bujold wrote it later.

I did like Cetaganda a lot, mostly for the worldbuilding. I found the whole Cetagandan culture fascinating. But as you may have noticed, I'm a total sucker for that sort of thing.

Mirror Dance will blow your mind. There is torture and a lot of psychological ickiness, but she handles it really well, IMO, and everything with Mark is just... it defies description. Or my description, anyway. *g*

[diamondtook862.livejournal.com]

Actually, Cordelia saves Miles in Barryar, doesn't she? And I quite liked that one, I think because Bujold wrote it later.

Oh, sorry. I think I got both in one book.

I love Mark. :)

[deird1]

I will only give you spoilers that are extremely fake and silly - unless you ask me...

[snickfic]

I am totally open to silly fake spoilers. Spoil away! *g*

I do very occasionally ask for specific spoilers, like a while back when I asked if the big mystery in Veronica Mars was solved by the end of S1. Or like when I asked you about AtLA - I wanted to know whether or not I was supposed to have already gotten to the good stuff. *g*

[deird1]

That's what I was thinking of, yeah. :)

[eilowyn.livejournal.com]

OOh, did I spoil too much about the BSG quadrangle of doom? If so, I'm sorry. I expected that you'd want warning of the frothy, messy soap dish to come. I'll try better next time . . . except you should know that Dean and Castiel TOTALLY HAVE SEX*.





* In the minds of millions of fangirls

[snickfic]

Naw, the quadrangle of doom warning was fine, especially since I didn't know who was in it. :)

Are you a Dean/Cas shipper, too? I'm a little bit disturbed by the unanimity of my flist. (Although so far as I can tell the only other shipping option is the incest, and I'm glad to know that my flist is too sensible for that.)

[eilowyn.livejournal.com]

I'm a Dean/character who I don't want to spoil you about shipper. I adore this character who I don't want to spoil you about. I have too much of an incest squick and too little of a slash gaze to ship any of the three main characters with each other. I just think they're brothers who can't express the fact that they love each other like brothers, and that the angel is their best buddy. That's all. See how careful I'm being? I'm not even putting up any of my SPN icons up to spoil you!

[snickfic]

I have too much of an incest squick and too little of a slash gaze to ship any of the three main characters with each other. I just think they're brothers who can't express the fact that they love each other like brothers, and that the angel is their best buddy.

I hear you. I very much suspect that I will come to exactly your conclusions, and for much the same reasons.

Aw, thank you. :)

[ever-neutral.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty much the same, so there won't be any spoiling from me.

I am quite amazed that you never heard Spike/Buffy happened (before seeing it yourself)! Pop culture is far too loud in my parts for me to even imagine that.

[snickfic]

I am quite amazed that you never heard Spike/Buffy happened

I don't know how I managed it either. I knew of Buffy/Angel, but only in a very vague way. However, I come from the, male-dominated, SF fandom corner of pop culture; maybe it makes sense that Spike/Buffy wouldn't get mentioned too often. I personally knew exactly one person who'd ever seen the show, and at the time I started watching, she was only mildly enthused about it and didn't say much.

[silverusagi]

Spoiler! Castiel is an angel.

:)

[snickfic]

AHHHHHH!

[silverusagi]

So is Gabriel.

[snickfic]

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

[ghostyouknow27.livejournal.com]

That actually *is* a spoiler though!

[silverusagi]

What are you talking about? Everyone knows there's an angel named Gabriel! He's in the Bible!

[snickfic]

It's true. The Bible spoilered me first. *nod*

[ghostyouknow27.livejournal.com]

I can't even defend myself without risking real, actual spoilers that spoil!

[silverusagi]

I KNOW.

[snickfic]

This whole no-spoilers thing is just to torment you, really. Yep.

[ghostyouknow27.livejournal.com]

I suspected as much!

Man, I was going to warn you against looking at some things, and then I realized that *that* had the potential to be spoilery.

I give up. Gabriel's an angel. His/her/hir/its hair isn't too bad. *g*

[deird1]

In entirely separate news, have you seen the picture for the AtLA sequel?

Tis here:
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v85/lizbee/?action=view¤t=OB-MW926_korra2_G_20110305235453.jpg


...that's the new Avatar. :)

[snickfic]

Ooh, yes, I had seen that shot! I'm already excited. This is supposed to be a whole sequel series, right?

[deird1]

Yep! Set in the future - so the world's starting to go slightly steampunky...

[snickfic]

AtLA + steampunk.

OOOH.

[deird1]

...and I just realised that my comment looks horribly spoilery.

It's a futurey show, set many many decades after the end of AtLA - so it shouldn't be spoilery at all.


Sorry...