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Banner by phdelicious. Much love and moose to her.

What to say.

Well, Norway's had very warm weather and I spent a lot of time outside getting a tan. Then cold weather came and clashed with the warm and wham bam we had thunderstorm on Friday and Saturday night. Fierce, too. I woke up at 3a.m. from the noise and it last until 5ish. Really loud, can't remember having seen anything like it in Norway before. Pouring rain too, 88mm within two hours. Some pictures from Friday's storm over Oslo here and over this area. Plus, it started some forest fires and the temprature fell over 10 degrees.

Quite freaky, really. On the bright side, bad weather made it all the easier to stay in and write some. Can't tell you what though, it's secret.

Doctor Who movie to be announced at ComicCon?

If so, I sense waaaaaaaaaank to follow. Maybe the wankshelter will have to restock again.

Fandom quiz!

If you get word that some readers are displeased a fic of yours didn't warn for dubcon, do you:

1) Argue it isn't dubcon
2) Apologise, add a duncon warning
3) Have a wanky fit over how you'd never ever write dubcon and anyone reading it like that must be meanies
4) Write a fanfic mocking the concept of dubcon

I give you option four! That's certainly a new one, yes. Huh. Name looks vaguely familiar as well.

Meanwhile, if you'd like to look at something funnier, here are naked Swedes dancing with crispbread. No, really!

wendymr asked me to explain some icons.

( Eight icons under the cut )

Ulduar raid beckons!

Imagine the Sky
or Five Fantasies Bill and Laura Shared (and One Reality They Lived With)
by Camilla Sandman

Summary: She has made a virtue of accepting realities too much to stop now. That leaves the fantasies. [Adama/Roslin]

Rating: Light mature. Sexual activities.

Disclaimer: Not my characters, just my words.

Author's Note: Set after "Blood on the Scales", before "Islanded in a Stream of Stars". Written on a challenge from whatever_lj, to include five objects. Bonus points if you spot them. Much thanks to lyricalviolet for beta.

( I hope you didn't promote me so using my military rank would sound better in your fantasies )

Norway is having awesome, awesome weather. It's gloriously summer! So I've been a bit distracted and spending a lot of time outside, getting some sunburns in the process. I also finished fic (with beta now, yay? will be posted later tonight, yay?) and my guild managed a nice Ulduar achivement.

Which brings me to today's special. I bring you an epic US versus Europe battle, wherein utter stupidity, lack of perspective, insults and gross stereotyping of the painful kind rule the field.

And what causes this? World of Warcraft.

For those unfamiliar with World of Warcraft, a little bit of background is needed. Basically, once you take your character to a certain level of experience, you can bring together with other players (usually in formed guilds) go into a raid dungeon and battle bosses. These bosses vary in difficulty, and thus killing certain bosses gets a certain amount of prestige in the WoW world.

The most prestigious of all is to be the first guild in the world to kill a boss. Kinda like fandom has BNFs, WoW has big name guilds. One is Ensidia, a European guild. Another is Exodus, a US guild. And what happens when Exodus claims killing a boss hardmode that Ensidia hasn't yet - but it's then discovered Exodus exploited a bug in the game?

Wank happens. Hoo yes wank happens.

Warning: Nasty language at times.

( full respect guys, dont let those whining garlic eating surrender monkeys get to ya (euros). I look forward to reading more of your guilds future adventures )

In conclusion - World of Warcraft is SERIOUS BUSINESS and having some painful stupidity appears to be something Europe and the US both have in common.

Let us share the pain.

Continuing the issue from my last post, which now seems to have blown up even more so. (I know, I know, I'm harping on this issue, but it's struck a nerve in more than one way.)

Getting away from the actual warn versus not-warn issue, the thing that really, really got me was the kind of arguments some of the not-so-keen-on-warning people were pushing out there.

A lot of them have now been deleted, but some are quoted here. Following aukestrel's 'suggestion' that impertinence seems 'to look for the negative in any situation and to paint yourself as more of a victim (if you could be) than you already are' she made this post (now deleted, that's a screencap of what was a public post) that rather reads like a suggestion impertinence is lying. There's also a delightful claim that victims are 'privileged' because of their trauma and a few claims to knowing impertinence's state of mental health and issues better than she does. And then there's the whole 'it's your own fault if you read it' and'well, victims of sexual assault should just get friends to read fics ahead of time and tell them if something in there might be triggery or just not read at all'.

Yeah, and I suppose I should never leave my house again since I could risk being raped again.

Look at the sort of arguments you're making. Just look. Take three deep breaths and look at those arguments and the things said in there. About rape victims. Those are shitty, nasty things to say.

So you feel dogpiled, badly treated and want to defend what seems a somewhat unpopular opinion. I can feel a bit of sympathy for you for feeling unfairly treated and having been called names. I can. But where is your compassion saying things like this to a victim of sexual assault, FFS? Look at those things said.

Because here are some of the delightful side-effects that come with being raped: (Will vary, depending on situation.)

1. People not believing you.

2. People making judgements on your sexuality because you were raped.

3. People thinking you carry part of the responsibility for being raped or plain out brought it on yourself.

4. The rapist not being brought to justice for what he/she did. (Frighteningly common.)

5. People implying you're making a bigger deal out of it than it was and playing the victim.

6. Triggers and possible PTSD.

7. People thinking they know exactly what you're going through and how to handle it.

Any of this look familiar? Looking at those arguments, I'm sure seeing recurring themes.

I've said this before and I say it again: rape is a shit thing to have happen to you. And the aftermath of it is no less so. Part of the reason for that is the sort of things I listed above. Those and some others are why so few rapes are reported, why so many people struggle to come forward with their stories. There is still a huge social stigma attached to rape for the victim. And that's bloody unfair.

Don't turn it on the victim. Have a little compassion. If for no other reason, do it because tomorrow it could be you. Or someone in your family. Or a friend. It will happen to someone you know, if it hasn't already.

If you don't want to warn, you don't want to warn. People will disagree with you, but don't argue your case this way. Really don't.

(I shall mention in the interest of fairness I'm a bit iffy on some things said and done by the other side as well. trigger_fence for instance, I'm not sure how I feel about that. I try to be aware of my bias and be somewhat fair here, but it's really hard when reading some of the comments. It's like being kicked in the stomach.)

I need a shower and breakfast and some reaffirming that people are also awesome, please.

Fic gets posted with a scene that could be read as dubcon, though when readers point this out, author argues it was not intended to be so. She adds a warning anyway.

And if it just ended there, I wouldn't be making a post about it. But as can happen on the Internet, what started as one thing ends up elsewhere and now you have a debate about whether or not to warn when posting fanfic

A summary of the wankery, with links. Triggery stuff discussed, FYI.

Explaining tiggers. (Warning: Very explicit discussion of sexual assault and the nature, anatomy, cause & effect of triggers. Is itself triggery.)

And me?

I expect you to warn if your fic contains rape or consent issues. If you were unaware your fic came across that way and enough people tell you why it did, I expect you to add warnings. (General-you, not you-specific. Goes for all of this.)

I expect this because I assume you don't want to come across as or be an asshole. I expect this because I'm a writer myself and I don't think it ruins my story or is too much to ask if I warn for something I know a lot of people could be triggered by. I expect this because rape is so common and happens to such a frightening amount of women it's very likely at least one (potential) reader has been raped. I expect this because contrary to what some claim, yes, TV and movies often carry warnings as well as ratings and books have summaries and reviews that also allow me to access information ahead of time. I expect this because fandom is a community with a lot of personal interaction and the people you might trigger might be your friends. I expect this because yes, life doesn't come with warnings, but life can be fucking shite and you don't have to add to it. I expect this because it's such a little, little thing that doesn't cost you much at all compared to how much the concern is generally appreciated. I expect this because while I might wander into a fanfic containing rape and cope, it's draining and maybe not quite what I wanted to do at that time when I'm forced to do it enough as it is. I expect this because there are days I might not cope so well and your fanfic can have me reliving being raped and cut up and I assume you don't actually wish that upon me.

So yes, I expect warnings for rape and consent issues if your fic has them. That's me. I'm not alone.

(And yes, there are unusual triggers and you can't warn for everything. But such a common thing as rape? Yes, you can. I expect you to try, not to be perfect and all-knowing.)

ETA: A collection of comments that quite frankly makes me feel a bit sick.

Sometimes, I feel like I fail at fandom. I mean, I participate in various ones and write fic that some do like. But I always feel just slightly like an outsider whichever it is. I think it's partly that I can be a bit reserved as a person and partly because my fandoms are British or American and I am Norwegian.

It is a bit sometimes like playing a game where you only know half the rules, or dancing when you're not sure about the steps. You watch your feet and feel awakward.

I got to thinking about this because of the BSG lovememe here. My name was brought up and a few really nice comments were left - and thank you for those, really! - about my writing. And I guess that's what I do in fandom. I write. I read fanfic and leave feedback too, but I feel a bit awkward doing that too. "Not bad" is a compliment in the part of Norway I grew up and I'm just not great at giving praise.

I don't know, am I totally weird? Does everyone else get fandom and I don't? You do put something of yourself in your writing, so maybe feeling like an outsider is mostly in my head.

(In any case, I decided to be a good girl and sit down and write with my iPod on so I wouldn't get distracted - good plan, except I suddenly started writing not on my work in progress, but some new Bill-and-Laura-tell-each-other-slightly-naughty-bedtime-stories thing. Brain, you fail at going with the program. On the bright side, I think that one shall be finished soon. Also I posted RPF again, whoops.)

Elsewhere on the Internet, a member of the vegan/activist community gets accused of rape and harassment and apparently one community
declares making posts about it is not allowed, then change their stance somewhat. A post about the accusations against him with his real name used is here. Some discussion of it here well.

Oi. If the allegations are true, that's quite horrid. Not always easy to verify things said on the Internets, mind you. However, that doesn't mean it's impossible. Depends on the situation.

Meanwhile, a football player here in Norway was convicted of using his fame and position as a footballer to have sex with a 14-year-old girl. (The legal age in Norway is 16.) He was playing for the local team here when it happened, now he's playing for another. Ugh. Kinda glad he's not around here anymore. He used Facebook to get in touch with the girl, so yeah, do be a little careful online. Asshats can use a keyboard as well as a decent guy.

To finish on a light note - A rather amusing look at rules of fandom (part one). Yeah, I think I've seen that in action a few times.

Holy Niflheim, it just hailed. In the middle of a very loud thunderstorm. In the middle of summer.

Look! And the result after. Those were large. My cat totally freaked out and went and hid under the bed. Then it turned brilliant sunshine for a bit and now it's pouring rain again. Figures.

Meme knicked from the flist: Five Things I Did This Week I Suggest To You

1. Read Anthony Beever's D-Day. I'ved liked several of his previous books, and did this one as well. It manages to give accounts of people who experienced it while painting the bigger picture as well, and it actually gives some insight into Eurpean-US relations even today. History isn't just what happened, it's also why we are where we are. It also underlines how horrid war is and how all sides will do terrible things.

2. Wrote. Finished my remix, got a speedy beta (thanks lyricalviolet!) and can now feel in good conscience. Kept writing on my AU Daybreak with resurrection returned. It's nice to play around with words.

( A little preview )

3. Rediscovered polar bread. I used to eat it when I was young when my parents would drive in summer from southeastern Norway (where we lived) to northern Norway (where my father's parents lived) and then back again through Sweden. (It's actually faster, weird as it sounds.) Yum. Been eating loads of them this week.

4. Bought Bruce Springsteen's Greatest Hits for my iPod. Bruce will always be to me my mother, who loves him dearly and would play him in the living room so many evenings as I grew up. It's the sound of my childhood and teenage years and I was feeling nostalgic. Listening to things you associate with good things can be really uplifting, so heartily recommended.

5. Slept outside. One night it was warm enough, so I slept in a sleeping bag under a roof. Falling asleep with the sounds of birds and silence around really is something not quite like sleeping inside. I like it.

In other news:
- Iran election, why you should care.
- And to remind you why we got ways to go with gender equality still, to sell fruit-flavored alcoholic beverages, Bacardi launches an ad campaign at women with the message that all that women need to be more attractive is to find an more unattractive female friend to stand next to. Oh, gag me with a shot glas.
- A real Romeo and Juliet tragedy in India.
- Inspired by Obama's famed oneshot of a fly, ten fly-swatting techniques.

How well will a post headed 'what's wrong with you people?' be recieved, I wonder?

(My brother actually met his girlfriend through World of Warcraft. They started chatting lots and eventually he went to Holland to meet her. Never really came back and they've been together two years now. I find it kinda cute.)

Meanwhile, a bit of beta drama - this sums it up (though with a particular viewpoint, FYI) with links to original posts.

Now I personally don't really ascribe to anything like 'the Cult of Nice'. Not because I encourage everyone to be as nasty as possible on the Internets (some do seem to have that goal!) but because I have trouble with the sense of stifling critisism that tends to come with it. And some bonus features. If you post fanfic, you just have to live with the fact that someone won't like what you write. (You don't have to like getting critisism, but taking it with a bit of grace is usually good.)

Still, a beta saying something to you and then slamming you in public to a friend at the same time and cheer at a sporking of a previous fic? That seems somewhat uncool to me.

A question for all you Americans - how bad does this financial crisis feel to you? Because I am just watching the news and that's often about companies and Wall Street downs and not really giving me a sense of how people in general are doing.

I can't really base it on how people in Norway are doing, since our country is a bit of an oddity.

In other stuff:

- Finished my remix and sent it to beta. Have a sneaking suspicion people will spot it as mine due to style, though. Oh well.
- How to horrify lotus79: Reveal that the man who had the idea of the creationist museum in the US was Australian. Then she got slightly back at me by revealing the dude went to the University I did and has science degrees. *facepalm* Seriously, to think the Earth is 6,000 years old evolution is the least of your scientic worries. You also have to argue with physics and chemistry (dating methods in particular), geology, astronomy, cosmology, molecular biology, genomics, linguistics, anthropology and archaeology, to name some.
- Mock bombs made of carrots create a slight scare in Sweden. Yep. Carrots.
- Norway is airing the US version of Life on Mars during primetime. This feels somehow wrong.
- Someone stole 16,128 bottles of beer (Norwegian newsreport here) thus leading to '16,128 bottles of beer on the wall' joke from a friend and now that damn song is stuck in my head.
- Summer is just lovely, but the weather until today wasn't. More of weather like this Sunday's, please.

How are things with you?

You know how sometimes you think there's a limit to how low humans will sink? And then something comes along and properly crushes that idea?

Yeah, I give you suing a model for getting beaten up by her husband as 'ruining her image' and then after she commits suicide, continuing with an appeal of original decision and winning a settlement from her estate - the one left for her children.

RAAAAGE. Shinhan construction company, I award thee FAIL, as well as the court and the husband. What the hell?

It made me create a whole new fail tag, even :(

In other news, I quite enjoyed this little tale, involving a lot of confusion, Obama's pick for new judge, a Norwegian band, a song wrotten ten years ago suddenly being used for something else and how the Norwegian perspective is apparently 'yay women!'

Fandom and entertainment stuff:
- Transcript of that recent BSG event, some interesting stuff and some pretty funny. Dammit it made me write RPF again. Also a good interview with Jamie Bamber here. Go UK telly, says I. It's nice sometimes to not just have American stuff. I love many American shows, it's not that, but the US doesn't need to rule the whole TV world. Also, there are a lot of shite American shows too.
- Torchwood convention wank, with bonus arguments over whether or not Barrowman did a bad.
- My friend falena84 just got hooked on Criminal Minds and crave fanfic. I watch the show but am not really in fandom, so any of you got fic recs I can pass on? Open to anything, she claims. Just not badfic ;)
- If you play World of Warcraft - fun Wanted ads. I particularly laughed at the Ikiss one because, yes, those are awfully convenient, hee.
- Australian PM tells off Gordon Ramsay. Sexist remarks, ugh. Displeasing :(
- Who the hell are Heidi and Spencer and why am I supposed to care about them? Also, why, WHY would the wife of an ex-Governor currently charged with corruption and a lot of bad-bad be on a reality show?
- Dear The Soup, your show is pretty funny. But here's a spelling tip - that Nordic country whose version of "Next Top Model" you're showing a clip from is not 'Findland'. (I bring evidence!) You can't find it on a map. It's FINland, as in land of Finns. Or Suomi, if you want to show off your Finnish. Trust me, they would come across the border and smack me if I got it wrong. Don't make us Nordic lot invade the US now to defend Finland's honour here.

You wouldn't like that, now would you?

Teen admits to roasting kitten in an oven.

... I feel ill. (Chick has prior arrests, I see. Chaaarming.) I need to hug my cat and feed him fish. People sure suck sometimes, don't they? (How apropos is this icon, too? Ugh.)

Also, today are EU elections and hardly anyone seems aware or even care. Norway's not a member so it's not an issue for me, but it's still slightly depressing. Democracy is a right earned with a lot of blood of our forefathers. Care for it a little, yeah? (Not that I am the EU's biggest fan. Um, no.)

Meanwhile, there was another BSG screening with UN panel attached. Reports from it here and here, and some red carpet pictures here. EJO and MM look hot. I approve. Resist the urge to write RPF. RESIST

Got a PM from someone asking if I was writing on stuff of late. Yes, I am. There is the remix, which I can't really tell you anything about since it's meant to be hush-hush until the reveal. I'm also very slowly writing on a AU season four finale thing. I can share a bit of that.

( Untitled, spoilers for Daybreak )

But honestly, I haven't really pushed myself to write too much of late. I do tend to like writing on order though (journalist in me, I suppose) so: Prompt me. Give me five items or a piece of dialogue or something from the kink meme or a setting or something else you consider a prompt.

No guarantees and I am most likely to write BSG or possibly some Doctor Who, but summer has started and I should have some writing time. So hit me.

We've had fantastic weather in Norway this extended weekend, and I've been enjoying it fully. Got bitten by various bugs and got some slight colour on me. Bring more of this weather on for summer, and I will be a happy, happy gal.

Meanwhile, the news about the murder of Dr. Tiller reached us here in Norway. My mother flat-out called the murderer a terrorist when I was talking to her about it, and that about sums up the general opinion in Norway.

( Why we're just not having an abortion debate in Norway, and why I can be uneasy about abortion and still be pro-choice )

In more fandom stuff:

- Some alleged spoilers for the last Tennant special that if true, will cause so much wank. Hooo yes.

- The UK version of the 4.5 season of BSG have been released, with some deleted scenes. cutemaggie have linked YouTube uploads of some additional Adama and Roslin stuff here. I hope US version (coming on July 28th) has a lot more. Am greedy. Want more snogging too.

- Remember the LotR tinhats? I think I've found the next generation - shippers of Jared and Jensen (the Supernatural actors) who are convinced the guys are really together and just kept in the closet by evil PR. This is like deja vu all over again... Painfully so!

BBC announces the new companion.

( Is there really any point in a spoiler cut yet? )

Meanwhile in fandom, there is trouble when an anon reviewer labels a fic dubcon and the author and friends take offence. (Incident seems to have occured when another author took offence at her story's review here, I see, which lead to her friends coming in to defend and eventually the anon reviewer declares them banned here.)

Oi. Can't really take a stand on whether or not the fic is dubcon since I haven't read it. But I'd still like to say a few things in general, because I have come across debates like this before and certain things just bug me.

( Consent, fantasies and a little sensitibity )

So in conclusion, if you want to make Cam happy - write some hot, hot consenting porn. Make the actual acting of giving consent hot and I will love you and give you happy reviews forever. Consider it a challenge.

(A previous rant on what consent is and isn't here and on the soapbox about rape.)

Or just be a little aware and care a little about this issue. Because trust me, a scary number of women will actually appreciate that.

I know I will.

It's time for some World of Warcraft adventures again. Much raiding and aventuring and silliness, oh my. When we last left off, my guild had cleared Naxxramas and was awaiting new fun. This post features Ulduar adventures, a nostalgic trip to Sunwell Plateau and a boomkin in a bomber. Just because.

( Nostalgic trip to Sunwell Plateau, Ulduar & various silly things )

Stay tuned for more Ulduar, the usual silliness and possibly some Argent Tournament funtime. Because jousting is the way to get ready for the eventual showdown with Arthas, apparently.

From around the flist:

a. Name your 15 absolutely favourite fandom ships (try to pick different fandoms)
b. Ask people to see what trends and similarities they notice about your ships. (In random order.)

1. Adama/Roslin (Battlestar Galactica)
2. Legolas/Gimli (Lord of the Rings)
3. Doctor/Rose (Doctor Who)
4. Catherine/Warrick (CSI)
5. Rita/Chris (Silk Stalkings)
5. Mulder/Scully (X-Files)
6. Nynaeve/Lan (Wheel of Time)
7. Barbara/Ian (Doctor Who)
8. Faramir/Éowyn (Lord of the Rings)
9. Havers/Lynley (The Inspector Lynley Mysteries)
10. Sheridan/Delenn (Babylon 5)
11. Frank/Rachel (Water Rats)
12. Tim/Dawn (The Office, UK)
13. Doctor/Martha (Doctor Who)
14. Grissom/Sara (CSI)
15. Carrot/Angua (Discworld)

Meanwhile in Norway, David Irving has landed in the country. Shudder. He was originally invited to a literature event in Lillehammer, but was de-invited after a lot of people got very peeved. Then he decided to show up on his own anyway.

I feel unclean just knowing he's in the country. Ugh. Free speech is one thing, but he's exercising it to spread hate and lies and attempt to distort history. Ew, ew, ew.

I can only comfort myself with the thought that Norway turned on the rain today because the country feels as unclean as I do with him about.

*wanders off to play WoW and kill some ghouls*

So I've been a bit absent because the flu really slammed me down and blergh, really. If I missed something - and I must have - am sorry. It's also pouring down. And when I say pouring down, I mean it. Serious rain, slamming down. Blergh.

Thing about being sick is of course how much bad television one gets to watch - at least I do, as my brain is having a screensaver on and anything more challenging would just not work.

( Conclusions I've come to watching TV while having the flu )

Meanwhile, the police are on the hunt for a New Zealand couple that mistakeningly got about 6 million US dollars credited to their account and then vanished.

Huh. That is indeed a lot of money, but worth a life on the run? I guess they think so.

And how are you all?

Life in a Box
By Camilla Sandman

Summary: The day Laura Roslin informally moves into Bill's quarters (and not just temporarily), she brings a single box and a bag of clothes. He probably shouldn't look, but he does. [Adama/Roslin]

Rating: Teen.

Disclaimer: Not my characters, just my words.

Author's Note: References to "Blood on the Scales", not particulary spoilery. lotus79 challenged me to write a fic using a favourite item broken beyond repair, a small clay frog, a book of Kataris poems, a hidden photograph and some lines of Bon Jovi lyrics. This is the result. Thanks to lyricalviolet for beta.

( Why is the military going through the President's personal affairs? )

Yes, it's Norway's National Day - with stunning sunlight across most of the country as the children's parades go on. This is what it looks like in Oslo, along the main street.

Meanwhile, my cat is snoozing and enjoying himself, while I've put out flags to celebrate.

Gratulerer med dagen!

HELLO EUROPE. (And the rest of the world peeking in.)

It's finale time for Eurosong 2009. Bring your snark, comments, opinions and all things Eurosong in comments. I will be updating this with opinions on entries and voting as we go. You can watch it live here. You can also check out some pictures from the dress rehearsals here.

IT BEGINS.

( The utter crack that is Eurovision Song Contest 2009 )

IT ENDS.

Angry Chelsea fans have apparently set up a petition to give Norway zero points in Eurosong this year - as revenge for Norwegian referee in the match against Barcelona not giving them penalty kicks.

One fan said: “They robbed Chelsea of the chance to play in the Champions League final. So let’s rob them of the Eurovision trophy.”

BWHAHAHAHA. Funny things about this: 1) That somehow the whole of Norway were on the side of the referee there 2) That the UK, as one country out of like 40 participating, would be able to rob Norway 3) That the whole of the UK would be on Chelsea's side here and 4) Going by this logic, Spain owes us 12 points and if you hate Chelsea, vote for Norway!

(Of course, this is the Daily Star, so not sure how accurate they're being. I'm amused someone even thought of it either way)

Eurosong always brings the funny. I love it so. First semi is tomorrow, second on Thursday (with Norway in it) and the finale on Saturday. Stay tuned for the silliest Europe can offer.

(If you don't know what Eurosong is, this explains it a little. It's silly, serious business, horrid, amusing and tradition all at once. And probably what we do instead of going to war with each other these days.)