![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
solarcat<--This icon is too happy for this post. But Arthur is too adorable to replace with something ranty-er. >.>;;
Warning: This is me, getting my rant on. That said... I probably won't be spewing vitriol or anything. I suppose this is more of a "moderately dissatisfied grumble" than a rant, really... >.> Anyway, no offense meant to any parties in particular--I speak in the general, mostly because I am too lazy to research the "guilty" parties and name them by name. XD (And also because naming names just pisses people off, and that isn't the goal. The goal is to rant until I feel better, at which time I will rejoin fandom as my happy, cheerful, porn-writing self. =3 )
Once upon a time, there was a show called Merlin. The show was full of slashy goodness, and the fangirls saw that it was good. Thus, the Merlin fandom was born, and brought with it blessings for the fangirls, and gifts of fic and vids and icons, and for a time there was peace in the fandom, and all rejoiced.
And then some asshat decided to call the Merlin/Arthur pairing "Methur", and![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
solar_cat's blood began to boil. And then some other asshat decided to combat this by naming the same pairing (presumably in its Arthur/Merlin variant) "Arlin", and solar_cat was forced to write a ranty LJ post about it.
Note: I mean "asshat" in the nicest of ways. Really. >.>;; no, mashups aren't a pet peeve of mine at all. why do you ask?
*ahem* Right. Where was I? Ah, yes.
Who decided this was a good idea? And for the love of fandom, why??? I ask, because I truly do not understand. There is an art to the name mashup, and it is an art I believe these unknown mashup-creators have not understood. So. A brief treatise on the Art of the Name Mashup is in order. I will preface by saying that this is simply my own observation and opinions, and of course, you are free to agree or disagree at will.
There are a few things to keep in mind when attempting to create a successful name mashup for your pairing. The first is--there may not be a successful name mashup for your pairing. And that's okay. Do you see the Kirk/Spock fans complaining? No. Because they realize that "Kock", no matter how funny it is, is just really NOT a good idea. *applauds them* My point is, just slamming two names into each other without thinking about the result is a recipe for disaster. Or at least a lot of headaches, mispronunciation, and spitting on each other. :\
To be successful, a name mashup must be, to some extent, logical. I shall draw from SGA here, because it is familiar to many of my fellow fen, and even if not, the examples are easy to follow. Observe:
We have a popular pairing: McShep. This is a name mashup that works. It works for a number of reasons. First, we begin with "Sheppard", which came with the built-in shortened version, "Shep". Okay. Then we have "McKay", which is great, because "Mc" is a prefix. It can be added to any number of names without sounding silly, because it is meant to be put in front of names. Putting these things together is logical, simple, and above all, sounds good.
This is key to a successful name mashup--if it's unpronounceable or sounds bad? It's really not going to be successful.
Another key, in addition to the "it should sound good" rule, to the successful name mashup is that the two names must share some commonality. There are reasons that names like "Clex" and "Snarry" (and yes, I'm pulling random mashups from random fandoms I've picked off my tags list. shaddup) work and have been widely adopted. Dissecting "Clex", which comes from "Clark" and "Lex", you can see that the fusion point is the L in both names. Likewise, "Snape" and "Harry" get fused at the A.
So! A quick summary:
The good name mashup will:
1. Follow from some logical combination and/or shortening of names. Names should "fuse" at a logical point (at a prefix, a shared letter or series of letters, etc).
2. Sound "good". This is a combination of ease of pronunciation and simply how well it rolls off the tongue. Also, avoid really bad associations or things that sound ridiculous. If the name is going to end up sounding like "Hitler" or something, it's probably a good idea to avoid it. (Use common sense, here.) Sometimes this can be worked to your advantage, like "Porne" (Parrish/Lorne, SGA), which is lulzy, but more often when this happens, it's of the bad, or at least the ridiculous. See the "Kock" example, above.
Got it? Good! On we go, then:
Following these rules, and going back to the fandom at hand (which is Merlin, remember), the mashup "Methur"? Makes... approximately zero sense.
Merlin. Arthur.
Now, I can see if someone tried to make "Merthur", which would join at the R and at least make some modicum of sense (though I personally feel it fails the all-important "it sounds good" rule, as well as making me feel like I'm going to spit on someone). But "Methur" is just... obnoxious. And feels very much like trying too hard. Also, is it "Mi-thur" or "Meh-thur"? Pronunciation is key, people! (As anyone who encounters Highlander fandom without seeing the show will realize the first time they see "Methos". *is not speaking from personal experience at all...* >.>;; )
The other option is, apparently, "Arlin", which I have to say I favor between the two of them, if I had to pick one (much as it pains me). Here, we have some sense. The two names are fused at the R, there are no glaring pronunciation issues. About the only issue I can find with it, following my guidelines here, is that it sounds sort of like a girl's name. (Though I admit, every time I say it to myself, I get King of the Hill flashbacks. Arlen, Texas, anyone?) But really--is it necessary? Do we really want to start going down this route?
Here's the thing, and it is a thing which is perhaps most paramount to successful name mashups--You can't have that many of them before they become the most horribly annoying things ever.
Merlin, by virtue of its awesome ( \0/ ), is already threatening to have nearly infinite pairing possibilities. Okay, so every show has that, but... really. Those of you in the fandom know that what I say is true. And as soon as you give in, as soon as you allow the mashup to take over your fandom...
It's insidious.
Someone who doesn't know Smallville fandom at all! I call upon you to go forth, find a big archive of SV fics, and report back to us how long it took you to work out the alphabet soup of pairings over there. This is not a rant against Smallville; don't get me wrong. But SV has mashups run amok, most of them beginning with C or L, so it's a useful example. Thus far, we have not approached this. I sincerely hope, my dear Merlin fandom, that we never do.
Is it so hard to write out Merlin/Arthur? Or even just "M/A", if it comes down to it? It's only the most popular pairing in the fandom; it's not as if anyone will be truly lost as to what you mean. Admittedly, the "M" could be Morgana as well, but... If you're posting on![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
merlinxarthur? I don't think anyone is going to be confused. And it's really not that hard to put in the extra keystrokes and write their names out. Really. Watch: Merlin. Arthur. That took all of three seconds. You can do it! I have faith in you, fandom!
In Conclusion:
For the love of fandom, let the mashups die! If they are meant to exist, they will come about organically, but do not try to create them, fandom. I love you, but you know not what you do! Do not let the mashups take over your minds! Rise above, my friends! You have nothing to lose butyour chains your confusion!
(And seriously, I may have to gouge my eyes out with a spoon if this continues. Don't make me gouge my eyes out. Think of the poor spoons. ;_; )
Ahem. Well, I feel better now. =)
Feel free to comment. Feel free to tell me I'm a nitpicky, easily-annoyed dumbass and that you all hate my guts now. (Well, I'd prefer if you didn't, but I'm not gonna stop you.) I have a new episode to watch, and then some promising-looking fics to read. >.>
(It occurs to me to add, because I don't believe I've ever made it known, that if a post of mine is public, and tagged with *public post, then you're free to link to it or direct anyone to it to your heart's content. So that goes for this post, and any other *public post entries. ^^ )
ETA: *ahem* Welcome, all yemetafandomers! Nice to see you all. Rest assured that I appreciate your comments, and I am trying to keep up with them as well as I can. Please be gentle, it's my first time. ;)
Warning: This is me, getting my rant on. That said... I probably won't be spewing vitriol or anything. I suppose this is more of a "moderately dissatisfied grumble" than a rant, really... >.> Anyway, no offense meant to any parties in particular--I speak in the general, mostly because I am too lazy to research the "guilty" parties and name them by name. XD (And also because naming names just pisses people off, and that isn't the goal. The goal is to rant until I feel better, at which time I will rejoin fandom as my happy, cheerful, porn-writing self. =3 )
Once upon a time, there was a show called Merlin. The show was full of slashy goodness, and the fangirls saw that it was good. Thus, the Merlin fandom was born, and brought with it blessings for the fangirls, and gifts of fic and vids and icons, and for a time there was peace in the fandom, and all rejoiced.
And then some asshat decided to call the Merlin/Arthur pairing "Methur", and
solar_cat's blood began to boil. And then some other asshat decided to combat this by naming the same pairing (presumably in its Arthur/Merlin variant) "Arlin", and solar_cat was forced to write a ranty LJ post about it. Note: I mean "asshat" in the nicest of ways. Really. >.>;; no, mashups aren't a pet peeve of mine at all. why do you ask?
*ahem* Right. Where was I? Ah, yes.
Who decided this was a good idea? And for the love of fandom, why??? I ask, because I truly do not understand. There is an art to the name mashup, and it is an art I believe these unknown mashup-creators have not understood. So. A brief treatise on the Art of the Name Mashup is in order. I will preface by saying that this is simply my own observation and opinions, and of course, you are free to agree or disagree at will.
There are a few things to keep in mind when attempting to create a successful name mashup for your pairing. The first is--there may not be a successful name mashup for your pairing. And that's okay. Do you see the Kirk/Spock fans complaining? No. Because they realize that "Kock", no matter how funny it is, is just really NOT a good idea. *applauds them* My point is, just slamming two names into each other without thinking about the result is a recipe for disaster. Or at least a lot of headaches, mispronunciation, and spitting on each other. :\
To be successful, a name mashup must be, to some extent, logical. I shall draw from SGA here, because it is familiar to many of my fellow fen, and even if not, the examples are easy to follow. Observe:
We have a popular pairing: McShep. This is a name mashup that works. It works for a number of reasons. First, we begin with "Sheppard", which came with the built-in shortened version, "Shep". Okay. Then we have "McKay", which is great, because "Mc" is a prefix. It can be added to any number of names without sounding silly, because it is meant to be put in front of names. Putting these things together is logical, simple, and above all, sounds good.
This is key to a successful name mashup--if it's unpronounceable or sounds bad? It's really not going to be successful.
Another key, in addition to the "it should sound good" rule, to the successful name mashup is that the two names must share some commonality. There are reasons that names like "Clex" and "Snarry" (and yes, I'm pulling random mashups from random fandoms I've picked off my tags list. shaddup) work and have been widely adopted. Dissecting "Clex", which comes from "Clark" and "Lex", you can see that the fusion point is the L in both names. Likewise, "Snape" and "Harry" get fused at the A.
So! A quick summary:
The good name mashup will:
1. Follow from some logical combination and/or shortening of names. Names should "fuse" at a logical point (at a prefix, a shared letter or series of letters, etc).
2. Sound "good". This is a combination of ease of pronunciation and simply how well it rolls off the tongue. Also, avoid really bad associations or things that sound ridiculous. If the name is going to end up sounding like "Hitler" or something, it's probably a good idea to avoid it. (Use common sense, here.) Sometimes this can be worked to your advantage, like "Porne" (Parrish/Lorne, SGA), which is lulzy, but more often when this happens, it's of the bad, or at least the ridiculous. See the "Kock" example, above.
Got it? Good! On we go, then:
Following these rules, and going back to the fandom at hand (which is Merlin, remember), the mashup "Methur"? Makes... approximately zero sense.
Merlin. Arthur.
Now, I can see if someone tried to make "Merthur", which would join at the R and at least make some modicum of sense (though I personally feel it fails the all-important "it sounds good" rule, as well as making me feel like I'm going to spit on someone). But "Methur" is just... obnoxious. And feels very much like trying too hard. Also, is it "Mi-thur" or "Meh-thur"? Pronunciation is key, people! (As anyone who encounters Highlander fandom without seeing the show will realize the first time they see "Methos". *is not speaking from personal experience at all...* >.>;; )
The other option is, apparently, "Arlin", which I have to say I favor between the two of them, if I had to pick one (much as it pains me). Here, we have some sense. The two names are fused at the R, there are no glaring pronunciation issues. About the only issue I can find with it, following my guidelines here, is that it sounds sort of like a girl's name. (Though I admit, every time I say it to myself, I get King of the Hill flashbacks. Arlen, Texas, anyone?) But really--is it necessary? Do we really want to start going down this route?
Here's the thing, and it is a thing which is perhaps most paramount to successful name mashups--You can't have that many of them before they become the most horribly annoying things ever.
Merlin, by virtue of its awesome ( \0/ ), is already threatening to have nearly infinite pairing possibilities. Okay, so every show has that, but... really. Those of you in the fandom know that what I say is true. And as soon as you give in, as soon as you allow the mashup to take over your fandom...
It's insidious.
Someone who doesn't know Smallville fandom at all! I call upon you to go forth, find a big archive of SV fics, and report back to us how long it took you to work out the alphabet soup of pairings over there. This is not a rant against Smallville; don't get me wrong. But SV has mashups run amok, most of them beginning with C or L, so it's a useful example. Thus far, we have not approached this. I sincerely hope, my dear Merlin fandom, that we never do.
Is it so hard to write out Merlin/Arthur? Or even just "M/A", if it comes down to it? It's only the most popular pairing in the fandom; it's not as if anyone will be truly lost as to what you mean. Admittedly, the "M" could be Morgana as well, but... If you're posting on
merlinxarthur? I don't think anyone is going to be confused. And it's really not that hard to put in the extra keystrokes and write their names out. Really. Watch: Merlin. Arthur. That took all of three seconds. You can do it! I have faith in you, fandom!In Conclusion:
For the love of fandom, let the mashups die! If they are meant to exist, they will come about organically, but do not try to create them, fandom. I love you, but you know not what you do! Do not let the mashups take over your minds! Rise above, my friends! You have nothing to lose but
(And seriously, I may have to gouge my eyes out with a spoon if this continues. Don't make me gouge my eyes out. Think of the poor spoons. ;_; )
Ahem. Well, I feel better now. =)
Feel free to comment. Feel free to tell me I'm a nitpicky, easily-annoyed dumbass and that you all hate my guts now. (Well, I'd prefer if you didn't, but I'm not gonna stop you.) I have a new episode to watch, and then some promising-looking fics to read. >.>
(It occurs to me to add, because I don't believe I've ever made it known, that if a post of mine is public, and tagged with *public post, then you're free to link to it or direct anyone to it to your heart's content. So that goes for this post, and any other *public post entries. ^^ )
ETA: *ahem* Welcome, all ye
metafandomers! Nice to see you all. Rest assured that I appreciate your comments, and I am trying to keep up with them as well as I can. Please be gentle, it's my first time. ;)