Talking Meme - 1: Memes (and nuts)

[thisbluespirit]

Sorry, this has taken me so long to do! It seems set to be the whenever-Talking Meme, so if somebody still wanted to leave a topic, go ahead! :-)

And the last shall be first... I haven't done the one with dates, so I'm going to leap in with the last topic given me (from daybreak777, but also briefly with one of the very first topic from oonaseckar), so:

1. Brazil nuts

I think these may be the one kind of nut that I like that isn't a peanut or an almond, but I can never remember, so am reluctant to try and find out. (Inconveniently, I don't like other nuts at all.) Which is all I have to say on the subject of Brazil nuts, unless I do research. :-)

So, from daybreak777: You seem to like memes. In your LJ existence, what has been your most fun meme to participate in and why?

I do like memes! Not so much the ones with all the intrusive personal questions, but I do have a soft spot for a good fannish/creative writing meme. Or a suitably ridiculous one. The former have led me to write all sorts I would never have done so otherwise (including those for the "ficlets I would never write meme"). I was going to say that there is one meme that towers above all these as far as I'm concerned - one meme to rule them all, and in the... no - but, actually there are some other contenders.

So, first - memes I enjoy either simply make me laugh, make me think about shows, characters and fandoms in new ways (and especially in reading other people's results), get me to write new and unexpected things and brighten up LJ when it's being tired. I love them. Prompts, jokes, unexpected pairings, random meta, discussion with my ever-surprising, brilliant and evil flist and all that. I wouldn't want to own up to how amused I am by some of the silliest/simplest. *looks shifty* (My sense of humour is not all that sophisticated, and small things please small minds.)

For me, I'm less interested in memes involving personal questions, love memes (go away, I'm British!), and anything relating more to rl (unless I am; I reserve the right to be hypocritical when I choose), and any "you are x" if the process takes half an hour. But I'm often happy to read other people's entries for those things. Each to their own, especially in journalling...

So, without doing an exhaustive check of my tags, here are the three that spring to mind:

3. The Crossover meme: Give me two characters from different fandoms you know I'm familiar with, and I'll give you a dialogue happening between the two of them. Without justifying how the crossover would work, how their worlds clashed or how they could even meet each other. Just a silly crossover conversation with no backstory, for fun.

I've done this twice. Each time the resulting prompts have been unexpected and a lot of fun to do, and I think this was the point where I went down the path of multifannishness, from which there is no returning. (I regret nothing, except lack of readers in the quieter avenues and cul-de-sacs).

2. isurrendered: The meme that ate Manhattan, as they called it... 1. Comment to this post with "I surrender!" and I'll assign you the basis of some TV show idea. (Science fiction show, medical drama, criminal procedure, etc...)
2. Create a cast of characters, including the actors who'd play them.
3. Add in any actor photos, character bios and show synopsis that you want.
4. Post to your own journal.

I really have mixed feelings at placing this one second, because it is the most dangerous, creative and virulent meme I've ever been involved in. And I'm not the only one. If you haven't encountered it before, the fictional TV shows that turned up varied, but there were some amazing ideas. Do explore the comm; it's pretty incredible. (I recommend Mammoth Season, Murder in the Library and many others that I've forgotten since that year.)

I think about doing this again some time, but it's not as if I've entirely got my brain back since the last time: I can never forget about Enigma House, or Cloak and Dagger. (There was a third, but I knew the story for that so well in my head I didn't write it down. Which is probably as well for the state of my brain, because, of course, I've forgotten most of it now.)

I'd also always thought prior to this that "casting" characters was a bit of an odd thing to do; I learned during the process that it can sometimes be really useful in original writing. Anyway, I Surrendered is wonderful, but if you try it - be warned... Still, at least there's a comm to share the insanity. (It's still mildly active, if not what it was in the first flurry of fake shows.)


1. Fifteen Characters Meme: 1) Make a list of fifteen characters first, and keep it to yourself for the moment.

2) Ask your f-list to post questions in the comments. For example: "One, nine, and fifteen are chosen by a prophecy to save the world from four. Do they succeed?", "Under what circumstances might five and fourteen fall in love?", "Which character on the list would you most want on your side in a zombie invasion?"

3) After your f-list has stopped asking questions, round them up and answer them using the fifteen characters you selected beforehand, then post them.

It probably says far too much about me that this daft meme is my favourite and never fails to make me weep with laughter at some point in the proceedings. I haven't done it for a while, either. I should probably go off and make a list of 15 characters right now, shouldn't I?



Memes: anything creative/funny/fannish and I usually enjoy it one way or another, even if it's only reading everyone else's entries when I don't have the brain for it myself, but, yes, I do love those sorts of memes. And this one, of course. Even if I have little to say about Brazil nuts.

Comments

[moetushie]

The isurrendered meme was gold, I tell you. Gold! Although what I came up with was mostly terrible.

[thisbluespirit]

It was brilliant! One of the best things ever on LJ, definitely. :-)

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

Memes can be fun - but not if I'm supposed to answers dozens - or even 100s of damned questions.

I haven't done a meme in forever!

[thisbluespirit]

Indeed! Forms are bad enough, why inflict memes on ourselves that are even worse? Still, each to their own, I suppose! ;-)

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

Well yes, if it floats your boat and isn't harming small children or animals, knock yourself out. Myself, I'd sooner knock myself by running head first into a wall!

[thisbluespirit]

:lol: I'm not entirely sure I'd prefer the wall - sound a bit too,/i> painful! ;-p

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

Well, yes, it would be - especially since I'd probably damage my knee even more if I tried to run!

[oonaseckar.livejournal.com]

I do love those sorts of memes. And this one, of course. Even if I have little to say about Brazil nuts.
But you tried, right? You tried. *sticks gold star on your lapel* I know plenty. You wanna know anything about Brazil nuts, you come-a to me. My door is always open.

How about a go-round with the Crossover meme again? (Helen Haras-Uquara from Homeward Bounders/Gussie Fink-Nottle. *enquiring smirk* I like to think of Helen terrorizing a whole lot of different characters from different fandoms. She's multi-purpose, like a Swiss army-knife.)

[thisbluespirit]

*pats gold star proudly* So, what should I know about Brazil Nuts? I'd like to know whether they are the ones I liked, or if that's some other kind of nut, but that's probably the one thing you can't tell me...

Ha! I should sometime, really. Although maybe not for a while - that's a brilliantly evil prompt I would hide from! Helen would be rather good at terrorising other fandoms, and it's not as if she can't canonically move about between worlds.

[daybreak777.livejournal.com]

Oh, how fun to get a response! (Just finished off the last of my Brazil nuts, lol. ;-))

I've never done the 15 characters meme because I have control issues and don't want the wrong characters to interact! LOL. Unless I cross them over in fic. Somehow that's okay. I know. Daft. :-)

I like the idea of the Crossover Meme, though. Mostly, because you don't have to explain why these two people are talking, they can just talk. Heck, I've written fic with characters doing just that. :-)

Thanks for answering my question and with links! I love links. :-)

[thisbluespirit]

Glad you enjoyed it! And I don't think that sounds unreasonable - memes are supposed to be fun, or there's no point, and if that one isn't for you, then that's all there is to it!