rionaleonhart | A Beautiful Combination of Love and High Explosives.

Okay, this has got to be one of my favourite news stories ever.

A SPICY sausage known as the Welsh Dragon will have to be renamed after trading standards’ officers warned the manufacturers that they could face prosecution because it does not contain dragon.

Thank God for trading standards, eh? That could have been really confusing.

I have been playing a game lately with Certain Members Of My Friendslist. It is a very enjoyable game, and I would recommend it to all of you. The aim is to come up with the most bizarre, ridiculous fanfic concept ever, and then persuade someone else to write it. This can be quite dangerous, as, if you come up with a particularly loony idea, a skilled opponent can use it against you.

My point is that I have now written a semi-serious man/car fanfic, and it is all dracothelizard's fault.

Also, I have now seen a serious Top Gear fanfic in which Jeremy Clarkson wept a single tear.

Now, complaining about anything in the Top Gear fandom makes me feel like a horrible person now that I'm actually a part of said fandom, because it is absolutely the most friendly, welcoming fandom in the world, and the feedback is fantastic - you can always tell that at least some thought has gone into the reviews you receive - and, when you make a mistake ('JEREMY OPENED THE BACK DOOR OF THE PORSCHE 911 LOL,' Riona wrote thoughtlessly), the reviewers will point it out politely and gently. You'll still feel like an idiot, but you'll feel like an idiot because you are an idiot, not because anyone's trying to make you feel like an idiot.

There are people who read through and give a thoughtful review to every fic posted to the community. I would never be able to do that. There are no pairing wars. If you want to write, say, man/car, people will give it a chance and read it and not chase you out with flaming torches. There are some truly fantastic fanfics.

Still. Jeremy Clarkson wept a single tear.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I second everything you've said about the TG fandom. I absolutely love it. I was a bit nervous posting my first ficlet yesterday, but everyone's been really nice. I've been writing for ages, but just not in this fandom (newbie omg!), so it was a bit daunting leaping into the new stuff.

I've been reading through a lot of the fics there, and the feedback is good, I have to agree with that. It's nice to see decent feedback that is actually useful and coherent.

The fandom is ridiculously nice. Every so often I'll click on 'Update Journal' with the intention of complaining about something-or-other in Top Gear fanfic, and then I'll think of the fandom, and it's such a happy and friendly place, and all it wants to do is be loved and make you feel loved, and I can't do it! I can't! It would be heartless!

Also, hello! I should probably explain why I friended you: basically, I saw that you associate with various awesome people, and reading over the entries you've been making during your introduction to Top Gear has made me remember why I love it so much all over again. Also, your 'Technical Issues' icons made me giggle an awful lot. It's nice to meet you.

When it comes to fanfic (and actually movies/books/stories too), I hate fluffy stuff. When I read fluffy/soppy stuff in my other fandoms, I can't. I end up abandoning it because it's all too cheesy. TG is completely different. I love the whole fluffy thing in the TG fandom (and there's lots of it), it's just great. That's probably my only problem with the TG fandom, but I can't really bring myself to properly have a moan about it because it's just cute.

Nice to meet you too! I love falling in love with the TG fandom, it's been so much fun. And obviously I'm dying to see the new series next year. I can't even think where I got the idea for the icons, but I'm quite chuffed with them :)

You see, I'm sort of the opposite: I can't stand fluff in the Top Gear fandom. Or, indeed, heavy angst. I have ridiculously specific fanfic tastes when it comes to Top Gear, actually: it can't deal with serious themes (injury, death, infidelity), it can't have sincere declarations of love (if there's anything heartfelt, it has to be hidden behind insults and irritation) unless it is for a car (look, I didn't say that my tastes made sense), it can't have graphic smut... it's definitely the one fandom I'm most picky about. I suspect that this may have something to do with my horrendous feelings of RPS-related guilt.

Wow, very specific tastes in this fandom! Normally angsty stuff or first-time stuff is my favourite (I love a fic when someone finds out someone else fancies them).

(if there's anything heartfelt, it has to be hidden behind insults and irritation)

I quite like that too, especially when it comes to Jeremy; I don't want to sound mean, but I just don't see him as the sort of person to come out and say how he really feels about someone.

RPS-related guilt? I do understand a bit, but it's odd for me because that's pretty much the only stuff I read/write. I adore the Sharpe and Hornblower fics, but I prefer RPS. No idea why lol!

Oh, I adore it when relationships first start. 'Preferably any shift in the relationship occurs during the course of the story' can go onto my stupidly long list of Tastes In Top Gear Fanfiction. It's very difficult to think of how it gets started when you're writing it, though - or, at least, that's what I find. You may be blessed with the amazing ability to write first-time fic effortlessly.

Have you come across any Top Gear fic that you'd particularly recommend? I haven't done that much looking through the archives yet.

I used to be one of those people who thought that RPS was bizarre and disturbing and that I'd never get involved in it. I was a fool.

"I used to be one of those people who thought that RPS was bizarre and disturbing and that I'd never get involved in it. I was a fool."

So was I, but I reckon we were right. Because I have seen some of the RPS from the Lord of the Rings fandom and they were quite insane at times.

Well, er, we weren't right about the 'never get involved' part, were we?

Well, no. But I still we're right in the whole 'RPS is bizarre' thing. But at least the Top Gear RPF fandom isn't as insane as others.

A Beautiful Combination of Love and High Explosives.

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