Connie + Jason Club

[TigerShadow]

It wasn't remarkable, but I didn't say it was; I said it was enjoyable.

[ArnoldtheRubberDucky]

Okay... sorry. Ha ha. It just didn't hint at any romance. Now I realize my first post was horribly worded. All I really meant was that Connie and Jason have no romantic chemistry, in my humble opinion.

[Ameraka]

I still feel as if I've wasted 2 years of my life. So, dance away, people.

(I really should not take this so seriously. But I did spend hours upon hours on it I could have been doing something else).

[Wakko]

Hmm... perhaps this is one Official Podcast that I should actually take a listen to...

It's the Whit's End Podcast, not the Official.

[Ashley]

I still feel as if I've wasted 2 years of my life. So, dance away, people.

(I really should not take this so seriously. But I did spend hours upon hours on it I could have been doing something else).

Please continue your fanfics! PLEASE! They are AMAZING. Even if you take a break for a while, and continue later. Just DON'T STOP. Please.

[Ameraka]

Thanks Ashley! I may continue after a little while. Lots of people write AU fanfictions, after all.
I may recover...but knowing there is (virtually?) no hope it may never be quite the same. It'll diverge even more from the show....become almost un-Odyssey....or maybe I'll reset and start over with something totally different.....

[ArnoldtheRubberDucky]

It makes no difference whether the writers marry Connie and Jason on the real show. Is that the only reason you were writing fan fiction at all? It seems very unlikely. Write fan fiction because you enjoy it, and others enjoy it as well. And definitely don't think you've wasted two years of their life. Writers grow as writers, no matter what they're writing, as long as they're writing at all, if that makes any sense...

[TigerShadow]

Eh, I do think that perhaps there could have been more sensitive wording on Paul's part (it's been a little while since I heard exactly what he said), but honestly, I'm not sure how accustomed the AIO team is to dealing with fandom the way it's usually expressed for other shows—fanart, fanfiction, and, particularly, shipping. I think that they get that people support romantic relationships, but I'm not sure how much they've interacted with fandom on the level that they really understand how big a deal shipping is to a lot of people. (I read a very interesting commentary on this recently, and I have a lot to say, it seems.) For that matter, I'm not even sure if the team really gets what shipping and shipping culture are, never mind how many eggshells you sometimes have to walk on when interacting with it. I think that both we in the fandom and the writers of the show tend to perceive the AIO fandom a little differently than is normal in fan communities, and so when things more typical of fandom (such as vibrant shipping culture) are brought to creators' attention, they don't necessarily handle it with the sensitivity that many creators know to do.

Don't misread me—I don't think that Paul was necessarily wrong in the point that he was trying to make. But I do think that he could have phrased it better, and phrasing that sort of thing better comes from experience with fans on that level and a better understanding of how fans tend to engage with the material that they are given, and the AIO fandom is not one that lends itself well to the necessity for that kind of understanding on its creators' parts (although it would probably help them to know how this tends to work for future reference, especially since fannish behavior tends to crop up as a subject in their writing, like with Comic-Connellsville and anything else to do with Wooton's job).

[Ameraka]

Very well said, like normal, Tiger you just amaze me by how you word things....I would never be able to do that, or else it doesn't matter to me enough to try to say things this well. I think that's true that they aren't necessarily as attuned to the fandom---fanart, fanfiction, shipping etc. Perhaps because there's not as much of it? At least, it's hard to find online.

I know that they have a lot of email--they probably can't respond to all of them in a detailed way-- but the few times I've emailed them I don't get much of a response beyond "we are happy that you have enjoyed our show" etc. They are the creators--they don't have to pay attention to the fans--but when they reply this way, I feel rather devalued as a fan.


d

It makes no difference whether the writers marry Connie and Jason on the real show. Is that the only reason you were writing fan fiction at all? It seems very unlikely. Write fan fiction because you enjoy it, and others enjoy it as well. And definitely don't think you've wasted two years of their life. Writers grow as writers, no matter what they're writing, as long as they're writing at all, if that makes any sense...

It may make no difference to you, but that's not how I FEEL. It wasn't the reason I started writing fanfiction, but it did take up a very big part of it. I was probably overreacting of course. I would LIKE them to be married....I started out with the idea of Connie and Jason getting together, and then in the process of writing, I convinced myself that it would be a good idea, and thus became more and more emotionally involved. Writing isn't a cold, logical thing to me; I put all of my emotions into it and it changes me. But for some reason, I do enjoy this, even though it can be intense and even painful at times. I would say it is worth it--really--and as writing fanfiction led me to the Soda Shop, and Tumblr, that definitely isn't a waste as I've found a wonderful community of fans. And yes, it does make sense--I have thought this myself when I thought I should get to 'real' writing--At least when I'm writing fanfiction, I'm writing. Learning and improving. I've learned a lot about structure, I think, more practice writing action scenes, and I have actually come to like writing romance, at least between people I want to see together.

[TigerShadow]

There is a distinct possibility that even by the time the show ends (which we hope will be a long time from now!), neither Jason nor Connie will have tied the knot, nor will they affirm to one another that they are "platonic friends", so you may FLY FREE.

Very well said, like normal, Tiger you just amaze me by how you word things....I would never be able to do that, or else it doesn't matter to me enough to try to say things this well.

-ducks head shyly and blushes-

They are the creators--they don't have to pay attention to the fans--but when they reply this way, I feel rather devalued as a fan.

I think another thing that factors into the response to Connie and Jason is the heavy response that the team got to the Connie/Mitch relationship and its ensuing fallout. The fandom hadn't dealt with Ship Sinking of this magnitude—Jason and Tasha clearly weren't right for each other because one of them wasn't a Christian, she wasn't a character a lot of people got invested in, and, simply put, their run premiered prior to the advent of Internet fandom—and Connie is a beloved character onto whom a lot of fans project themselves, and as a result, the fandom just about exploded. People were throwing confetti and dancing in the proverbial streets while at the same time their fellow fans were mourning as though they were at a wake.

Thankfully, the intensity was nowhere near the level of Kataang vs. Zutara from Avatar: the Last Airbender or Harry/Ginny and Ron/Hermione vs. Harry/Hermione from Harry Potter (I have seen things...horrible, horrible things...), but there was still a lot of backlash. "Something Old, Something New" was clearly intended to put the nail in the Connie/Mitch coffin, but they ended up creating an even greater controversy (with a Die For Our Ship victim, to boot...poor Maureen ). After all of that, I can see how they might get fed up with what they may be seeing as obsession over the romance, an aspect of the show that isn't nearly as important as what the rest of these individual narratives are trying to do, and so they might not be very sensitive.

(Those were two very involved paragraphs for a conjecture that I'm mostly spitballing because it's 10:45 and I've gone fandom-wacky.)

It may make no difference to you, but that's not how I FEEL. It wasn't the reason I started writing fanfiction, but it did take up a very big part of it. I was probably overreacting of course. I would LIKE them to be married....I started out with the idea of Connie and Jason getting together, and then in the process of writing, I convinced myself that it would be a good idea, and thus became more and more emotionally involved.

There is, however, something to be said for the exercise of the AU fic, where you have to keep the characters true to themselves in entirely different circumstances than what the show itself provides. That's a valuable opportunity to stretch your writer's muscles a bit, I think. (Besides, depending on whether or not you've identified Wooton and Penny explicitly as single in your fanfic universe, the next album might put the fics into AU territory anyway, so you're already in the clear to do whatever you want.)

[ArnoldtheRubberDucky]

I had no idea fandoms and fan fiction were so complicated. Perhaps there's a reason why the writers don't want to get involved.

I think that perhaps I worded my post wrong originally, Ameraka. My whole point was that you would grow as a writer when you're writing anything, including fan fiction, and that you shouldn't let the producers' words discourage you. As long as you keep writing, there will always be a special alternate universe where Connie and Jason are married: your stories.

[truAIOfan]

Well, you know what Kathy Buchanan said about Mitch coming back "(It will happen) ....when Ronald McDonald becomes a vegetarian, Starbucks runs out of money, and the Chicago Bulls win the Superbowl(and yes I know they are a baseball team) " After all that NOT happening; Mitch did come back!
It's still possible that Connie and Jason will get married; I'm not giving up hope!

[Ashley]

Well, you know what Kathy Buchanan said about Mitch coming back "(It will happen) ....when Ronald McDonald becomes a vegetarian, Starbucks runs out of money, and the Chicago Bulls win the Superbowl(and yes I know they are a baseball team) " After all that NOT happening; Mitch did come back!
It's still possible that Connie and Jason will get married; I'm not giving up hope!

THANK YOU. This is what I'm holding on too xD

[ArnoldtheRubberDucky]

If you hold on too tight, the writers won't be able to pry the idea from your hands, and Connie and Jason will never get married...

So now we're going with the philosophy that if the writers say something, they'll immediately do the exact opposite of the thing they said? I always thought Kathy Buchanan said that about Mitch and Connie getting married. But I'm probably wrong, since I haven't heard that podcast since it came out.

[truAIOfan]

I always thought Kathy Buchanan said that about Mitch and Connie getting married. But I'm probably wrong, since I haven't heard that podcast since it came out.

I got the qoute from the Official Guide, and that was her respose to fans asking whether Mitch would ever come back.

So now we're going with the philosophy that if the writers say something, they'll immediately do the exact opposite of the thing they said?

Hmm... That would be a good way to figure out what would happen next on the show.

[TigerShadow]

So now we're going with the philosophy that if the writers say something, they'll immediately do the exact opposite of the thing they said?

More along the lines of "writers' plans change, so theoretically, anything can happen".

[Ameraka]

So now we're going with the philosophy that if the writers say something, they'll immediately do the exact opposite of the thing they said?

More along the lines of "writers' plans change, so theoretically, anything can happen".

AHA!! A glimmer of hope!

[Blitz]

Argh. DON'T GIVE THEM HOPE ARNOLD!
Anyway how many wedding do we have on Odyssey.... Most of them after long extended strange relationships.
This is why I don't read fanfic. So confusing....

[TigerShadow]

What's confusing about fandoms and fanfic? I'm genuinely curious, as these are things that I've just done for much of my life and I'm interested to know what other people who are in fandoms themselves find odd about it.

[Ashley]

The only thing confusing about fandoms and fanfics to me is that I get mixed up about everything if I read fanfics before I see much of the actual tv show or whatever. Then I think that all that fluff and cuteness and marriages actually happened