Wraith Defenders Club

[Isolde]

You know what? You're right. I'm in.

Also, Wisp looks so cuddly while knitting!

WOOT! Welcome to our happy band, DM. Look me up over there as Isolde Jansma - not that you didn't know already.

@ SM: A fish hat for each Wraith boy, and for Queeny, one with a nice embroidered crown. For some reason Blackadder II has been popping into my head.

[Artie]

It's not like anyone would dare to laugh at a Wraith, even one wearing a dead fish hat.

I need to learn crocheting outside of doing edges, so I can make a bunch of little Wraith dolls to drag around with me.

Maybe different hives have different hats!

Though seriously, I wonder if different styles of clothing/stitching/embroidery are markers of which hive you're from, cues to social position and origin that the humans don't notice or differentiate.

[Shaded Mazoku]

@ SM: A fish hat for each Wraith boy, and for Queeny, one with a nice embroidered crown. For some reason Blackadder II has been popping into my head.

Oh dear. I'm now imagining Queenie as a Wraith Queen. *dies laughing*

Maybe different hives have different hats!

Though seriously, I wonder if different styles of clothing/stitching/embroidery are markers of which hive you're from, cues to social position and origin that the humans don't notice or differentiate.

There's certainly some interesting hat patterns to choose from... Just a quick look in the knitting community pattern database found me a cupcake hat, a cooked turkey hat, a squid hat and a mohawk hat, among other things.

Heck, I doubt the humans can tell Wraith apart half the time. I can just see them going "they all look the same to me!". Of course, for the first seasons, that's kinda true. But considering the amount of various scientists on Atlantis, it's always surprised me that not one of the anthropologists that are undoubtedly there have actually looked into Wraith society and culture. I mean, they pretty much threw anthropology after us in SG-1.

I can just imagine one Daniel Jackson harassing Todd with so many questions if he ever had the opportunity. A member of an alien species with a very different culture who also happens to be a contemporary of the Ancients? I don't think an anthropologist should be able to resist that.

[ciannwn]

Love the fish hats. I can image Queenie as a Wraith Queen too.

[ciannwn]

Though seriously, I wonder if different styles of clothing/stitching/embroidery are markers of which hive you're from, cues to social position and origin that the humans don't notice or differentiate.

This is very likely. The humans wouldn't be studying the clothing of any Wraith they met and Beckett wouldn't have studied the clothing of any dead Wraith he was using for retrovirus research.

[WraithTech]

This worshipper culture seems to be different from what we've seen so far. I wonder if there's a catch?

Back when I had a relative in the hospital this past May, I posted musings about Wraith making great doctors, able to heal broken bones in seconds (link). I also recently made a post on another forum about Wraith being possible intermediaries for transferring life force between healthy and sick humans. The same people who brushed these ideas off are now agreeing. I’m glad these ideas are being taken seriously, now that such ideas are going to be a part of Legacy in some form.

Well, socks are one of the most useful knit items, especially with those heavy boots Wraith wears. Though we haven't really seen any Wraith on ice planets, have we?

For the past few weeks, many of the conversations in here seem to be from been insider information and the rest of us have no idea what is happening. What happened to this forum? What is with all this knitting Wraith stuff? Does this mean there will be a scene on the prison ice planet where the first Wraith will be wearing knitted socks they made themselves while they were in an Ancient prison? Are knitted socks supposed to unofficially be ‘canon’ now and to be officially ‘canon’ in the future when a book comes out? Or, is this just a cute LiveJournal joke among friends of the authors? *shrugs* WDC members are no longer equals because of different amounts of insider information being handed out over at LiveJournal.

I still intend still read all the books and enjoy them for what they are (I just paid $24 for a ‘Halcyon’ reprint), but consider their contradictions to be quasi-canon. Some books say light hurts Wraith eyes, Wraith children take longer to grow, and Wraith faces fill out after they feed. Other books say Wraith ships have lower gravity, Wraith are born in pods, and Wraith faces get greener after they feed. None of these were a part of the television show that I can recall and are just pet theories.

The Legacy authors are said to have lurked in WDC to tap into the rich knowledge base and ideas on this thread. Providence gave us critical thinking skills and imaginations. There is no need to outsource creativity and reasoning to book authors, running to them every time someone has a Wraith cultural question or an idea for a new fanfic. To do so defeats the very purpose of why the authors lurked here.

There are still contributions to WDC that have gone unposted, in the forms of new auctions, unseen Wraith video footage, new Wraith production pics, and new theories on everything from Queens to drones, all of these plural and of these gone unshared because more than one person has been made to feel unwelcome here, in spite of how tolerant people say this thread is. I really miss the contributions of the people who recently left this thread. I really, really do. And, I miss the all the fanfics that have been discontinued.

The only thing I have left to say is that creativity is not a zero-sum game and I exhort the fanfic writers out there who have expressed ceasing to write over fears of Legacy canon to arise and complete their stories - without retconning all their previous stories just to match the ideas and writing styles of any other authors or people posting in here. For example, something that was said in here about Michael that gave someone writer’s block was just someone’s theory. Just because something is written in here or in a Fandemonium book, any number of times, does not make it a fact. Neither does adding a citation, which, upon investigation, is on the level of something that came from timecube.com and/or has been grossly misrepresented. Trust in your own talents and tell your own stories!

[Artie]

For the past few weeks, many of the conversations in here seem to be from been insider information and the rest of us have no idea what is happening. What happened to this forum? What is with all this knitting Wraith stuff? Does this mean there will be a scene on the prison ice planet where the first Wraith will be wearing knitted socks they made themselves while they were in an Ancient prison? Are knitted socks supposed to unofficially be ‘canon’ now and to be officially ‘canon’ in the future when a book comes out? Or, is this just a cute LiveJournal joke among friends of the authors? *shrugs* WDC members are no longer equals because of different amounts of insider information being handed out over at LiveJournal.

I thought the knitting thing was a joke because I posted a fanfic with a joke about Wraith learning to knit and then some people thought it was funny. It's not some secret thing. Then Isolde and I got off on argyle socks and how silly Todd would look in a sweater and then someone posted a picture of a knitting Wraith. It's just a joke that ran away.

[Todd's Pet]

Back when I had a relative in the hospital this past May, I posted musings about Wraith making great doctors, able to heal broken bones in seconds (link). I also recently made a post on another forum about Wraith being possible intermediaries for transferring life force between healthy and sick humans. The same people who brushed these ideas off are now agreeing. I’m glad these ideas are being taken seriously, now that such ideas are going to be a part of Legacy in some form.

Very unprofessional of the authors to do so, however, without giving some kind of credit to the members of the WDC

Just because something is written in here or in a Fandemonium book, any number of times, does not make it a fact. Neither does adding a citation, which, upon investigation, is on the level of something that came from timecube.com and/or has been grossly misrepresented. Trust in your own talents and tell your own stories!

Hoorah! Indeed one fo the reasons I enjoy reading people's fanfics is the variety of ideas that people come up with, whether reasoned out or instinctive, and no matter how wild they may be.
Even if only a small handful of people felt unable to express themselves, or suffered writer's block as a result of feeling they should be conforming to Legacy "canon" then it would be a very sad day indeed.

And I agree with you, Orb, that it is not being inclusive or tolerant to have a "two tier" WDC - those in the know and those not.
Yes, okay, you could argue why don't I just go and read the LJ blog and then I too would have the insider information... sorry, I'm not prepared to massage the authors' ego by doing so.
If they can't be bothered to put ALL their ideas and information into the books, then why should I be bothered reading their blog?

Have a blog by all means to chat with your readership, but let's not have all this "insider info". Once you've written a book and put it out there, you should not interfere with the reader/book relationship in such a way.
But then perhaps, as an editor, I;m just old-fashioned that way.

[Artie]

This is very likely. The humans wouldn't be studying the clothing of any Wraith they met and Beckett wouldn't have studied the clothing of any dead Wraith he was using for retrovirus research.

That's true. And Beckett's not a social scientist. He probably wouldn't think about the differences having social significance. That's a Daniel Jackson kind of observation, but he never gets a chance to make it.

[Shaded Mazoku]

For the past few weeks, many of the conversations in here seem to be from been insider information and the rest of us have no idea what is happening. What happened to this forum? What is with all this knitting Wraith stuff? Does this mean there will be a scene on the prison ice planet where the first Wraith will be wearing knitted socks they made themselves while they were in an Ancient prison? Are knitted socks supposed to unofficially be ‘canon’ now and to be officially ‘canon’ in the future when a book comes out? Or, is this just a cute LiveJournal joke among friends of the authors? *shrugs* WDC members are no longer equals because of different amounts of insider information being handed out over at LiveJournal.

I certainly haven't been discussing anything on LJ, nor does it have anything to do with the Legacy books. I just happen to be a knitter myself, and like the idea of knitting Wraith. For me, the idea actually goes back to a discussion with a real life friend who happens to be both a SGA fan and a fellow knitter, and a discussion about how Wraith were quick to learn new things, so why not knitting?

Much as it'd amuse me to see a Wraith wearing all knit wear, I certainly don't see that as ever being any kind of canon. Just a silly little discussion.

The only thing I have left to say is that creativity is not a zero-sum game and I exhort the fanfic writers out there who have expressed ceasing to write over fears of Legacy canon to arise and complete their stories - without retconning all their previous stories just to match the ideas and writing styles of any other authors or people posting in here. For example, something that was said in here about Michael that gave someone writer’s block was just someone’s theory. Just because something is written in here or in a Fandemonium book, any number of times, does not make it a fact. Neither does adding a citation, which, upon investigation, is on the level of something that came from timecube.com and/or has been grossly misrepresented. Trust in your own talents and tell your own stories!

I agree with you there, though. Most of my own stories are certainly not Legacy-compliant, and it's a shame if people feel pressured to make their fics fit with anyone else's vision but their own. I've borrowed a few ideas from Legacy on occasions, but I do consider the books, as you said, quasi-canon. But then, I happily gloss over some of the things that are considered canon in the show, too, because it's not everything there that works with the rest of the show, and anyway, fanfiction, by definition, is about exploring "what ifs", and if we only stuck to what was strictly canon, we would just be rewriting the episodes.

[Todd's Pet]

I agree with you there, though. Most of my own stories are certainly not Legacy-compliant, and it's a shame if people feel pressured to make their fics fit with anyone else's vision but their own. I've borrowed a few ideas from Legacy on occasions, but I do consider the books, as you said, quasi-canon. But then, I happily gloss over some of the things that are considered canon in the show, too, because it's not everything there that works with the rest of the show, and anyway, fanfiction, by definition, is about exploring "what ifs", and if we only stuck to what was strictly canon, we would just be rewriting the episodes.

Very well and succinctly put.

And it;s the "what ifs" that I enjoy so much - other people come up wiht things I would never have thought of. It's like food for my brain!

[Shaded Mazoku]

Well, considering that the Stargate universe (the actual universe, not the show ) has alternate dimensions all over the place, I guess we could claim that anything we write is canon in some dimension or another?

[Todd's Pet]

Well, considering that the Stargate universe (the actual universe, not the show ) has alternate dimensions all over the place, I guess we could claim that anything we write is canon in some dimension or another?

Sounds good to me - I just hope this pov can be expressed more often here so that others will be encouraged to come back with their ideas and fics and pics.
Like Orb, I miss the variety and life hasn't been quite the same without the WDC and all it's crazy ideas.

[WraithTech]

Very unprofessional of the authors to do so, however, without giving some kind of credit to the members of the WDC

Many Wraith fans are compassionate people and want to see all humans and Wraith well-fed without harming one another and sharing strengths. Even if the authors didn't see these WDC posts, I'm uncomfortable with the different ways the ideas were treated in here, based solely upon who said them.

Yes, okay, you could argue why don't I just go and read the LJ blog and then I too would have the insider information...

Before real life threw me a curve ball and enveloped all my time a few weeks ago, I used to be able to keep up with the blogs and still got the feeling other people in here knew more than everyone else. That's why I stopped talking about these books in here, even if I do read them.

I thought the knitting thing was a joke because I posted a fanfic with a joke about Wraith learning to knit and then some people thought it was funny. It's not some secret thing. Then Isolde and I got off on argyle socks and how silly Todd would look in a sweater and then someone posted a picture of a knitting Wraith. It's just a joke that ran away.

Any chance of posting this on FF.net with a link here so everyone not on LJ can enjoy it? It's feeling to me like WDC is a whole new subculture, only for people who have time to surf LJ.

Most of my own stories are certainly not Legacy-compliant, and it's a shame if people feel pressured to make their fics fit with anyone else's vision but their own. I've borrowed a few ideas from Legacy on occasions, but I do consider the books, as you said, quasi-canon. But then, I happily gloss over some of the things that are considered canon in the show, too, because it's not everything there that works with the rest of the show, and anyway, fanfiction, by definition, is about exploring "what ifs", and if we only stuck to what was strictly canon, we would just be rewriting the episodes.

Wonderfully said!

[WraithTech]

Well, considering that the Stargate universe (the actual universe, not the show ) has alternate dimensions all over the place, I guess we could claim that anything we write is canon in some dimension or another?

Many months ago in here, people used to allow for many possibilities, for the facts that different hives on the show did things differently (compare Betty's vs Boris's) and there are different physical traits which could signify lineages and talents (like the different types of ears). This used to be reflected in the posts, with words like "my favorite theory on this is...," "I like the idea of....," or "The Commander in 'Broken Ties' solved this by..." It would be nice to get back to that in here, instead of posting with a tone of finality about pet theories and/or pointing to Legacy as the sole proof of a point.