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Reflection, sparked by ffrants post
One of my forum names is 'Thread Killer Kitt' because I have this way of somehow killing threads stone-cold dead when I post. Also, my posts seem to be ignored on ffrants, and that bugs me (not quite sure why). Finally, this got quite a bit longer than I anticipated, but, I still wanted to post it, so here it is.
There is a post on ffrants where someone is suggesting that canon doesn't really matter in fanfiction. "Please. Who cares? Really? Isn't the point of fanfiction that it's not canon?"
As usual, when this rant comes up, it's because someone is basing an OTP the original poster favors.
Someone else posted:
1) The purpose of fanfiction is to write things that aren't canon
2) The purpose of fanfiction is to take elements of canon and flesh them out, using them in a way not originally perceived and explored.
I tend toward the second of those two statements in my writing.
For myself, I try to extrapolate something from canon or work with something that is plausible within the framework of canon. I write drabbles, too, where the challenge is to write within a strict guideline, so the idea of staying in a narrow area isn't too strange for me.
This is one of my favorite reviews that pertains to this, left for one of the stories I angsted about posting in the first place because the premise was really out there:
Oh my... now that was a truly scary thing to read.
It is always most amazing a thing when a writer can pull out these extraordinary ideas and keep them in character; it makes them frighteningly real when that happens. Which is all too rare. Who would have ever considered the Left Hand as such deep or even a sexual being under that bantering facade? Very original indeed, even if greatly disconcerting. (but lets face it, just look at D, who Wouldn`t love his beauty... ;))
I also liked the idea that Left Hand used to be something else... And yet the past is left so subtly open.
Though, one thing left me curious here. I was strongly under the impression that the Left Hand can see/hear(you name it) through D, only not control. You obvously think differently, but I´m open to new ideas that the change of perspective didn`t bother me too much. Just wondering.
Either way, you have built the story very well. You paint a very vivid picture of a day of these two beings` disfunctional union. Left Hand does sound so strange a creature in this pov and yet the way he speaks and reflects it makes all too possible. And that is the best that fanfiction can do; finding the gaps and building into them, stretching the lines while still keeping inside the frame of that universe. It`s a hard thing to balance well.
Fabulously dramatic ending, sad and yet... comforting.
Beautifully done. I hope to see more from this fandom from you. I should go look up your other stories. Thank you for writing.
All that being said, I see nothing wrong with fanon. I've seen a few summaries that mention being based on fanon instead of canon. I read the rest of the summary and decide if I want to read the story knowing that going in, instead of the rude awakening I receive in stories that don't warn me first.
What I don't like is when the writer distorts a third character in order to make the favored pairing work -- in Yu-Gi-Oh, Anzu is turned into a raving harpy so that Yami/anybody can work, for example. I don't like it when the character in the ship doesn't really resemble himself either -- going by the height rule, Yami becomes totally submissive and weepy as Seto or Joey's uke (because they are both taller than he is) -- he was the pharaoh of Egypt! He might not remember it, but part of that total control over others and arrogance is part of his core personality. He would submit to no one! If the writer has to distort the canon characters' personalities this much to make the story work, it's really not fanfiction any more. It's original writing with canon names attached. The writer would be better served to create original characters and, if the premise of the story is not based in the canon world (Duel Monster duels for Yu-Gi-Oh for example) to post on fictionpress.com instead of fanfiction.net.
Of course, this is only my humble opinion on the matter.
There is a post on ffrants where someone is suggesting that canon doesn't really matter in fanfiction. "Please. Who cares? Really? Isn't the point of fanfiction that it's not canon?"
As usual, when this rant comes up, it's because someone is basing an OTP the original poster favors.
Someone else posted:
1) The purpose of fanfiction is to write things that aren't canon
2) The purpose of fanfiction is to take elements of canon and flesh them out, using them in a way not originally perceived and explored.
I tend toward the second of those two statements in my writing.
For myself, I try to extrapolate something from canon or work with something that is plausible within the framework of canon. I write drabbles, too, where the challenge is to write within a strict guideline, so the idea of staying in a narrow area isn't too strange for me.
This is one of my favorite reviews that pertains to this, left for one of the stories I angsted about posting in the first place because the premise was really out there:
Oh my... now that was a truly scary thing to read.
It is always most amazing a thing when a writer can pull out these extraordinary ideas and keep them in character; it makes them frighteningly real when that happens. Which is all too rare. Who would have ever considered the Left Hand as such deep or even a sexual being under that bantering facade? Very original indeed, even if greatly disconcerting. (but lets face it, just look at D, who Wouldn`t love his beauty... ;))
I also liked the idea that Left Hand used to be something else... And yet the past is left so subtly open.
Though, one thing left me curious here. I was strongly under the impression that the Left Hand can see/hear(you name it) through D, only not control. You obvously think differently, but I´m open to new ideas that the change of perspective didn`t bother me too much. Just wondering.
Either way, you have built the story very well. You paint a very vivid picture of a day of these two beings` disfunctional union. Left Hand does sound so strange a creature in this pov and yet the way he speaks and reflects it makes all too possible. And that is the best that fanfiction can do; finding the gaps and building into them, stretching the lines while still keeping inside the frame of that universe. It`s a hard thing to balance well.
Fabulously dramatic ending, sad and yet... comforting.
Beautifully done. I hope to see more from this fandom from you. I should go look up your other stories. Thank you for writing.
All that being said, I see nothing wrong with fanon. I've seen a few summaries that mention being based on fanon instead of canon. I read the rest of the summary and decide if I want to read the story knowing that going in, instead of the rude awakening I receive in stories that don't warn me first.
What I don't like is when the writer distorts a third character in order to make the favored pairing work -- in Yu-Gi-Oh, Anzu is turned into a raving harpy so that Yami/anybody can work, for example. I don't like it when the character in the ship doesn't really resemble himself either -- going by the height rule, Yami becomes totally submissive and weepy as Seto or Joey's uke (because they are both taller than he is) -- he was the pharaoh of Egypt! He might not remember it, but part of that total control over others and arrogance is part of his core personality. He would submit to no one! If the writer has to distort the canon characters' personalities this much to make the story work, it's really not fanfiction any more. It's original writing with canon names attached. The writer would be better served to create original characters and, if the premise of the story is not based in the canon world (Duel Monster duels for Yu-Gi-Oh for example) to post on fictionpress.com instead of fanfiction.net.
Of course, this is only my humble opinion on the matter.
no subject
Hell, I've seen her become a snappish, petty bitch towards Joey once because he was pregnant with Kaiba's baby...she called him a "fat cow," and Joy responded back with a joke I'd heard on Yo Mamma about Anzu having no breasts. O_o
Right.
If the writer has to distort the canon characters' personalities this much to make the story work, it's really not fanfiction any more.
Agreed. Way back when I posted Star Trek fanfics, I was proud of the fact that they were completely impossible stories with everyone acting like twelve year olds. I cringe at those stories now.
One thing that irks me is when fanwriters focus on one aspect of a character and ignore the rest. Especially with both Kaibas, where Mokuba's become the typical kid brother/sister you see on every other show (Like Cardcaptors's Sakura with a penis :? ) who acts REALLY naive and Seto's so oblivious to Mokuba's needs it's rediculous. I came across one fic where Mokuba was cutting himself and had gone into drugs and depression and Seto never once drags him to a doctor. *facepalm*
Likewise, Yuugi's incredibly small for his age, so obviously, he just *has* to be a weepy girly uke in a fic where Yami/Jounouchi/Kaiba/Otogi/Ryou/Bakura/Malik doesn't WUB HIM OMG!!!1!!!1 Or even worse, when all his friends decide they like Yami better and abandon him.
Fandom. *shakes head*
no subject
The story-line suffered greatly, too -- mainly because they felt all the sub-text was damaging or something. So, when they finally decided to introduce Yue, they had this frankensteined episode that had bits and pieces of about 20 other episodes some of which had never aired in english all rammed together.
Take what they did with Yu-Gi-Oh. Multiply that by a million, and give it bad voice actors. That's Cardcaptors.
*headesk*
I'm afraid to even look at the fandom after that.
At least with Yu-Gi-Oh the characters still resemble their Japanese counterparts, as does the over-all story-line. It's just the fans making a mess of the characters.
Seto is much more on the ball with regards to Mokuba than many fic writers credit. I just had a chance recently to read DeathT, and Seto was a complete jerk in that, but after Yami shattered his heart, he was all about taking care of Mokuba. Character growth, you know?
no subject
Take what they did with Yu-Gi-Oh. Multiply that by a million, and give it bad voice actors. That's Cardcaptors.
Oh, I'm very are of that! O_O I just watched both the original CCS episode and the dubbed one about when Sakura meets Tomoyo's mother, who still had some resentment towards Sakura's father marrying Nadeshiko(Who happened to be his student). TIIC changed the ENTIRE story to be some bullshit about them all growing up together and the "rivalry" being about something as trivial as track. *facepalm* Needless to say, I wasn't quite in the mood to watch any more.
I actually like the original show pretty well, though. Sakura's really cute and naive and a bit oblivious to a lot of things around her. Which works fine for a girl who (Aside from losing her mom at a young age) has had a really happy upbringing with a father and brother who love and protect her. Not so much for Mokuba, who's life is the exact opposite of hers, and I loathe fics that make him to be so naive about...everything. Including why Seto works so hard as he does.
BTW, 4Kids didn't do the CCS dub. It was Nevana. Being named for doing this show is an insult not even 4Kids deserves. ;)
Seto is much more on the ball with regards to Mokuba than many fic writers credit.
AMEN. It's why I just don't buy stories where Mokuba turns into a pissy emo and becomes seriously depressed without anyone noticing. From personal experience, it takes a REALLY long time for depression to get that bad to turn to drugs and cutting and thoughts of suicide. In 99 percent of cases, there has been a long line of events that contribute significantly to this build-up, and there are some cases of being depressed simply out of bordom. Being VP of such a large company, I definately couldn't buy into the latter of that for depression. 0_o
no subject
Ah, my bad. Actually, 4Kids work is pretty good. I think they do have the best voice actors and aside from the restrictions placed on them by the censors, they at least try to keep the spirit of the show and characters and not completely rewrite it and distort them.
CCS is one of my absolute favorite anime titles. (The other one is Vampire Hunter D -- I think I'd worry about what that meant, except that Madhouse was the studio for both of them, so I can claim it's just the art. ^_~)
I could see Mokuba hitting a bratty phase (heck, all of us do) and Seto being completely nonplussed by it, but Mokuba is too certain of himself as a person, I think, to turn to drugs or cutting. I think it might be part of being a teenager to entertain thoughts of suicide (I did, though I don't suffer from depression) though most are not acted upon. I could see a writer playing with that in a Mokuba-centric fic, but they'd have to be careful with his characterization -- and Seto's.
I think some of the people writing Mokuba as a depressed emo don't understand depression at all. Also, some people suffering with depression and are highly functioning individuals with virtually no 'classic' symptoms. I'd imagine that both Seto and Mokuba would be more this way than emo.
no subject
True enough. To be fair about CCS, much of the things in that anime is stuff that parents would probably frown upon--such as Li's crush on Yukito (The cause of which was not due to sexuality), the fact that Sakura's father was her mother's teacher and the pseudo-incest yuri (However one-sided) from Tomoyo. Still, it could have been done a lot better. 0_o
I could see Mokuba hitting a bratty phase (heck, all of us do) and Seto being completely nonplussed by it...
Me, too *Points shamelessly towards own LJ entries ^_^ * I got tired of reading the same old brotherly fluff fics and decided to write something that deviates from that, which shows the poor kid wanting to be seen for himself but at the same time loving and still caring for Seto. (The newest chapter got eated by a computer virus, though. Hopefully, I'll be able to retrieve it when I take the computer in tomorrow and complete it sometime before
Valentine's DaySt. Patrick's DayThe Fouth of July. :)I think it might be part of being a teenager to entertain thoughts of suicide
Really? O_O The only time I gave serious thought to killing myself, I was really, really depressed. I didn't think about it before-hand, and the only other friends of mine who thought about it had serious bad shit in their lives (Such as one friend who lost both parents within two years).
I think some of the people writing Mokuba as a depressed emo don't understand depression at all.
There was one fic where the author herself claimed to be into cutting and taking drugs, and that story was way out of character. There's no other explaination behind the change besides "Most teens get depressed because of hormones." (Hormones, I guess, explains why Seto apparently didn't try too hard to take Mokuba to a doctor for treatment, or how he didn't seem to notice any change in the kid well before. *facepalm*) I have it excerted at WTF_Fanfiction, if you want to see it. It's horrid.
And to be truthful, most depression fics in every fandom just make no sense.
no subject
Had a conversation along similar lines the other day, and think it's my personal opinion that there's two main kinds of fanfic - 'serious' and 'playing around.' Admittedly the lines can blur sometimes, but there's really a basic difference in approach between whether you're trying for a canon-consistent base or you're just playing with some of the ideas and doing what-ifs. This is wny a lot of us prefer there to be AU warnings on the latter.