Fandom pairings

[spacebabie]

pretty much how I see it.

http://community.livejournal.com/fanficrants/1852128.html?nc=57

Those of us who enjoy canon parings shouldn't sneere and go "nah na nah nah na our paring is right and your suck."

and those who enjoy fanon and crack parings shouldn't whine and bitch that it didn't become canon.



oh yeah, Revel and I enjoyed a dinner that contained fried cheese and we are watching Tango and Cash...very fitting.

Comments

[kythera.livejournal.com]

Mhhh. There are some I just don't GET, though. I mean, some things just scream "character raaaaaaape!" and I just gotta ask "WHY??" out of pure, morbid curiosity. But ultimately it comes down to, "Dude, alright. To each their own."

[spacebabie.livejournal.com]

Exactly, I my mind asks "Why" When it coems to River/Jayne for Firefly but I'll just skip those fics.

[kythera.livejournal.com]

O_0

**Just... cries**

[brightredglow.livejournal.com]

I agree... up to a point. When there is a pairing that is so random and out there that there isn't a shred of canon support for it or the "fans" for the pairing simply change the characters's entire behavior and make up to suit their fancies but insist on keeping the same face and name, then I reserve the right to shake my head and go, "WTF?"

We can 'ship whatever/whoever we want but for cryin' out loud, keep the characters "in character."

That goes for canon pairings as well as crack/fanon pairings.

[spacebabie.livejournal.com]

As long as they label their fics with the OOC warning I'm happy.

[http://users.livejournal.com/the_barracuda_/]

I hate when fics are "OOC". Why the hell would I want to read about one of my favorite characters when they're so blatantly out of character, especially to hook them up with someone that doesn't fit in the slightest? I'm a canon piarer-upper if anything and I usually stay silent about idiotic choices other authors make when pairing people up, but I sit on it and silently fume as arguing about it is ultimately self-defeating and then a flame-war to end all flame-wars breaks out.

[spacebabie.livejournal.com]

I hate 00C ifcs also. That is why I wish more OOC writers woud label them as such, makes it easier to avoid them.

[http://users.livejournal.com/the_barracuda_/]

But if there were none of these OOC fics in the first place, rummaging through FF.Net for a decently written story wouldn't be such a chore (though its rare I ever visit that siter anymore because of the rampant OOC-ness). I don't want to see Inuyasha and the gang going to high school in the 21st century and all the angst that ensues.

[gregx.livejournal.com]

That's pretty much how I feel about the Demona/Elisa pairing.

[http://users.livejournal.com/the_barracuda_/]

I hear ya, brother. The entire D/E thing is horrid and spiraling out of control with every new Gargoyles femslash fic.

[gregx.livejournal.com]

And there are so, so, so many fics written about it. I mean. I just don't like it. I think it's a disgrace to both characters. But, a lot of people seem to enjoy it. So, I let them.

I actually posted a ramble about this in my own LJ earlier this week.

http://gregx.livejournal.com/324158.html

[http://users.livejournal.com/the_barracuda_/]

I've seen the glut of fics out there, and nearly went blind from it all. I won't respond to that particular thread as I basically agree with everything you've said there. It's a disgrace to a lot of characters involved in these stories, but I suppose its the thrill of matching up polar opposites, no matter what gender they may be and gender-preference they may have.

[kimberly-t.livejournal.com]

Having the OOC warning would be nice, I agree. But this assumes, of course, that the fic author is actually a decent enough writer that he/she understands character interaction and interpretation. And that he/she wants to write a story that in some way pays tribute to the original series, but one or two characters must necessarily be skewed slightly to fit the particular story he/she feels compelled to tell.

There are a lot of writers out there that are just playing with toys, the way that the little kid in "Toy Story" did. They don't see any reason why they can't put a toy gun in Mr. Potatohead's hand that's almost bigger than he is, and make that pullapart spud a Wild West villain for Woody to defeat. Hey, it's all in fun, right? They're just having fun; what are all these sourpusses doing hanging around the sandbox, saying the critters in their stories are OOC and they can't play that way?

I just shake my head, turn away and let 'em play. Someday they'll find something they really care enough about to want to get right.

[northsider.livejournal.com]

I have to agree with Kimberly. It helps to understand that different people write stories for often significantly -- and even radically -- different reasons, and I find that generally those reasons are evident in the summaries (or lack thereof). For better or for worse, I base my decision to read or skip a fic solely upon the summary written by the author. Likewise, if the author hasn't bothered to/is unable to write a cogent summary, I won't read the story. (The exceptions to this rule are the writers who have established themselves in my opinion as talented authors of enjoyable prose. I'll read their stories no matter what.)

Even more basically, though, I'm self-centered enough about my craft to honestly not care what other authors write. I know whose work I like and why, and if I encounter a new author who meets my own personal standards, it delights me. Likewise, in the case of my own writing, I know what kind of reader enjoys my writing and why, and I'm entirely comfortable with that. I can't be bothered with the rest of it. There aren't enough hours in the day.

[kimberly-t.livejournal.com]

I do that too; unless it's an established author I'm already familiar with and I liked his/her previous works, what's said in the summary determines whether or not I'll read it. Spelling errors? Pass. Grammatical errors? Pass. Too many exclamation points? Pass; sorry, but I've had enough of fangirl squeeing.

Likewise if it's an author's first fic and the summary declares that Canon Character A (usually Brooklyn, when it comes to Gargoyles) "meets someone and falls in love"; to me, that reads "Mary Sue Alert!" I know that I've probably passed up some real gems by using that criteria, seeing as how Christi Smith Hayden did that in her first Gargoyles fic and I actually really like her character Avery, despite her having all the keynotes of a Mary Sue. But for every well-balanced MS out there who actually lets the canon characters strut their stuff and stay in character, there are at least twenty flaming Mary Sues who take over and spend most of the fic strutting around the stage, hamming it up for the reader.

Back in the late 1990's when I first discovered online fandoms, I read nearly everything I could find; when I first discovered the Gargoyles-fans site back in early 2000, I set out to read every last fic in the archives (though I think I gave up out of sheer eyestrain and brain-lock somewhere in the S's.) But back then the archive was considerably smaller, and there was quite frankly a higher percentage of good quality fics therein; these days, there's so much...drek to wade through to get to the really good fics, I just don't have time.

[brightredglow.livejournal.com]

Back in the late 1990's when I first discovered online fandoms, I read nearly everything I could find; when I first discovered the Gargoyles-fans site back in early 2000, I set out to read every last fic in the archives (though I think I gave up out of sheer eyestrain and brain-lock somewhere in the S's.) But back then the archive was considerably smaller, and there was quite frankly a higher percentage of good quality fics therein; these days, there's so much...drek to wade through to get to the really good fics, I just don't have time.

That is very true. When I first entered the Garg fandom as merely a fan-fic reader, the level of writing was frighteningly good. Now (and I hate to admit this), I don't bother. Very little catches my eye.

But as to the subject of pairing, I get annoyed when writers of canon pairings get lazy because even if it is a "canon" pairing, the characters deserves to be kept in character. Elisa does love Goliath but she won't suddenly become a doormat of love for him. She's still an independent woman with issues with her family and communication (she is ever the secretive one; far more than Goliath). Goliath loves Elisa but that doesn't mean he'll ignore his duties as clan leader to be at Elisa's beck and call for garg-stud duties (after all, he only has so many hours in a night!).

If the characters are wildly OOC as to be unrecognizable, then the writer, even those of canon pairings, can be reasonably criticized.

Likewise, though, if a story with a non-canon couple appears and the writing is solid and the characters stay in character and the plot evolves in a plausible way, the story and its writer deserves kudos for it and it shouldn't be written off by "canon" fans. I don't particularly like the Demona/Elisa fics because as gregx says, it does the characters a disservice. That said, in the hands of a very good (and very patient) writer, a D/E fic is possible. Unfortunately, I've yet to see a writer pull them off in a plausible manner.

For me, the bottom line is to respect the characters and the rest falls into line.

[brightredglow.livejournal.com]

I should clarify my first sentence that I don't bother with new fanfiction writers of Gargoyles stories. I pretty much stick to writers I know and have a good track record.