Canon/fanon and fanfic

[swordznsorcery]

There is a trend in fanfiction, which began many years ago. I noticed it in occasional stories back in the nineties, so I know it's been going at least that long - but lately it's become damn near ubiquitous. It has Face refusing to admit that he's been hurt, usually to the frustration of Hannibal and/or Maggie. Now we all know that Face likes to

Comments

[veronica_rich]

Woobie-fying characters has a much longer and wider tradition in fanfic than just the A-Team variety. It's usually the prettiest one that gets the bulk of the treatment, in my many years of fandom experience.

[becky_black]

I love a woobie (uses icon of the one I consider King of the Woobies). But they don't have to change their character to be good woobies. I like to see the character I know and love getting a good kicking. ;-)

[veronica_rich]

See, my problem is after my experiences in the early POTC fandom, I mentally equate "woobie" now with "wet bitch," which I HATE. (In case you're curious - SO many writers were determined to make Will Turner into this weak, sobbing, abused man-pincushion way back in the day, and I think I was one of the few readers at the time who wondered if they'd seen another version of the first movie. Man, people loved those fics.)

[becky_black]

The kind of woobie I like is valiant but with a vulnerable side, like Face and especially like Archie Kennedy! Vulnerability definitely doesn't have to mean wet though. It annoys me when the writers overlook the valiant side. A good woobie suffers bravely, he doesn't snivel about it.

[swordznsorcery]

I think I'm glad I don't read fanfic in many fandoms. I've not encountered this woobie business anywhere else! My personal bugbear is domestication fic, which is particularly prevalent in Remington Steele fandom. Fans seem to love writing stories where Steele settles down, gets married and has children, so plots involve shopping trips and school runs. I might almost prefer snivelling woobiefication!

I've seen that in The A-Team too, actually. Everybody married with kids. I'm sure kids are fun, but car chases and gun fights are better. ;)

[ostarella]

Don't get me started on married-with-family crap! The wives are always Sues, the children ready for hand-to-hand combat (even as toddlers) - and why do the kids almost always have to be girls? Is there some team-wide genetic problem that they can't any of them produce male offspring?

[swordznsorcery]

I suppose some people see it as the ultimate in happy endings for a character, but quite honestly I wouldn't want to settle down with most of those wives and kids. They're ghastly! And why are the kids always carbon copies (albeit gender-swapped) of their fathers?! Face is a conman (presumably) because of his past. Why would he want his daughter to follow suit?!

They get pretty serious about it all, though. Having been driven to distraction by the Remington Steele married-with-kids trope, I once wrote a story intended as the complete opposite. I got hate mail. I was quite proud.