Same old story
First time posting here, but I ranted about this on Fanficrants.
I actually enjoy next or previous generation fics. Seeing someone else with the Keyblade, trying to fight off the Heartless--it can be interesting when done right. But my major problem so far isn't Mary Sues, believe it or not--it's when the story sounds exactly like Sora's.
Granted, as Keybearer, an OC or another canon character is going to have some similarities to Sora. Chances are they're going to have to leave their homeworld and lose their friends. But don't make it sound exactly the same. I found a "Hayner gets a Keyblade" fic that caught my attention and promptly lost it because Hayner's story sounded too much like Sora's. And a bit of Roxas, come to think about it.
People are different. Hayner's not going to react to situations the same way Sora is. The same goes for anyone else. Someone may be more prone to getting into trouble, or may have a mindset of "Screw the Keyblade, I'm getting the hell out of here!" and running for the hills. And if their friends disappear, their reaction will also differ. Maybe they look on the bright side, thinking, "Well, if I landed here fine, I'm sure they'll be fine too." Or maybe they become a paranoid wreck. Or maybe they rush to a world, fight off the Heartless, and decide to leave when they can't find any trace of them. Hell, a good example of this kind of thing is actually Power Rangers--it's got how many seasons? They have the same type of story, but none of them are really a reiteration of a previous one. And sometimes when they do start to tread on old territory, they pay homage to it--such as Dino Thunder, where Tommy wound up being the mentor and had to deal with another evil Ranger like he had been.
When you write a fic about another character--past, present, or future--taking up the Keyblade, we want to read about that character, not Sora, Riku, or Roxas 2.0.
I actually enjoy next or previous generation fics. Seeing someone else with the Keyblade, trying to fight off the Heartless--it can be interesting when done right. But my major problem so far isn't Mary Sues, believe it or not--it's when the story sounds exactly like Sora's.
Granted, as Keybearer, an OC or another canon character is going to have some similarities to Sora. Chances are they're going to have to leave their homeworld and lose their friends. But don't make it sound exactly the same. I found a "Hayner gets a Keyblade" fic that caught my attention and promptly lost it because Hayner's story sounded too much like Sora's. And a bit of Roxas, come to think about it.
People are different. Hayner's not going to react to situations the same way Sora is. The same goes for anyone else. Someone may be more prone to getting into trouble, or may have a mindset of "Screw the Keyblade, I'm getting the hell out of here!" and running for the hills. And if their friends disappear, their reaction will also differ. Maybe they look on the bright side, thinking, "Well, if I landed here fine, I'm sure they'll be fine too." Or maybe they become a paranoid wreck. Or maybe they rush to a world, fight off the Heartless, and decide to leave when they can't find any trace of them. Hell, a good example of this kind of thing is actually Power Rangers--it's got how many seasons? They have the same type of story, but none of them are really a reiteration of a previous one. And sometimes when they do start to tread on old territory, they pay homage to it--such as Dino Thunder, where Tommy wound up being the mentor and had to deal with another evil Ranger like he had been.
When you write a fic about another character--past, present, or future--taking up the Keyblade, we want to read about that character, not Sora, Riku, or Roxas 2.0.