random fanfic/fandom rant

[meganbmoore]

Actually been trying out some fanfic lately instead  of just reading summaries. Nothing really new here, but...

(pretty much all anime/manga because hey, it's my life lately, though a few other things get mentioned)

I like canon.  I'm not quite a canon nazi, but unless canon is flatout BAD(in which case, why bother with the fandom anyway?) I see

Comments

[fivil]

But if A is paired with C, then by pairing A with B you really aren't writing about the same characters anymore because you're contradicting who and what they are.
I think good fic explains or explores that canon pairing or canon romantic implication in some way even when writing a NON-canon pairing. Like it doesn't just make Harry gay without explaining why stuff doesn't work out with Ginny.

A friend of mine, a fanfiction author and fandom enthusiast like me, once said, "All fic goes out-of-canon at one point." I find this to be very true. It's pretty much the idea that characterization in fanfiction always is one fan's point of view into a character. It can go against canon to begin with - maybe they've misunderstood something major about the character's motivations in canon or maybe they just can't write - or it can be very close to the actual canon characterization, but as the fanfic progresses, at one point it's a big enough deviation from the canon to be considered OOC. However, if the story's good, the writing is good and the writer can make the characterization interesting and consistent, it doesn't matter that this isn't 100% the character we see in canon.

And anyway, fanfiction is about *adding* something. I once read a fic for some movie that added absolutely nothing to the film canon - no interesting perspective, no deeper exploration of characters, relationships, events. That's not how fanfic should be, IMO. Whether it's just getting into the head of a character in one scene, or a vignette portraying a certain situation from some perspective the canon didn't show. Or alternatively, adding a whole new ship to the canon context. Or sex, or more kissing, or more light fluffy moments or more angst. It can also just be continuing canon in a canon-esque manner but even then it's adding something.

So basically, I can live with deviations from canon. Characterizations can vary from fan to fan even if neither of them is writing fanfiction.

I also think I've read so much fic I'm not bothered by badfic or character rape. It just happens. Sometimes I'll run into it and get ranty but other times I shrug and click away, shaking my head.

[meganbmoore]

I know that any fic is going to deviate from canon, I'm referring to the ones that just ignore or deliberately change canon because they don't like something in it, or where it's obviously they're onlky in it for the hot guys and couldn't care about anything else.

I'm all for "adding" but most fanfic I encounter detracts from instead of adds to.