meta match-up: canon vs. fanon
Writing rounded characters in fanfic is difficult enough with a full and detailed canon, but writing characters from a half-hour sit-com with the style of The Big Bang Theory is next to impossible without inventing at least some original material* to fill in the gaps in the characters' histories. In particular, removing the characters from the canon genre or similar (a rom-com) to a more dramatic context (a post-apocalyptic AU) often necessitates exploration into who the character was before he or she walked onto the page. Some writers play fast and lose with canon facts, picking and choosing what works for them and discarding anything that doesn't; others are more particular, confining themselves to on-screen material* and Word of God*.
* Warning: link to TV Tropes.
Take Raj. (I would.) His selective mutism is played for laughs on the show, with almost no explanation for what caused the condition. Simple nerves? A little digging on Wikipedia shows that selective mutism is classified in the DSM as a social anxiety disorder that usually shows itself in children. Did Raj develop mutism as a result of never getting a word in to his overbearing parents, or was his mutism the natural result of being the intellectually gifted outsider? Has he taken steps to overcome the problem? Is he happy enough to live with it? Will he foster a debilitating alcohol dependence that leads to a life of depression and missed career opportunities? In most Sheldon/Penny fic Raj is a peripheral character, but understanding the man in the background adds a layer of verisimilitude to any story.
In fic Raj could be the one to notice what's unsaid or unconsciously done; since he's so prone to communicating without using words, does he see more than he lets on? The smallest of things can prove to be important within the greater arc of a story and Raj's heightened perception could be the catalyst to set those events in motion. On the flip side, there are small hints that Raj isn't fulfilled by his existence as the Quiet One; in ep 3.06, he makes the statement, "I hate myself," which one can extrapolate to be referring to his condition and the effects it has on his social life. How might that play out, if he were to meet someone he truly had feelings for? How does that contribute to his relationship with Howard, who never stops talking? And will he find that he is able to speak to a woman with whom he has a solid friendship and no romantic prospect, like Penny?
→ dashakay's Though They Sink Through the Sea features Raj as Penny's new BFF.
Or Howard - in canon, he is a womanizer who lives with his mother as an employed adult. It's the motivation behind those facts that alters the way the writer, the reader, and the characters within the universe see Howard. If he still lives at home because his mother is damaged by his father's departure, does that make you more sympathetic to him? In the story, would it make Penny? Or is he just a freeloader, too delusional to realize he's living out his life as a stereotypical, World-of-Warcraft playing "basement dweller?" Does it make his close friendship with Raj more or less understandable? Does the show's choice to represent his mother as merely a voice say something to how Howard views all women in his life?
What if you view it the other way? What if he stays at home to also take care of his mother, emotionally if not physically? Is there enough canon/fanon evidence to support the image of Howard as the doting, rather than the doted on, son? It casts his character into a new light to think of him as sacrificing, rather than selfish, and there are brief glimmers of a decent man beneath his outlandish exterior to explore the idea. Howard's behavior also casts light on his father, and he's certainly not the only cast member to have an absent or otherwise troubled relationship with his father. In fact, of all five leading characters, Raj is the only one whose father makes an appearance. Was Howard shaped as much by his father's absence as by his mother's constant presence?
Leonard's a hot-button character in the Sheldon/Penny world, and there are certainly factions of readers who bash him - and other factions who are driven away by Leonard-bashing. He has his flaws (the misogyny in the S3 finale, oh god), but also his strengths, and writing him as little more than an obstacle to Sheldon and Penny does a disservice to the characters and the audience - if nothing else, it contradicts a canon where both Sheldon and Penny are clearly close to Leonard. Digging into why Leonard behaves the way he does can make for a more satisfying tale; it seems reasonable to assume that he craves attention from women because his mother was so distant, but is there more to the story? On the other hand, the cookie-cutter villain does have his place (you say "id-fic," I say "emoporn"). Nothing wrong with writing an over-the-top melodrama in which Penny swoops in, fends off Leonard's advances, and sweeps Sheldon off his feet, as long as the author is aware of her or his intent.
Leonard's friendship with Sheldon is another central aspect to the show that received little development until recently. 3.22 revealed why that Leonard does sometimes find Sheldon worth listening to, but for the most part Leonard seems happy to play the martyr - which makes sense in light of his childhood persecution by both bullies and his family, even if it would be nice to see Leonard standing up for himself instead of complaining behind Sheldon's (or his mother's) back.
The bits of Sheldon's personality and history that have passed into commonly-held fanon are some of the most controversial topics in the fandom. Does Sheldon have Asperger's syndrome? Word of God says "no" - but there is enough canon evidence to support a tentative "yes," too. Critics of the S/P ship tend toward another central complaint: within the context of the show, Sheldon is - for all intents and purposes - disinterested in sex and romance. Whether he's asexual, celibate by choice, or only situationally (though rarely) interested in sex are all aspects of his character that would be imperative to address when writing a realistic Sheldon/Penny relationship. Has he had sex before, and how often, and with whom? How much have his relationships with his dominant mother and sister informed his attitude toward women?
Another consideration: Sheldon's accelerated intellectual development. Sheldon himself has told us that he started college by age eleven and graduated by fourteen and that he received his first doctorate by age sixteen. He seems to have felt little to no academic pressure from his parents, which means that his remarkable drive came purely from within - but how much of that was the act of an intelligent child rebelling against his religious family? The audience is left to wonder if Sheldon had to fight to convince his parents to let him advance so quickly, or if Mary had to struggle against her husband. How much of the fighting that traumatized Sheldon was about him?
→ otempora42 writes Sheldon as asexual in the context of Sheldon/Penny in Tether, while in damalur's The Universe and You Sheldon has had some sexual experience before falling into bed with Penny.
The same set of circumstances that produced Sheldon also produced his radically different sister, Missy. In fanworks Missy appears to be something of a open door for when Sheldon becomes closed off/distant/too extreme for the others to handle, especially for Leonard. There's a weight of responsibility on Leonard's shoulders when it comes to looking out for Sheldon, and within the immediate Cooper family, he hasn't a lot of options; Mrs. Cooper is strong willed and kind, but has her own quirks that don't sit easily in a role as 'confidant'. The same applies to Sheldon's grandmother - only visible at a distance (letters, anecdotes always told from Sheldon's point of view), so that leaves Missy.
In canon, of course, she is introduced as something for the boys to drool over - not particularly original, but there you are - and a sympathetic (if brief) character to align with Penny in the also very traditional 'we're girls; they're guys' way. And she absolutely rules the roost over twin Sheldon, from childhood to adulthood. She obviously cares for him deeply, but has no qualms in putting him right with a kickabout attitude that sets her as very much an opposite character. Her open nature makes an appealing addition to fanworks with writers who want to reveal things about Sheldon that he would never reveal off his own bat (at least, verbally; a good fanon favorite is Penny's ability to sense these things out herself). Fanon Missy doesn't seem to have any objections to Sheldon finding his way through a romantic relationship. In canon, we've yet to find out.
→ Sincerely Yours by d_sieya has the Cooper family still strongly connected, but not without its combativeness.
Putting together a cohesive backstory for a character with not even a last name is more difficult. Picking up on the littlest details can help; in "The Dead Hooker Juxtaposition," Penny wears a Hillary Clinton t-shirt, which could mean that she's an ardent democrat, or that her mother is a feminist or simply politically involved enough to encourage her daughter to vote, or that Penny had a one-night stand with a campaign worker from the Clinton campaign. The scarcity of information about Penny makes what we do know about her all the more important, too. She is the only main character whose family has not put in some kind of appearance, but from her discussion with Beverly Hofstadter, we know she has strife with her father. Did this influence her decision to move halfway across the country before she turned twenty? What about the rest of her family - does she have siblings? How many? How old? Some fans prefer to avoid any mention of her last name or family until we have canon confirmation; others have no problem inventing their own.
One of Penny's defining traits is that she wants to be an actress, but her success at acting is left up to the viewer's interpretation. Is she a good actress who simply can't sing, or a bad actress who should give up the struggle, or simple an average actress in a competitive world? Is drama her passion - was she driven from a young age to become an actress - or is it the easy pipe-dream of a modern, pretty, gregarious young woman? Fans who believe Penny is not the next Audrey Hepburn are often faced with the assumption that Penny would not want to waitress at the Cheesecake Factory for the rest of her life, and are left to come up with some alternate career path. Penny's outgoing, assertive, and not lacking in common sense, which would lead her to working...where?
→ ishie's Warm Gulf Wind has Penny as a successful actress, while lilyayl's Back Through Interruption features Penny as a high school science and drama teacher.
Much of the fandom has stated that they don't want Sheldon and Penny to get together any time soon. Not because we're not ready - because the characters aren't. Lots of people, when asked, say that Sheldon and Penny each have to grow and change individually and together before any chance at a real relationship could happen.
So why the tendency to skip over those parts of their story in fic? The Get-Together Fic is probably the widest occurring trope in this fandom (and any fandom, to be fair), so why the disparity between what we want to see on the show and the way we approach their pairing in our fanworks?
At least part of the answer has to do with the character of Sheldon, and his woobification.
Woobification - The tendency of a fandom to (at best) gloss over and (at worst) ignore a character's flaws or shortcomings; attributing altruistic or well-meaning motives to a character's unattractive actions, negating or directly contradicting canon; turning a "dastardly" character into a "nice guy" without addressing the issues that made him dastardly in the first place.
There is too much evidence of an adversarial relationship between Sheldon and Penny to ignore the more unflattering images of the ways they interact. Sheldon is admittedly inconsiderate, occasionally unkind, and often dismissive of Penny, even going so far as to call her "uninteresting." Penny tends to react to Sheldon as if he is at best amusing and at worst dull or little more than a child. How do different authors or essayists address these issues?
Fortunately, what keeps so many of us coming back to the pairing is the potential. Canon is chock-full of moments when Sheldon overcomes his nature to reach out to Penny (the infamous napkin hug) or when Penny chooses Sheldon and Sheldon's interests over even those of her canonical love-interest. Figuring out how the two would overcome their difficulties to come together is in large part what this sector of the fandom is all about. Whether Penny is drawn to Sheldon because he challenges her (something long lacking in her life) or because he's so radically different from the men she's dated before, whether Sheldon likes Penny because she challenges him or because she reminds him of his family in all the right ways, are matters left to the fans and their fiction.
→ In An Essay on the Existence of Forever, winninghearts writes a brutally realistic Sheldon who is unable to overcome his limitations and maintain a successful relationship with Penny.
For your consideration:
1. How far is too far? Is it acceptable to throw out canon facts if they don't fit into a story? At what point does a character become OOC? What needs to carry over from canon to an AU to make the characterizations work?
2. Do you as a writer or reader prefer controversial topics (e.g. Sheldon as autistic) to be avoided or addressed in a story?
3. As a reader, are you taken out of a story if the author's fanon doesn't match your fanon? Which common fanon points work for you? Which don't? Feel free to cite specific stories - we'd love to have some (positive!) discussion of fanworks.