Fandom chatter dump #4 - Fandom Wank
TheIncyPkmn: TIP tends to only go with pairing ideas that work
TheIncyPkmn: it makes her unpopular with fellow fangirls. XD
N3wV0gu3Ch1ld: XDDDD;;;
TheIncyPkmn: but y'know the old axiom: What is right is not always popular; what is popular is not always right.
TheIncyPkmn: *cough*PokeSpecialDaiRuby*cough* Ick.
TheIncyPkmn: I mean, I understand the gripe about "well if you stick so strictly to canon you either get no pairings or icky boring het pairings"
TheIncyPkmn: but am I the only one who doesn't see why following canon automatically means no fanon pairings?
TheIncyPkmn: there's a thing called subtext, y'know!
N3wV0gu3Ch1ld: XD;;; YARLY... but... people like to ignore cannon because they think they'll be overdone.
TheIncyPkmn: >>
TheIncyPkmn: stupids
N3wV0gu3Ch1ld: Or it just adds to the FORBIDDEN LOVENESS.
TheIncyPkmn: that, or, every fangirl (and boy)'s favorite reasoning: 'CUZ THEY'RE T3H PRETTAY/SECKSAY TOGETHER!11!!!
TheIncyPkmn: can't win against the eyecandy argument. =/
N3wV0gu3Ch1ld: XD
TheIncyPkmn: i.e. stick some OCs in the skins of some canon chars and give them the same names and have them lurve on each other
TheIncyPkmn: because really, that's what you're doing with a purely eyecandy ship
TheIncyPkmn: (usually nevermetships are of this sort)
N3wV0gu3Ch1ld: I HAAATE NEVERMETSHIPS.
N3wV0gu3Ch1ld: BLARGH.
N3wV0gu3Ch1ld: IF THERE IS NO BASIS FOR THE RELATIONSHIP, DON'T PAIR THEM.
TheIncyPkmn: take two pretty chars that look good together, screw their personalities and canon circumstances and backgrounds up so that they're essentially OCs, and have them be oh-so-madly-in-lurve with each other
TheIncyPkmn: My favorite example of this type of brainless shit is Neochampionshipping
TheIncyPkmn: it's the epitome of a stupid nevermet eyecandy ship, with the one lame justification of "well they're both champions"
TheIncyPkmn: Even though, y'know, they would never get along enough to be in a deep, meaningful relationship
N3wV0gu3Ch1ld: XD;;;
TheIncyPkmn: I can see them fucking, but being all gooshy and fluffy and "zomg ur mai tru luv" with each other? No.
TheIncyPkmn: and anyone who thinks Lance and Steven were friends as kids needs to go clean out the crackshack
N3wV0gu3Ch1ld: XDDD
TheIncyPkmn: Neochampionshipping tends to take the following forms of OOCness: whichever one is the uke is bound to be waaaaaay too wussy, or Lance is way too nice (this is more common in the English fandom), or Steven is a walking dick who thinks Lance is "pretty" (WTF?!) and wants in Lance's pants every second (mostly Japanese fandom)
N3wV0gu3Ch1ld: O___o;
TheIncyPkmn: Granted, I've seen this stuff in Originshipping, too
TheIncyPkmn: and I personally have crack fantasies of Steven being a walking dick towards Wallace. But they're CRACK.
TheIncyPkmn: AND AT LEAST IT MAKES SENSE TO THINK THAT STEVEN WOULD FIND WALLACE "PRETTY"
TheIncyPkmn: Lance cannot ever, EVER, be described by the word "pretty" or "beautiful". "Handsome", yes, "hot", yes, "cool", yes. BUT NOT PRETTY OR BEAUTIFUL.
TheIncyPkmn: And the same applies to Lance thinking of anything he finds attractive. HE WILL NOT THINK OF ANYTHING AS "PRETTY" OR "BEAUTIFUL".
TheIncyPkmn: THOSE WORDS ARE NOT IN HIS VOCABULARY.
TheIncyPkmn: Not even towards describing his dragons, I suspect. He'd prolly describe them as "powerful", that is all.
N3wV0gu3Ch1ld: XD;;; Yeah. Never saw the facsination with Neochampionshipping.
TheIncyPkmn: People shouldn't like it, but I suspect the whole basis of it lies in two things: 1) they're both Champions (a lot of people don't think of Wallace as a real Champion) and 2) they look hot together
TheIncyPkmn: I agree with both tenets. But I can't see them as the basis for a ship, period. At least, not a meaningful one which explores the two characters to their full potential.
N3wV0gu3Ch1ld: That makes me sad. I always anticipate ONE good writer who shatters the stereotypes.
N3wV0gu3Ch1ld: But... le blargh.
TheIncyPkmn: It's true that aside from PokeSpecial manga Lance, Lance in all his other canon forms is a nice guy, but not a master of understanding human emotions.
TheIncyPkmn: he's like Ash (particularly his anime version) -- he likes people and can be concerned for people he cares about, but he's no good at comforting and consoling because he just doesn't have people-empathy. All his empathy is for Pokemon and Pokemon-related issues.
TheIncyPkmn: I suppose this is one of the reasons I can see Lance x Ash--besides the fact that they actually have canon interaction (unlike Lance and Steven), their personalities and ways of thinking/acting suit each other.
TheIncyPkmn: Even PokeSpecial Lance x Red works to a degree because Red's character circumstances (a powerful trainer--original trainer of the Pikachu who PWNed Lance in the end of the Yellow arc--who is kind to both Pokemon and people and has become strong without any special powers) make him the perfect one to bring the misanthropic god-complex Lance to his senses.
TheIncyPkmn: Steven couldn't do that because Lance just wouldn't acknowledge him (not "worthy" of his attention since he doesn't even seem to like battling), and Steven wouldn't stand to be pushed around by someone who tried to manipulate nature and Pokemon to cause destruction for a so-called "good cause" (a la Archie and Maxie). *sticks tongue out at PokeSpecial Lance x Steven shipping Japanese fansites...of which so far I have only seen one, thankfully* And I don't plan to go looking for more. Nor go looking for any in the English-speaking fandom.
N3wV0gu3Ch1ld: YARLY. I think, even if they really did meet, Steven would make it a point, like, not to talk to him
TheIncyPkmn: Actually, come to think of it, have you read my anti-Neochampionshipping fic?
TheIncyPkmn: some Neochampionshipping idiot totally took it the wrong way and left the most idiotic review evar. XD
N3wV0gu3Ch1ld: XDDDD No, I haven't!
N3wV0gu3Ch1ld: FF.net?
N3wV0gu3Ch1ld: I might've o_O
TheIncyPkmn: yeah it's on FF.net
TheIncyPkmn: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2569004/1/
TheIncyPkmn: Quote reviewer Chibi Kitsune Warrior (gawd even the name screams "stupid fangirl"): "Good story, luv the pairing"
N3wV0gu3Ch1ld: OOER YAH, I READ THAT XD
TheIncyPkmn: XD
TheIncyPkmn: out of morbid curiosity I checked her profile after reading that review
TheIncyPkmn: and d'aww...they deleted their utterly retarded Neochampionshipping fic
TheIncyPkmn: in which Lance's last name was somehow the same as Misty's fan-given last name
TheIncyPkmn: "Lance Waterflower"
TheIncyPkmn: MY GAWD
TheIncyPkmn: and the chapters were like...10 lines long. XD
TheIncyPkmn: And apparently she likes writing Sues too!
TheIncyPkmn: wow!
TheIncyPkmn: I'm so glad she's in the Neochampionshipping fandom and not another more respectable one.
N3wV0gu3Ch1ld: X_________________________x