fun-fact! an AU hypothetical

[turnippatch]

Say I had an AU.  And say the boys had an ally, and say I named this ally something like Dekim Barton or Quinze.  Would you automatically assume/guess that this ally was secretly a bad guy ready to betray their confidence?  Does it make it less fun, being able to see the 'obvious'?  Or would it make it less fun if it turned out that he really was a

Comments

rambling

[call_me_ishmael]

I love the ambiguity of it, the possibilities that come up when a known name is used in an AU. I like seeing what a character might-have-been. An enemy turning into an ally in an AU is a way to explore their character and is awesome, not annoying. I think using canon bias against a reader is brilliant. Sure, you could use some character you created and it's awesome, but the nice thing about canon characters is there's instant implied history. Seeing what is and isn't the same, what changed because of circumstances is fascinating.

Even somebody that doesn't have much screentime, like Meiran, can give a lot of awesome possibilities without being forced. A female OC as a Gundam pilot wouldn't go over nearly as well as Meiran in a Gundam because of that history.

I usually prefer not having quite everything spelled out, letting me draw my own conclusions from the situation. Finding out my theory is untrue may turn out disappointing.

Re: rambling

[turnippatch]

Hm, good points.  I was thinking specifically in my own rambly ponderings, which is other-world other-time AU, to which there is hardly any relevance to the GW characters as we know them, but then, perhaps that is the problem right there.  My boys are always my boys, sure, but then if I need BadGuy#1 and BadGuy#2, should I feel contractually obligated to plug in the names of various Ozzies?  Unless they're total throwaways, I usually do feel like I shouldn't be inventing characters when existing characters will do nicely.  At what point does the gw-history of the character enhance the AU-story, and at what point does it just become desperate plugging-in just because I can?  Or perhaps if I'm lucky, the desperately-plugged-in character will come to inhabit the AU-character and his history will actually become relevant

Rambling 2: The TL;DR

[call_me_ishmael]

Hrm. I think it's a bit of a waste to have a history/preconceived notions and not use it, be it for or against the reader. I think, when I see a Big Bad OC in a fic, I want to know why it's an OC and not a convenient baddy from canon, what makes them different

Re: Rambling 2: The TL;DR

[turnippatch]

Yeah, I guess all of the pilots have potential bleeding out their ears.  I just think Heero gets shafted by the fandom more often than not.  Well, okay, and so does Wufei.  And... well, okay, maybe everyone pales in comparison to the light that is Duo. -_-' Hell, even Duo gets shafted by the people trying to support him sometimes.  I retract my earlier statement

[jak_frost]

I mean this in the most non-ambivalent way possible but, it doesn't matter.

Let me explain (and I've been meta-ing the entire day so please pardon the 'lecture' tone):

I think one is better than the other, just different. It depends on what you are trying to say, what themes your focusing on (if any). If this Dekim Barton is a true ally, what a wonderful fourth wall breakage to show just how much we as readers shouldn't judge a book by its cover or a character by his name. Say he really is a bad guy, maybe that plays on a theme of predestination, or sometimes a person is just born evil. Both of those would benefit from a direct telling. But maybe the ambiguity is the point. 'Damn, no matter how good at reading people I get, I still can't predict what this guy will do.'

Personally I'd like to know but I wouldn't be driven to distraction if I never found out.

[turnippatch]

Heh, I don't start discussions like this without expecting meta treatises of some sort

[jak_frost]

Fusions in my opinion, are a whole 'nother kettle of fish. I don't think an author needs much more than a 'Oooo! He'd be so cool in this role" to justify a fusion, because they are so very close to AUs and we can't know what change could butterfly effect said character into said role. That being said I do prefer a little extra thought going it to finding a way for a canon character to fit, though as long as the OC is fully fleshed out and has (for lack of a better term) a life outside of the fusion, I realize sometimes it just can't be helped

[turnippatch]

Yeah, I figured fusions sort of changed the rules, so I made sure to mention it (eventually).  But as I would not be surprised in the slightest to find that not a single person in my audience was familiar with my source, I might as well treat it as an AU where I just lifted the plot from something else

[kyaerie]

The thing about such a situation, is that its shorthand. In the same way that a missing can be skipped over and you still know what I mean to say. So, when it turns out that the shorthand is wrong, it can be confusing. Generally, I find this sort of thing bad-confusing, but I'm sure if well-done a la Kaiser Soze, it could be brilliant. (talk about a non-answer!)

[turnippatch]

Yeah, I'm sort of thinking of it as, if it's something that would happen in non-fic, then it's fine, but if it's something peculiar only to fic, then you maybe ought to reconsider.  Like, in non-fic, where I don't have any preconceptions, I still have to figure a character out, still have to puzzle out their relationships and their motivations and whether they're there to help or hinder.  So I feel it's okay to use my preconceptions against me to open my eyes to this character, if that's what the author wants to do

[askerian]

Coming late to the party, sorry. I hope you don't mind random comments. .___.; I started to ramble and then couldn't stop, so the comment is long, and perhaps also a bit pedantic. XD;;; Sorry

[turnippatch]

Random comments yay