Harry Potter and the...um, thing.

[puddlesofun]

I'm not really a fan fiction person. I don't have a problem with it, and in fact I respect and admire the idea of community ownership and participation in what comprises the larger part of our folklore in the 20th and 21st centuries - certainly throughout most of human history our heroic figures and stories were not owned by anyone, let alone corporations. It's just that in practice I can't be bothered sifting through to find the good stuff, and I tend to be more interested in original worlds and characters anyway. This was true of me even as a little kid- rather than imagining myself in the star wars universe or whatever when I was playing make believe, I'd make up my own world. Probably one that was a lot like the star wars universe (because lightsabers and spaceships and speeder bikes are cool), but different enough that I didn't have to play by anyone else's rules.
Um, but I've gone off topic.
What I was going to say was: I'm not a fanfic person, but I found this to be highly amusing. This probably means that people who are fanfic people will find it utterly hilarious. I should also mention that I schnarfed the link from hyah, which is an interesting look at the phenomenon portrayed in the comic from a blog that is always chock full of links to, er, stuff.

*

This week is shaping up to be a busy one. Yesterday I saw Love, Actually with benj and his folks. It was very much a... movie. Yep. Afterwards I got to meet furpants_tom and juliadactyl, who are both lovely. Especially considering I dropped by their house uninvited. andrewaskew and whirlygig were also both there, and it's always, always nice to see the both of them. We hung around and did nothing in particular, which was good. In general I get to do plenty of stuff with people, for which I am grateful, but I rarely do much of nothing with other people. Perhaps I should find a way to fit more nothing in. Hmmm.

Me! Andrew! House! Looking! Moving! Soonish! Maybe! A bit!

Tomorrow there's a thingy on after work with parents and such and if I get away from that in time, a play for a dollar in Ashfield. Benj tipped me off. I don't know what the play is about, but I can't pass up that sort of value in theatre.

Saturday there's the staff Christmas lunch thing, which is a swanky smorgasbord at the Shangri-La, followed by a trip to the cocktail bar, and that night is Rob Vs Cleaver Man! Which will surely be a party and a half.

And on Sunday I wake up and say something like "ouch!" or "Goody! It's breakfast time!" or "Good afternoon" or "David, will you turn that fucking alarm off!" or "Hello...who are you?". Probably not the latter. Oh, and there's a chance a certain cousin and her newborn babe might be visiting, but that is as yet unconfirmed.

Um, did I have a point? Oh yeah, I'm busy. That's right. So there you go.

Comments

[roseapparatus.livejournal.com]

Yo, add 'seeing Lost in Translation with Owen and Georgia and Benj and (mebe) others on Tuesday at Newtown Dendy at 9pm' to that crowded social calendar of yours!
If you want to, that is.

[puddlesofun.livejournal.com]

I'm there.

Ooh! Check it out! Ancient australian movie on Channel 9 right now. And everyone in it's nude!

What?

[tull.livejournal.com]

Hey Tully, you want to come see Lost In Translation with us on tuesday night?

Well, if you insist.

Oh I do, I do.

Gosh, it's swell to be wanted. :)

[puddlesofun.livejournal.com]

Please do come.

[roseapparatus.livejournal.com]

We might be changing that movie plan to Wednesday night, because then Danoot's girlfriend Hersheybar (aka Jolyn) will be able to attend... will keep info coming as it comes to hand...

[roseapparatus.livejournal.com]

Ok. The film is not on Wednesday night, so Tues it is.
We'll meet outside the Happy Chef (pretty much directly across the road from the Newtown Dendy) at 7.30pm...

[puddlesofun.livejournal.com]

See you there.

[boojumlol.livejournal.com]

Moving? Could you let me know how you go and what the good areas are? I'll possibly be doing the same thing this summer. Not looking forward to it too much...

[puddlesofun.livejournal.com]

Sure thing.

[whirlygig.livejournal.com]

Fair enough about not being interested in fanfic, but bear in mind that mary sues are the lowest of the low in fanfic circles. Don't go thinking I write that shit, yo.

(Also, my name is whirlygig.)

[puddlesofun.livejournal.com]

Whoops. Fixed.

I wasn't dissing general fanfic. I think it's an interesting, nay, important part of fan culture. Democratic art. Folklore belongs to the people y'all. And stuff.

I didn't think you wrote that shit. Yo. I really can't imagine you writing MS stuff.
"Gosh Heather, thanks for saving all our lives again. How can we ever repay you..."
Err, no. Definitely not you.

Are Mary Sues really the lowest of the low? What about furry crossover slash?

Random tangent: I did read an article somewhere examining personal fantasy realisation in mainstream anime and manga and likening it to mary sueism. Umm, but I can't remember where....

[whirlygig.livejournal.com]

Are Mary Sues really the lowest of the low? What about furry crossover slash?

Mary Sues are frequently considered the lowest of the low, because by inserting a character who is special and wonderful and always saves the day, the writer robs the story of any real tension. Mary Sues (and their male equivalent, Gary Stu) are generally a ploy for self-insertion, and if it's knowing it's tacky, and if it's unknowing it displays a lack of self-knowledge.

Because it's inserting a character who doesn't belong there, it really doesn't conform to the conventions of fanfic, as it doesn't work with the characters the rightful author gives us. A lot of readers (such as myself) are wary of stories with OCs (other characters) because they're so frequently Mary Sues, and if a writer can't work with the characters the canon gives us, it's likely they should just write the story in their own universe. OCs I come across are just about always blonde, American and perfect, and there I stop reading.

Furries, crossovers and slash, on the other hand, are a personal taste thing. Most people, whether or not they're squicked by them, will concede that they can be well written, although for a lot of people a piece isn't well written unless it's credible, and making slash pairings credible to some diehard shippers is just impossible.

Any questions? ;)

"Well hello. I haven't seen the likes of you in Gormenghast before..."

[puddlesofun.livejournal.com]

But crossovers break canon. And Mickey Mouse having a penis breaks canon...
Eh. I bow to your greater wisdom and experience.

But seeing as you asked for questions, here's a hypothetical: if someone puts a version of themselves into a piece of fanfic, and it's not an idealised super version, but rather a flawed and human one, and the story is well written, what is that called?

Re: "Well hello. I haven't seen the likes of you in Gormenghast before..."

[whirlygig.livejournal.com]

That's self-insertion, which would probably still be called a Mary Sue by a lot of people. People do write such stories, but they're rarely as brutal with their own flaws as they are with anyone else's. These stories are rarely published (here I say published meaning made public, not printed or made into books or anything else) because it's pretty shameful to have your flaws laid bare, and pretty shameful to have a high opinion of yourself. It's all too hard, really. Most of the things like that I've come across have been parodies or people making a very specific point. The times I've read things like that, they've ended up seeming like a manifesto rather than a piece of fiction.

Crossovers do break canon, but I've never encountered anyone with particular vitriol against crossovers, the way they will about Mary Sues or slash. But what about when crossovers are in the canon, as they are for lots of comics? Then, are all crossovers acceptable, or only the ones that are explored in the comic books?

Doesn't Mickey Mouse wear pants? So him having something you're not aware of underneath doesn't break canon, but explore territory left out (for good reason) in the canon? Just like the deleted scenes of a film, in which much may be revealed that was left out of the film, are not part of the canon, but become a sort of canonical ephemera. Or so it seems to me.