DB Sommer wrote:
:: Sebastian Palm wrote:
::
:::
::: Ummm.... Yeah. What he said. Another example is characters who are
::: reused from fanfic to fanfic, often without any hint that this
::: character is not the author's, _or_ canon.
::
:: Well, the reader should realize if they are canon or not by
:: familiarity with the series; it's just a common sense thing. You're
:: right about giving credit to the author who created the original
:: character, though. Of course I'm damn lazy about it, but usually I
:: give a nod the first time I use someone else's character. Some
:: people I'm more familiar with I've more or less given permission to
:: use whatever characters of mine they want, and vice versa, when I do
:: that.

When I started reading fanfiction, I hadn't read more than a couple of
the Ranma 1/2 volumes. I still haven't read all of them. Thus, it was a
bit of a problem trying to figure out what was actually canon or not -
and there are still characters I'm wondering about, since they show up
in multiple fics by multiple authors, yet' I've never seen them in
either Manga or Anime. Pink and Link, for example.


::  How many axe-wielding amazon enforcers
::: named Perfume, who happen to suffer from a heightened sensitivity to
::: pain are there? And whose _is_ that character? I _think_ she
::: originates somewhere in Baderland, but I might be mistaken.
::
:: Wade Tritschler created her way back when in his 'Most Unlikely of
:: Friends' fic. I've always thought it's a testament to a writer's
:: skills though, when others find their creations interesting enough
:: to use themselves. Though one should request permission to use
:: original characters first.

Thanks for the info. I've actually read that one, and I'm more or less
still waiting for the rest of it, though I think the story veered off a
little far from what I would've like in the latest 'OAV'. The fun thing
is the multiple takes on that same character...

:::
::: Ok, point. But it's not just mallets, either - any convenient object
::: will do, like the "Romeo" script, or a mop, or the table. And the
::: "kick-off" technique is used almost once a chapter...
::
:: But most people overuse the 'mallet-sama' gag. I have been guilty of
:: it as well, though.

I've been thinking about writing a Ranmafic without the slapstick -- but
it's damnably hard coming up with an Akane who wouldn't be locked away
in a mental hospital without the slapstick rules... Actually, several of
the other characters would be very much gone if I did that. Or at least
severely restrained.


::: The basic problem, as I see it, is the relative availability of
::: fanfics contra canon. The Manga is either expensive, or in
::: Japanese, or stored on a tediously slow server that mostly requires
::: an active connection to read from. The anime is less expensive, but
::: there is just so damned much of it, which leads to the same problem
::: as above. Whereas fanfics are as easy as typing in
::: www.fanfiction.net, and following the links - and you can post your
::: own on site just like that!
:::
::: The "fourth-generation fanfics" that you described above already
::: exist - I've had the mispleasure to read several.
::
:: I do believe all of us has, much to our sorrow. :(

But they make for great MST'ing, sometimes.


::::
::::: [1]  This is, of course, not an attempt to deny a pattern of
::::: *violence*, which is obviously there, although I would dispute the
::::: extremes to which some fanfic authors take it.  I'm using the
::::: mallet itself an an example of how clichees grow with the telling.
:::
::: Counter-point - The Bitter End, by Zen, which is definitely a
::: Second Gen fic - based off of the Manga...
::
:: But, as SW says, there are those that base their fanfics off TBE
:: rather than the actual series, which is where problems crop up. Of
:: course there are other fics that have done the same thing to other
:: characters as well that are equally responsible for these sorts of
:: problems.

Actually, IIRC, Zen's Akane doesn't use the mallet very often. But she
still beats Ranma to death...

SP



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