Katie/KT (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rensahannou) wrote2007-02-25 02:12 pm
rensahannou) wrote2007-02-25 02:12 pm
I need to rant.
Hmm. No angry icon to go with a rant. Ah well.
I don't rant as well as KY does, but I just. Have. To say. SOMETHING.
Topic: Arbitrary pairings and lack of decent characterization, specifically in TeniMyu RPS.
A disclaimer first, because I'm excessively paranoid about offending someone -- I don't mean this as a personal attack in any way, shape, or form. I'm just frustrated and confused, and it has to get out somehow. So, here we go.
Okay. I understand the appeal in just sticking two guys together because you think it'd be cute or hot or funny, I really do. And I understand crack for its own sake.
What I don't understand is completely ignoring the actors themselves just to make them fit into an arbitrary pairing. They aren't your characters -- they aren't characters at all. They're PEOPLE.
And yes, all fanfiction is fiction, that's why it's called that, yes, I know this. But what's the point in writing fanfiction if you're just going to make up personalities for the people involved?
But that's not even what bothers me, really. What bothers me is claiming to love these actors, and then...just writing whatever you want about them. They're not just pretty faces and nice bodies, they have personalities and lives and histories, friends and families, likes and dislikes, quirky habits and interesting hobbies. They are not their characters, they are not cardboard cut-outs or paper dolls -- they are real, living and breathing people, and if you claim to truly love them, truly respect them, how can you feel good about ignoring them as a person when you write them?
And yes, we don't know everything about any of these guys. That's what's fun about it, imagining and pretending and saying what-if. But at the heart of all of this are the actors themselves.
If you think the pairing you're writing actually has merit, show it. Show us why you can see these two guys together, why we should see your side of things, even if we can't bring ourselves to agree.
I just -- I don't know. Maybe I'm spoiled. Until very recently, I really hadn't read much in the way of RPS other than TutixNagayan, and that fandom was built pretty much from the ground up by a few very dedicated, very talented girls. The foundation has already been laid for the pairing now, so it's easier for new fans to start writing fics.
Or maybe I'm just weird. I just...can't imagine writing one of the actors I love without wanting to get it as right as possible. I was nervous about writing TxN for a while, because I didn't want to disappoint the fandom, or disrespect the actors themselves. I want my TxN fics to celebrate and explore their relationship, to show how perfect I think they are for each other. And I started writing a fic about Setomaru -- I got a few paragraphs in and stopped. I want to finish it eventually, but it will probably take a while, because I so desperately want to do the boy justice. I want that fic to let everyone else see why I love him so much, and maybe show them why they should love him too.
Maybe...that's just the way I see writing? As feeling strongly about the characters, and wanting to get those feelings across to the readers. That doesn't change, no matter what I'm writing -- something original, fanfiction about anime characters or real people.
*sigh* I don't know. It's probably a hopeless cause, but, I just...wish...everyone would try, really and truly try, when they write fics. I realize for a lot of people it's nothing more than a simple hobby, a way to pass the time or share something they thought of. But...even if it's something you're not serious about...
Hmm. It's like -- like drawing stick figures and trying to pass them off as serious art. Stick figures have their place, and they can be excellent ways to show humor and such. I ♥ stick figures.
"Stick-figure fics" have their place as well. But...don't expect people to appreciate, respect or love a pairing you write if all you're doing is drawing stick figures.
Moral of the story -- if you love your pairing, show it. If you love the actors, act like it. And if you love writing, put some effort into it.
Phew. Okay. I think I feel a little better now. ♥
I don't rant as well as KY does, but I just. Have. To say. SOMETHING.
Topic: Arbitrary pairings and lack of decent characterization, specifically in TeniMyu RPS.
A disclaimer first, because I'm excessively paranoid about offending someone -- I don't mean this as a personal attack in any way, shape, or form. I'm just frustrated and confused, and it has to get out somehow. So, here we go.
Okay. I understand the appeal in just sticking two guys together because you think it'd be cute or hot or funny, I really do. And I understand crack for its own sake.
What I don't understand is completely ignoring the actors themselves just to make them fit into an arbitrary pairing. They aren't your characters -- they aren't characters at all. They're PEOPLE.
And yes, all fanfiction is fiction, that's why it's called that, yes, I know this. But what's the point in writing fanfiction if you're just going to make up personalities for the people involved?
But that's not even what bothers me, really. What bothers me is claiming to love these actors, and then...just writing whatever you want about them. They're not just pretty faces and nice bodies, they have personalities and lives and histories, friends and families, likes and dislikes, quirky habits and interesting hobbies. They are not their characters, they are not cardboard cut-outs or paper dolls -- they are real, living and breathing people, and if you claim to truly love them, truly respect them, how can you feel good about ignoring them as a person when you write them?
And yes, we don't know everything about any of these guys. That's what's fun about it, imagining and pretending and saying what-if. But at the heart of all of this are the actors themselves.
If you think the pairing you're writing actually has merit, show it. Show us why you can see these two guys together, why we should see your side of things, even if we can't bring ourselves to agree.
I just -- I don't know. Maybe I'm spoiled. Until very recently, I really hadn't read much in the way of RPS other than TutixNagayan, and that fandom was built pretty much from the ground up by a few very dedicated, very talented girls. The foundation has already been laid for the pairing now, so it's easier for new fans to start writing fics.
Or maybe I'm just weird. I just...can't imagine writing one of the actors I love without wanting to get it as right as possible. I was nervous about writing TxN for a while, because I didn't want to disappoint the fandom, or disrespect the actors themselves. I want my TxN fics to celebrate and explore their relationship, to show how perfect I think they are for each other. And I started writing a fic about Setomaru -- I got a few paragraphs in and stopped. I want to finish it eventually, but it will probably take a while, because I so desperately want to do the boy justice. I want that fic to let everyone else see why I love him so much, and maybe show them why they should love him too.
Maybe...that's just the way I see writing? As feeling strongly about the characters, and wanting to get those feelings across to the readers. That doesn't change, no matter what I'm writing -- something original, fanfiction about anime characters or real people.
*sigh* I don't know. It's probably a hopeless cause, but, I just...wish...everyone would try, really and truly try, when they write fics. I realize for a lot of people it's nothing more than a simple hobby, a way to pass the time or share something they thought of. But...even if it's something you're not serious about...
Hmm. It's like -- like drawing stick figures and trying to pass them off as serious art. Stick figures have their place, and they can be excellent ways to show humor and such. I ♥ stick figures.
"Stick-figure fics" have their place as well. But...don't expect people to appreciate, respect or love a pairing you write if all you're doing is drawing stick figures.
Moral of the story -- if you love your pairing, show it. If you love the actors, act like it. And if you love writing, put some effort into it.
Phew. Okay. I think I feel a little better now. ♥
no subject
Anyway.
That's probably the reason why I haven't been able to put out a fic in so long. Lately, I've just been playing catch-up with Tuti and Nagayan, I don't have much time to actually keep up with them. By the time I've started writing a fic on the latest info I've gotten, there's already something new out and I have to start over. (And it doesn't help that I'm a perfectionist. >_<)
Writing is an artform, and like you said it's about feeling strongly about the characters, and wanting to get those feelings across to the readers. And it's best if you KNOW what you're talking about.
But that's the tough thing about RPS -- who knows how well we know them? It's kinda unavoidable (I refuse to use /inevitable/ for this one) to mess up characterization every once in a while, since I think none of us will ever, ever, EVER be spot-on in writing any of the boys -- unless, of course, we're personally acquainted to them and have been for a LOOOOONG time.
Which probably means I should stop writing RPS and focus on GP.
no subject
And you're completely right -- there's absolutely no way to attain perfect characterization unless you're writing your own original characters. All I'm asking, really, is that people try a little harder. :(