Things That Annoy You in Fanfiction

[Alice]

Well, I think there is a place for stories with completely alternate settings. For example, if you make Sakura remain with the Tohsaka family, you're changing so much that she is going to be a very different character, but I think it's still an interesting story.

I also think that completely changing the setting but keeping the characters can be interesting in some situations. Some people are interested in the characters rather than the setting that they're in. And, I think doing so is certainly no worse than completely OC-filled Grail War fanfics or the like (where you keep the setting but discard the characters), which most people are perfectly fine with.

That's not what I'm talking about so much. For instance, there's things I take umbrage with in Prisma, but they have little to do with the setting change or even some of the character changes. Nah, more want I'm talking about is if there is so much stripped away, both in terms of character and setting, that it doesn't even remotely resemble anything from the source work, and more or less spits in its face. There's a difference between doing a scenario like you described, for instance, and changing the mechanics of the universe entirely along with pretty much most all characterization while making most everything revolve around an OC instead of the main cast (again, know what you people are thinking here, and again, let's keep the drama to a minimum).

It's not alternate scenarios I'm against, because if that were the case, I'd be a huge hypocrite, it's basically someone changing pretty much everything to suit their own wish fulfillment. One example of this that doesn't quite fit what I'm describing but kinda fits into the character thing a bit is the scenario where Shirou is turned into an all powerful Gary Stu and suddenly can do pretty much everything and also gets all the ladies. It's stuff like that I hate, not exploring a different possibility that'd result in characters being different people. ...Basically, while evading a certain example, it's somewhat difficult to explain. ^^"

[Cherry Lover]

Well, yeah, I guess. I think changing the basic rules of the setting but having characters that are recognisably the original characters (e.g. an AU placing the original characters in different universe with different rules) is OK, although I think it probably only works if it doesn't try to take itself too seriously, as is a completely OC-filled story set in the Nasuverse, but changing both makes it no longer a fanfic in any meaningful sense, and if you're going to do that you might as well just call it an original work (certainly I've had ideas before where the characters are based on Nasuverse characters, but are different enough that it would be meaningless to call it a fanfic). I think there is some leeway there, though, particularly in the case of porn (and especially porn with images), since in that case what the character looks like does matter somewhat.

As for the "Shirou is a Gary Stu" thing, that's more just bad characterisation and bad writing, really. I don't think disliking bad writing is exclusive to you, I think everyone does (although they may not always agree on what constitutes "bad writing"). I'd say there's a definite distinction between someone just not writing a good story and someone writing a good story that is a fanfic in name only.

[Xamusel]

@Alice: Why not go with ThirdFang's Shirou from From Fake Dreams?

[YOLF]

@Alice: Why not go with ThirdFang's Shirou from From Fake Dreams?

You realize that pretty much hits every button for "power fantasy character changing wish fulfillment" Alice complained about.

Also, dude surfs on swords. The fuck, he ain't Jack Rakan.

[Cherry Lover]

Yeah, I think that is the point he was making.

[Xamusel]

Yes, that was the point I was making, YOLF.

[YOLF]

Too lazy to read all of the conversation, only respond in the context of latest post and skimmed info, this is what happens.

I was distracted, sorry.

[Alice]

Nah, don't apologize. ...Because pretty much I have a hard time accepting Thirdfang's Shirou for exactly the reasons you stated. ^^"

I mean, if a character is powerful and also written well at the start, fine. But don't go turning a character who is on the weaker side ultra powerful unless it makes sense to do so and there's a natural progression to it. With the Shirou cases, there pretty much never is. Not that I'm going to let a character that's powerful to start with off the hook necessarily either, if they're poorly written, because that threatens to go into sue territory. But that's a whole different can of worms. 

...Sorry I didn't respond earlier, btw. Mostly I wanted to avoid the whole Thirdfang can of worms.

[Kat]

RN's Dead Apostle Sakura makes more sense than ThirdFang's Dead Apostle Shirou.

[Xamusel]

...care to elaborate on the "RN's Dead Apostle Sakura" bit? I don't know if you mean Realta Nua or not.

[Cherry Lover]

I'm pretty sure she doesn't mean Realta Nua, because Realta Nua doesn't have a Dead Apostle Sakura. Realta Nua is basically just the original FSN VN with the sex taken out.

I assume she means some fanfic author, but I don't recall a story with Sakura as a Dead Apostle, and I'd have thought I would have noticed it.

[lantzblades]

Actually I think she's referring to the blood drinking bit as a sex replacement.

[Xamusel]

Either way, we'll need her confirmation on that part, because I'd rather not be assuming one thing or the other.

[Cherry Lover]

Actually I think she's referring to the blood drinking bit as a sex replacement.

Ah, right, OK.

[Kat]

I thought the joke was obvious.