contrary to popular belief I've written for other fandoms :o you HAVE? Hahaha, just kidding. (I know you wrote for DBZ and Inuyasha and RoV...)
I've seen things in fics [...] that I've thought about for a while and decided that, hey, that fits in really well with Character X, so maybe I'll use that myself, too. This. So much. I get that all the time. This is why I love reading a different take on the same character. It gets me thinking and then I go, "Oh, yeah, I could totally see that!" and then next thing know I mixing all these interpretations and that, my friends, is how headcanon is born.
It is, of course, also in the way something is presented. When an author presents Character X and Y in Situation Z, maybe the way they're writing them makes perfect sense to all of the readers, and the personalities used there then become widespread fanon-- when in reality (and according to canon) it only fits within Situation Z. Yes! Personalities can change when characters are presented with different situations (what if Z had happened instead of Y? What if A had died instead of C?) and yes, you can totally see how it fits FOR THAT SITUATION, but take the characters as they are then and plop them into another situation, and all of the sudden, holy hell, they're out of character!
I myself have been writing some characters OOC due to fanon-- or warped versions of canon and fanon that I couldn't tell the difference between. This is why I find it's very important to occasional go back and revisit the source material, be it replaying the game, rewatching the show/anime, rereading the book, etc. etc. Because you will find things that you had forgotten or overlooked, things you had changed, and things that were warped due to canon. There is a difference between mixing canon and fanon (and making it believeable!) and having too much fanon and little canon... Or even worse, forsaking canon and having it all fanon. The last two cases require a revisit, ESPECIALLY the last one. Fanon, to some extent, is in everyone's fanfics, but the extent to how much all depends on how much you let the fandom influence you. That is why you need to visit the source material. That's what I need to do one of these days for Weiss Kreuz before I lose my grip on Schuldig and Crawford.
why take off those comfy pants and replace them for a new pair? (Because they're dirty and need washed, that's why.) I love this. I am totally using it. It works so well. Fandom at first is that pair of jeans you just bought at Kohls and, even if they're Levis (which are insanely comfortable), they're still stiff as hell. But as you get used to the fandom and participate and write long diatribes and meta, the jeans are now well worn, stretched, distressed, and have holes in the knees forming. And the hems of the pants are all frayed. And they're dirty. And now you're so immersed in fandom that it's becoming hard to remember what's canon and what isn't, so now your jeans are filthy.
Time to revisit the source material. Time to take those jeans off and wash them. Then you can put them back on, you can go back to fandom, and you can see it with new eyes.
I'm tired and I'm rambling with you. :D It's what I do, especially about fandom and writing. I r teh geek. (Also I have nothing better to do. Well, I do, I should work on those fics.)
no subject
:o you HAVE? Hahaha, just kidding. (I know you wrote for DBZ and Inuyasha and RoV...)
I've seen things in fics [...] that I've thought about for a while and decided that, hey, that fits in really well with Character X, so maybe I'll use that myself, too.
This. So much. I get that all the time. This is why I love reading a different take on the same character. It gets me thinking and then I go, "Oh, yeah, I could totally see that!" and then next thing know I mixing all these interpretations and that, my friends, is how headcanon is born.
It is, of course, also in the way something is presented. When an author presents Character X and Y in Situation Z, maybe the way they're writing them makes perfect sense to all of the readers, and the personalities used there then become widespread fanon-- when in reality (and according to canon) it only fits within Situation Z.
Yes! Personalities can change when characters are presented with different situations (what if Z had happened instead of Y? What if A had died instead of C?) and yes, you can totally see how it fits FOR THAT SITUATION, but take the characters as they are then and plop them into another situation, and all of the sudden, holy hell, they're out of character!
I myself have been writing some characters OOC due to fanon-- or warped versions of canon and fanon that I couldn't tell the difference between.
This is why I find it's very important to occasional go back and revisit the source material, be it replaying the game, rewatching the show/anime, rereading the book, etc. etc. Because you will find things that you had forgotten or overlooked, things you had changed, and things that were warped due to canon. There is a difference between mixing canon and fanon (and making it believeable!) and having too much fanon and little canon... Or even worse, forsaking canon and having it all fanon. The last two cases require a revisit, ESPECIALLY the last one. Fanon, to some extent, is in everyone's fanfics, but the extent to how much all depends on how much you let the fandom influence you. That is why you need to visit the source material. That's what I need to do one of these days for Weiss Kreuz before I lose my grip on Schuldig and Crawford.
why take off those comfy pants and replace them for a new pair? (Because they're dirty and need washed, that's why.)
I love this. I am totally using it. It works so well. Fandom at first is that pair of jeans you just bought at Kohls and, even if they're Levis (which are insanely comfortable), they're still stiff as hell. But as you get used to the fandom and participate and write long diatribes and meta, the jeans are now well worn, stretched, distressed, and have holes in the knees forming. And the hems of the pants are all frayed. And they're dirty. And now you're so immersed in fandom that it's becoming hard to remember what's canon and what isn't, so now your jeans are filthy.
Time to revisit the source material. Time to take those jeans off and wash them. Then you can put them back on, you can go back to fandom, and you can see it with new eyes.
I'm tired and I'm rambling with you. :D It's what I do, especially about fandom and writing. I r teh geek. (Also I have nothing better to do. Well, I do, I should work on those fics.)