Fanfiction peeves
Aug. 18th, 2003 05:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakDid this happen to you? You discover a fanfic writer who is good, as in really good. Language, in-depth characterisation, vignettes or long stories with an actual plot, angst and humour, she can do it all. And then you read a story which doesn't feel right in a way which makes you feel vaguely dissatisfied, or even irritated. And you need time to pin-point just why, precisely because this author is so good.
It happened to me twice, with two different writers and years in between. The first time the story in question was Jessica Walker's Many Loves, an ambitious retelling of Spike's unlife, written between season 5 and 6. For the most part, I admired it, but there was this feeling of irritation, and after a while, I could at least figure out why.
For starters, there was the Darla characterisation, or rather, what was quickly to become a slash cliché (though it wasn't one when Jessica W. originally wrote the story) - Darla madly jealeous about Angelus paying too much attention to Spike. Considering the most aggressive feeling Darla showed, on-screen, for Drusilla whom we knew Angelus had been obsessed with for a time was an annoyed irritation, I had trouble buying this premise, and moreover, recognised the archetype from two other fandoms I was involved in - the jealeous girlfriend.
Secondly, while the passages with just Spike and Dru were flawless and highly enjoyable, the Buffy characterisation in the last part of the story felt just flat. And sadly, the author inadvertendly offered a good guess why to the reader by letting Spike, after he had discovered he was in love with Buffy, reflect that she didn't deserve to be loved as he can love. At which point my suspension of disbelief broke down completely. This was something you'd expect from a fanfic newbie, but not a skillful and excellent writer like this one - blatant self-insertion of a thought the author had about a character into another character's mouth, regardless of the likelihood of character B actually thinking this about character A.
More recently, there was![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jennyo. Whose fanfic I had read and admired for years. Last year, I saw a story featuring Fred and Gunn in which Fred tells Gunn he's actually in love with Wesley and only fell for her as a substitute because she's female. Now I have no problems with jennyo, or any other fan, holding that theory. But I really couldn't buy Fred, around ca. The Price, telling this to Gunn.
Some days ago, she posted a Buffy/Lilah story. Which started out fascinating; pairing up characters who never met on screen in a believable way is a trick only a few writers can pull off, and she's one of them. The point where I stopped thinking "wow, great idea, and wonderful to read" and started thinking "not AGAIN"? When she has Buffy reflect that Lilah completely outclasses her, is ten times the woman, etc. Mind you, we have canon evidence for Buffy feeling inferior to another woman sexually - vide Super!Jonathan's diagnosis in Superstar in regards to her reaction to the Faith/Riley thing. But ask me to believe Buffy would think "X outclasses me", especially post-season 7 Buffy about Lilah, and again, my suspension of disbelief breaks down. Moreover, it told me exactly how the story would end. And I didn't think "yes, that makes sense" but "this is the author wanting to see Buffy humbled and learning her place after being rejected by the magnificence which is Lilah". Which left a bad taste in my mouth.
The common element in all of this? Authors who really are much better than this sacrificing characterisation for playing favourites, I'm afraid. And as a reader, I really wish they wouldn't.
It happened to me twice, with two different writers and years in between. The first time the story in question was Jessica Walker's Many Loves, an ambitious retelling of Spike's unlife, written between season 5 and 6. For the most part, I admired it, but there was this feeling of irritation, and after a while, I could at least figure out why.
For starters, there was the Darla characterisation, or rather, what was quickly to become a slash cliché (though it wasn't one when Jessica W. originally wrote the story) - Darla madly jealeous about Angelus paying too much attention to Spike. Considering the most aggressive feeling Darla showed, on-screen, for Drusilla whom we knew Angelus had been obsessed with for a time was an annoyed irritation, I had trouble buying this premise, and moreover, recognised the archetype from two other fandoms I was involved in - the jealeous girlfriend.
Secondly, while the passages with just Spike and Dru were flawless and highly enjoyable, the Buffy characterisation in the last part of the story felt just flat. And sadly, the author inadvertendly offered a good guess why to the reader by letting Spike, after he had discovered he was in love with Buffy, reflect that she didn't deserve to be loved as he can love. At which point my suspension of disbelief broke down completely. This was something you'd expect from a fanfic newbie, but not a skillful and excellent writer like this one - blatant self-insertion of a thought the author had about a character into another character's mouth, regardless of the likelihood of character B actually thinking this about character A.
More recently, there was
jennyo. Whose fanfic I had read and admired for years. Last year, I saw a story featuring Fred and Gunn in which Fred tells Gunn he's actually in love with Wesley and only fell for her as a substitute because she's female. Now I have no problems with jennyo, or any other fan, holding that theory. But I really couldn't buy Fred, around ca. The Price, telling this to Gunn. Some days ago, she posted a Buffy/Lilah story. Which started out fascinating; pairing up characters who never met on screen in a believable way is a trick only a few writers can pull off, and she's one of them. The point where I stopped thinking "wow, great idea, and wonderful to read" and started thinking "not AGAIN"? When she has Buffy reflect that Lilah completely outclasses her, is ten times the woman, etc. Mind you, we have canon evidence for Buffy feeling inferior to another woman sexually - vide Super!Jonathan's diagnosis in Superstar in regards to her reaction to the Faith/Riley thing. But ask me to believe Buffy would think "X outclasses me", especially post-season 7 Buffy about Lilah, and again, my suspension of disbelief breaks down. Moreover, it told me exactly how the story would end. And I didn't think "yes, that makes sense" but "this is the author wanting to see Buffy humbled and learning her place after being rejected by the magnificence which is Lilah". Which left a bad taste in my mouth.
The common element in all of this? Authors who really are much better than this sacrificing characterisation for playing favourites, I'm afraid. And as a reader, I really wish they wouldn't.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Felt the same way about "Parley"
Date: 2003-08-18 10:04 am (UTC)More tragic life story?
Date: 2003-08-19 02:36 am (UTC)