Firefly Fanfiction: What Are Your Pet-Peeves?
POSTED BY: Xeyra
UPDATED: Friday, November 30, 2012 02:57
VIEWED: 59700
PAGE 3 of 17
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Originally posted by PhoenixRose:Quote:
Originally posted by Squid:Quote:
Originally posted by Xeyra:
PS: I read somewhere that she does use the "she" as part of a joke in another episode, but I don't remember that; then again, I don't have all her lines decorated (yet! LOL). If anyone can point that out to me, I'd appreciate it. Regardless, it
I think I know this one. It was during the episode "Safe" when River and Simon were kidnapped and in the village. River goes out and comes back to Simon with berries. They talk, he eats some berries and then River says "they're poisioned." And Simon spits them out, she laughs and says something like...
"She tricked you. And you believed her."
"You're such a brat"
That's not the exact quote but it's something like that. I'm too lazy to go find the scripts right now. But yea, that's the only other place she uses third person besides the part in OIS.
The line is "He believed her, made a face." So it's completely third-person, not just relating to herself.
Yeah, that bothers me, too. Forgot to mention that one. Anyone consistantly referring to her as "girl" actually bothers me, not just she herself. I don't stop readin the fic based just on that, but it does bother me because it doesn't happen that much. The only one to call her "girl" tends to be Jayne, and even he doesn't overdo it.
Thank you for pointing it out to me. I love that exchange. My favourite Simon and River moment.
I would have loved if I could be less bothered by it but I tend to cringe at it when I find it a fanfiction that could have otherwise be good, and it kind of puts me off. I try to continue reading but if it repeats often enough, I will most likely give up. It's just me, I guess. I'm a very big fan of River, so when her characterization is so over-the-top with the dissociation thing, I just click the little and nice Back button and go find something else.
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Wash: This landing is gonna get pretty interesting.
Mal: Define "interesting".
Wash: [deadpan] Oh God, oh God, we're all going to die?
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Originally posted by LaughingMuse:
River being a wee bit too coherent for too long. Yes, she does have her more lucid periods; and some of her insights and ideas are really good (this is what happens when you can step back a level and spot the patterns). She's had her brain severely scrambled. Before that, her own neural net already featured many "skipped steps" - the mental "of course this happens, duh" - but now that her mind isn't able to focus and choose what will make her react, this gotten more pronouced. Or it should. Dammit. She not only reads minds, she sees patterns that most people don't see - being too closely enmeshed in them. But she sees, and reacts, to everything. Unless the amygdula can grow back, it's not ever going to get better.
(Now there's a good question. I think that I remember reading that nerve sheaths cannot regenerate - can the amygdula?)
Hmmm... I think very little in the brain actually regenerates but my only course in neuroscience was way back in my second year in college so I'm very rusty on that... LOL. Then again, we're 500 years in the future... who knows what medicine can do? Not that, what with being fugitives and all, they can do anything about it.
That point actually doesn't bother me so much, post-movie wise. I guess my problem is people actually having River sounding even more crazy than she is. :)
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Originally posted by LaughingMuse:
There are others: mis-spelling of the pinyin Chinese (I studied the language for five years and got within sight of technical fluency, so...fingernails on the blackboard...); oversimplified characterization; two-too-to / their-they're-there / and other versions of Fun with Homonyms; but these other annoyances are either widespread enough that they're simply part and parcel of fanfiction, or I start systematically avoiding the authors who most often make my teeth itch...a bit like everyone does, I'd imagine.
My main language isn't English but I tend to catch this confusion a lot when I'm reading fanfiction, mostly because when I write something in English, I try very hard not fall into this problem with homonyms, so they become very noticeable to me when I do catch them. It does distract a bit (like any mispelled word or confusing grammar) but if it appears sparingly, I can ignore it.
As for the mis-pelling of the Chinese, I believe that may be a problem for pretty much anyone who doesn't know Chinese but want to incorporate it into their fanfictions in the 'Verse. I'm pretty sure I'd end up screwing up the Chinese if I tried to do something with it...
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Wash: This landing is gonna get pretty interesting.
Mal: Define "interesting".
Wash: [deadpan] Oh God, oh God, we're all going to die?
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Quote:
Originally posted by SpaceAnJL:
Rayne fic, every time. Not just an age issue (big GSR fan on another 'ship, and I love Laurie King's Mary Russell books) - I can't see Jayne being attracted to crazy little girls. (Then, I have my own take on what Jayne likes - shameless fic plug)
I like your interpretation of what Jayne likes. LOL. I'm not really fond of Jayne/River either; haven't found any fanfic yet that could convert me and the only one I've seen highly recommended makes use of my pet-peeve described above, so...
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Originally posted by SpaceAnJL:
Pregnant Zoe I can almost live with, but Firefly;TNG is disturbing, particularly, I'm afraid, the Live!Wash ones. Man was last seen impersonating a kebab, people.
LOL. How mean of you. Kebab? Poor Wash... *pets pets* But, yes, if you're going to write a post-BDM fanfiction, do not write Wash into it as being quite happily alive, as if a Reaver spear did not even touch him...
Though there is one fic out there that has Wash live but actually explains how the spear didn't go through him but took out his arm instead... makes for a lot of angst, but at least it doesn't use the dreaded words "Wash's alive but I won't explain why", which I've seen scarily too often.
And I also don't much mind pregnant Zoe, as long as it is well written and incorporated into a wider fanfiction. I like epics. I like adventure. I like to read about all characters in one fashion or another... prefer them to the vignettes or character pieces, but that doesn't mean I don't read them. I do stay away from solely PWP stories... I like me some plot. :)
Quote:
Originally posted by SpaceAnJL:
Hoo, boy, you started me off on one here. Best sidle off and continue my own epic - 35,000 words and counting. Does this make it one of the monsters?
Hey, I like monsters and yours is quite good. I really like Jayne in your story and 'Larji is actually not a Mary Sue (the horror!), for which I'm very thankful. They're a very BIG pet-peeve of mine too. I actually came across a story in a livejournal that had another student from the Academy who could turn people invisible and stuff like that... Really! More Mary Sueish you couldn't have had...
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Wash: This landing is gonna get pretty interesting.
Mal: Define "interesting".
Wash: [deadpan] Oh God, oh God, we're all going to die?
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Grammar.
Each and every time! Especially when it's the same mistake over and over in every fic by the author. I just sit there thinking, 'you were told about the error, fix it already!'
I'm not really a Mal/Simon fan although Kispexi2 made it seem reasonably believable. The only other thing that really bugs me is the obscenely short chapters. As in, the ones that are shorter than some thread posts. I mostly hate them because either nothing happens or they're very, very rushed and it's just bad writing.
I'm going to throw my support behind the epic from ScrewtheAlliance. I love it although I understand how it must feel if you haven't started it. In my mind it's the first firefly novel and I strongly suspect it will be better than the one due out later this year. StA's spelling and grammar is good and his characterisations are amusing. A good mix of humour and action and his OC's aren't annoying or overdone.
*****
Taya
*****
I'm going to S3!!!
(*Insert hysterical celebration dance here*)
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I like StA, too, but I have to disagree that the grammar is always good. He uses "your" for "you're" on a number of occasions in Kaylee's Lament (haven't started the other one yet) and isn't always consistant with the slang of each particular character. Over all, though, pretty good.
I'm kind of wondering, regarding the Wash issue, how exactly a huge Reaver spear through his middle would end up taking off his arm? That makes just about zero sense. Most ways I've heard on how Wash would be alive, in fact, make no sense. Hey, I'd like him to be and everything, but really. The "100% alive" thread is a good example of people kinda reaching. For one thing, the whole theory (I didn't read the whole thread, just the first few posts) revolves around the Alliance not only being on the ground first (they obviously weren't) but stopping at Serenity (which they might) and then putting a lot of effort into reviving the kebab in the pilot's seat (which I don't think they would since they had been ordered to blow up the ship and hence kill everyone inside) instead of immediately going after the fugitives. So that one doesn't work. Usually when there is a grave/funeral the character is not anything close to okay. So stories in that type of vein... no. I prefer stories that involve Zoe kind of coming apart at the seams and trying to deal with life. Wrote a very short one myself, actually.
Anyway. Ramble ramble ramble.
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One summer.
One mission.
One legion of Browncoats.
Starting June 23rd, we aim to misbehave.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Tayeatra:
Grammar.
Each and every time! Especially when it's the same mistake over and over in every fic by the author. I just sit there thinking, 'you were told about the error, fix it already!'
I'm not really a Mal/Simon fan although Kispexi2 made it seem reasonably believable. The only other thing that really bugs me is the obscenely short chapters. As in, the ones that are shorter than some thread posts. I mostly hate them because either nothing happens or they're very, very rushed and it's just bad writing.
I'm going to throw my support behind the epic from ScrewtheAlliance. I love it although I understand how it must feel if you haven't started it. In my mind it's the first firefly novel and I strongly suspect it will be better than the one due out later this year. StA's spelling and grammar is good and his characterisations are amusing. A good mix of humour and action and his OC's aren't annoying or overdone.
Not to mention that River with the harmonica is a hoot. :) But, yes, if you don't start a fanfiction this big from the start it may be difficult to go back n chapters and read it, but look on the bright side... you won't have to wait for the next chapter for a while yet, which can be quite nail-bitting-inducing when it involves a fanfic you love.
As a side note: I'm not sure if any Firefly/Serenity novel is actually due out this year. Keith DeCandido explained that the book listed on Amazon should only be a placeholder and that the info about publishing date has no basis in fact, considering the proposals various authors sent to Pocket Books last year haven't been reviewed yet or at least no one has gotten back to the authors about it.
*******************************
Wash: This landing is gonna get pretty interesting.
Mal: Define "interesting".
Wash: [deadpan] Oh God, oh God, we're all going to die?
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Quote:
Originally posted by PhoenixRose:
I like StA, too, but I have to disagree that the grammar is always good. He uses "your" for "you're" on a number of occasions in Kaylee's Lament.
Ooops my bad... I must have forgotten about that. It's been a while since I encountered his early piece.
*****
Taya
*****
I'm going to S3!!!
(*Insert hysterical celebration dance here*)
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Quote:
Originally posted by PhoenixRose:
I like StA, too, but I have to disagree that the grammar is always good. He uses "your" for "you're" on a number of occasions in Kaylee's Lament (haven't started the other one yet) and isn't always consistant with the slang of each particular character. Over all, though, pretty good.
I'm kind of wondering, regarding the Wash issue, how exactly a huge Reaver spear through his middle would end up taking off his arm? That makes just about zero sense.
In this particular fanfic, he'd gotten off the pilot's chair a second or two earlier and thus the spear didn't hit him straight on but pined his arm. It was explained much better in the fanfiction, which was why I suspended my disbelief and read it as the AU it was. It had some very interesting character moments, filled with angst. I like angst... I'm screwed up like that. LOL. But there's no greatest angst than having Zoe without her Wash... *sobs*
*******************************
Wash: This landing is gonna get pretty interesting.
Mal: Define "interesting".
Wash: [deadpan] Oh God, oh God, we're all going to die?
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
I don't mind so much if the writer wants to have Zoe be pregant after the movie. What gets me is they want to give the baby blue eyes. Blue eyes are a recessive gene. The chances that Zoe carries said gene because of her make up is low.
River reffering to herself entirely in the third person. You all pretty much have that one covered.
People saying that River doesn't need the drugs that Simon is supplying. That she is just putting up with them to make her brother happy. People cut into her brain and probably messed up it's chemical balance. Or if the balance isn't messed up the chemical reactions that normally take place in a heathly brain could not come across in such a place. The drugs she is given can probably make her brain think her imgedila(I have no idea how to spell it) is working just fine. Anyway, bottom line she needs the drugs and probably always will. She does not need love/sex/Jayne to fix her.
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the woods are lovely, dark, and deep
but I have promises to keep
and miles to go before I sleep
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