Firefly Fanfiction: What Are Your Pet-Peeves?
POSTED BY: Xeyra
UPDATED: Friday, November 30, 2012 02:57
VIEWED: 59700
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Hi all,
I don't know if a thread like this has been posted in the past but I was curious about what kind of things are big no-no's in Firefly/Serenity fanfic for you. I mean, what kind of plotlines, characterizations, language/grammar issues, pairings, etc., make you cringe or stop reading a fanfiction (or not read it at all based on the summary!). Is there a certain storyline that you think has been so reshashed you just want to yell "Stop, for Joss's sake!", or maybe a certain pairing you just can't stand?
I'm interested in your personal pet-peeves concerning fanfiction in this great 'verse. I would love to hear from you.
~*~
I will start by letting you know my own personal pet-peeve.
It relates to the characterization of River, by having her refer to herself in the third person (as in "she would like to..." or "the girl likes this..."). It really makes me want to pull hairs out of my head. I'm rather vocal about this, I'm afraid.
After all, if we base River's characterization on the canon material that exist (series, movie, comics and the River Tam Sessions), we come across only one instance where she refers to herself in the third person and we must take it within the context it was said. In Objects in Space, Mal asks Simon "Does she understand that?" with River just beside him, so she rightly answers "She understands. She doesn't compreehend". Not only is she answering him, she's making a point (go River!).
Aside from that, there is not another moment in series, movie, comics or R. Tam Sessions where we see her refer to herself as "she" or as "girl", and I don't understand why some writers use that whole dissociative thing to make her look even crazier than she is.
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 does not change my point above.
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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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Jayne/River. However interesting, however well-written a story is, I just can't abide J/R, not never. I'm sure I'll find a few more as I read more fanfic........
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'Eta Gorram Na Smech!'
(That's gorram ridiculous!)
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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?)
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.
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Mankind makes tools; we use them to augment our hands, arms and legs.
The computer augments the brain and this makes it very unpopular with totalitarians. - Charles J.C. Lyall
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Quote:
Originally posted by Steamer:
Jayne/River. However interesting, however well-written a story is, I just can't abide J/R, not never. I'm sure I'll find a few more as I read more fanfic........
Not too fond of that, nor of the Mal/River ones.
And for plotlines...I think I've seen a wee too many with Zoe pregnant. Some were good. Some not. I'd just like to see something else for P-BDM.
Grammar: Homonyms. Folks need to know the difference between there, they're and their, among others. Nothing makes me fall out of a story faster than the wrong word. Get a beta, someone who will tell you what to fix, not just what's good.
Paragraphs are your friends as are punctuation and capitalization. Use them, but don't abuse them.
Avoid Mary/Marty Sues ("original" characters who, inspite of their highly tragic lives manage to single-handedly save the day and (usually)do the horizontal bop with one of the main characters.) I tend to go with the thought that any OC/fill-in-the-blank pairing will have a M. Sue in it.
*****
RMMC
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One basic pet peeve of mine are fan fics that go on and on. I'm looking at Screw's two stories, KAYLEE'S LAMENT and THE TREASURE OF LEI FONG WU. The latter is up to nearly 80 chapters, and each one of them takes nearly an hour to read. Who has the fucking time to read all that? I know I don't. I know he's an actual author whose books were on the New York Times bestsellers list and he's into detail and characterization and all that, which I respect. I've actually taken a few pages out of his book in my stories. I just believe in economic storytelling.
The above one is sonething that I have no control over. This one, on the other hand, is one I'm actually addressing. The characterizations of Regan and Gabriel Tam. I know that the former was in only one scene of the whole series and the latter was in three, thus it is open for interpretation who these people truly are. But I find that most people are incredibly lazy and have them either ignorant at best or downright villainous at worst, particularily Gabriel. I know how much Joss hates father figures, so I imagine he would have made Gabriel into a big bad. But like I said, I find this easy characterization to be incredibly lazy. I mean, they are their parents. No matter what has or would have happened, they still are a family. And YOU CAN'T GO HOME AGAIN is my small attempt to rectify that which has bugged me to no end. I wanted there to be at least one fanfic in the massive volumes of FIREFLY fanfics that makes Simon and River's parents to be a just as complex as our BDH's, and even worthy of forgiveness. I wanted Gabriel who's not just a bastard but a bastard whom people understood why he's who the way he is and for Regan to be not just some passive housewife but to have a Katherine Hepburn moment. Buecause I find that more emotionally hnest and more interesting than a rote "Parents=bad" fic.
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"There's only one "Return" ok, and it ain't "of the King", it's "of the Jedi."
"Maybe we should start calling your friend 'Padme' because he loves 'Mannequin Skywalker' so much, Right? (imitating robot) Danger...danger...my name is Anakin...my shitty acting is ruining saga."
Excerpt of internet teaser for CLERKS 2.
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I am a big firearm enthusiast so I will say
Zoe's weapon is not a sawn-off shotgun or a sawn-off rifle it is an 1892 mares leg, lever action handgun, that is impractical because it can only contain at max 7 rounds, has an over-sized loop which was meant to allow you to cock it 1-handed, however this can be used a a blunt melee weapon, as demonstrated by Zoe in "The Train Job"
sorry, kind of particular about weapons
http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/llama.php
-try it out, I dare you
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Quote:
Originally posted by RMMC:
Grammar: Homonyms. Folks need to know the difference between there, they're and their, among others. Nothing makes me fall out of a story faster than the wrong word. Get a beta, someone who will tell you what to fix, not just what's good.
Paragraphs are your friends as are punctuation and capitalization. Use them, but don't abuse them.
These two sum up two of my big issues perfectly, so I'm just going to quote them. I'm going to say that most esspecially your and you're need to be watched. Even people who use you're properly one time don't use it next time, they use your, which really makes me twitch.
Pairings are interesting. I like to see all sides of an issue, but there are certain pairings that just have to be incredibly well-written for me to buy them at all. Jayne and River, Jayne and Kaylee, Mal and Simon... All of these kinda make me twitch, but I have found a few stories that make them work. Any story would have to address the basic issues with the pairing, such as how much Jayne and River clash and the fact that Jayne betrayed River and River stabbed Jayne, you know. For Jayne with Kaylee, her interest in Simon has to be addressed. For Kaylee with anyone not Simon, actually, that has to be addressed. Same with Mal and anyone not Inara. And Inara with anyone not Mal. I have yet to find a really convincing Inara/Simon or Inara/Jayne story, so both of those pairings are a bit laughable to me. I have seen very good stories that are Mal/River; the best of them address the Inara thing. So I guess then my peeve would be people just not addressing obvious issues just because they "like the pairing".
My biggest, biggest pet peeve in terms of story is pregnant Zoe. I am tired of it. Even the ones set before the BDM, which there are some older ones, kind of grind my nerves, though not quite as much. And if you are going to insist on Zoe having a baby, then for the love of Joss don't give it frickin' blue eyes. Brown is dominant and hers are very very brown. Lighter skin, lighter hair, bit more believable. Maybe even hazel eyes. Not blue, though, that just bugs me. But really, no matter how good the rest of the story is, if it says anything about "Zoe's little secret" or "Zoe eating for two" or whatever the hell else, I tend to stop reading. Honestly, though, I just don't think children fit in that well with the whole verse. Got nothing against them myself, but they would cause a lot of problems on a boat like that. I have the same reaction to storylines involving pregnant Kaylee.
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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 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...
SIMON
These are better than the Cambersons' berries.
RIVER
They are. Except they're poison.
Simon spits out the berries, looks panicky.
RIVER
(laughing)
He believed her. Made a face.
But yea, that's the only other place she uses third person besides the part in OIS. And this time it seems like she could be saying it to give more of an effect to the joke? I dunno.
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Anyway...
I have HUGE pet-peeves with fanfiction. So many so that I usually can't find any I like.
I only like canon like stories/characters/relationships, in Firefly fanfiction or any other fanfiction for that matter. I cannot stand when characters do not sound/talk like they do in the series/books/whatever. Because if it doesn't sound like the way they talk, or they do something they just wouldn't do in the original its just ridiculous and unbelievable. I won't be able to imagine its them and your story would no longer be a good fanfiction, just a unrelated story with characters that happen to have the same name as Firefly characters.
I cannot stand non-cannon pairings. If it was never suggested, hinted at, or established in the original I will close out the fanfic ASAP. I hate this more than anything. Why oh why do you need to hook up Jayne and River, ("they're just good friends.") AHHHhhh... I mean it just doesn't entertain me for someone to screw with the original I fell in love with. No offense to those who do or like non-cannon pairings, but I cannot abide them. I would like to see Joss's face if the subject of Jayne/River or Mal/River ever came up. Or my favorite... Mal/Simon. WTH?
Also, any story that completly revolves around a non-existing character. Example... A story about Mal & Inara's daughter. Ummm, no. It's like a spin-off show gone wrong.
I hate fanfiction told in first person too. So yea, basically anything not in the spirit/respect to the original, already established characters, 'verse, relationships, and way of story telling will get an immediate boot by me.
Damn picky this one is :) I'm only bothered by spelling and grammar if I notice it. And my spelling and grammar are TERRIBLE, so if I notice it... that's pretty gorramn bad.
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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.
*************************************************
One summer.
One mission.
One legion of Browncoats.
Starting June 23rd, we aim to misbehave.
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Quote:
Originally posted by PhoenixRose:
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.
My bad. I edited my post before I saw your post. But yes, I went and found the right quote and fixed it. But I agree with you. It's annoying when people over use a phrase, word, or idea that was funny or interesting the first time we saw it but gets old once you hear it again and again in someone's fanfiction.
"Is it bad that what she said made perfect
sense to me?"
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