The problem as I see it, really, is that basically people often don't -have- that base level of believability or integration with canon that makes the rest of the commentary stuff plausible. It's why I definitely didn't start off being obsessed with ICness or anything, but little by little, I kept on coming across so much stuff I just -couldn't- buy that I started fixating on the basic things I would -expect- from any decent piece of fanfiction, because -so- much of it was crap, basically.
It's not really a -choice- between filling-in and fantasy in the wilds of the majority of fic produced, because if it was, I'd happily skip off, forgetting about canon and writing/reading AUs about elves, schools in America, magical swords and various weirdness. I really -live- for the weirdness. I -hate-, loathe and despise those stupid H/D HBP fill-ins and I hate the idea of writing the 7th book myself or whatever. But... well... when so many people's writing/characterization basically insult my intelligence... what are you gonna do--?? So I wind up focusing on the basics of, 'this is how you write palatable fanfiction that serves as -fan- as well as -fiction-, everyone'. And yeah, good characterization is right up there in making it worthwhile-- doesn't matter if it's filling in blanks or flying off on its own tangent, as long as it's -believable- for the characters to act that way in the first place.
Am I an odd person, because I sympathize with and like both Prometheus and Job? Heh. I think it's because they have an unbreakable tenacity of faith in common-- just that one believes in himself and the other in Him who is greater than himself. That is the basic conflict at the heart of Judeo-Christianity, in a meta sense, I believe-- that whole issue of submission to God is possibly the greatest running theme. And personally, I side with Lucifer on an individual level (as I believe Lucifer is the direct equivalent to Prometheus in this case), but at the same time I can't help but respect the other choice-- I mean, I think it's complementary rather than opposite and should ideally exist in union similar to the union between Good and Evil-- meaning that ultimately, I believe that Lucifer loves god and Job needs/wants to rebel.
Er, though all that was a tangent because of my recent obsession with the Lucifer comic, basically, ahahah. I get your point about fanfic being separate-but-equal, and... I think I just look for ICness -and- a sense of uniqueness, like the person did something interesting with the character, because I'm just difficult like dat. I don't tend to write/read fanfic for things I admire and consider somehow complete, yeah, but at the same time merely not admiring JKR's books-- though I really enjoy them and love Harry, blahblah-- this doesn't affect how I feel about characterization in fanfic in general, which is an end onto itself for me, not as a means of homage to canon but as a means of... I dunno... being a good fic, y'know?
It's like you said, what's the point if you can't recognize the character, and I honestly can't recognize the dominant fanon version of most characters, not just Draco. As in, I don't consider it good commentary because it's just -irrelevant- as far as I'm concerned; stale and pointless and yes, I can insult fandom a little more if I tried :D
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Date: 2005-11-09 07:24 am (UTC)It's not really a -choice- between filling-in and fantasy in the wilds of the majority of fic produced, because if it was, I'd happily skip off, forgetting about canon and writing/reading AUs about elves, schools in America, magical swords and various weirdness. I really -live- for the weirdness. I -hate-, loathe and despise those stupid H/D HBP fill-ins and I hate the idea of writing the 7th book myself or whatever. But... well... when so many people's writing/characterization basically insult my intelligence... what are you gonna do--?? So I wind up focusing on the basics of, 'this is how you write palatable fanfiction that serves as -fan- as well as -fiction-, everyone'. And yeah, good characterization is right up there in making it worthwhile-- doesn't matter if it's filling in blanks or flying off on its own tangent, as long as it's -believable- for the characters to act that way in the first place.
Am I an odd person, because I sympathize with and like both Prometheus and Job? Heh. I think it's because they have an unbreakable tenacity of faith in common-- just that one believes in himself and the other in Him who is greater than himself. That is the basic conflict at the heart of Judeo-Christianity, in a meta sense, I believe-- that whole issue of submission to God is possibly the greatest running theme. And personally, I side with Lucifer on an individual level (as I believe Lucifer is the direct equivalent to Prometheus in this case), but at the same time I can't help but respect the other choice-- I mean, I think it's complementary rather than opposite and should ideally exist in union similar to the union between Good and Evil-- meaning that ultimately, I believe that Lucifer loves god and Job needs/wants to rebel.
Er, though all that was a tangent because of my recent obsession with the Lucifer comic, basically, ahahah. I get your point about fanfic being separate-but-equal, and... I think I just look for ICness -and- a sense of uniqueness, like the person did something interesting with the character, because I'm just difficult like dat. I don't tend to write/read fanfic for things I admire and consider somehow complete, yeah, but at the same time merely not admiring JKR's books-- though I really enjoy them and love Harry, blahblah-- this doesn't affect how I feel about characterization in fanfic in general, which is an end onto itself for me, not as a means of homage to canon but as a means of... I dunno... being a good fic, y'know?
It's like you said, what's the point if you can't recognize the character, and I honestly can't recognize the dominant fanon version of most characters, not just Draco. As in, I don't consider it good commentary because it's just -irrelevant- as far as I'm concerned; stale and pointless and yes, I can insult fandom a little more if I tried :D