Written by MigsDC
For the longest
time, fan works, fanfiction or “fanfics” especially, have been
the poster children of Sturgeon’s Law, which is commonly understood as, “90% of
everything is crap.” Even now, those terms tend to conjure up
cringe worthy plots, nonsensical crossovers, poor writing and even
poorer grammar for some people. From laughably bad fare like Half
Life: Full Life Consequences, to “trollfics” intended to mock
the source material like My Immortal, to Fifty Shades of
Grey originating from a shoddy Twilight story, there seems
to be ample ammo for those who’d like to scoff at the mere notion
of such works even existing. I can’t say I blame them.
Then, there are those who also try to
dismiss fan works altogether based on more aloof pretensions of
intellectual property and legal issues, concerns which are not entirely unfounded. Some may mention how
there’s no worth in derivative works when you could make your own
unique story instead of, as they see it, stealing someone's idea.
Indeed, there are some creators who are against having fan works,
notably Anne Rice as early as 1995-96. Yet, by that same token, there are also many professionals who either tolerate or
outright encourage such projects based on their fiction.
While the debate is unlikely to end
anytime soon, with the notion of fanfics themselves going back
generations, I'd have been of the same mind 15 years ago.That is
until curiosity got the better of me. I’m not sure what really
started it off, whether it was wanting a proper epilogue to the 2003
adaptation of Fullmetal Alchemist or my growing interest in
science fiction around that time. Perhaps it was some browsing over
LiveJournal anime pages. Regardless of the reason, it dawned on me
just how passionate people can be for the shows, books or whatever it
is they love. Curiosity gave way to fascination, guilty pleasures,
and eventually, admiration. Whether it’s an “Alternate Universe”
tale involving high school, or yes, “lemon” shipping of the
erotic kind, there’s almost always something for everyone that
manages to stay true in spirit to the source material.
In the hands of a talented writer, or
just a decent amateur, even the most outlandish premises can be made
to work, with entertaining results. Shinji and Warhammer 40K comes to mind, which despite
the seemingly moronic idea of crossing over two radically different
franchises, manages to be pretty good reading. I even found myself
writing fanfics of my own. While admittedly, those early stories were
a bit rough and some of my later works do go for the “M” rating,
I don’t regret it. I highly doubt I ever will. If anything, I came
to really understand what makes other fanfic writers, most of them
female, keep going at it. Whether it’s to improve their skills or
simply for the hell of it.
Of course, fan works aren’t just
exclusive to whatever is on FanFiction.net, Archive of Our Own or
even the SpaceBattles forums. Video game mods, from small tweaks to
full-fledged overhauls, have been a staple among gamers for decades,
with some like Command and Conquer: Generals – Rise of the Reds
being more like full-fledged sequels than mere mods. This isn’t
even getting to Japan’s doujinshi scene, which ranges from
indie games to the infamously explicit doujins you’d find at
Comiket. In fact, quite a few famous mangaka, such as Rei Hiroe of
Black Lagoon fame and the women behind CLAMP, not only started out
making such fan works but continue to do so.
True, it’s easier to invoke
Sturgeon’s Law, highlight all the drama, or note the failures then
to actually look for good content but, it’s not that difficult to
find, as TvTropes and AllTheTropes would put it, that 10% worth dying
for. Nor is it that hard to see how some of these proverbial gems are
not only on par with professional works, but in the case of certain
franchises, notably Star Wars, surpass them in quality. Which
in turn opens up new questions, like who really owns fiction when
it’s let loose.
That, though, is for another time. As always. feel free to comment, like, share, tweet, or whatever other thing you kids do on your social media these days.
*All images are owned by their respective copyright holders and are used under fair use guidelines
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