But, what if your OC is genuinely brilliant?

Fandom Rules? by Tray-Gnome on 2013-03-05 03:24:00 UTC Reply

So, today I realised something. I've rarely been an active part of a fandom (aside from a brief stint of writing Pokemon fanfic that will never be mentioned again)(seriously don't mention it). I have, however, done a great deal of lurking. One thing I've noticed while lurking is that there often seems to be a trend towards certain things in a fandom. So, what I'm curious about is this:

What fandoms are you a part of that have (relatively) strict rules regarding various things?

And by various, I mean anything. I'm really curious about this.

For example, there is the (not so) unspoken rule with John Dies at the End that, no matter what, you never spoil the ending. Ever. Don't do it.

Another example is revealing Aikawa's sex in a Prunus Girl fic (something that's never outright said in the manga). It's just not something that happens.

In short, what rules are there in your fandoms? What elements of canon don't get touched at all? What things (if any) are always different from canon? Is there something that, while never actually mentioned in canon, is a constant in fanfic?

Depends on the Trekkie/Trekker. by hermione of vulcan on 2013-03-11 03:53:00 UTC Reply

It's such a huge fandom that anything you think is universal will have people against it. With five series and ten movies, odds are you'll find people who hate or love any number of them. Semi-universal, though:
-(The Original Series) Kirk and Spock. Whether you slash or not, you still probably believe that their friendship is sacred. To some extent, the friendship of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy is regarded the same way, but since there aren't as many people who support a threesome it doesn't have quite the support of Kirk and Spock.
- (Voyager) Janeway/Chakotay over canonical Chakotay/Seven. There re some C/7 shippers, but they are in the minority. Very much so.
- (Voyager) "Threshold" isn't canon. Even the writers say so. Can't blame them - what show wants an episode where two of the main characters superevolve into mutant lizards and have mutant alien lizard babies?
- (The Next Generation) **SPOILER ALERT** Much of the fanbase (not all but a significant enough portion to put here) believes that Data didn't die in Star Trek: Nemesis. To be fair, there are a lot of hints of his return, and maybe he would have if Nemesis hadn't been a box office flop and therefore closed the door on Star Trek movies until the 2009 reboot. (Strangely enough, Data's death may have caused the movie to flop, seeing as he's a fan favorite.) Fanfiction abounds explaining his return or simply ignoring the issue. I myself have written a fic doing the former.
- (Voyager) A vast majority of fans agree that the last episode of Voyager didn't resolve everything, or at least, that there is potential for stories after it, to the point where seeing fanfiction tagged "Post Endgame" is like finding a Suefic in the LOTR archive.

You probably didn't read much of that unless you know Trek, but yeah, that's what I can think of. I think the reason Voyager has so much is because while it was excellent, it was plothole-ish, leading the fans to fill the plotholes.

(end Trek gush)
THOU SHALT NOT BE SMARTER THAN SHERLOCK HOLMES. by Lily Winterwood on 2013-03-09 07:34:00 UTC Reply

You can have a moment when a character one-ups Sherlock for a moment or two, but you must never ever ever have a character naturally smarter than him who isn't Mycroft, Moriarty, or Irene.

Because generally if you've an OC that can do that, people scream Mary Sue. And they're usually correct (seriously, Suethors, find a better character template for your OC than Sherlock bloody Holmes I beg of you).

Aside from that, no other rules really come to mind, because most rules that I know are just fanon that have cemented themselves into the collective psyches of the fandoms I'm a part of.

Oh, there's the THOU SHALT COUNT TO NINE stuff for the LotR fandom, but even in some instances that could be waived for a very amusing story or two.

But, what if your OC is genuinely brilliant? by SpecstacularSC on 2013-03-10 23:10:00 UTC Reply

Though I'm not very good at writing her (yet - need practice and deep studying), I have a female freelance investigator character who suffers from a slight superiority complex and could probably match Holmes' snarkiness with her own.

Would the fandom (which I've now become a part, given all the Sherlock Holmes I'm suddenly surrounded by) just, like, stone me?

And I've also played with the idea that three of my OCs (Gav the mercenary, Rose the mage, Geo the kleptomaniacal treasure hunter ranger) suddenly hook up with the fellowship and follow along with them because Geo wants the treasures they find, and then hijinks happen.

I would just need to figure out how to write it...

Genuine brilliance would be fine. by Lily Winterwood on 2013-03-10 23:14:00 UTC Reply

There's a Sherlock OC out there who is a mathematician and a huge computer genius who actually created the key that Moriarty was talking about from FALL. Her fic has her and Sherlock going out to try and destroy the copies of information on the key, and the author's hinted at a romantic relationship between the two of them. See, she's brilliant, but not in the same way that Sherlock is brilliant.

What is a problem is when some super-young teenage upstart suddenly has all the skills with deductions and observations that can only come with years of experience and practice. What's a real problem is when they think deduction's some sort of genetic trait when it's just a ton of practice.

That sounds like a lot of animes. by SpecstacularSC on 2013-03-11 00:34:00 UTC Reply

Random teenager suddenly analytical genius, that is.

Unless he got a really young start, I'm gonna have a hard time being convinced.

Every single detective/investigator/clue-finder/problem-solver character I've ever made, with the exception of one due to post-mortem genetic tampering followed by ressurection (it was a sci-fi setting), has been well into their thirties at least, and all have a pretty hard view of the world - which actually is another thing:

How many shows about crime scene investigations have you seen where the team investigating is not snarky as all hell, even in good humor?

Crimes like murder take a toll on even the happiest cop. I've heard a lot of veteran cops I met in real life or saw on television say that they've seen a particular crime "too many times", and that it makes them sick that it still happens.

And yet these mary sues act like it's all flowers and sunshine. Oh, look! A murder! Let's solve it with FRIENDSHIP!

Ugh. I'm not even all that into mystery stories, and that still annoys the crap out of me.

Well, I'm a member of Fight Clu- *mugged* by SpecstacularSC on 2013-03-05 10:03:00 UTC Reply

In all seriousness, though, I think you would be amazed how truly unforgiving the Kingdom Hearts fandom can get over such things as not knowing the confusing-like-an-Escher-painting story.

And then there's the really radical FF7 fans who won't even let you say the first syllable of Cloud/Tifa, Cloud/Aerith, or Cloud/Yuffie (depending on which end of the ship spectrum they're from) without destroying you.

Oh yeah, and good luck trying to show some rather perverted Tales Series fans that you aren't insane for not liking the Ms. Fanservice character because she's a total b*tch.

Ugh. This is why I just play the games and stay right out of the fandom world most of the time.
Well... by KittyNoodles on 2013-03-05 04:46:00 UTC Reply

I've never encountered things like that before, but then I try to distance myself from anyone who might screech about broken rules of fandom. There is a difference between politely asking for someone farther along in the story than you not to spoil the parts you don't know and shrieking "DON'T SPOIL ANYTHING THERE MIGHT BE PEOPLE WHO DON'T KNOW ABOUT THIS YET" every time others try to discuss something like civilized human beings, so I generally run with people of the same fandom who will stick a NORMAL spoiler warning (as opposed to !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SPOILERSOMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) on posts with spoilers, but leave it at that. The same rule applies with other fandom rules.

I dunno, I don't do well with people becoming rabid over fictional stories/video games/etc. It doesn't make much sense to me unless the canon in question is being mangled rather than speculated upon or added to in an affectionate manner - and even then, a whisper can go much farther than a banshee wail.

That said, there's a growing group of Wrathion/Anduin shippers in the World of Warcraft fandom, and with it is an equally growing group of "EW OMG WHY" anti-shippers. It's kind of amusing to watch the rampaging ship wars, but I'm staying out of it.

The thing about JDatE... by Tray-Gnome on 2013-03-05 04:49:00 UTC Reply

...Is that the suspense leading up to the ending is absolutely amazing, and it really takes a lot away from a person's enjoyment of the book if it's spoiled beforehand. Plot details are fine to mention, but you never spoil the ending. Heck, "Whatever you do, don't spoil the ending!" is the second-last line in the movie trailer. As melancholicPoet once said, "it's the best-kept secret."

Ah, but I wasn't referring to John Dies at the End. :D by KittyNoodles on 2013-03-05 04:59:00 UTC Reply

I was referring to the Harry Potter, Warriors, Twilight, Lord of the Rings, and World of Warcraft fandoms.