reenka

i realize this shouldn't matter and i shouldn't bother, and it's kind of pointless responding to anything that divergent from how i perceive things, but still. i guess because i've said things that remind me of aspects of what they said about the Trilogy-- especially because usually i wax on about how important it is to not be too ooc. i'm only saying anything to work it out in my head, because i'm somewhat disturbed, upset, what have you.

of course, saying ooc characterization in fanfic is "unethical" is pretty silly. (well, it seems almost unethical in terms of how much butchering is done to them all in the name of "Canon doesn't matter!")
    not that i even need to reply to something that inane. on the other hand, the question of "why do we write fanfic if our characterizations are so ooc?" is an interesting one.
    i've been told that about some of my own fics. that i could just change some names and poof! original fic. well, i don't really write plot-based fics, but i still think they're informed and enriched by being set in a certain universe, with a sort of assumed history. without it, it would just be kind of a confusing vignette. but for longer works.... for me, it's a question of pleasure. i enjoy the characters being made more "canon" with the stuff i read because frankly, usually the changes the writer makes aren't all that fascinating or believable. being more canonical means you have to work harder to get the same results as far as romance or friendship, usually. more obstacles, and hopefully less writer-insertion and sap.

i enjoy reading fics that twist the assumed hp universe, rather than play into it entirely-- and yet play into it while twisting it, so that i don't really enjoy pairings that seem completely insane (to me), unless they're funny of course. while you're twisting the characters, if you don't stick to some major canon characterization points, you're usually going to end up with a mess-- no conflict-- no build-up to the shift, just things forced into place. it seems-- boring, sort of.

really good writers can get away with almost completely ooc characterizations because their own characterizations are just so bloody good, and their create their own sources of conflict. ok, so that's where the "why make it fanfic" question comes into play. mostly, for me, like i said, it's a question of pleasure. i enjoy the references, the setting (i mean, most writers keep a lot of the setting, hard to make that `ooc' heh). i enjoy the bits of history sprinkled in, the connections you have to make, the type of spells, the boarding school setting, brooms and quidditch and transfiguration and the sexy grease-ball with the attitude and "slytherins do it better" and so on.
    it seems to me that the people who knock things without considering them on their own merits are unbearably anal-retentive about this holy "canon" thing (ok, so it helps i don't like the canon that much anyway). but i've read other fanfic where i -did- like the canon... well... ok, i always like fanfic more than canon. damn. but theoretically. ok, there's sandman fanfic-- there's an official collection out. i looked through it, but none of it grabbed me. nothing can compare to the way neil portrayed his own characters. nothing. nothing can come close. so basically, if i think canon is so damn great, i don't really bother with fanfic. to me, all it is in all my fandoms is a skeleton, a shell. too easy with jkr, because her characterizations don't go much beyond a shell anyway.

if one made a totally canon draco malfoy, he'd be 100% insufferable. i just like him to be 75% insufferable :D in cassie claire's case, i would say she's given draco so much depth, it would be almost impossible for him to have remained canonical. i would say that, yes, you can give him depth and have him be canonical, but you have to be very careful. first of all, he has to still remain a basically unsympathetic character. every time you give him some sort of sincere honest feeling you're veering away from canon!draco. mind you, with the Trilogy, this charge of oocness is pretty funny, almost, because of -course- he's ooc-- the Trilogy is about him. if he was in-character, it is likely most of the events couldn't have occurred. and of course, it meets the criteria of, ``if you can't be in-character, at least build up your own character gradually", just by virtue of sheer length, probably.
   anyway. i just wanted to make sure my own affection for in-character!draco & co. wasn't too related to those uptight people and their "ethics". yeurgh. well, it isn't, so yeay, etc. ^^;
~~

"...Harry?" James repeated blankly. "Harry who?"

"Harry Potter, idiot!" Lily swatted him. "Our son. We get married, have a baby, then bloody Voldemort kills us. How forgetful are you?"

hee~! aww. i really needed that. *trembly smile*

ashkitty is my happy fic fairy~:)

i've also realized that if more people wrote like

thamiris, i might be in danger of being seduced into reading smallville fic. *sigh* mmm. scarred may not be a happyfic, but some things are warm and and relaxing even if they burn a little.