I hate fanfiction sometimes (rant)

Discussion in 'Novel General' started by ZXu2002, Feb 18, 2020.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Westeller

    Westeller Smokin' Sexy Style!! Staff Member

    Joined:
    Apr 3, 2016
    Messages:
    8,169
    Likes Received:
    24,948
    Reading List:
    Link
    In that case, you could use fanfics as another window into the perspective of other viewers. Fanfic authors often have pretty impressive grasps of source material, and how they feel about it - what they liked, didn't, what criticism they have, what insights - shine through in their fiction.
     
    AMissingLinguist, imK and Anra7777 like this.
  2. Anra7777

    Anra7777 All powerful magic grammar hamster queen pirate.

    Joined:
    Apr 13, 2018
    Messages:
    4,030
    Likes Received:
    33,682
    Reading List:
    Link
    What about books like from the Star Wars extended universe? Those are basically official fanfiction. Heck, in a way, even the new trilogy as well as all the Star Wars video games could theoretically be labeled “fanfiction” since they didn’t come out of George Lucas’ mind. You could also argue that I’m wrong, and that because it’s official, it can’t be labeled fanfiction, even if it’s not from the original creator. I think both points of view can be considered correct in their own ways.
     
    imK, Sabruness and Westeller like this.
  3. pass1478

    pass1478 I'm in Despair!

    Joined:
    Dec 15, 2019
    Messages:
    1,557
    Likes Received:
    6,702
    Reading List:
    Link
    Same. I really like seeing other people reactions, analysis, and reviews on the things I hate or like.
     
    imK and Reindeer like this.
  4. ExcitableFoci

    ExcitableFoci Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 24, 2019
    Messages:
    2,063
    Likes Received:
    3,570
    Reading List:
    Link
    As much as 99% of these works are dumpster fire, there are a lot of 1/100 fics that are really really good. Most of these fics kinda gives you closure, so we don't really mind it not being canon. Just look at this: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13442615/1/Iwatani-Naofumi-BitchSlayer

    A flicker of light, a minute break in Myne's façade, and doubt and suspicion ensue. A heated confrontation, things get said and done that can never be taken back, and Naofumi has to admit defeat but vows to marry her anyway.

    Who wouldn't want an alternative reality in which Naofumi ends with the Bitch?
     
  5. ludagad

    ludagad Addicted to escapist novels

    Joined:
    Oct 31, 2015
    Messages:
    3,930
    Likes Received:
    10,613
    Reading List:
    Link
    Too lazy to go through all the responses to see if anyone told you Ironman and Captain America is kinda canon: https://screenrant.com/captain-america-iron-man-lovers-married-comic/ in an alternate universe, lmao. Bad example to give about random ships. This one is not quite random and is pretty popular (probably from the Civil War tension? Who knows). Like Superman and Batman, though I personally prefer a bottom Batman while the majority of what I find is a top Batman, meh. Otherwise, I do get that 'random' shipping can be annoying, but I understand it as the authors taking it as a challenge and a 'what-if' scenario. Or it's just a crack pairing for the heck of it. And Spiderman getting adopted, I dunno, kinda weird, but it's all the dad energy Ironman gave off when they were together.

    As for that 60-80 girl harem, lol. There's no end to some people's greed, is all I'm gonna say. I just try and imagine a reverse harem with 60-80 guys and it sounds like hell (gb every day). Maybe the MC is very virile or the harem is extremely sexually unmotivated/ disinterested. But that's what makes fanfics so fun, the wackiness of it all. And from time time, very rarely, you find a piece of work that elevates your tastes and expectations, and it's endless dissatisfaction from then on. Might be better to just invest your feelings in original fiction written by pros. Honestly, when I want to read fanfiction, I spend several hours up to a whole night just sifting through the trash in hopes of finding anything decent. I mean, no offence to teen writers, you gotta start somewhere. But some of the things I've seen are WILD. Serves to show how many unique individuals are living their lives out there, trying their hand at writing.
     
    AMissingLinguist and imK like this.
  6. Reindeer

    Reindeer RynDeeVuo

    Joined:
    Oct 30, 2016
    Messages:
    1,758
    Likes Received:
    2,061
    Reading List:
    Link
    I'm Asian so I never really grew up alongside the hype for Star Wars. Never seen a movie of it in fact, not to mention I was probably too young when the classics were airing too. I don't know a lot about Star Wars, sorry.
    Maybe, but like I said, I don't really have any series where I strongly feel like wanting to read fanfics of. I'm already at the point where I don't even read webnovels everyday anymore, not to mention reading fanfics of series I don't really care about. If I do find fanfics of series I'll love in the future, I'll be more open-minded to it and give it a try.
    Yeah, that does sound interesting lol. I remember reading the webnovel way back and it's one of the first webnovels I finished reading but now I mean I couldn't even finish the anime so I don't really care about it anymore. That sounds hilarious tho, I'd be more willing to read fanfics that are ridiculous and comedic since that's my favorite genre. Maybe if I find the time, I'll try that fanfic out.
     
    imK and ExcitableFoci like this.
  7. Wujigege

    Wujigege *Christian*SIMP*Comedian

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2016
    Messages:
    16,265
    Likes Received:
    15,755
    Reading List:
    Link
    I am starting to sound like a broken record but I will say it

    You are not the target audience.

    There is no law that says you must read all the fanfiction based on say BNHA or any other media that you like.
    Learn to use tags, filter out some stories ...:facepalm:
    I don't see any BL or loli on Novelupdates. I wonder if they exist?

    [​IMG]
     
  8. HavekZero

    HavekZero A well meaning, contributing member of this forum

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2016
    Messages:
    1,103
    Likes Received:
    11,652
    Reading List:
    Link
    you my friend, need a break.

    go back and rewatch your favourite anime after which you move onto manga onto light novels and then come back an entire circle to fanfiction which will all of a sudden feel pleasent to read again.

    On a side note I've totally got your back on this. triggers me like mad everytime a naruto fanfiction writer puts the word dattebyo in the end of narutos sentences.
     
  9. Diametric

    Diametric Waifu Connoisseur

    Joined:
    Dec 29, 2018
    Messages:
    1,184
    Likes Received:
    1,565
    Reading List:
    Link
    For the fourth one, how else are they supposed to indicate that the person is saying a word from a different language than they usually do?

    Should they say the Japanese equivalent instead?

    Using the romanisation isn't exactly smooth, but there's not much alternative other than putting an asterisk and saying "he said this in english"
     
    AMissingLinguist likes this.
  10. ZXu2002

    ZXu2002 I am a idiot

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2017
    Messages:
    773
    Likes Received:
    535
    Reading List:
    Link
    The problem is when the word being said was meant to be english in the first place. The example I have, and the one which annoyed me the most, was when Smoker uses attacks that are literally English words written using the Japanese alphabet. When you read them, they are meant to be english, it's just that the language it is written in doesn't have the syllables for that. So when you read it in English, it isn't supposed to have some mystical meaning a just what it literally says. Like, it is acceptable to leave rassengan as that because it sounds better than spinny circle thing, and also because it was intended to be read that way. Now you have something like "howaito auto", which is literally the Japanese pronunciation of "white out". So why not just use white out? It conveys the intended meaning to an English speaking audience, and is literally the same word
     
  11. Diametric

    Diametric Waifu Connoisseur

    Joined:
    Dec 29, 2018
    Messages:
    1,184
    Likes Received:
    1,565
    Reading List:
    Link
    I understand that. But if the character is originally speaking in Japanese and then says an English word, if the Japanese is translated to English and the romanisation is converted to normal english then how are you supposed to make the distinction that the character is speaking in two different languages?
     
    AMissingLinguist likes this.
  12. ToastedRossi

    ToastedRossi Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2017
    Messages:
    3,635
    Likes Received:
    3,513
    Reading List:
    Link
    There are tons of ways to do this: an author note in parenthesis - (in English), italics, square brackets, and so forth.

    Onto the greater topic, I don't read a lot of fanfiction, but I do understand what the draw is to both reading and writing it. Sure it's not high literature, but it's not something that should be altogether discounted. Also, there are quite a few pieces of actual literature of merit that can be considered fanfiction. The first, and most obvious, is new renditions of old stories; the classic examples being "Ivanhoe" (featuring Robin Hood) and "the Once and Future King" (all about King Arthur and his knights). People don't think of these as fanfiction, but that's exactly what they are. The other type are historical stories. These are obviously retellings of real events but they're basically fanfiction as well.
     
    imK and AliceShiki like this.
  13. Diametric

    Diametric Waifu Connoisseur

    Joined:
    Dec 29, 2018
    Messages:
    1,184
    Likes Received:
    1,565
    Reading List:
    Link
    This was my point all along. None of these solutions are really elegant, and I don't mind whichever the author chooses to pick since it doesn't make much difference anyway.
     
    AMissingLinguist likes this.
  14. ToastedRossi

    ToastedRossi Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2017
    Messages:
    3,635
    Likes Received:
    3,513
    Reading List:
    Link
    The point isn't about whether the solutions are elegant; it's that they are perfectly functional whereas rendering words that were originally in English as Japanese is just dumbassery.
     
  15. Diametric

    Diametric Waifu Connoisseur

    Joined:
    Dec 29, 2018
    Messages:
    1,184
    Likes Received:
    1,565
    Reading List:
    Link
    Except they don't get across how they are butchering the word by trying to say it with their Japanese syllables. If I read "Howaito Auto!" then I'm gonna imagine the way they are shouting this a lot more vividly than if I read "White Out!", "[White Out!]", or "White Out! (in English)".

    You're sacrificing information in order to make it more visually appealing on the page.
     
  16. ToastedRossi

    ToastedRossi Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2017
    Messages:
    3,635
    Likes Received:
    3,513
    Reading List:
    Link
    There's always going to be a tradeoff between accuracy and readability. A good translation is going to be the one that maximizes the latter at the least expense of the former. Information like knowing that Sailor Moon's attacks are spoken in English has very little value because it doesn't say anything about her character nor does it do anything thematically.

    Generally Japanese translations have terrible readability to begin, so anything that sacrifices yet more of it should be really important. As such, not rendering a quote in English because the original was in English is sort of peak dumbassery.
     
    AMissingLinguist likes this.
  17. Diametric

    Diametric Waifu Connoisseur

    Joined:
    Dec 29, 2018
    Messages:
    1,184
    Likes Received:
    1,565
    Reading List:
    Link
    I think that the amount we weigh accuracy and readability can't really be reconciled. I think that using the romanisation of an english word doesn't really take away from the readability that much.

    And even though knowing the language that the abilities are named in might not do much in terms of character or themes, I think it does impact on immersion and tone. Imagining someone yell some of these ability names in English something makes me cringe, imagining a japanese person yelling the romanisation less so.
     
  18. Ruyi

    Ruyi translator at CG

    Joined:
    Jun 19, 2016
    Messages:
    1,488
    Likes Received:
    4,395
    Reading List:
    Link
    I feel like fanfiction is just this giant sandbox themed playground where anything and everything goes. Usually, everyone keeps to their own box of sand and everyone's happy. As a reader, I'm stuck sifting through the silt until I fine-tune results for what I want, which really helps cut down on the frustration.

    On that note, you know what's worse than bad fanfiction? Official novels cough and webnovels cough written in the style of one, with nonsensical power ups, inconsistent characterization, and power-fantasies stuffed down your throat until you're gag-cringing with every chapter. Then again, that's just my non-preferences, they probably fit other readers just fine.
     
  19. imK

    imK Artful Dodger

    Joined:
    Oct 20, 2018
    Messages:
    1,221
    Likes Received:
    2,630
    Reading List:
    Link
    I don't mind fan-fiction overall. Takes a lot of sifting to separate the wheat from the chaff, but that's like everything in life. I loathe RPF and RPS made without the assent of the person though. I've seen RPF/RPS involving sexual abuse, addiction, torture etc and all I can think is really? Bet your ass if I was famous I'd be pulling a hammer down on the 'author' for disrespecting my image.
     
    Anra7777 likes this.
  20. Vincent1873

    Vincent1873 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 16, 2016
    Messages:
    6,414
    Likes Received:
    2,171
    Reading List:
    Link
    I don't think you can do anything if they're not making money off of it. Maybe go after the hosting site at most.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.