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ImaginationStarts

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You and a friend are fans. You have just finished watching the latest Marvel movie, or maybe just completed reading the latest Harry Potter book, or perhaps the two of you are reminiscing about the single season of Firefly. No matter what the media (book, game, monitor or TV screen) you and your friend are suspended until the next installment comes out, and that suspense is bugging you. Then, out of the blue, your friend recommends a story to you; it's not official and it's not licensed, but it does have 4,762 'favorites'. Your friend explains that each of those faves is a fellow fan who read the story and liked it enough that they wanted others to know how good it was. You figure that, if a fav is like a share on FaceBook, then this must be decent. You're still, however, cautious.

'But, what is it?' You still want to know.

'It' is fan fiction, which (according to Wikipedia): "is fiction about characters or settings from an original work of fiction, created by fans of that work rather than by its creator. It is a popular form of fan labor, particularly since the advent of the Internet." Okay, great. But, what is it?

There are really no rules regarding fan fiction. However, an interesting pattern I've seen is in 'master' categories. That is, that many writers enjoy writing either 'fix-it' fics, speculations, continuations, or crossovers. There are, of course, standard genres such as action/adventure, horror, hurt/comfort, family, mystery, suspense, et cetera, that still pervade the flow and permeate the story, but those are different: more of a what-type-of-story than a what-kind-of-story. 

Like the truth that all fiction is imaginary, but based in believable events and knowledge of how the real world actually works, all fan fiction is AU: Alternate/Parallel Universe, Dimension, or Timeline, and based on the established fictional worlds and how they work. Anything that's not canon (official and/or copyrighted), but held by a great many fans to be true, is known as fanon. Such as the mis-quote 'Beam me up, Scotty' that was never actually said in the original Star Trek series; it is still believable that it could have been said. A story may be 'canon-compliant' meaning it follows the physics and mechanics of the source material. 

Below are the 4.5 categories, along with mainly-non-fanfic examples that are fairly well-known so as to help explain 'what it is.'

..ooO Fix-it Ooo.. 

Fix-it fics generally come in two types, though both ask 'What if ___ had(n't) ___?' and both tend to result in a butterfly effect. The first type is for detailed stories that are mostly fine as-is, at least as far as literature and story-telling go. These tend to use time travel, or simply tweak an event. A good canon example of the former is the 2009 Star Trek film, because the Romulans caused the death of Kirk Sr. resulting in James growing up without a father. It could be argued, however, that the time travel made things worse.

The other type is for vague plots that skim or hand-wave details and tend to ask 'Why?' with a bit of fill-in-the-plot-holeThis can be demonstrated by pointing at early comics, cartoons, and video games. Early comics and cartoons often would stand independent of other issues or episodes, resulting in broken stories, or story elements that outright contradicted a point made or lesson previously learned. What stories existed in video games were usually in the manuals and were simple (defeat this, rescue that). This left gaps or unexplained events that indeed needed fixing. Comics that retained longevity, and game series that continued onto consoles with capacity and capabilities for delivering deeper story, oft had to retroactively fix the continuity (or 'retcon').

In between these types are 'fixing what's not broken,' pointing at all the Batman or Spiderman movie reboots. While interesting to see someone else's interpretation, the superhero makeovers also demonstrate that one person's vision of 'fixed' will always conflict with other people's views and definitions of 'better'. 

..ooO Speculation Ooo..

Speculation comes in two types: explorations of an idea/question and parodies; or tragedy and comedy. What if Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet took place in the late 20th century? Result: 1996 film Romeo + Juliet. Still a tragedy, but easier for current generation to relate to and thus, in a way, darker. What if Star Wars was written by William Shakespeare? Result: William Shakespeare's Star Wars. ThinkGeek.com made a good promotional YouTube video (v=q0QonroBrEo) for the book that demonstrates this nicely. The former speculation type generally hangs closest to canon; most use only characters and facts from the official story. Parodies rely on the audience's familiarity with the source being parodied, otherwise a lot of the humor is lost. For another example of each, consider Treasure Planet and any Monty Python.

Subnote: Somewhere between fix-its and speculations comes the desire for deeper understanding, creating the subcategory Immersion. Fan fiction authors sometimes use this to explain why something works the way it does, to repair minor plot holes, or to expand on a theory or idea presented in the official story. The World of Shannara by Terry Brooks and The Dragonrider's Guide to Pern by Anne McCaffrey both provide extra details of their creations; compendiums. For fiction writers, knowing the details of their worlds is critical for continuity: dates and places, genealogy, climate zones and flora/fauna ranges. These details are important to dedicated fans, but weren’t in the stories when penned, and couldn’t have been without ruining the immersion or enjoyment of the plots when first read. For fan fiction writers, pulling this background to attention and devising a relevant plot or short story can be an enjoyable challenge. When done well and accepted by other fans, it becomes fanon.

..ooO Continuation Ooo.. 

Continuations are fill-in-the-blank prequels, sequels, and "in-between-quels": I wonder what ____ was thinking when ____ happened/was happening? What happened during that time-jump or cut-scene? What happens next? What happened before? Where did ____ come from? What was the story like from a different character's perspective? The True Story of the Three Little Pigs takes the classic children's tale and tells the tale from the wolf's perspective; that the incidents that cause the wolf to be portrayed as the bad guy, are a big misunderstanding. Disney's Tangled Ever After, a Disney Short, gives a glimpse of Rapunzel and Eugene's wedding, and tells just a little more of the story. Also, Lion King 1 1/2 for an in-between.

..ooO Crossovers Ooo..

"I wonder what would happen if ____ met ____." Crossovers, or x-overs. These are usually the trickiest to pull off in a believable scenario, unless a writer has a very good understanding of all main characters, and their personalities, preferences, quirks, and states of mind in each specific time-frame. Crossover stories are difficult to write if worlds are different; the common solution is to use alternate dimensions, planetary travel, or time travel. It takes even more skill to blend and meld two drastically different worlds convincingly without using at least one of these three methods.

These stories can be as simple as two characters meeting, or as complex as a massive melding of worlds, Alien vs. Predator being a well-known example of the first, and the Kingdom Hearts series possibly being one of the most famous of the latter. For a middling example, Archie's Comics has done two Sonic the Hedgehog/Megaman crossover events, the second bringing in guest characters from other Sega and Capcom games. 

Another type of crossover lies more along the lines of elements being added (without the setting and characters) like an instant disguise – adding genetic mutation courtesy of sci-fi evil scientists, government agents, rich billionaires, or aliens – OR a fantasy wish-granting well, genie, witch, fairy, spiteful god, or dragon. The non-human character becomes human, or vice versa, and learning to cope with super powers or normality. Whether science or magic, the longer the secret is kept, the more the suspicion and suspense builds, especially with close calls. A climax can often be accomplished simply by letting one character in on another's secret. Perhaps not the best example, but in the 1996 movie Space Jam, aliens stole the abilities and skills of a handful of professional basketball players and the audience glimpsed the resulting utter confusion. A better example might be Cuphead, not for the story but for the gameplay, which can loosely be described as 'the dawn of animation meets the dawn of video games.'

..ooOOoo..

I know there are plenty of fanfics that don't fall neatly into one of these scenarios; they may be a blending of the above or on a sliding scale between. For example, the Harry Potter book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them follows the Fix-It-and-Speculation-Subnote, while also being a Continuation, while the movie version is a completely different story that carries a lot of Crossover elements as it is set in New York. 

Sidenote: Cookie-cutters and recolors are boring, by which I mean stories that rely on copy-paste plot and don't change at all from the source material. Book-to-movie type of productions can get away with this, as the form of presentation is completely different. For a loose example, imagine that the anime version of Pokemon followed the pattern of the games, with two versions but with a few different creatures. In this example the only changes would occur when one of the version-exclusive Pokemon showed up, and even then those changes would make a negligible difference in the overarching plot of the season or series. I think some of the re-re-remakes of certain superhero movies fall prey to this a bit.

As a final note, I would caution aspiring writers to be careful of changing what makes an established character who they are without believable in-story explanation or reasoning. Also, please use warning tags. In a similar way, I would caution readers; If you don't like the way an author portrays your favorite character, you have no obligation to continue reading. 

Fiction is the dreamer's mind, imagination interpreted by paper and ink. Fan fiction is no different, and, to borrow a popular method of fanfic disclaimer, just plays in someone else's sandbox.

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...to be a fan of something because it's popular, because 'everyone else is.' It's another thing to like something for what it is, despite its popularity or lack of.
That being said, I like Rockman in spite of the stagnation, I like MLPony in spite of the crazy part of the fan base, and I like peanut butter in spite of it sticking to the roof of my mouth. And yes the last had to be said because THAT'S THE POINT! Everyone has their own likes, dislikes, tastes, preferences, and opinions. Just because I don't like dill doesn't mean I mock the people that do. Just because I like mushrooms doesn't mean I look down on people that don't. And just because I don't approve of someone's actions, doesn't mean I can't be kind to them.
And I've run out of steam. Or words.
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Anyone who's known me since high school knows I'm an avid Rockman/Mega Man fan. Capcom has just announced that the D.A.S.H. aka Legends 3 Project, which has been in development for nearly a year and in planning even longer, was just canceled. This game was being developed for the 3DS and was so close to completion that a trial/demo was to be available early last month. I've been watching feedback and I believe it's a good thing the rage is contained in the internet.

The worst part is that at New York Comic Con '10, they announced that development was open to the fans. The ideas and input, planning, polls, sketches, support, time, talent, effort, and even a bit of heart that every contributing fan put into this is now for naught. Capcom has not only let down anticipating fans, but contributing workers that devoted a great deal to seeing this come to fruition.

Also, this was announced overseas, but less than a week before San Diego Comic Con. I pray that the riots stay on the internet.

The original Legends was released in N. America on August 31, 1998. The Misadventures of Tron Bonne, a prequel, on May 5, 2000. And Legends 2, a sequel to L1, on October 24, 2000. I've been waiting for this story for ELEVEN YEARS!

And they were about to release the demo too! It was going to be released in early June (havn't found the exact date yet), but was delayed.

Interesting though, I'm seeing reactions as if this were a death, which is kind of scary. Ever hear of the Kübler-Ross model? It's better know as The Five Stages Of Grief. I'm seeing them all, in mass numbers.

Denial. (Nooooo!)

Anger. (Plenty of that especially since we know who killed this.)

Bargaining. (Capcom, what can we do to bring this back?)

Depression. (I've already lost sleep over this.)

Acceptance. (Well, I've mostly accepted the current cancilation, but since this isn't a people...)

A lot of curiosity is rising about what criteria the game failed to meet. I don't know, and may never know, but it's rare that there wasn't a call to get help to change whatever needed to be changed so that it could meet unsaid criteria. People change themselves in order to meet specifications all the time (athletes train to get onto teams, citizens are turned into soldiers, students study for tests, job-seekers will cut their hair, and public speakers practice in front of a mirror, ect). What needs to change for a game to 'meet required criteria?' There are potentially hundreds of already devote fans willing to help fix, change, alter, and otherwise make this work!

Oh, and unrelated but apparently Borders is going to start liquidating soon for closer in September.
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I guess I have to figure out how to use my own art as a skin...

Keeping busy with various projects, doodles, sketches, and drawings.

Got a few really good WiPs, but still at points that I'd be somewhat embarrassed to show them. I have a habit of getting a work to a point, then abandoning it. I don't mean to, I'm just not confident in my coloring skills. I'll try to do more coloring now that I have Gimp and don't have to worry about ruining the original by accident. I just have to get use to the tools, so that means practice on not-so-detailed works.

Okay, that's enough typing for one night.

~Crystal~

Oh, one last thing. I found this on the TVTropes web site for the trope/category 'Science Related Memetic Disorder' farther down the page under examples of 'Real Life' and got a kick out of it.

" Studies have shown that there's a slight trend for people with creative jobs to have a mental disorder. (For the science people: It's actually really slight, but supposedly outside their margin of error.) This isn't "everyone who does something well is insane," more like "if you do something well, you're statistically slightly more insane than everyone else." "
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