fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #4217 ]

[ SECRET POST #4217 ]

⌈ Secret Post #4217 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 00 pages, 00 secrets from Secret Submission Post #603.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I like May, but a lot of the movies do not give her much screen time. Also, if they are writing Superfamily, it seems like a way for that to happen is for her not to exist or only be peripheral to Peter's life. I mean, a lot of times in fic, when they give a character a new family, they get rid of their existing one, make the existing one horrible, or just don't acknowledge that the existing one ever existed.

"...but a lot of the movies do not give her much screen time"

Uh, isn't that one of the basic functions of fanfic, though? To explore characters and situations that aren't always covered in the canon?

Personally, I think of this as another type of character-bashing. Lots of people are too lazy or lack the writing chops to write plausible scenarios for their ship, so they can't really achieve it without doing one of the things you list above.

^^^ I totally agree. It comes across as "I don't know how to make this work so let's just pretend this important person doesn't exist at all" instead of thinking of unique and interesting ways to make it work.

Yes, exactly! Most people do the former because it's easier.

To explore the characters and situations that you're interested in.

And I think it's a little extreme to call it "bashing" to just ignore the character. As other people have said - write what you want, write what you're interested in. This is fanfiction.

Sure, but the anon in question specifically cited lack of screen time , not lack of interest. That doesn't make sense in a fandom context. Ignoring isn't badhing, exactly, but it's done for similar reasons - an author can't be bothered to write a proper plot that explains why a specific character isn't playing their role, so rhe author bashes, ignores or writes a convenient way out even if it doesn't really make sense.

I just don't think there's something actually wrong with a fan writer writing a plot like that. There's nothing wrong with not wanting to write a specific kind of story, you know?

/shrug People are free to write whatever they want. I don't think it's particularly good writing and I don't have a lot of confidence in a writer's ability if they decide to forgo solid plot development because it's easier and they don't feel like it's necessary.

Reread the comment I was replying to. That anon said they liked May, but mentioned lack of screen time as though that were some sort of obstacle to her character appearing in fanfic scenarios. I'm not saying that people have to write characters they're not interested in, I'm addressing the whole screen time issue specifically and saying THAT doesn't make sense because fandom generally has no problems writing minor characters or things that don't get much screen time. One might even argue that's one of the major points of fandom and fanfiction in particular.

ayrt

Uh, isn't that one of the basic functions of fanfic, though? To explore characters and situations that aren't always covered in the canon? - It can be.

When I wrote that she didn't have much screen time, I was trying to point out that the canon itself doesn't tend to make her that important, so I don't necessarily expect fanfic writers to do better. It's nice when they do, but it shouldn't be expected. Like, I don't expect fanfic writers to be more realistic than canon about things like biology, logic, destruction of property, and safety when actual paid screenwriters aren't. It can be amazing when a fanfic writer fleshes out a character that canon doesn't, but that is not their responsibility in any way.

This is not character-bashing unless they go the horrible route. And how is getting rid of their existing family not a plausible scenario? People lose family members all the time - Peter's lost quite a few. That's one of the most plausible scenarios I can think of, actually. May has a heart attack or a stroke. Or to make it extra tragic, she dies in another robbery while Peter's Spider-Manning it up on the other side of town. Or to pile on the angst, one of his bizarre enemies finds out about her and kills her.

Not including a character because a writer is focusing on other characters and their interactions doesn't have to mean that that writer hates that character or thinks that character is unimportant in general, just that that character is not part of this particular story they are telling.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ SECRET POST #4217 ]

Okay.

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