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grayout.livejournal.com) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomsecrets2007-06-09 05:19 pm
grayout.livejournal.com) wrote in fandomsecrets2007-06-09 05:19 pm
[ SECRET POST #155 ]
⌈ Secret Post #155 ⌋
Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.
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Notes:
Secrets Left to Post: 05 pages, 114 secrets from Secret Submission Post #023.
Secrets Not Posted: 0 broken links, 0 not!secrets, 0 not!fandom.
Next Secret Post: Tomorrow, Sunday, June 10th, 2007.
Current Secret Submission Post: Here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.
no subject
I don't want to start a fight, though you, or if you didn't make the image, whoever did, seem to want to. When I first started posting Liquid Fire, it was my first venture into the Kingdom Hearts fandom. I did not know what communities were active, nor even which were the ones I was looking for.
So I posted a lot. Eventually, a kind mod at one of the groups talked to me for a couple of minutes, and I stopped posting on all of them. I instead stuck to the two main LJ comms I have found to be the most active - khyaoi and 0kingdom_hearts. That is actually the way 90% of people who read my fics find each new posting. I discovered this during the time that I had to friend-lock my journal because of all of the recent LJ drama with them banning. People posted on my two leavings in 0kingdom_hearts and khyaoi to get friended to me.
Other then the fact that I posted my -original- fanfiction in too many comms and now know better, and have posted a great deal of fanfic since and have stopped my unbeknowest 'spamming' (for which I felt terrible, once someone clued me in), why exactly are you so angry with me for posting? It is how I inform my readers that I've updated on my multiple running KH fics.
I don't understand this comm I found myself in by the anonymous posting left in my LJ, so please feel free to respond and tell me what is going on.
Thank you, Jantra
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(Anonymous) 2007-06-10 08:50 pm (UTC)(link)no subject
I just don't entirely understand how people are thinking. I have a lot of people who like it. No one has posted and said WHY THEY DIDN'T and yet... they come to this comm and make very mean fun of me?
I stated originally that LF was a roleplay. It actually was never meant to be a fic. Synergy, which has been lumped in with LF despite the fact it's a different person, is like... the exact opposite of LF. It's very canon, very simple, and a lot of people have left comments about how they like the different style of writing.
I've never forced anyone to read my fics... so if people didn't like it, why didn't they just... not read it and skip over my posts? Instead of being... mean?
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(Anonymous) 2007-06-10 09:09 pm (UTC)(link)For me, your writing seems effortless. It seems like you haven't tried, that you don't think it's worth spending much time on. Which, in a way, is an insult to those of us who spend weeks writing a single one shot. All it takes is a beta-reader, and the grammar issues are gone. All it takes is a few days extra thought, re-writing sections indiscriminately, and the story can improve tenfold. All it takes is a little more care and devotion.
To me, it doesn't seem like you love your story, or your writing. It just looks like you enjoy to attention it garners you.
Your fics are not canon, at all. I'm sorry, but you must be working on an entirely different wavelength to the rest of us, because a lot of people can not see the canon in your stories.
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(Anonymous) 2007-06-10 09:10 pm (UTC)(link)For me, your writing seems effortless. It seems like you haven't tried, that you don't think it's worth spending much time on. Which, in a way, is an insult to those of us who spend weeks writing a single one shot. All it takes is a beta-reader, and the grammar issues are gone. All it takes is a few days extra thought, re-writing sections indiscriminately, and the story can improve tenfold. All it takes is a little more care and devotion.
To me, it doesn't seem like you love your story, or your writing. It just looks like you enjoy the attention it garners you.
Your fics are not canon, at all. I'm sorry, but you must be working on an entirely different wavelength to the rest of us, because a lot of people can not see the canon in your stories.
Different anonymouse here
(Anonymous) 2007-06-10 10:14 pm (UTC)(link)And I realise you may not be aware of this, but the spamming of this community with copypasta comments, and the desperate pleading for people to read Synergy and find out if it's as bad as Liquid Fire, comes across really badly.
If you want concrit for either piece, find a beta. The way you're namedropping this new fic in every single comment is just going to put people off even more than your name and reputation being attached.
Re: Different anonymouse here
I copy and pasted my comments because people did not really leave me enough to discuss, as well as since livejournal sends e-mails out, it would get their notice that I had replied to their comment. That is all.
Re: Different anonymouse here
(Anonymous) 2007-06-10 10:53 pm (UTC)(link)And whatever your reason for telling every single person you replied to that they should read the new fic, it still looks bad. As far as they're concerned, you're a badfic author, who is now spamming a completely unrelated community because the mere idea that someone, somewhere, dislikes your fic is cause for you to come running and bug them about why. They won't give you a second/third/fourth/whatever chance just because you're saying this one is different.
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First off, just how long have you been writing? Please don't take this as an insult- your writing comes off as far, far above an amateur writer. There are awkward phrases and some grammar errors in there, but those things can be fixed with a simple beta or a few careful read-throughs of your work.
I know you've had this word thrown at you repeatedly today: characterization. Now, no one expects (or should expect, anyhow) your interpretations of a character to be the same as someone else's. Everybody sees things differently. You should see how many "emotion/no emotion" Nobody debates are on any KH forum/comm/site, period. :)
However, there are certain "limits", if you will. And if the character you're portraying crosses those limits, it makes the reader go "BUH?". As a very, VERY drastic example, imagine a piece of historical fiction that has Adolf Hitler making peace and love with all his Jewish pals. It's just unbelievable, no?
That's pretty much what readers who object to your writing feel like, to a much lesser extent, of course. I don't mean to hurt your feelings, because every writer has trouble with characterization at least now and then. The more you write, the easier it'll get.
But, when you constantly write characters OOC, that gets easier as well. I've heard you say a few times that your stories aren't meant to be canon or serious, that they're just RPs. You can turn these RPs into really good writing practice! First, dissect your RP-story, analyzing how each character would react in a given situation (be sure not to let your bias for a pairing or romance mess with what the CHARACTER would do!), then rewrite your story canonically. You can post both versions, if you wish, but I bet you'll be surprised how different the secong version will be- and how much people'll like it!
Also, you shouldn't listen to flamers trying to personally insult you. But, you also shouldn't listen to people who mindlessly worship your writing. Both of these can hurt you! I've noticed a lot of your reviewers say only things like "ILU! Best story ever!" and such. These people aren't trying to better your writing, and they don't even care about the work you put into it. They'll just comment and fav anything that has the couple of their preference snuggling or sexing each other up. Watch out for these people!
I'm sorry this post became so long. :) I think you can improve greatly! You just need to be polished up some more. I hope I didn't come off as harsh, because that certainly was not my aim! Believe me, you are nowhere NEAR the worst this fandom has to offer.
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I am glad you did not post anon. It means you back up what you say.
Liquid Fire, the particular fic that everyone is so upset about, is not my best work as far as character. I have admitted that because I -know- that. I kept posting it because a) I do like the storyline it has and b) People really enjoyed it to the point of sending me IMs when I did not update fast enough.
Synergy, the fic I have been trying to prove is 'better' in my opinion, is my... opposite of LF. It is far more canon, with every single desicion of plot and character carefully discussed and thought out with its co-author. People say "Oh god, Xemnas wouldn't bite anyone!" yet... I wonder if they really think about the thought process. To us, Xemnas is a very smart, very Alpha male type of mind. Determined and brilliant. We decided that in the heat of a battle, a logical sensible way to subdue a Berserker that cannot limit itself to pain in a way that does not harm him or get anyone else hurt, as well as to regain the control that Xemnas was realizing he was losing? In one fell swoop, by acting like an alpha and biting. It controlled Saix and did everything Xemnas was hoping it would do. We made sure to include his 'feelings' on how that occured - the akward 'embarassment' and bruising of ego...
Yet all people do, "Oh noes he wouldn't bite!"
And despite the much more carefully written Synergy, all people will remember and think about is the fic of mine they do not like. I did not ask anyone to read the fic. I have found fics I dislike and so... I just ignore them. I skip past the fic and keep going. I don't go around to comms and leave rants, or sneak around behind the author's back and sneer at them.
*goes through your post again* I have been writing for 12 years now. I write every day for my job and make good money doing it which is seen by a thousand people a day. (I am not bragging, please do not think so! I am just saying what pertains of my job to this post.) Yes, I do have a few issues with grammer sometimes - I've never said I am perfect. With fanfics, I do not write 'professionally' because it is for fun. Besides, at work, I have an editor (a beta) that reads everything. Note that I have no beta for my current fanfics because no one has offered and I find it very rude to ask.
So many people... have just told me I am a terrible writer and that they despise me because of a piece of writing. ONE piece of writing. And yes, I have been trying not to take it to heart. But it does hurt. It is impossible for it to not when someone hates you. The people who 'mindlessly' worship my work scare me once in a while, but then I turn around and find that they are very well spoken and kind sometimes. I am happy to be able to please some people. According to the 'hating-people' I do not put any work into my fics. Sometimes that is true - the writing flows and we just guide it a bit, and other times I have argued with my co-author(s) until we get something settled and right. Even just recently, Jaded (co-author on LF) and I agreed to stop writing because we had lost our place in our current fic and decided to re-think it later once we had a better grip.
I think what bothers me the most, though I might be reiterating now, is that people take one piece of fiction and think that every single other thing I have written is exactly like that.
Your post is a perfect length. Thank you for being one of the VERY few people who have responded back to me in a kind and honest way. You do not come off as harsh at all, only openly honest. And the way people talk, you would think I -was- the worst this fandom has to offer. Sigh.
no subject
If you admit the characters are OOC in "Liquid Fire"... then why do you care if other people call them OOC?
Some (possibly most) people don't like reading OOC!fic. I personally don't, and so I don't read them. But I can still be annoyed by people posting/spamming OOC!fic (especially with a marker saying OOC!fic here! Look, I write them OOC because I can!) and annoyed further by crowds of people going "OMG! Write moar PLZ!! ILU!!" because it promotes OOC!fic in the fandom. And the whole point of fandom is to love the characters for who they are, IC, so it kind of defeats the purpose, sort of? If you read an epic fic where Hughes prances around in a tutu all the time, written JUST BECAUSE THE AUTHOR COULD, you'd be annoyed, wouldn't you?
I'm not going to read Synergy. Most of these people aren't going to read Synergy. So what? If they think you're a bad writer/characterizer(uhhhsure) from one piece of writing that you ADMIT is OOC, that's their problem, not yours. There are some authors (God, Ouran fandom screws Mori up the ass so HARD) that I actively avoid because ALL their writing is OOC (and most of them tag all of them as "OOC" which makes me wonder why they bother if it's not even the same character, really). But if it's just this one story, who cares?
Sure, people are going to think that your characterization is off. But you know that. Sure, people are going to think that your writing sucks on the basis of one piece. But that's what happens with first impressions. Sure, people are going to be annoyed that you spam updates. But that's the same with any story (they'd be annoyed if it was a pairing they hated too, I bet). And sure, people are going to blame you for fan-idiots who think your story is IC and base their characterizations off yours-which-you-admit-are-OOC. But that's their problem, not yours.
Bottom line is, people are stupid. I'm stupid, too. There are certain writers in certain fandoms that I hate and refuse to give another chance, because the first few impressions were so terrible (and it was so bad you just KNOW even asking "would character A really do that?" is a waste of time). It happens, and a lot of OOC!fic writers are like that. Maybe you're the exception? But being that, you've gotta understand that MOST OOC!fic writers really couldn't give less of a shit and fandom people have gotten used to that and will treat you accordingly, even if it's not entirely your fault.
I guess what I'm saying is, you have every right to write what you like. But everybody else has every right to dislike it, too. So what? Is that going to make you stop? If you want to get people to stop disliking what you do, change (and if the disliking people don't tell you HOW to change or WHAT they dislike, it's just as much their fault as yorus). And if you don't want to change, then to hell with everyone else (everybody is disliked by SOMEBODY, right). Do what makes you happy.
I'd end this inspiringly but I can't think of anything.
no subject
The problem I have is that people don't just keep their dislike to themselves, instead they sneak around (and I'm using another person's words with 'sneak') and make terrible comments and images about someone else's work which they do not have to read. Imagine if you were at school, and suddenly a friend of yours goes, "Grayout, I just found out this rumor about you..." And you find out that most of the school has been laughing at you behind your back. It is painful and you just can't believe it. You admit that (perchance) you gained some pounds, but then having the rumor be you're a whore and pregnant? That is sort of how I feel about this thing. (Forgive my language, I do not mean to offend, just popped into my head as an example.)
If you read an epic fic where Hughes prances around in a tutu all the time, written JUST BECAUSE THE AUTHOR COULD, you'd be annoyed, wouldn't you?
I would do a O.o and just not read the fic. I would not berate it or hate the person that wrote it.
People say I 'spam.' People don't even understand what is going on. In all of my fics, they have been PREWRITTEN. As in we had been working on it for a while and are posting the beginning when we're months into it already. So I can afford to update more then some authors who are writing chapter-to-chapter. I didn't realize that being able to update often was considered bad.
But if it's just this one story, who cares?
It seems, sadly, a lot of people care, or none of this would have happened.
It happens, and a lot of OOC!fic writers are like that. Maybe you're the exception? But being that, you've gotta understand that MOST OOC!fic writers really couldn't give less of a shit and fandom people have gotten used to that and will treat you accordingly, even if it's not entirely your fault.
I do care about my writing and people's comments, or I wouldn't be here typing this. People just... I came to defend myself from some very nasty comments and all I do, when I am nothing but polite and honest, is get yelled at, laughed at, hated. That is what hurts and bothers me so much.
Ness... ah, the poster above you, she/he was the first person who really sat down and spoke the honest and open truth while not sounding mean and downright cruel. I mean, I had people COME TO MY LIVEJOURNAL and troll post! I... I mean, guh?? >.<
Was defending myself stupid? Trying to offer evidence that maybe people are wrong? I mean... there are a ton of people who have not even READ my fic and just hate me/it on principle! I try to offer some proof that I can write in other fashions, and people tell me I am 'name dropping' and 'desperate' and such things. It just feels like I cannot win!
Thank you for your post, by the way. I hope you respond.
no subject
"I would do a O.o and just not read the fic."
Exactly, but what if it was a continued series where he kept doing that and it was posted all over comms you watch? Plus, you wouldn't know he did that until you read the first chapter, went wtf, then stopped. And then you see another chapter up, and another, and another, continuing along the same vein, and all these people comment saying OMG ILU THIS IS G8! I mean, not that I'm condoning attacking you anonymously or trolling you, but you can see how it gets on people's nerves, right?
By asking 'who cared,' I was kinda advising you not to.
"I don't care that people call the chars in LF OOC. I care that they say ALL of my work is like that. Big difference, to me."
But they haven't READ all your work and therefore can't judge it all. If you make that argument to any unbiased person, they'll understand that you're not the one being obtuse about it here. I get that and I haven't even read any of your stuff. And if they don't want to then well... their opinion has no basis.
Also, unrelated but funny:
"You admit that (perchance) you gained some pounds, but then having the rumor be you're a whore and pregnant?"
*DEAD* Mpreg! aeghajkeghaekjtghkej
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Well, no offense to you at all, but a huge amount of writers, good, great, mediocre, and horrible take any criticism like you're insulting their Mamas. Dangerous stuff.
At least you were admitting LF was OOC. There's nothing wrong with it, people can write what they want, but I'm sure if you said "This is the best completely canon piece of fic EVER," you'd have gotten flamed to high heaven.
A lot of people do just go on if they don't enjoy your writing. Some forget about it, some may check up on you later to see if you have anything else they're interested in, some people spork your work (which personally I think is mean, but it's leaps above outright flaming, and it's supposed to be funny), and some people just rag on you. Those last people are immature. And I know this might step on someone's toes if they see this, but that certain piece of concrit someone left for you that asked if you even played the games really was uncalled for(It might have been for Synergy, I don't remember, I was just linked to the thread by a friend). It crossed the line between harsh concrit and a flame. Like I said, don't bother trying to defend yourself against people like that. They just laugh at you for it. Just say something like "Eh, whatever."
I haven't read Synergy, so I can't comment on the "biting" bit, but it sounds like you thought it out nicely. I'll read it later tonight when I have more time, and concrit it if I may..? I promise not to go batshit insane on you. ;)
Unfortunately, that's how reps go. You got a reputation in this fandom for "spamming" and long OOC fic with a few groups of people. I don't agree that it's far, because it isn't, but it's just the way it is. Sucks sometimes, right?
Twelve years? Oh, do you work for a newspaper or journal or something? If I had to write for a job I probably wouldn't get any writing done (haha, just graduated high school this year, and I had AP English, which meant an ungodly amount of essays. I wrote almost nothing creatively all year.) Pssh, everyone makes grammar and spelling mistakes. It's just human, and I know it can be hard to spot some things. I don't use a beta, either. I know it helps, but I'm with you there; I don't want to appear rude or needy to someone!
I understand you. It does hurt when someone insults something you worked hard to create. Heck, most of the time it hurts when someone says something nicely, just because people cherish what they write, like I said above. I've experienced this sort of thing before, so I try to be nice when I give concrit. (Sometimes I wonder if flamers actually write themselves, because being on the receiving end of one is horrible.) I think one of my favorite fanfic authors explained it best in one of her journals:
CRITIC: You're fat.
WRITER: Well, I could stand to lose a few pounds.
CRITIC: And your mother is fat.
WRITER: Well, I guess the menopause hit her kinda hard.
CRITIC: And your heroine Clarissa is fat.
WRITER stabs Critic with steak knife and leaves the restaraunt shrieking: Clarissa is as slender as a wood nymph, it says so on page 304 of my magnum opus! No jury in the world would convict me!
(This came from
And forget people who say you put no effort in your work. The only person who knows how much work you put into something is you! And people that really, truly "hate" you for writing are complete and utter nimrods, whether you're the best there is or the worst.
Why, thank you. :) I'm glad I don't come off badly. Oh, God, I wish you were the worst this fandom had to offer. We would be so much better off! I shudder at the thought of the things I've seen in just a few years. And I have to say, I'm really glad you're taking this so well. I know so many people who would throw a bitch fit if this happened to them!
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"Thank the gods!"
I mean, that really hurt. I thought it was downright cruel. I said they should leave and troll someone else, that I didn't deserve that sort of comment, and they replied,
"You sure do deserve it!"
*sigh* So that is the level of mean I am talking about with some people.
I would be beyond honored if you would read the two chapters of Synergy that are up. Yume and I take a look at how Saix is born, what he was before he was reborn, and his first days at the Castle. We used some very old celtic and Indian rituals to influence the Ceremony. Ah... Please, be perfectly honest and specific and rip it to hell if you so desire. A REAL look at my fic... I would be so happy.
Your friend
I can't really say where I work exactly. It is a really huge US wide company and it is REALLY easy to look up the information on me quickly. I run their website and promotional stuff for thousands of viewers... possibly over ten-thousand. ^^;
Thank you, and I absolutely cannot wait for your review of Synergy. You have been an absolute pleasure to 'talk' to. ^_^
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I found Liquid Fire when soon after I'd finished KH, and was eager to receive KH2 for Christmas. Like most of the fandom, I'd discovered the excellency that was kh-vids.net, and was happily watching through the various cutscenes in KH2.
And when I first found LF? I liked it. Maybe it was my natural naiveness whenever I first enter a fandom (or in this case, part of a fandom; the Organization XIII), but to me, this fic was awesomeness with a side order of awesome. I lapped it up, and eagerly awaited new chapters.
And then, on Christmas morning, I got KH2. I was delighted, and immediately got playing. It was just as fun as the first, and I decided I wanted to *really* get into the Kingdom Hearts fandom. I found various communities, and whilst I was too shy to join, I had fun
stalkingwatching from a distance. Then I found a few posts of people criticizing Liquid Fire."What's this?" I gasped, because, honestly, I loved your fic. I decided to just discount it, and continue enjoying the fic as per usual (and back then, I adored how frequently you updated, as it always gave me something fresh to read). But then, it started becoming difficult to like the fic as much as I once did. It started off with a few raised eyebrows at certain scenes, until I finally found the fic very unenjoyable to read, and downright cringeworthy at times. I tried to keep with it, even reading the sequel, telling myself, "It's Liquid Fire - remember, you like this fic."
But by then, I didn't. By then, I could see so painfully OOC the characters were, how the plots were connected by traditionally angsty arcs - and how I myself had seriously misjudged the characters.
And then I would just laugh it off, and just say, like others around me, that "Yeah, Liquid Fire was bad," and snerk at little parodies.
As a writer, you're quite talented (hey, I like the style). With more balanced storylines, and the characters acting like themselves, I'm sure you could produce some really good fanfiction for the Kingdom Hearts fandom (and it's certainly lacking).
And the point of this insanely long post? (seriously, kudos to you if you read it all)
The point of fiction is to be enjoyed, both by writers and readers. I'm pretty sure you enjoy writing, and the popularity of your fics is enough to prove that a lot of people do. Even I'm willing to give up my coolness cap (I stole it anyway) to say that I did at least once like reading your fic. And if people don't? They find it, decide they don't like it, and move on.
Peace out, kids. :D
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I don't know if you've read my various other little bits of stuff I've posted on here, but you are the last of the last. ^^;
Everyone... *frowns, thinks* I used to write a very large, very popular Yu-Gi-Oh fanfic. I really enjoyed it, it was hugely loved. I loved writing it, and even to this day, I had people asking me to repost it since it got taken down from FF.net.
So people started to enjoy the silly little RP-story Jaded and I posted. I enjoyed writing it, and I just... had fun. We goofed off with story, we played around with characters, we just... were. We didn't care what others thought. It was nice, since I write professionally, to basically... not care at all.
Sometime after Behind Light (LF's sequel), I started to write (with a different co-author) a very character-canon piece that got some good reviews. People liked it, said they liked the change of having the very serious less OOC characters. I was happy that people liked our more IC story. My world was happy.
Then suddenly, I find out that... I'm hated for some reason. I mean, once this whole thing on Fandom secrets started? People actually started coming to my PERSONAL LJ and trolling. Leaving me incredibly hateful messages that even some other 'don't like my fic' people said was too much. People could only focus on the one fic they didn't like and decided, instantly, I was a terrible writer with no redeeming qualities. And it was... painful. I don't think people think about how cruel they can be, even when it is just text on a page.
I came here to try and defend myself and explain. LF/BL were just plain ol' fun. I never meant it to be serious, I never forced anyone to read it. I had another fic that was more IC. I said "Here, go read this and see that I do write ICly and with a more canon plot." People just told me I was 'desperate' and 'name dropping' and some other painfully cruel statements... all because I wanted to defend myself.
I never asked anyone to read my fics. If I find a fic I don't like, I just stop reading it. I smile when I see they are still posting, but mostly ignore their posts. I don't go out and post cruel words/images/snarks about them. I don't go out of my way to write parodies and other such things. It hurt me, deep inside, to know people hated me (sometimes) and my ONE fanfiction so much as to be so... downright mean.
I hope this is an explanation. I didn't mean for it to be this long. If you like how I write, and are looking for something more ICly, please try out "Synergy". It's in my big fanfic post at the top of my LJ. You don't have to read it, and please understand I'm not name dropping or begging. You said you liked my stuff but stopped, I figured maybe you would want to try something else? Please feel free to respond to this.
Sorry for the length! XD Kudos if you even made it this far!
no subject
I honestly think it's pretty nasty that someone could possibly hate you because of what you write. That's as petty as say... I dunno, hating someone because they design shoes you dislike, even though they liked the shoes the shoes were based off. A less than perfect analogy, but hey, I'm not a writer.
And I'll be sure to check out Synergy, at the very least. :3
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Please keep in mind that it's okay if not everyone likes your fic. No fic is going to get a 100% positive response. Especially considering you admit as well that the fic is based off of your own fanon and ideas about the character's personalities.
I'm hoping this doesn't come off as a mean response or some such, because I'd much rather you listen to advise than brush people off as flamers.
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I came here thanks to someone's caring. I responded, though perhaps it was really stupid, because I wanted some answers.
I try to off set the people who mean, or rude, with the people who have loved my fanfic since its birth. It may not be the greatest thing at all, or anyone's cup of tea. But... But I never FORCED anyone to read it. I don't understand why people are so cruel about something that they don't have to read. From my reader's responses, they really look forward to seeing me update, which most of them fine through khyaoi.
Everyone's fanfic... no matter who they are, is their view on a game. On characters that we know next to nothing about. Where our own ideas lie may be very different, those who have been responding here, but I don't understand why it should lead to nasty images, MSpaint cruelty, and someone coming from here to leaving TROLLING MESSAGE on my own LJ!
You did not come off as mean or rude or anything! Thank you for your honest and open response.
I suggested that people should read my new fic not because... I wanted... more readers or I'm desperate or something. I just wanted them to see that LF I not how I normally write. And evidently, whatever I say is wrong, and stupid, and just trying to get attention. I'm really not like that.
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People tend to hold back their opinions for either of these reasons:
- They're afraid that the author cannot take crit.
- They're afraid of being attacked by the author's fans and don't want the trouble.
- They don't want to post. That "Say something nice or say nothing at all" feeling. But something's got to give, which is one of the reasons why a comm like this exists. Usually it's away from the original author's eyes, and I do find it unfortunate someone linked you to this since you'd probably be happier off not having known. But yes, the trolls on your own personal LJ are extremely rude, and they just want to see you riled up.
Asking people who didn't like the other fics to read your new fic isn't helping much - it comes off as desperate and serves as reverse psychology. (aka, people will be less willing to read it.) I'm not suggesting stop posting at all or move it away off comms. Just post in your usual comms, "hey new chapter, thanks", and if you get readers then you get readers. No need to advertise. You have your returning fans, so keep in mind there are people who do like your stories. Don't stop enjoying what you do.
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(Anonymous) 2007-06-19 10:41 pm (UTC)(link)I'm not interested in a fight either; that wasn't my intention in making the secret, nor was it to generate wank (okay, nvm, that was a lie). On the other hand, it was pretty much a last-ditch, lazy-peasy effort to get some criticism and feedback together on that whale of a fic of yours in one fell swoop, because I'd actually been meaning to give it a thorough, thoughtful read and give some constructive criticism worth a damn, but the chapters just kept coming and coming, and I have better uses and shorter badfic for my time.
I have to disagree with those who're cooing about you finding this secret being an awful tragedy of some sort; it's a wake-up call. Heed it. You say 'oh, I know it's OOC, it was an RP log we did for fun and decided to post'. That was your decision (and by this I mean the both of you--the screenshot in question included just you and not your partner merely to underline the point that whether it's both of you or one of you, I no longer have any interest in checking out your fic. I don't know you enough to care one way or another about you on a personal level, so the 'hate'? Is all in your mind and one phrase of chatspeak, if you want to try taking that seriously). If you're going to post badfic knowing it's bad, take the consequences like a lady: which means not acting all shocked and amazed that SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE disliked it/flamed it/made fun of it. It's the Internets, sorry.
In regards to posting anonymously, I have no problem with putting my name on wank; however, I have no interest in people going around name-calling and accusing me of dragging all my friends out to criticize someone's fic purely in the spirit of meanness. If I'm anon, those who agree with me are doing so objectively, and not because 'I'm me' or some bullshit like that.
I actually wasn't going to bother with Liquid Fire anymore, past avoiding it whenever it or its various reincarnations popped up, but then one or the other of you started posting more KH fic with a different partner--and then one or the other of you posted a Bakura/Ryou fanfic called 'Broken Kitten' in one (or more) of the YGO comms I had friended, and I figured it was time to do something or other, because (with a title like that setting off alarm bells of wangst and OOC; and believe me, I would know, I started out as a pathetic badficcing slash fangirl in the Bakura/Ryou corner) it was getting simply ridiculous and irritating at that point.
I have no interest in reading Synergy or Broken Kitten; I sat through 20-or-so chapters of Liquid Fire on almost pure trainwreck syndrome before I gave up, and if you're going to post a gazillion miles of badfic, no matter whether it was 'totally serious' or not, it's not going to help me want to read your other fic.
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(Anonymous) 2007-06-19 10:42 pm (UTC)(link)I'll admit that your writing style(s) isn't bad at all--it's leaps and bounds above some of the crap I've found on FF.net, which isn't saying a great deal, but at the very least the writing didn't make me want to stab myself in the eye every paragraph (just every couple of paragraphs, really--see this spork (http://community.livejournal.com/khfanficrants/286392.html) for further details). In addition, I'm really very flexible on personal interpretations of canon, characterization-wise especially; I'll make a fair amount of allowances for OOC if the story is good enough. In Liquid Fire, the connections to canon were vague and colored by some rather violent and unrealistic bias towards the Organization, as far as I understood it (you can villainize Sora, sure, but to the extent that you did?), and the 'plot' consisted of characters being raped/traumatized, wangsting, being given healing!buttsex, rinse, repeat.
Of course you didn't force me to read the fic... but you also included pretty much every pairing under the sun you could fit into one story, and since that included a couple of my rarer OTPs (the touch of Axel/Zexion, for example) as well as others I liked (Axel/Demyx especially), I got on board. And I'll admit, too, that wangst to the point of OOC is sometimes a guilty pleasure for me to read--it's why I was in the Bakura/Ryou fandom for so long, and why I got as far in the fic as I did. But once you start slaughtering several of my OTPs and favorite characters, REPEATEDLY (how many times does Axel need to cry in one fic? in one chapter? in one SCENE?!)... I've been a newbie writer, and I know the impression that established writers can give. I've written characters OOC because I read a fic where they were and didn't know any better. So I'm not especially pleased with a fic that does this, and reaches a broad audience to boot (the spamming for its own sake aside)--if you can write them IC, why not do so if you're going public? All it does is bring down the level of writing quality in the fandom.
As for the rest... Saix is one of the more tenacious members of the Organization in regards to survival--he wanted a heart till his dying breath, so his suicide was incredibly odd. Demyx being raped (twice, unless I miss my guess) was both extreme and unrealistic. Xigbar and Saix are not necessarily rapists, even if half of fandom inexplicably portrays them that way (just because they're a little manlier than, say, Larxene doesn't automatically make them more psychotic than her). Larxene would make a HORRIBLE mother. Xaldin/Larxene was completely random and never explained to satisfaction. Marluxia/Vexen will never, ever be as sugary-sweet as I saw it in this fic. It's like decking Sephiroth out in a tutu and having him play Odette. Willingly. Yeah. Riku/Roxas was also completely out of the blue, and Riku ripping out half his heart to give it to Roxas a horribly tacky romantic plot device. Zexion... first of all, Larxene is smaller than him, and if we believe the CG lineups, Xaldin is shorter. He may be small, but he is by no means Axel and Demyx's pet plushie. Secondly, he was Ansem's youngest apprentice, which says something about his intelligence (possibly his vulnerability, but I highly doubt it was in the manner that you portrayed) as well as his ambition--he's not the pathetic emo angstball you made him out to be for the most part, and I rather doubt suicide would ever be on his agenda; he rather struck as one who prefers to stay FAR AWAY from death (a.k.a. Repliku). His little crush on Namine made absolutely no sense. Finally, you butchered Marluxia. Granted, that was before Re: CoM came out and the creators endowed him with a MANLY MAN voice to win back his masculinity from the fans, but Marluxia has never been and will never be: a) feminine; b) the Organization's pet slut (he has more class than that, my god); c) Vexen's fucking cuddlebunny/flower/moonrod/insert pet name here. And I won't even start on Axel. Axel WHO?
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(Anonymous) 2007-06-19 10:43 pm (UTC)(link)My work here is done.