On Thu, 5 Sep 1996, George Mori wrote:
I was reading some of the C & C for my fanfic (*PLUG* Facades, read
it if you haven't *PLUG*) and noticed that much of it said that Nabiki, the
main character was out of character in what she did (lewd pics of Akane.)
But isn't writing some types of fanfics SUPPOSED to be out of character a
bit? I mean trying to see how certain situations would play out? I think,
that my situation wasn't too out of character, though it was a bit. But to
get tot the point, (as I tend to ramble.) how far IS too far out of
character. I know there is a line, but where do you think it is? I'm just
trying to get a general feel for the thoughts here. Either way here is THE
OOC short fic of a lifetime.
I apologize in advance, because this has been brewing inside me for quite
some time.
When I first arrived on the ML, I lurked for a day or two, because I
wanted Burned and Broken to be my entrance. This meant I had to keep
silent about a couple of fics that I found to be lacking. Of them, the
_worst_ of them was a self-proclaimed darkfic, one in which Ryouga rapes
Akane, blows up the dojo, then years later finds a kid that looks strangely
like himself ready to kill. It frustrated the heck out of me - but I
could say nothing.
Now I am saying something.
A "darkfic" is NOT an excuse to go OOC. What a good darkfic does is have
tragic events happen to the lives of the main characters, which shape
them to "darker" forms. By explaining the events and the changed mental
workings of those involved afterwards, no OOC violation occurs, and the
story makes much more logical sense.
Case in point: Willmore's Ranma 2096. Ranma dies, due to one of
Happosai's revenge ideas going farther than intended. Akane, devastated
by the event, kills Happosai in revenge, realizes what she's become, and
kills herself. Lost in sorrow, she becomes a ghost. Ukyou and Ryouga
get married, more out of shared sorrow than anything else, but Ukyou goes
mad with grief, destroying half of Nerima. Nabiki, more callous than she
was after Akane's death, loses almost any moral fiber she has left, and
becomes a successful businesswoman. She gets Kasumi's family out of
Nerima (so she thinks), sleeps with Ryouga to pin the event on one of his
Shishi Houkoudans, and blows up Tofu's clinic, which she owns. One
problem: Kasumi had returned, becoming fatally injured in the blast.
This embitters Tofu and his family, a bitterness handed down from one
generation to the next. To atone for the event, she leaves Ryouga her
corporation, gives the Onos a place to live and other stuff, and does to
herself what she did to Kasumi. So that Nabiki doesn't escape their
revenge, the Onos keep Nabiki in stasis, waiting for the moment to revive
her - then punish her for her crimes. Kuno, devastated at the death of
Akane and the loss of his pigtailed goddess, becomes an influential monk,
and reshapes society into what it becomes in 2096. Shampoo goes back to
China and studies her great-grandmother's scrolls, in an effort to try to
bring back her beloved, which she eventually does. Kodachi, hearing of
Shampoo's plan, starts the Church of Kodachi, a cult of leotard-clad
women waiting for the return of their "collective bridegroom". Over the
course of marriages and business dealings, the Onos, Hibikis, and other
families connect together, effectively forming a shadowy high society of
2096.
Now look at this. All of this can be traced, in one form or another, to
one event occuring in current characterization: Ranma's death. From
this, an entirely new, darker playing field is formed, on which the
characters will play.
Just a little side bit here: I can think of at least two "darkfics" in
which the author never thought it was dark until others pointed it out.
If you set out to do an intentional "darkfic", be careful. You may be
stepping over the line. Be sure to check yourself, keeping in mind
what the characters will and won't do in given non-tragedy situations.
Once the tragedy occurs, start to shape them - show a little bit of
anger and sorrow, then show the changes that the anger and sorrow
bring. I rewrote the Nabiki scene in "Burned and Broken" because I
realized I wasn't showing enough of Nabiki's anger to explain her going
off to the Niichieju village. I fixed that by showing her memories
concerning Akane's death - then the venting of the anger that accompanied
the memories.
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Nicholas Leifker, aka "Nightelf"
nwl9354@tam2000.tamu.edu
"Pronouns are so _difficult_ with these characters..."
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