And once more I must protest the usage of the DIC names for
the characters. People, if you are GOING to write Sailormoon
fanfiction, USE THE RIGHT NAMES. Serena, Lita, Amy, Raye, Mina,
Darien, Reeny, Molly, Chad, Andrew, Melvin, and others--DO NOT
EXIST. Nor do the Sailor Scouts exist. Use the correct names
or don't bother at all.
Good God, man. What the heck kind of position is this to take?
They *do* exist. Most people (myself included) got their introduction
to Sailor Moon through the dub. The dub created for us its own
universe, with the characters of Darien and Serena and the others. The
dub was able to link us to a story written in Japanese. I am certain
that without the dub, most people would never have heard of Sailor Moon,
and we wouldn't have the fine selection of fanfics we do now. I'm still
most familiar with the dub continuity - that's why I wrote "Out of Sync"
using the North American names.
They *are* the right names.
I understand your position. One of my prereaders, when reading "Out of
Sync", changed all of the names in his copy of the story to the Japanese
ones. I wasn't particularly thrilled with that, but I understood. He
prefers the Japanese names, even when I explicitly stated that my story
took place in the North American continuity. However - and this is
important - he did not insist that *I* change the names, or that the use
of the names was *wrong*. He has his preferences, but he acknowledges
them as his preferences and allows me to write as I want to write.
Robert, telling people to either use the Japanese names or not to write
at all is unacceptable. First of all, you are not in a position to
dictate how people should or should not write. Secondly, the way you
state it smacks of censorship, something I'm sure you didn't really
mean. Lastly, the use of the North American names is a very minor
thing, certainly nothing to take such a hostile stance over.
If you have a perference for reading only those fanfics that use the
Japanese names, say "I only read fanfics that use Japanese names,
because that's my individual preference." Do not say "Fanfics that use
the North American names are wrong to do so and should not have been
written." See the difference between the two? The first merely states
your opinion, and what *you* are going to do about your preferences.
The second attempts to judge harshly those who do not agree with your
opinion, and asks everyone to conform to your standards. No one will
ever have a problem with the former, but everyone will react with
hostility towards the latter. As, I'm sure, you would react if someone
were to try to tell you what you should or should not write.
I'm certain you meant nothing terribly harsh with your words; I think
they were just poorly phrased. I think I understand what you meant;
just be careful in the future to express your opinions in a way that
makes it clear that it is your opinion and that other people are free to
disagree.