And on that note.....

One of the major strengths of fan fiction, I think, is found in
exploring non-canon possibilities.  As an example, in canon Ranma
and Akane *almost* get married.  The implication left by
Takahashi-sama is that they do, eventually, get married after
they work through their problems -- she is, perhaps, unique as a
storyteller who quits telling the story before it's truly
finished.  Since the story wasn't truly resolved, there are that
many more possibilities to work through.... and that many more
possible plot lines.  "The Bitter End," "Girl Days," "The Long
and Winding Road," "The Taming of the Horse," "Living Life Anew,"
and "Lines of Destiny" are all equally possible outcomes -- and
alternate universe stories like "Children of Fire," "A Tale of
Two Wallets," "Featherbrite's Tale," "Fighting Blind" and "Ranma
& Akane, A Love Story" are equally plausible.

Frankly, I don't quite see why canon otaku and non-canon otaku
should be so hostile toward each other.  A well-written story is
just that, whether comedy or drama, or WAFF, dark, or lemon.  My
only complaint about any of the stories I've read, and especially
the ones listed above, is that I would really like to see what
happens *next.*  :)

--Steffan

Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax
materiam possit materiari?

Canon is personalities and characteristics that adhere
closely to the source material, which is itself considered
to be canon. On the whole, it is largely subjective when
it comes to personalities, as different people may observe
different traits in their favorite characters. It's easier to

be

sure of locations and events though, as those tend to be
objective in nature since they are just scenery or backdrop
events.

I, myself, am not a firm believer in remaining canon as far
as personalities go, as my view on people is that they are
much more complex than that. But then, I tend to write
altaverse stories myself. I do use observed character traits,

but

my emphasis my be different that the original creators of the
characters involved. Also, differing events may or may not

drive

any particular character to behave differently than what is
perceived to be normal for them. It is *usually* polite to

inform

the reading audience about such behavior if the author of the

fanfic

is aware of it, as "canon-thumpers" tend to be loud critics...

^_^

Not that there is anything wrong with wanting to read fanfics

that

adhere so closely to the source material. Many of them are

quite

enjoyable as it can be easily imagined how they might have fit

in

with the original creator's vision.

In the other direction (and counter to my previous argument),

some

fanfic authors take the characters in directions so far out of

canon

that they are barely recognizable to anyone but the author

themselves.

While this *can* be interesting, if there is a plausible

explanation for

it, it is often jaring to even to people such as myself, who

are not

firm adherants to canon.

The FFML provides for a wide variety of tastes, but we do have
factions...

I hope that this heps everyone! ^_^

Tangent

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