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Post by pitbulllady on Aug 11, 2005 18:40:33 GMT -5
I'm not critisizing or putting down any fanfics, but I have noticed something about the vast majority of "Foster's" fanfics out there, especially on FF.Net, and I would like for someone to answer this question: WHY are the vast majority of Foster's fanfics so "dark"? Nearly all of them-I'd guess around 90%-feature demons, evil spirits, murder, torture(both physical and psychological), lots of blood and gore, spells, IF's that are just inherently evil(I don't mean annoying, like Bendy, but purely EVIL), major characters behaving in ways that are very out-of-character and violent, depression-I could go on and on. WHY, might I ask once more? Few fanfics make any attempt at humor whatsoever, yet humor is the major component of the tv series. What is it about this show, and its characters, that make fanfic writers want to twist it into this dark, and often gory and violent, demonic...whatEVER? I can see some shows perhaps coming off like that, but "FOSTER'S"? Is it just because most of the writers are teenagers who are going through this really depressing, "Goth" stage(I have to admit to something similar waaaaay back a loooong time ago when I was into "slasher" movies and Punk Rock), or what? I'm just curious as to how-and WHY-someone can watch this show and think, "wouldn't that be neat if everyone was possessed by demons, or this Imaginary Friend showed up who's really a demon and starts killing everybody, and then gets killed in revenge, and the walls start oozing blood, and then Wilt(who seems to be the star of the most violent and angsty of these fics)gets blamed and the cops are out to kill him so he runs away and meets this girl who's possessed by a vampire demon...", ad infinitum. Can somebody explain this to me-inquiring minds wanna know!
pitbulllady
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Post by Sparky on Aug 11, 2005 20:17:14 GMT -5
Ha. Welcome to my world, lol. As someone who was specifically studying to write for children's television, and a fanfic writer at the same time, I always concentrated on writing fics that were as true to the original source material as I could get. Many of my older fanfics are even quite "episodic" in nature, being about the same length as an episode of a show and everything. I always thought it was strange that I seemed to be one of maybe...I dunno, three people tops who write, for instance, Darkwing Duck fic that actually *feel* like real episodes. I still get emails periodically from people thanking me over and over again for writing something that reminds them of the show, instead of...well basically what you just described. I made the mistake of peeking at the Foster's section of fanfic.net again today - I was actually checking to see if you'd updated your fic PBL. I read something that really disurbed me. I don't even have to say which story it was because it's probably one of many with the same plot anyways...anyways I won't be reading any more of *that*. I actually brought this topic up on a fanfic writer's forum years ago. I expressed my views, explained how I had wanted to write *real* episodes of kid's shows and therefore preferred to write - and read - fics that were actually in the same genre as their source material: i.e., comedy, lighthearted fun, G-rated, etc. I posed the question: WHY. Why do people feel the need to write and read...again, the kinds of things you described. Why would *anyone* look at a fun kid's show and see demons and death and depression and suicide and rape etc etc? The answers I got were really pretty vague, but basically people told me they liked it. They just...liked it. At 30 I guess I'm too old now for angst but even when I was writing fanfic at 17 I wasn't writing anything like what I see so rampant all over fanfic.net - and despite the few emails I get from people telling me they like my fics I get very little traffic on my pages. People *want* to read about suicide, and werewolves, and - sigh, my pet peeve, can we see some originality please? - Terrence turning into a violent drunk. People like it. I guess I haven't studied enough psychology to understand it. I left that fanfic writer's forum a long time ago, but I do have to say that I have slacked a bit with my "standards" - that is to say, I'm a lot more tolerant of fics that stray so far from the source material these days. I have even written things that are a tad darker than my earlier stuff, and I'll use strong language sometimes. But MAN. I still have limits. Still, its fanfic. If its what the fans want...fine. I think its sad that a violent story is more popular than one that actually feels like an episode though, I can't help that.
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Post by imaginaryxlight on Aug 13, 2005 11:54:56 GMT -5
I have read one or two of the violent sotries-the ones that really shy away from the true Foster's, and yeah sure...I guess I enjoyed it. But...it's just not like the show. I mean, there was probably only ONE of those that I actually enjoyed. It just really distrubs me to be reading a story where Mac is a teenager, all depressed, and thinking he's gay (I'm not a homophobe, but I'd rather Mac be, you know, the cute little 8-year-old that he is in the show).
I find to enjoy the fanfics that stay on the show, and put that humor that you can only get in Foster's, into their fanfic, a lot more tha these "dark" fanfics. They are a lot more enjoyeable, in my opninion.
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Post by pitbulllady on Aug 13, 2005 12:30:27 GMT -5
I just can't understand how a person with this dark, severely-angsty personality and attitude would even watch this show in the first place. It's just so different from the sort of things they're into. I also don't understand-and like you, I'm not being a homophobe-WHY so many writers have to try to make the characters gay. You can't tell me that's normal for teenaged girls to be obsessed with male/male relationships. I used to BE a teenage girl, and I do actually remember quite a lot of my teen years, long ago they may be. Neither myself nor any of my friends were obsessed with homosexual characters. I guess the whole "slash" phenomenon is something that's been introduced by Anime, in which there does seem to be a lot of gay or bi characters.
pitbulllady
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Post by Sparky on Aug 13, 2005 13:49:36 GMT -5
I guess the whole "slash" phenomenon is something that's been introduced by Anime, in which there does seem to be a lot of gay or bi characters. Oh I bet that's it. I've been trying to figure out slash for years. Yeah, slash is like 99.99% of the time written by young women, and I don't get it either. I'm waiting for one particular author to start writing Mac/Terrence incest. She's mentioned that she wishes someone would do it.
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Post by mskinnikufan on Aug 13, 2005 19:08:32 GMT -5
I just can't understand how a person with this dark, severely-angsty personality and attitude would even watch this show in the first place. It's just so different from the sort of things they're into. I also don't understand-and like you, I'm not being a homophobe-WHY so many writers have to try to make the characters gay. You can't tell me that's normal for teenaged girls to be obsessed with male/male relationships. I used to BE a teenage girl, and I do actually remember quite a lot of my teen years, long ago they may be. Neither myself nor any of my friends were obsessed with homosexual characters. I guess the whole "slash" phenomenon is something that's been introduced by Anime, in which there does seem to be a lot of gay or bi characters. pitbulllady I can't speak for all the slash fans on the internet (I'm 22 years old if that changes anything), but I like slash in some of my fandoms (not all and not foster's) because sometimes the dynamics between two female characters and the dynamics between the two male characters just interest me more then the dynamics between the male and female characters. Also, m/m and f/f relationships aren't exactly as populous in the mainstream media as m/f, that's also may be a reason. If the majority of characters in fan favorite tv shows/anime/cartoons/books/ect, people would "het" instead of slash. That's my theory anyway.
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Teddog
Recently Abandoned
"You can keep my things, they've come to take me home."
Posts: 35
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Post by Teddog on Aug 22, 2005 21:27:25 GMT -5
Poopertoots. I go away for a while and a fun topic pops up The Fosters section of FF.N makes me want to start MiSTing again. It's so bad that I dared my sister to look at the section. She's a vet when it comes to writing adult fanfiction and she still screamed out "What the heck is this junk?" Making fanfic for kid's shows "dark" appears to be very common across most fandoms. From what I've seen, a lot of people start to think darkness and violence = reality and the closer something is to this false sense of reality, the better the "art" is in the end. If you look at a lot of mainstream media, the "gitty, hard reality" is the general picture that you get from media people respect. If it's happy-go-lucky, it's "corny" and therefore not of value. I can't figure why teenages force themselves to go through a goth phase. I never went through one, but then I never could be bothered. Sure, I did and still do watch slasher fics like PBL, but I was laughing at how silly they were. House of Wax wasn't scary! It was funny! I was writing my first fics when I was 16 and they were not very angsty at all. They had some depressing moments, but also silly ones to balance it out. Slash is old. As in "it's been around since Star Trek" old, so the blame can't be totally put on Anime exactly. Anime has certainly encouraged it in recent years, but isn't the original source. Slash is almost always written by young women because for females, it's about the same as males watching... certain movies about women engaging in relations without men (gotta keep within board standards! GAH!). In short: people get off on it. Personally, slash does nothing for me and I'm at a loss to figure out what I'm supposed to get out of it. On the other hand, I really, and I mean REALLY don't get the incest nonsense. I've seen it pop up in at least two other fandoms of mine (Fullmetal Alchemist and MST3K), so I'm starting to think it's a new trend.
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akiko
Recently Abandoned
Posts: 5
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Post by akiko on Aug 26, 2005 9:17:36 GMT -5
This happens to a lot of shows I've seen, people seem to like making stories about two main things: romance/sex or angst/violence. I personally don't care for either, a little angst here and there is alright, but if it's all the story centers around it's just depressing. I've read a few nice ones where the characters are kept pretty well in character, yet what a lot of these fics don't have is comedy. That alone puts a vast seperation from the story and the show itself.
I have nothing against the whole slash thing, aside from pairing random characters together. If there's really in character hints at any type of relationship like that then it's fine, yet in most cases there's not. Fosters especially I could in no way see any slash relationships. Yet I actually came across a fic that had mac and bloo as a couple. why? it confuses me so, I just don't get it.
I'm twenty and if I went through a 'goth' stage I missed it, I like exploring the characters and their relationships {non romantical mind you}, so as mentioned I don't mind the occasionl angst in a fiction, if there's humour and other emotions to even it out. People way overdo it though, I think there outta' be a new place for "fosters fiction", free of all the gore of that found on ff.net.
Anyways, I ranted didn't I? I guess when it comes right down to it people are gonna write stuff like this...I just ignore it and search for the few stories that're actually any good.
jaa
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Post by Sam on Oct 20, 2005 10:45:38 GMT -5
I really like reading those stories. I find them funny and cool.
This is Spider-Sam by the way.
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Post by pitbulllyatwork on Oct 20, 2005 12:47:14 GMT -5
I really like reading those stories. I find them funny and cool. This is Spider-Sam by the way. WHAT stories, Sam? Slash? Gore? Explain, please. I'd really like for someone to give me a logical, intelligent response as to WHY, or should I say, HOW, they can watch a show like "Foster's", and see a need for demons, and blood, and violence, or see a need to have everyone but the kitchen sink(and probably that, too)involved in a homosexual relationship. If you really like that sort of thing, WHY watch the show, when there ARE shows which feature those things. pitbulllady
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Post by labloogirl on Oct 20, 2005 14:38:43 GMT -5
I too am really not happy with all the gore and violence in Foster's fics. I love the funny or well written dramatic ones like "Needle and Thread". (I think it's called that.) I do however, once in a BLUE MOON, go for certain m/m relationships. I adore the thought of Mac and Bloo together but that's just me. In my own fic I plan to write, I made that Bloo is actually both male and female...more male but since Mac as a child couldn't decide whether he wanted a male or female, or perhaps he wanted both a sister and brother so Bloo came out as both. Weird, I know, but that's my way of trying not to make it just some slash thing. I'm also very romantic and the pairing isn't just too have the two of them get it on, it results from years of a close bond. But that's more you'll read about in the fic which I hope to get started soon. Believe me though, this is not the norm for me. For some odd reason I just think those two are adorable together.
~Ami~
Edit- Did anyone read "No Bounds"? That is mainly about Frankie/Herriman but also has a side story with Mac/Bloo. It's so well written and even though I am against the thought of Frankie and Herriman as a couple (just cause that's my own personal opinion) I love the story because it's just so good. The way Mac and Bloo were written, too, was done very true to character and without being too explicit or anything, so much so that I could actually believe the two of them being in love like that. So you see, it all depends on the writer.
Heck, some of the nasty violent stories are well written too, but sadly there is just too much of that. Oh and Sparky, I also hate how Terrence is always some drunk or an evil killer. I don't like him, but he's certainly not THAT bad, and there is potential for him to change as he gets older, who knows!
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Post by SpiderSam on Oct 23, 2005 18:07:20 GMT -5
I really like reading those stories. I find them funny and cool. This is Spider-Sam by the way. WHAT stories, Sam? Slash? Gore? Explain, please. I'd really like for someone to give me a logical, intelligent response as to WHY, or should I say, HOW, they can watch a show like "Foster's", and see a need for demons, and blood, and violence, or see a need to have everyone but the kitchen sink(and probably that, too)involved in a homosexual relationship. If you really like that sort of thing, WHY watch the show, when there ARE shows which feature those things. pitbulllady Ah well. I think they can be a very interesting read. Plus I LOVE a good juicy gore fest. Plus if you are into that sort of thing then you would feel a bit (for lack of a better word) naughty doing that with suh a show. You know. People would say 'That's a kids show!' Gasp, horror. And they'd be like 'I'm a rebel!' Pure glory for them. Plus if there are shows like that maybe people want to see it in animation. Maybe people dislike those characters and would like to see the Foster's crew have those sort of things going on. I like reading (well, casually speed reading) those fics. And I like Foster's. Plus I think it would get a bit boring to make it EXACTELY the same as the show to a tee. People want variations. Even if they are gothic and depressed all the time. Maybe they saw Foster's and liked it. It is possable. If this isn't the inteligent answer that you've been seeking then that may very well be down to the fact that I'm hardly intelligent. lol! No seriously.
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Post by pitbulllady on Oct 23, 2005 19:31:41 GMT -5
[/quote]
Ah well. I think they can be a very interesting read. Plus I LOVE a good juicy gore fest. Plus if you are into that sort of thing then you would feel a bit (for lack of a better word) naughty doing that with suh a show. You know. People would say 'That's a kids show!' Gasp, horror. And they'd be like 'I'm a rebel!' Pure glory for them. .[/quote]
NOooo...if they wrote YET ANOTHER gory/demon-possessed Foster's fic, they'd would NOT be a "rebel" at all, since a rebel is someone who goes against convention, and "convention" seems to be gore/demons/slash at the moment. They'd be more like, "I'm too dumb to do anything different, and since everyone else is jumping off that particular cliff, I think I'll jump off that cliff, too." A rebel WOULD write something true to the show and its characters, since that is not what the rest of the poor dumb sheep are doing. What's the "pure glory" in being just like everyone else?
pitbulllady(who's way old enough to have gotten over that peer pressure thing, and never was into things just because "everyone else was doing it")
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Post by labloogirl on Oct 24, 2005 10:21:08 GMT -5
I can tell that this is really bugging you, pitbulllady. I do agree that it's a bit too much and also that you're actually being a "rebel" by writing the characters more true to form. As I said, characters in my fic will be as close to the show as possible,but I still will write the two together beceause that's my idea and I have a right to write it. You may not like the more violent stories, but clearly a LOT of people do because the reviews are high for those kind. I don't like them myself, but I just don't read them. It's as simple as that. I don't think you should let it bother you so much! ::hug:: Besides I'm sure you know there are great people out there who could write fantastic stuff, such as yourself ^_^
~Ami~
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Post by SpiderSam on Oct 24, 2005 15:00:16 GMT -5
Welll...think what you want. I like 'em.
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