Dark Fanfiction

[mcgeesjabberwock]

Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends is a fun, lghthearted show with energetic, joyful characters, colourful plots and an overall amusing experience. So why are so many fanfics about it so dark?

I'm guilty of this crime myself. I wrote a fanfic named 'Foster's House', which re-interpretated the show as a 'Tortured Souls'-esque freak show. Bloo was a spectre, Wilt was a psychopathic axe murderer and Mac had a knife.

I'm willing to admit that fanfic was immature, and I was making Foster's evil just for the hell of it. I could just imagine a professional reviewer tearing it apart: 'What this is is nothing more but a dumbed-down version of the cartoon...the unique characters of McCracken's show have been reduced to cardboard horror stereotypes, and attempts to make them more three-dimensional just feel forced and didantic...skip this one and watch the original cartoon with your kids.'

But this isn't exclusively about what I did. There's several dark fanfics revolving around Foster's out there. There's one where Wilt becomes a werewolf, and one where Terrance battles Satan. Those stories were marvellously well-written but they had the opposite purpose to their source material.

But why would you want to write about Foster's when all you really want is to write like Stephen King and Clive Barker?

Let's look at the Family Guy episode 'Chitty Chitty Death Bang'. Peter is supposed to book a party at 'Cheesie Charlie's' for Stewie's party. He gets into a fight with the manager and cancels the reservation. When he has to own up to Lois, he lies to her. In his lie, 'Cheesie Charlie's' is a scary Dracula castle where children are tortured and killed, the manager is Satan and the ice cream is made out of people.

I severely doubt people who eat at Chuck E Cheese's would take offence at that. The reason that scene was so humourous was because of the ways an innocent thing became horrific (you need 15 tickets to live). So perhaps people are making Foster's dark because, even though it's innocent, the 'rules' of its universe could spawn dark stories. One fanfic (about Terrance being pregnant with the devil's child) had a subplot about Berry and her memories concerning her creator, who was insane. That subplot is interesting because it utilises something from the show and twists into a dark but believable way.

A more likely reason is that the writers want to make Foster's darker is to show that, even though they watch a cartoon intended for prepubescents, they're still mature. I sometimes feel insecure about my immaturity when I consider the fact I'm a cartoon nut (even though I watch 'adult' cartoons like South Park and Duckman.) and I'm sure others do too. So they tried to combat this by writing mature things about something meant for children. It's probably the same reason people write stuff about killing Barney and Teletubbies.

And let's not forget published fiction can be just as bad. There's a book recently published called 'The Looking Glass Wars'. It's based on Alice in Wonderland, but it's more violent, Alice is a warrior princess and the Mad Hatter is an expert bladesman.

I'm not defending these sort of fics. I'm not saying to everyone who criticises my fanfic 'ZOMG ur wrong my fic rox'. I'm just providing reasons why people write dark things about a light-hearted programme.

Any thoughts?

[emma]

That was a really interesting insight, actually. I have actually read the prequel to one of the fics you mentioned (the Terrence mpreg) and, although I much prefer fanfictions to remain true to the show, I enjoyed it. Mostly because I felt that the characters were well rendered, despite the bizzare setting. Not to mention it featured the only coupling of Bloo/Berry I have really liked (I'm a semi-fan of the pairing, but it's near impossible to find fanfiction that keeps Bloo in character, non-fluffy and sorta grossed out at the whole premise).

I think you're right about the need to "age up" cartoons through fanfiction in order to be able to prove your maturity to yourself and others. It's like saying, "Look! I watch cartoons, but I'm old enough to comprehend death and demons and evil!" There's nothing wrong with that, per se, and I'm sure more than a few of them feel totally comfortable with themselves and simply want to write angst about their favorite characters (I'm guilty of that), but it doesn't change the fact that I wish the talented ones would werite at least one true-to-show story.

[lucyrocks73]

I personally like the dark fics, as emma mentioned, as long as they are true to the show. As much as the light hearted, happy-go-lucky fics are pleasant and all, I don't think that they are as effective to the reading audience when they are so happy and sweet . No one's life is perfect...

Look at Mac, and try to ponder behind his character, and you'll see. That's what intrigues me as a writer to, well, write.

Anyway, this is a good topic that can be bent either way.

Also, the author who wrote the fic about Terrence and Satan is very nice when it comes to stating your opinion about her fic. Although it's M rated (for good reason), it's a very compelling read, and that and it's sequel are very good.

-Marty

[emma]

Well, while I agree that it is important to build characters' personalities in your fic. I must admit that I can easily see how your statment that, "No one's life is perfect" could be used as justification for having Mac get raped by Terrence, or something. I don't mind if a fic is dark in a relatable and understandable way, but if they plunge off the deep end I'm outta there. One of the reasons I never read the sequel to that Satan fic was because I simply can't stand mpreg.

[lucyrocks73]

I read it because the author is a good friend of mine, but I can't stand mpreg too...

She's a really nice person, but I think the first was better than the second... But yet the second has more reviews (kind of like how the sequel is never as good as the first movie, but does better on opening weekend...)

-Marty

[Voxxyn]

I've recently finished my first FF.net story, A Moment of Understanding, which I'm afraid to say is a prime example of dark, serious fanfiction. There is swearing, there is blood, characters act in ways opposite to the cartoon, the main characters go through a heavy ordeal, and the general mood(Up until the final chapter) is very depressing. And looking back in retrospect, even though quite a few people seem to like it, I can fully admit that it's very flawed, conceptually and in execution.

However, I'd just like to respond to one of the reasons cited for writing such stories in the first place: I am NOT NOT NOT some delusional kid/teen who thinks that writing mature stories based on children's programming is the key to becoming "cool". If I wanted to make it with the "in" crowd, I wouldn't bother with cartoons or fanfiction in the first place. I won't deny that some do it, but not me.

AMoU was not written to be "hip" or "edgy". It is not some horror story with enough violence and gore to make Jigsaw cry. It's a tale about two outcasts in life(Frankie and Goo) coming to terms with their traumatic pasts, and in the process become very close friends. As an outcast myself, that kind of stuff appeals to me... just like how a cartoon based on the concept of a foster home for something like IMAGINARY FRIENDS appeals to me in the first place. If nothing else, I'm glad to have finally finished a serious story on my own, after so many years with ambitious ideas that went nowhere.

And I promise I'll try to be truer to the show itself next time. ^_^;

[Voxxyn]

Forgive the double post, but there is something else I need to make clear.

The stereotype of "dark fanfiction" here seems to be that of angsty, violent, bloody, goth/horror stories. My stories are angsty, but in a different way entirely.

The thing is that, for me at least, Craig and co. have done such a good job with the characters that I end up caring greatly about what they do and what happens to them... and thus, if something unjust happens to them, I get an intense desire to transport myself in the show and right the wrongs. This is of course impossible, which means fanfiction is the closest people like me will ever actually get to such.

I admit it: I'm the kind of person who gets extremely emotionally attached to fictional characters. I've been doing it long before Foster's was conceived. I used to dread watching new Ed Edd & Eddy episodes because I hated seeing Edd being tortured and abused from one episode to the next(I eventually came to terms with that show). And as we near one year later since it's debut, I'm still a little shocked that they'd actually allow something like "Imposter's Home" to air.

[emma]

Hmm, I've actually attempted to read "A Moment of Understanding" a while back. I must say, I really couldn't get by the OOC-ness (especially on Bloo's part, because, well, he's my favorite). Overall it was very well written story, but that's the thing that is an absolute requirment if I'm going to read a story. It's just a bizarre hang up of mine.

And it's cool that you wanted to write a dark fanfiction just 'cause. All the more power to ya'.

[lucyrocks73]

I'm currently working on the (sort-of) sequel to my co-authored fic with Dude13 on ff.net (he's not involved with the writing, but I must say that he has been helpful).

Although the (well, we haven't posted it yet) ending to "Wishing Only Wounds the Heart" will be slightly bittersweet, the sequel is going to take on a slightly older and darker (and I'm PRAYING in character and in canon) outlook, at least on Goo's character.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, it's a writer's nature to look at a character and wonder.

Whether what turns up is dark or not, it still should be legit in terms of being in canon.

I DESPERATELY need to work on getting Mac in character, because he's sort of OOC...

And he's supposedly the easy character to write!!!

Goo is the easiest to write, because it's like writing in my diary (I'm not sure if that's a good thing... I hope OOCness does not come of it). We'll see how easy it is to write her when I try to explore the somewhat darker elements of her character.

Comments, anyone???
-Marty

[Beavergard Q. Kazoo]

Tried angst, failed mostly. Tis a hard genre to write properly for. What's funny is it's "opposite", the Romance genre, is equally hard to get correct.

Anyways, I can help you out in terms of writing in-character. What I do is picture the scene I write in my head, and imagine the character saying the line I give them. If it clicks properly, I go on to write more. If not, there's several things you can do to fix it.

A) You can adjust the line, so the main point you wanted to make still gets across.

B) Think of something different for that character to say and save the point they were going to make for later.

OR

C) Give the line to someone else.

Hope I've helped.

BTW, mpreg irks me heavily. I don't get it at all. I don't like the idea of having Terrence giving birth the the spawn of Satan (I've yet to read this one) for many reasons. Oh well, I loved the hell out of 'Tears of Blood' (the Wilt-wolf one...hehe, catchy term, no?), and was dissapointed with 'Broken Mirrors' simply because it became too dark and waaaaaaayyy too OOC. Dark Fic can be good, but not in excess.

[kageri]

emma said:

Hmm, I've actually attempted to read "A Moment of Understanding" a while back. I must say, I really couldn't get by the OOC-ness (especially on Bloo's part, because, well, he's my favorite). Overall it was very well written story, but that's the thing that is an absolute requirment if I'm going to read a story. It's just a bizarre hang up of mine.

And it's cool that you wanted to write a dark fanfiction just 'cause. All the more power to ya'.

You're not alone -- I'm a major major canon-purist of the worst kind, especially with characters I love as much as I love Bloo. He's such an awesome character and in dark fics is usually reduced to an angsty, one dimensional... thing which apparently has wrists now. Plus dark fics aren't funny and that's also a major reason why I love him (and the show itself) so much.