Fanfiction Lounge

Ah, I see.

Fair enough. And to keep this on topic . . .

Do you utilise Aura (capital A, Aura) in your fics, or do you avoid it like the plague? Why?

Oh, totally.

Do you utilise Aura (capital A, Aura) in your fics, or do you avoid it like the plague? Why?

Personally, I don't think I ever used Aura in my stories, mostly because there was no need for them. There was supposed to be a talking Lucario with a fondness of 'poking people's Aura' in Metal Coat, but the poor guy was scrapped he's probably going to be used for the next season of the comedy request-fic I run on fanfiction.net (or a story entitled F.E.A.R. - take a guess at what it's about).

I personally avoid using Aura because it turns your characters into Mary Sues that much quicker. I mean, who needs courage, grit, determination, badassery, all those things a hero should be, when you can just shoot energy balls out of your hands and blow the hell out of the bad guys? ^_^; I do have a weakness for the supernatural, though.

Sparkling Dragon said:

I personally avoid using Aura because it turns your characters into Mary Sues that much quicker.

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This. That and my characters are the kinds of people whose special powers are fueled by SCIENCE. As in, yes, SCIENCE. Must be capslocked because SCIENCE.

Furthermore, ever since that one lovely little movie, it seems like everyone and their mother who gives Pokémon characters special powers either give them psychic abilities or, specifically, something that has to do with Aura. Maybe it's just my luck in looking for fics, but it feels like it's already being abused.

Also, all my psychic characters are in a certain one-shot that's perpetually a WIP unless Asty whips me enough to get me to finish it. Unless people want me to hold out a little longer. You know. Whatever floats your boats.

SCIENCE FTW. NO SRSLY. Odd, seeing as I intensely dislike Science as a subject, and I'm giving it up at the end of this year, ie as soon as the school will let me.

My mom just decided to watch a Pokémon movie with me, and by the end she had determined that Lucario was her least favorite Pokémon ever. I don't mind Lucario, really, and I can admire it for what it is (a blue jackal-thing) and not be thinking "AURA DOES NOE WORK THAT WAY" all the time instead. Though I don't think giving a person Aura abilities is the best way to show their specialness (or whatever you're trying to highlight in giving them such an ability). Valentine, I haven't seen Aura-using protagonists infecting the stories I read, so I think it's either just your luck or the fact that you probably read a lot more stories than I do... |D

I've seen SO many fics that have been totally screwed over just because the author decided to make their character that little bit more awesome, and totally killed it. Supernatural powers, when done wrong, totally ruin a character.

Look, when you have magic, or Aura, or super energy, or anything like that, it can't be cost-free. Many wizards in stories can cast lightning bolts from their hands, but it has to have a price. Some characters will get dizzy and faint after using magic; others will die if they use a certain amount. In Eragon, you can only use magic to accomplish something that you could do with your body. It then takes the same toll on you physically as it would if you actually did it. If you attempt to use magic to do something you would never be able to do normally, you die. When Negi starts using black magic in Mahou Sensei Negima (did I mention that that's an awesome manga) it takes a terrible physical toll on him.

It's the same with superpowers. Think Superman and Kryptonite.

Aura, however, has none of that, as far as I know. It's power without limitations. I have never seen a fic using PP as a factor, which would be the only way I have ever seen Aura limited. And that's only in the game. In the movie, it just seems to be gratuitous pwnage.

Alternatively, if there's no direct price on using magic (best example I can think of would be Full Metal Alchemist's alchemy, really, because I could say a thing or two about Eragon), then there's just a limitation on the character himself. You began to say it with the Superman-kryptonite analogy, but beyond that, it's like this. Maybe your character does have the ability to read minds or control fire. However, there's two things to that:

1. Every ability has an outside consequence. Just ask Hellboy's Liz Sherman about how being a powerful pyrokinetic who hasn't yet learned to control her powers = burning down half a city block. Most likely, you can't actually master an ability right off the bat, and even then, there's most likely going to be cases of "what would the neighbors think" and "oops, I'm a master, and I still set the orphanage on fire."

2. That ability can't let the character do everything. Abilities are tools. They shouldn't be the only guns the character possesses, nor should they be things that make up an entire character. They help, sure, but you can't just SHOOP-DA-WOOP someone in the face and be done with it, especially if your powers are specific. Telekinesis, for example. You can throw a car at someone with your mind, but I'm pretty sure you can't use it to set a zombie army on fire, regardless of what the Resident Evil movies would like you to believe.
2a. And if your character can't do everything with a handful of special abilities and normal skills, making them a Swiss Army knife by giving them more abilities is doing it wrong. But that's a tangent, actually.

Indeed. perhaps we should write a Mary Sue guide ^_^

That's actually not a bad idea, though it probably wouldn't be one of the longest guides that the Lounge has to offer.

It'd be better than many of the other Mary Sue guides out there, if I do say so myself.

Sparkling Dragon said:

It'd be better than many of the other Mary Sue guides out there, if I do say so myself.

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At the risk of being a downer, this depends on what's in it and who writes it. All too often, people write Mary Sue guides without actually knowing what makes a character a Mary Sue, so they end up listing traits (like unusual hair color or being the chosen one) that aren't necessarily signs of being Mary Sues or are rather superficial if they're considered by themselves.

Exactly, which is why we do it, because PFF&P is home to a fair few experts. We discuss it and offer feedback on each others' bits, hence removing the possibility of irrelevant information.

Sparkling Dragon said:

Exactly, which is why we do it, because PFF&P is home to a fair few experts.

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Again, it depends on who contributes. PFF&P is home to quite a few people who aren't exactly experts, either. Granted, I'm not claiming I'm an expert myself. I'm just saying I've seen the way some of you review.

Besides, if you really need a Mary Sue guide, I suggest Wikipedia, which is astoundingly the best simplified explanation to what a Mary Sue is that one can find in any fandom.

Furthermore, I think we've been saying for months that we already need to consolidate and refine the current guides to general writing. We should be working on the basics before getting into the specifics in order to avoid creating unnecessary guides that, likely, no one will read and would probably actually be more appropriate as a subsection for a general writing guide.

Well, there are experts (despite what you may say, I count you among them), and there are others. I'm not suggesting a free-for-all. Maybe just base it here. Most of the idiots don't bother hanging in the FFL.

Sparkling Dragon said:

Most of the idiots don't bother hanging in the FFL.

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I'm very, very tempted to say something in response to this because it's really just asking for something (probably involving links to posts), but instead, I'm just going to point to the last couple of paragraphs I edited into my last post. If we really need a Mary Sue guide, we should use Wikipedia for now. It really shouldn't be part of our priorities at the moment, considering the to-do list no one seems to want to touch.

Fair enough. And point me to this to-do list.

http://www.pokecommunity.com/showthread.php?t=193404

In lieu of a logical bold topic, does your story ever go in directions you never intended it to go in?
No. Unless it's the Sims.

Do you utilise Aura (capital A, Aura) in your fics, or do you avoid it like the plague? Why?
Avoid it.